Dads Engaged for Excellence

2022 Dads’ Essay Contest Guidelines

ALL ENTRIES SHOULD BE IN THE PARENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OFFICE BY THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2022.

The Dads’ Engaged for Excellence Essay Contest is designed to promote dads’ engagement in Arlington ISD schools by letting students tell the story of why their dad inspires them. The term “dad” is used as a general reference to any positive male role model in the child’s life.

• Topics should be about the inspiration that their dad gives them.
• Typed or hand-written entries may be delivered to homeroom teachers, your school’s Title 1 Family Engagement Liaison, and/or Family Engagement Campus Representation (Non-Title I).
• The decision of the Essay Judges Committee is final. The Committee will include but is not limited to local citizens and members of AISD Parent and Community Engagement staff.

You could WIN!

First, second & third-place winners will be awarded from each category.

Contest Guidelines

1. Only one entry per student is allowed.
2. Submitted material must be original and reflect the contest theme. “The Man Who Inspires Me”
3. Essays must not exceed 500 words and may either be hand-written or typed.
4. Plagiarism is not acceptable and will be immediately disqualified.
5. Entrants must be students enrolled in an Arlington ISD school.
6. Each entry must have a cover sheet. The cover sheet must contain the student’s name, address, phone number, school, grade, and teacher’s name.
7. Entries will be judged in the following categories: K & 2^nd grade, 3^rd & 4^th grade, 5^th & 6^th grade, 7^th & 8^th grade, and High School.
8. For more information, contact Eric Phillips at 682-867-7386 or ephilli3@aisd.net.

AISD Dad Clubs

AISD Dad Clubs provide an opportunity for dads to spend quality time with their children that will strengthen their relationship, as well as benefit their child’s school and the entire community. If you would like to launch a dad club on your campus, please contact Eric Phillips ephilli3@aisd.net.

Dad Challenge

This program is designed to promote parental engagement and volunteerism of fathers and fathers’ figures on campus. We are challenging fathers to complete seven tasks within an academic school year. The dads who complete the challenge will be recognized as Dad Champions. Our goal is to have 1000 men actively volunteering on AISD school campuses for at least 2 hours per semester by May 2020.

• Sign up for the Dad Challenge
• Report Your Challenge Progress

Ambassador Program

The goal of the Ambassador Program is to increase meaningful male engagement of fathers in student academic life through strategic community partnerships to support dad outreach efforts at local campus. This creates a bridge to the community to support the four core components of PACE’s engagement strategy by recruiting community organizations to promote and/or host district approved workshops on parenting, home to school connections, health wellness and professional development of fathers.

Fathering in 15 Minutes

Fathering in 15™ is an interactive online tool that helps build the skills of dads anytime, anywhere. Fathering in 15™ takes dads through 15 interactive, engaging topics, each in 15 minutes. The best feature is accessibility on any computer or mobile device. AISD provides this resource to district fathers because it will

1. Build pro-fathering knowledge, attitudes, and skills.
2. Provide content from National Fatherhood Initiative’s research and evidence-based programs.

• View the Fathering in 15 Minutes website (English)
• View the Fathering in 15 Minutes website (Spanish)

Build with Dad

Build with Dad is a program by Dads Engaged for Excellence highlighting opportunities for fathers and father figures to connect with students through fun STEM related activities on campus and in the community. The activities will reinforce learning concepts in Math, Reading and Science through real world application of constructing a craft. Dads Engaged for Excellence has highlighted below opportunities offered by community stakeholders that give dads an opportunity to interactively bond with their students while supporting their academic growth.

Community opportunities:

• Free Home Depot Kids Workshop first Saturday of every month at all locations
• Free Lowes Build and Grow Kid Workshop

Move Your Way "Dad" Campaign

We want to inspire father and father figures to become more physically active with their children in support of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) “Move Your Way Campaign”! Move Your Way is a physical activity campaign from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to promote the recommendations from the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Click below for access to FREE “Move Your Way” activity planner!

Father Fest Arlington 2020

This is a day where we celebrate responsible fatherhood in Arlington ISD with an event for the entire family. This event consists of fun activities with food, games and live music. This is a FREE event and open to the entire city.