Education is Power

The Rise School of Dallas helps bring out educator’s passion

Kari Zerbe, director of Rise School, says that working with families that care so deeply about their child’s experience is what makes the school so special.

Photo courtesy of Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty

It took two-and-a-half years for Kari Zerbe to get a job at the Rise School of Dallas – months and months of phone calls to remind the director that she wanted the chance to teach at Rise.

But it seems Rise, a North Dallas preschool where the curriculum integrates children with learning delays and “typical learners,” is such a great place to work that teachers just don’t want to leave. So Zerbe was patient.

“I just knew Rise was where I wanted to be,” she said. “When you walk into a classroom, you can tell that the staff enjoys their job and truly wants to be right there.”

That was about a decade ago – and now Zerbe is director of Rise. She started her career there teaching a toddler class, and then serving as the school’s educational coordinator for four years. She was promoted to director in 2011.

Zerbe, who grew up in Dallas and graduated from Lake Highlands High School, said she has known since sixth grade that she wanted to teach.

“I had the most amazing teacher, Ms. Auer,” she said. “It was that year that I absolutely knew I would become a teacher, and I never wavered.”

During summers in Dallas, when Zerbe was on break from Virginia Tech, she volunteered with the Special Olympics, where she cultivated a passion for working with children who have learning disabilities.

The goal of Rise, which was founded in Dallas by John and Wendy Poston, whose son William has Down syndrome, is to prepare children with learning delays for the next educational setting – mainstream school or otherwise. Zerbe said working so closely with families that care about their child’s experience is what makes Rise so special.

“It is my most favorite part of my position – working with incoming families, with the hopes of making their child feel safe, secured, and loved so their educational experience can begin.” she said.

What makes it especially fun? Many of Rise’s graduates go on to attend Moss Haven Elementary School – Zerbe’s alma mater.

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For more information, go to briggsfreeman.com/people or updatedallas.com. CEO Robbie Briggs owns and operates Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty.

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E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

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Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

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