My longtime friend, Louisa Meyer, is featured in today’s Dallas Morning News Metro section for being a "tireless champion" of the DISD. Louisa and I are sorority sisters and work together each year on a charity project called Chi Omega Christmas Market.
But Louisa’s real passion is being an advocate for kids and for Dallas public schools. She is currently participating with other community and business leaders in "Dallas Achieves" – a campaign to improve the district.
I admit I’m glad that Lake Highlands doesn’t have the depth of difficulties that DISD grapples with, but we can learn lessons from Louisa. She was named Secondary Volunteer of the Year in 2005-06 for bringing her intelligence and considerable talent to the task of supporting schools, and her oldest son is a sophomore at Yale. She is constantly recruiting successful young families to stay in or come back to public schools, even in the less-than-fertile circles of well-to-do North Dallas. Above all, Louisa’s message is that cultural diversity is an asset to students and that EVERY child can achieve when they have strong, caring teachers. It is a message worth hearing in our neighborhood, too.
