Setting the Pacesetter Stride through Teaching and Modeling Leadership

• The RISD’s first magnet program
• House system
• RKC
• Student Council
• Bug Boutique
• Positive Office Referral
• Belles Dance Team
• Cheer Squad

Continuing the Pacesetter Standard through Innovation

• On-campus REACH Program
• More teachers, more support
  • 2 Counselors
  • 2 Community Liaisons
  • 2 Music Teachers
  • 2 Physical Education Teachers
  • 2 Spanish Teachers
  • 2 Art Teachers
  • 2 Reading Specialists
  • 1 Drama Teacher
  • 2 Instructional Specialists

Compounding Confidence and Skills with Pacesetter Fine Arts

• longer daily class times for magnet art, drama, music, PE and Spanish
• direct Spanish instruction for grades K–6
• theatre classes for grades 3–6: sets, lighting, character development and performance
• competencies learned for LIFE in theatre: preparing, organizing, presenting and public speaking
• musicals highlight students’ talents in all aspects of full-scale, multi-media productions
• State-of-the-art auditorium
• ArtFest: a full-day showcase of students’ performances, exhibitions and artwork sales
• prepares students to advance to Communication, Theatre and Visual Arts at West Junior High Arts and Technology Magnet

Extending the Proven History of Pacesetter Excellence

Hamilton Park School opened in 1954, to serve the students of the neighborhood, a fledgling enclave established by the City of Dallas for black, first-time homeowners. In the wake of the civil rights movement and Brown v. Board of Education, the federal Department of Education began a long-running dialogue with RISD, who presented various proposals toward racial integration of the District. During this period, Hamilton Park began to be affected by neighborhood aging as each succeeding year more neighborhood students graduated than new ones enrolled. As enrollments dropped, the community feared that the District would close Hamilton Park. Therefore, they petitioned the Court to save its school, this vibrant, unifying facility central to the neighborhood. The community stepped forward with a pacesetting solution: to offer an unparalleled academic program that would attract students from outside the attendance boundary. Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet opened in 1975, with Bobcats setting the pace as successful academic and social role models; the school made national news and was toured, studied and emulated by other districts in the nation. With this proud history, tradition of excellence, innovation and leadership, we serve students gr. K–6 and their families from across the District—still setting the pace for LIFE, still a model for other magnet schools to follow.

History Making         

Pacesetting     

Bobcats for Life