Call Center Company in Fort Worth, TX

With construction booming at colleges across Tarrant County, the higher education leaders who are leading these projects are looking not only at how a building is designed but also how it lives — in other words, the ways in which people will use the space.

“For students, we have what we call integrative learning at (Tarrant County College). We have these environments and classrooms where students (are in) a flexible space with a lot of technology,” said Paul Mitchell, executive director of real estate and facilities at Tarrant County College. “There’s no front of a room. There’s adaptability in those classrooms, so that you know that pedagogy can be adapted to any future needs.”

Inside Southern Methodist University’s Hughes-Trigg Student Center, higher education leaders discussed the building and design trends for college campuses. The panel was organized by the North Texas branch of the Society for Marketing Professional Services, a group of marketing and business development professionals from architectural, engineering, planning and interior design firms.

Around Fort Worth, there’s been a lot of new construction in terms of college spaces. Texas Christian University announced earlier this month a $500 million expansion and renovation plan. Tarleton State University Fort Worth opened a $66 million Interprofessional Education Building this fall in southwest Fort Worth. Texas A&M-Fort Worth’s Law and Education Building has become more of a reality now, as the windows are going up on the high-rise university building in the heart of downtown.

“When we talk about shifts in how students learn, I think that goes on to active learning — being engaged with other students,” said Harry Brittan, director of facilities administration at Texas A&M-Fort Worth. Brittan talked about how they’re looking at what the community needs and building collaboration with other tech companies. “We’re doing that at Texas A&M-Fort Worth, by bringing them in under one roof to co-locate, work, study, learn and do research together.”

The purpose of college buildings is rapidly changing. Texas A&M-Fort Worth is looking at what the community needs, while TCU is looking to see how they engage industry, because that’s where students gain knowledge through experiential learning. Tarleton Fort Worth is looking at sticky spaces, or places where students can study and engage with others — rather than just a place to walk by or stay for a short time. The University of North Texas in Denton is exploring how new facilities can help raise revenue.

Brittan suggested having plans early on in the design process for what’s needed and documenting what’s required, noting that otherwise the price tag of the project will keep going up as more needs are discovered. At TCU, Jason Soileau, assistant vice chancellor for planning, design and construction, said a particular challenge is embarking on expansion, doing the campus master plan first and then rolling out the strategic plan. Soileau said the master plan is pretty adaptable.

“What shifts are we seeing in how students learn? I would say, certainly (in) peer-to-peer and experiential learning, I find that students are really creating opportunities to learn outside of the classroom,” said Soileau. “I think the university owes it to our students to find those opportunities and create those (spaces) of collaboration.”

Rachael Capua, the dean of Tarleton State Fort Worth, said the way space is being used is not just changing for students but for faculty as well.

“Faculty space has been one of the biggest topics,” said Capua. “We’re moving to more open work spaces. We’re doing more hoteling … you have your desk, a workstation with storage versus just a standing desk that goes up and down.”

Renovations and building upgrades are also important, not just the creation of new, shiny facilities, according to panelists. Their suggestion for contractors or firms interested in working with a university? Start working on those smaller-scale projects, then move on to the new builds — the ones that are grabbing attention not just in the region, but across the state.

Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with Open Campus. Contact her at [email protected].

The Report’s higher education coverage is supported in part by major higher education institutions in Tarrant County, including Tarleton State University, Tarrant County College, Texas A&M-Fort Worth, Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Texas at Arlington and UNT Health Science Center.

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.

Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details.

Editor’s note: Made in Tarrant is an occasional Q&A series on small businesses started in Tarrant County. Submit your business here.

Jennifer Dean has had enough of her spring. Dean, owner of Chocolate Hangover, a candy maker and retailer quartered in a 400-square-foot shop off of downtown Grapevine’s popular Main Street strip, backed off of a push to open a second shop in downtown Arlington after the city insisted she put in a grease trap (she said she planned to slice and package, but not produce, chocolate at the shop.) She also got boxed out of hard-to-find openings for a new shop in downtown Grapevine.

Undeterred, Dean — a Realtor with two MBAs who discovered and bought the 8-year-old shop six years ago after a client gave her gifts from the store — remains on the hunt for a larger space facing Main; her store faces away from the street. She also uses an off-site kitchen to make the chocolates. Dean sat down (rather, stood up in her small quarters) for an interview with the Report.

What: Chocolate maker and retailer

Company founded: Eight years ago; current owner has held for six years

Where: 520 S. Main St., Suite 207, downtown Grapevine

Phone: 817-527-6499

Website: chocolatehangover.com

Scott Nishimura: Why the need for a larger store?

Jennifer Dean: It really should be doing five times the business it does. Arlington looked so good. I really can’t leave Grapevine, because it’s the “Christmas Capital of Texas.” Once you get a spot here, you better not leave.

Nishimura: What are your most popular items?

Dean: The Texas Truffles (available in numerous flavors). I have several clients who like to take their client gifts overseas. I have corporate accounts with the hotels. Big businesses will have conferences here; they look for something unique.

Nishimura: How many flavors of the truffles do you have?

Dean: Sixty flavors. I have a bunch, and we make up more and more all the time. The possibilities are endless. We rotate through because I don’t have the space for them all.

Nishimura: The shop’s name was originally Chocolate Moonshine?

Dean: We changed the name. People thought we actually had chocolate moonshine. We changed the signage last year.

Nishimura: You still sell a line of alcohol-filled chocolates.

Dean: Quintessential Chocolates in Fredericksburg makes our alcohol chocolates.

Nishimura: You’re in a little nook here. What kind of space are you looking for?

Dean: I would love to have 800 to 1,200 square feet; 1,200 would probably be ideal. My struggle for six years has been to get it in a forward-facing spot.

Nishimura: Tell us the story of how you found this business.

Dean: I have a daughter who’s a chiropractor, and my original idea was to buy a retiring chiropractor’s practice (for her). I’m also a Realtor, and I had a friend who bought me some of the alcohol chocolates. I thought that would be fantastic to put in gift bags for my clients. The owners were retiring. I knew I was taking a severance package (from a job in IT). I bought the shop with severance and savings.

Nishimura: Are you a foodie? How did you come up with the recipes for the new items you put in the store?

Dean: It’s really not that hard. The world is at our fingertips with the internet.

Nishimura: Do you have help in the store?

Dean: My daughters (ages 30, 28 and 23) all have a hand in it. I also have two employees. My daughter, the chiropractor, her office is a mile away. She pops over in between patients to help out with it.

Nishimura: What other growth prospects have you looked into?

Dean: So much more could be done with it; I’ve kept it small. I’ve looked to get into DFW Airport. Once you get in there, you’re golden. It’s a large undertaking, but very lucrative. First, they have to be looking for something you offer. You have to be open a certain number of hours. You have to hire professionals to complete the (request for proposal). We do a lot more mail order than ever, up 1,000% this year.

Nishimura: What do you love about the business?

Dean: I get to meet so many people. I get to do different things. Do I want to be creative today? Do I just want to take care of you today?

Nishimura: Do you have an exit strategy?

Dean: I’ve always said if anybody offers me the right money for it, I would sell it.Scott Nishimura is a senior editor for the Documenters program at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at [email protected]. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.

Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details.

Scott Nishimura is a longtime Fort Worth journalist, serving in roles as a reporter and editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Business Press, and Fort Worth, Fort Worth Inc. and 360West magazines.... More by Scott Nishimura

By now, folks know the story: Jelly Roll didn’t take the scenic route to country stardom. He carved his name into it. Raised on the rough edges of Nashville and baptized in the fires of hip-hop and Southern rock, he’s spent the better part of two decades turning pain into poetry, beats into ballads, and stadiums into revival tents. On May 6, he returns to Billy Bob’s Texas — not just to perform, but to testify.

The concert, billed as “Jelly Roll & Friends,” marks his third straight year playing the “World’s Largest Honky Tonk.” But this one feels different. More personal. Less about spectacle, more about soul. A night not just for the hits — though there will be plenty of those, from “Son of a Sinner” to “Need a Favor”— but for the stories behind them.

Jelly Roll’s come a long way from selling mixtapes out of his car. Over the past few years, he’s emerged as one of country music’s most compelling figures: honest, open, and unafraid to say the quiet parts out loud. With albums like Ballads of the Broken, Whitsitt Chapel, and his most recent, Beautifully Broken, he’s created a space where redemption isn’t just possible — it’s the whole damn point.

Billy Bob’s, with its sawdust floors and neon glow, is the perfect backdrop. There’s a reason the place has hosted legends. And when Jelly Roll steps onto that stage, it won’t be to add his name to a list. It’ll be to meet the moment head-on, to give a little piece of himself to a crowd that’s already singing the words back to him.

Tickets won’t come cheap — $250 for PIT, $125 for General Admission — but anyone who’s seen him live will tell you: it’s worth every penny. Doors open at 8 p.m., and given his track record of sold-out shows and teary-eyed encores, this one’s likely to follow suit.

There’s a heart behind all this, too. A portion of proceeds from the show will benefit the Academy of Country Music’s Lifting Lives foundation, which works to improve lives through music. It’s a cause that fits Jelly Roll like a pair of scuffed-up boots —genuine, grounded, and focused on lifting others up.

His first two Billy Bob’s appearances were tributes: one for first responders, another for fallen service members. May’s show continues the tradition of using the spotlight to shine a little brighter on those who often go unseen. In Jelly Roll’s world, no one gets left behind.

With the ACM Awards just two days later — and three nominations with his name on them — Jelly Roll could be gearing up for a big week.

For tickets and details, visit billybobstexas.com.

The creation of this content included the use of AI based on templates created, reviewed and edited by journalists in the newsroom. Read more on our AI policy here.

The NWS Fort Worth TX issued a weather alert at 5:45 a.m. on Friday for strong thunderstorms until 6:30 a.m. The alert is for Collin, Grayson, Fannin, Lamar, Hunt, Delta and Hopkins counties.

The storms are packing wind gusts of up to 30 mph and pea-sized hail (0.25 inches).

"At 5:44 a.m., Doppler radar tracked strong thunderstorms along a line extending from near Honey Grove to near Anna. Movement was southeast at 40 mph," says the NWS. "Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible."

Expect strong thunderstorms in the following locations:

This includes Interstate 30 between mile markers 85 and 118.

Other impacted locations include Westminster, Neylandville, New Birthright, Ridgeway, Pacio, Nobility, Forest Hill, Ely, Taylor Town and White Mound.

According to the NWS, "If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building."

This alert is in effect until 6:30 a.m.

Around 25 million lightning strikes occur in the United States every year, with most taking place during the summer months. The NWS reports that these strikes result in about 20 fatalities annually. The probability of lightning strikes rises as a thunderstorm approaches and peaks when the storm is directly above. As the storm moves away, this likelihood decreases.

Here are tips on how to stay safe during a thunderstorm:

If finding indoor shelter is not an option:

What is hydroplaning?

Hydroplaning is when a vehicle starts uncontrollably sliding on wet roads.

This happens when water in front of the tire builds up faster than the vehicle's weight can push water out of the way. The water pressure then causes the vehicle to rise and slide on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road, making the driver lose control. Hydroplaning is primarily caused by three factors:

In the event of your vehicle hydroplaning, here's what to know:

Source: The National Weather Service

This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 5:49 AM.

Rocketship Public Schools Texas, a financially beleaguered charter school network, is closing its Fort Worth school at the end of the school year, officials announced Friday.

The network will surrender its charter to the Texas Education Agency and turn its Berry Street building, the current home of Rocketship Dennis Dunkins Elementary School, over to Responsive Education Solutions, the Lewisville-based charter school operator behind Ignite Community Schools. The building will reopen next year as an Ignite campus.

Rocketship Dennis Dunkins Elementary opened in 2022. At the time, the school’s superintendent, SaJade Miller, told the Star-Telegram he hoped it would offer an alternative to students who were underserved by the traditional public school system.

The following year, the network opened a second campus, Rocketship Explore Elementary School. But in December, the charter network’s board voted to shut Explore Elementary down and merge the two campuses. At the time, school leaders cited financial pressure and lower-than-expected enrollment.

Rocketship Texas has had challenges, both academic and financial, almost since its inception, state records show. The network received an F rating in TEA’s A-F accountability ratings for 2023, which were released Thursday after a two-year court battle. The network also received an F rating on the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas for the 2023-24 school year, the district’s second year in operation. State evaluators noted, among other things, that the network’s revenue wasn’t great enough to cover operating expenses, and its assets weren’t sufficient to cover its debts.

Miller, the superintendent, told the Star-Telegram that the closure was a disappointment, not only for him, but for the families and community that looked to Rocketship as an educational alternative. He considers it a point of pride that Rocketship didn’t only accept students who were academically well credentialed and easy to deal with.

“We served children who have been kicked out of three or four schools, and we took the hard kids,” he said.

But Miller said the school’s financial projections were based on year-over-year increases in state revenue that were in line with historic trends. State lawmakers haven’t adjusted the per-student allotment districts get from the state since 2019, leaving many schools struggling to keep up with inflation. That lack of new revenue, combined with enrollment numbers that also didn’t keep pace with projections, made it financially untenable to keep the network operating, Miller said.

The decision to hand the Berry Street building over to another charter network came mostly out of a desire not to leave a vacant building in the neighborhood, Miller said. Doing so also means the community Rocketship serves won’t lose an educational option when the network closes. Miller said he could make no guarantees about whether families at Dennis Dunkins will see a noticeable change with the new leadership. But Ignite has shown a commitment to working in high-need communities like the one the school serves, he said.

Charter schools make up a small but growing share of Fort Worth’s overall public school landscape. Last year, about 13% of the city’s public school students were enrolled in charter schools. While it’s been relatively rare for charter schools in Fort Worth to surrender their charters, Rocketship Texas’ closure comes about a year after the closure of another local campus, for similar reasons. Chapel Hill Academy, a charter school operated by the Fort Worth children’s advocacy group Lena Pope, closed last year, citing financial pressure and declining enrollment.

Ayesha Rushdan, the mother of a kindergartner at Rocketship Dennis Dunkins, said she was initially drawn to the school because she liked the idea of her son starting at a new school with a new campus culture. Rocketship’s heavy emphasis on parental involvement also appealed to her. Rushdan lives just a five-minute drive from her son’s zoned elementary school in the Burleson Independent School District, but when she heard about Rocketship, she decided it would be worth the longer commute to school.

But Rushdan said her impressions of the school shifted quickly. The mid-year merger of the Dennis Dunkins and Explore campuses was a major disruption, she said. She also felt like there were breakdowns in communication and leadership.

In meetings with parents, Rocketship officials said they weren’t getting enough new revenue from the state to cover expenses, Rushdan said. State lawmakers haven’t adjusted the per-student allotment districts get from the state since 2019, leaving many schools struggling to keep up with inflation. But Rushdan noted that Rocketship Texas opened its first school two years into that funding environment. She thinks school leaders should have been better prepared to manage the network’s finances in a tight budget situation.

The news about Rocketship Texas’ closure leaves Rushdan looking for a new school for her kids — one who started at Rocketship and another who starts kindergarten in the fall. Even though Dennis Dunkins Elementary will continue under new ownership, the instability she saw there made her feel like she had to get out.

“It’s just too many hiccups,” she said. “... I don’t want to keep bringing my child into an uncertain environment.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 10:39 AM.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Silas Allen is an education reporter focusing on challenges and possible solutions in Fort Worth’s school system. Allen is a graduate of the University of Missouri. Before coming to the Star-Telegram, he covered education and other topics at newspapers in Stillwater and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He also served as the news editor of the Dallas Observer, where he wrote about K-12 and higher education. He was born and raised in southeast Missouri.