January 2022

Next fall, Dallas ISD will launch iLearn Virtual School, a standalone virtual school offering anytime, self-paced instruction for students in grades three through nine and ultimately grades kindergarten through 12th grade.

The school will be led by Monica Morris, a 17-year veteran Dallas ISD educator, who began as a math teacher at W.W. Samuell High School before serving as both an assistant principal and associate principal at Woodrow Wilson High School and the Townview Magnet Center. Most recently, she has been a part of the School Leadership team as a network coordinator for the magnet cluster, transformation and innovation cluster, and the single-gender cluster.

“I am humbled and honored to be named the principal of iLearn Virtual School,” Morris said. “I have learned from many great principals and leaders along the way and am looking forward to using that knowledge to lead iLearn Virtual School in a way that is as exciting and innovative as the world around us.”

Students at the virtual school will have access to all the resources afforded to traditional in-person students, including a full menu of virtual courses. Fully credentialed teachers will direct the students, who will have access to an innovative online learning platform configured for ease of use. Seats are available for grades three through nine for the 2022-2023 school year. To apply, use the district’s one-stop online application: www.dallasisd.org/choosedallasisd.

“Dallas ISD is excited to launch our first ever 100% full-time virtual campus,” said Angie Gaylord, deputy chief of the Office of Transformation. “This new boutique standalone choice option maximizes student learning in a 24/7 on-demand virtual environment.”

It has come to the district’s attention that some athletic teams, booster clubs and PTAs are using the City of Dallas Triple D logo in an unauthorized way.

The City of Dallas Triple D logo (pictured with permission) is copyrighted by the City of Dallas. Dallas ISD schools, booster clubs, athletic teams, PTAs or other district organizations are not allowed to use this logo in any way without written permission from the City of Dallas.

Unauthorized use of the Triple D logo in any form is subject to possible litigation. We want to make sure everyone is clear and stays in compliance.

With the safety and wellbeing of students and staff in mind, Dallas ISD will be updating fingerprints for employees who were fingerprinted before June 1, 2015. The fingerprinting will take place in phases based on job groups, and the affected staff will be notified of the options available for them to complete their fingerprinting prior to the start of the 2022-2023 school year. Appointments will begin within the next few weeks.

Getting updated fingerprints from staff is necessary as part of the district’s subscription to the FBI Civil RapBack program. The FBI Civil Rap Back program allows an entity, such as school districts, to receive notifications of new activity to a criminal history record of an employee at the national level.

Dallas ISD already subscribes to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Fingerprint-based Applicant Clearinghouse of Texas (FACT) to receive notifications if an employee’s criminal history record changes. For example, the district would be notified if the employee is arrested or charged with a violation of law after the initial background check. In the past, the subscription service only made notifications of new activity to a Texas criminal history record.

By subscribing to the FBI Civil Rap Back program, Dallas ISD will receive notifications of events within Texas and also notifications of events that occurred elsewhere in the nation. These programs are designed to assist Dallas ISD in the continuous vetting of employees in positions of trust and who have direct contact with students.

Employees who have questions regarding the FBI Civil Rap Back Program, should contact Erika Cazares at (972) 925-8081 or fingerprinting@dallasisd.org.

Each year Dallas ISD supports the United Negro College Fund through a workplace campaign to raise funds for deserving college-bound students. This year’s campaign will kick off with a special virtual event at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3.

UNCF, the nation’s largest minority education organization, plays a critical role in providing scholarships to more than 60,000 students each year to help them pursue higher education and become productive citizens. The funds raised from the district’s campaign will be awarded as scholarships to seniors of all races in the Dallas ISD who plan to attend a historically black college or university (HBCU) or any other four-year accredited U.S. college or university in the fall of 2022.

The workplace campaign begins February 3 and ends March 31, 2022, and is open to for donations from students, staff, and community members. Students may contribute cash donations through campus fundraising efforts. Staff may give donations in cash or contribute funds electronically through Oracle under Employee Self Service. Staff have the option of choosing a one-time donation or monthly payroll deductions. Monthly deductions will be taken out during a nine-month period starting May 1 through Jan. 31, 2023. Employees and community members may also donate to UNCF directly.

The virtual campaign will kick off from 4-4:45 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 3.
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Following a comprehensive public engagement process, the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees has approved a new voting map.

Every 10 years, Dallas ISD participates in redistricting to better ensure appropriate representation based on the shifts in population trends captured by the decennial U.S. Census that took place in 2020. Redistricting is the process by which the boundaries of the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees single member districts are periodically redrawn.

Nine criteria adopted by the board were used to draw the new map, including but not limited to maintaining communities of interest such as neighborhoods, observing geographic boundaries when possible and adopting SMDs of substantially equal size.

Leading up to the map’s adoption, trustees held over 35 community meetings and the district hosted two TeleTown Halls. Twice community members were invited to take a survey and provide feedback through an interactive map.

The new map will be used during next May’s trustee elections. Several district schools are now in other trustee districts. 

Employees’ Wage and Tax Statements, or W-2 forms, will be available for viewing starting Jan. 21 for all the employees who have set up their delivery preference as online.

To access inside the district network

• Through Oracle, select Human Resources/Payroll Employee Self-Service, choose Payroll Information and then Employee W-2, or
• Through the Dallas ISD Main Page, select Staff and then Oracle. Once logged in, select Human Resources/Payroll Employee Self-Service, choose Payroll Information and then Employee W-2.

To access outside the district network

• Through the Dallas Portal https://disdportal.dallasisd.org, go to the Apps Login Links and choose Oracle, select Human Resources/Payroll Employee Self-Service, choose Payroll Information and then Employee W-2.

If you have any problems, please send an email to NotifyPayroll@dallasisd.org with your employee ID number, name, and the issue or question you might have, and someone will assist you promptly.

Employees who have not set up the online delivery option will receive their W-2 form at the home address available in Oracle by Jan. 31.

Are you a high school teacher interested in becoming credentialed to teach dual credit courses? The Post-Secondary Partnerships and Programs Department is holding an information session next week to share details on how you can become one.

The Post-Secondary Partnerships and Programs Department maintains and manages a list of high school teachers who are credentialed by Dallas College to teach dual credit courses, which are available throughout the PTECH high school programs. A high school dual credit credentialed teacher is someone who has completed the Dallas College application/credentialing process and has received official approval and notification from Dallas College.

The information session is an effort to support the districts’ early college high school initiatives and dual credit programs by recruiting teachers who may be interested in becoming credentialed to teach dual credit courses.

The session will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26. To register for the session, visit http://tiny.cc/juneoy. For more information about the program, visit: www.dallasisd.org/postsecondarysuccess.

Dallas ISD is calling all who are interested in teaching—and not just those who have a teaching degree. Through the district’s Alternative Certification Program, anyone with a college degree who is passionate about student success can get a teaching certification for free.

Degreed professionals who want to transition into teaching will receive free program fees and tuition, high quality professional development, guaranteed employment in Dallas ISD and ongoing program support as they seek certification in these critical need areas:

• Core subjects (early childhood-sixth grade/ESL) with Science of Teaching Reading
• Bilingual (early childhood-sixth grade)
• Special education (early childhood-12th grade)
• Math (seventh-12th grades)
• Science (seventh-12th grades)
• English language arts and reading (seventh-12th grade)

Live information sessions are available every Tuesday before the Jan. 31 application deadline for the next cohort. Download the flyer to find out more about the sessions.

To apply or for more information, visit the Dallas ISD Alternative Certification Program at www.dallasisd.org/altcert.

Longtime educator and Dallas ISD principal will now lead the district’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Department as its new executive director. Michael J. Ruiz brings years of experience as a teacher, parent and campus leader to the role in addition to his experience outside education as a marketing professional at Microsoft.

During his tenure as principal of Geneva Heights Elementary School, he successfully navigated through an unprecedented global pandemic while increasing enrollment—from 369 to 518 students—and academic achievement at the IB World School. As assistant principal at Woodrow Wilson High School, Ruiz led the school’s science and math departments to consecutive years of academic gains.

In his nine years as a dual language teacher, he worked with a diverse population of students and staff—at L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary School, he served students from 17 different countries. In 2015 he was named Dallas ISD Teacher of the Year and the following year was named the Jose Martí National Dual-Language Teacher of the Year at the National Association of Bilingual Education conference.

Ruiz has served as a member of the Hillcrest Leadership Academy, the initial cohort of the district’s Bilingual Cadre, Dallas ISD’s Academic Advisory Council and the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy in partnership with the National Science Teachers Association.

Join Dallas ISD virtually at 11 a.m., Friday, Jan. 14, to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and watch fourth and fifth graders compete in the 30th Annual MLK Oratory Competition. The event is co-presented by Dallas ISD and Foley and Lardner, LLP.

Eight talented orators will present their self-composed speech on the topic: “How would Dr. King assess our progress in achieving his vision for America?”  The competition begins at 11:00 a.m. and will be streamed via the district’s website and Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dallasisd.

Finalists are:

• Zihair Douglas, fourth grade, T.L. Marsalis Elementary School
• Arianna Garcia, fifth grade, L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary School
• Daniella Goffney-Mitchell, fourth grade, Thomas Tolbert Elementary School
• Kiyan Harrison, fourth grade, Jack Lowe, Sr. Elementary School
• Diamond McKinney, fifth grade, Clara Oliver Elementary School
• Jaliaha Rodgers, fifth grade, J.P. Starks Math, Science, and Technology Vanguard
• Chance Taylor, fifth grade, Charles Rice Learning Center
• Tristan Whitfield, fifth grade, Paul L. Dunbar Learning Center
• Jackson Smith, fourth grade, Martin Luther King, Jr Arts Academy*

*Will compete should one of the finalists be unable to participate.