Staff News

Special contribution by Lennon Formaggini

For Cristina Guzman, Destination Imagination isn’t just another extracurricular activity—it’s a life-changing experience for students, one that fosters creativity, collaboration, and resilience. That is why, in addition to being a coordinator at New Tech High School at B.F. Darrell, she is also a passionate team manager who has dedicated herself to bringing the magic of DI to her school.

“DI has had a profound impact on my professional and personal life,” she said. “Coaching has allowed me to build special bonds with my students as I watch them fail, learn, grow, and succeed. Witnessing their creativity, dedication, and resilience firsthand has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.”

DI, where students compete at regional, state, and national levels, is one of Student Activities’ most popular programs. It inspires students to solve problems, search for creative solutions, and work cooperatively with others.

Guzman, along with her co-manager Joe Jenkins, has been the DI coach at the school for four years. When she joined New Tech, she was surprised to find that the school didn’t yet have aDI team. Without hesitation, she jumped at the opportunity to bring the program to the students. 

In 2022, she recruited a team of sophomores, naming them The Breakfast Club. What followed was nothing short of extraordinary. 

“When we first started, we had no idea how much this journey would impact us,” she said. “We came in as underdogs, and now we’ve made it to state four years in a row and to globals twice. Watching my students’ hard work and determination pay off has been incredible.” 

In this year’s state competition, Guzman led her team to yet another win, placing first in the Secondary Level Fine Arts category, which earned them another shot at Global Finals 2025. 

Looking back on that first year, Guzman reflected that it was a journey that would shape not just the team’s future, but her own as well.

“I could never have imagined the impact DI would have on their high school experience,” said Guzman, who as a coach fosters a space where creativity and teamwork thrive.

“I create an environment where students feel encouraged to take risks, collaborate, and think outside the box,” she said. “It’s essential that they feel free to express their ideas without fear of judgment, allowing them to build on each other’s creativity.” 

Guzman also integrates activities designed to bring the team closer together by strengthening trust, communication, and problem-solving skills, ensuring that teamwork becomes second nature, she said. 

“This approach has been key in developing a group of students who not only excel at DI but also form lasting bonds that extend well beyond the competition,” she said.

Each year has meant lasting experiences for the New Tech team. 

“One of the most special moments was when we were paired as a buddy team with a group from Turkey,” she said. “Beyond supporting each other’s performances, our teams shared language, culture, and even food. It was an incredible reminder that DI is not just about competition—it’s about connection.” 

However, one moment stands out above all others in Guzman’s coaching career: watching her first-ever team, The Breakfast Club, achieve its dream of making it to globals after first competing in 2022. The team competed as The Lunch Club in 2023, and in 2024 as The Dinner Club. Its final performance at globals was the culmination of hard work, perseverance, and growth, said Guzman. 

“In life, even when you put your heart into something, success isn’t always guaranteed, but that doesn’t mean you give up,” she said. “That’s a lesson they can carry far beyond the competition.”

Special contribution by junior associate Stephanie Garcia

When visitors and team members enter the Linus D. Wright Dallas ISD Administration Building, they are often greeted by bright and welcoming decorations that match the seasons. The most recent ones were a colorful ode to spring as paper butterflies and flowers made from paper plates decorated walls and the visitors center. The mastermind behind the cheerful decor is Latalawanda Webb, a call center specialist.

“At the beginning, I was just decorating the office,” said Webb, who has been with Dallas ISD for 10 years and has spent the last six years using her creativity to make the workplace more inviting with the help of her team members. “But then, I wanted to make the whole lobby more welcoming, so I extended out the decorations.” 

Whether it’s a grand holiday or a simple seasonal change, Webb collaborates with her team to transform the visitors center that also houses the district’s call center into a welcoming space. The thoughtful decorations create an inviting atmosphere that brightens everyone’s day.

Between answering calls and other duties, Webb rarely has a moment to pause, she said. So, more often than not, she can be found decorating the area with a headset on, ready to answer incoming calls while arranging the decorations.

Making the seasons come to life is not a small task; preparation often takes around a month to ensure Webb’s vision is executed perfectly. She begins by conceptualizing the desired look for the office space, then purchases the necessary decorations and materials.. 

Then, there are times when an unexpected need for decoration comes up, such as the recent Lifetime Achievement Reception held by Human Capital Management in the administration building lobby to recognize more than 200 retirees. Webb and others from the call center jumped into action to decorate the lobby in gold and black motifs for the occasion to honor those who have given so many years in service to the district. 

“I just want to make everyone feel welcome and happy when they come to our building,” she said.

When Lisa Whitaker is struck by an idea, she jumps right into action. So when she wondered earlier this year why American Sign Language classes weren’t more common in the district, she started working toward creating more opportunities to introduce students to ASL, a visual language used by many deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the United States.  

Whitaker, director of Academic Enrichment and Support, considered how to introduce ASL to elementary school students to help them gain proficiency early on. And then it came to her: the district’s first-ever ASL summer camp for elementary school students. 

“We have a health and physical education summer camp, but we don’t offer ASL until ninth grade. That gives students only four years to learn it, limiting their proficiency,” Whitaker said. “Research tells us that children learn language best because their synapses are still developing. Their brains are very malleable.”

This is not the first time that Whitaker, whose department is over health, physical education, and world languages, has turned an idea into a long-term initiative. In recent years, she has developed, among other things, a water safety curriculum for second graders, distributed first-aid kits to 245 physical education classrooms, and started health and physical education summer camps. She is currently designing lifeguarding and outdoor summer courses for district students.  

Whitaker’s influx of ideas arises from an inquisitive mind, nurtured by a family of educators. Her maternal grandparents—a principal and an instructor in a small, segregated southern town in the 1940s—both held master’s degrees at a time when advanced education was uncommon among African Americans. Upholding the family legacy, Whitaker’s mother also earned a master’s degree and taught at both Charles Rice Learning Center and what was then James Hogg Elementary School. Whitaker attended Dallas ISD schools and graduated from David W. Carter High School. She even went a step beyond her family’s academic achievements by earning a doctorate in community health and policy from the University of North Texas.  

“If I have an idea, that is a gift that is meant to be shared,” Whitaker said. “Education has been an opportunity for my family, and it’s been the opportunity that they’ve given to me. Now it’s my turn to give that gift to someone else, and it just needs to be given in a creative way because everyone has a different entry point.”

This approach to offering different entry points is how the concept for the ASL summer camp began. Held at Harry Stone Montessori, the camp, which ran June 2-26, was combined with a multi-sports camp and split into two sections.

“All of the kids who signed up for sports would now be getting the ASL experience, and I loved it,” said Whitaker.

Whitaker said that two students have especially benefited from the program—a boy who is hard of hearing and a hearing girl whose mother is deaf.

“The joy that this child, who might be going deaf, has exuded during the program was magnificent,” Whitaker noted. “We were in his world, understanding how he learns and experiences things, rather than him being in ours and having to explain why he’s different when we’re all literally the same—he just has a different way of speaking.”

Whitaker regards life as a big opportunity to learn and to impart knowledge to others, she said. Before she transitioned to her role as a director, she taught science at D.A. Hulcy STEAM Middle School and Wilmer-Hutchins High School and later worked as a campus instructional coach at Justin F. Kimball High School.

“My gift is taking something that’s super complex and making it digestible, making it something that’s practical, and that’s what I loved doing for my students,” she said.

Working with students who struggled to pass the STAAR science test, either because they had been historically marginalized or because they were new to the country was one of her greatest accomplishments as a teacher, she said.

“Having a student who’s never passed the STAAR test come to you and thank you is one of the best feelings,” Whitaker said.  

Whitaker said she believes that educators are part of a much greater story, and that even if their legacy amounts to no more than a page, it will at least be a page that others turn to. 

“We’re part of this bigger story—we have one page in a humongous book, not a chapter. If we get our page right, there are some students who are going to benefit from that information,” she said.

This month, the Texas Legislature approved and Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 2, a record $8.5 billion public education funding package. Teachers are among the beneficiaries of HB2, which provides nearly $4 billion in funding for compensation statewide via the Teacher Retention Allotment (TRA) and expansion of the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA). Notably, the bill also includes flexibility in applying salary increases for projected TIA-enhanced districts like Dallas ISD. 

As a result of this legislation, Dallas ISD is expected to receive approximately $34 million in additional funding for salary increases to district teachers in the 2025-2026 school year. This bill also will generate additional funding for teachers based on their TIA designations, but the entirety of the new monies will not be realized by the district until the 2026-2027 school year. 

Using HB2 funds, Dallas ISD has adjusted the TEI salary schedule to ensure the district continues to lead the Dallas-Fort Worth market in teacher compensation, said Robert Abel, chief of Human Capital Management. 

“We project the average teacher salary in Dallas ISD to exceed $75,000 this year—an average 6% salary increase from 2024-2025,” he said.

Overall, this new compensation structure is expected to include approximately $40 million in teacher salary increases, well exceeding the anticipated $34 million in new funding for teacher salaries by approximately $6 million.

2025-2026 TEI Compensation Levels 

Returning TEI-eligible teachers will receive an increase via the greatest of four methods: 

1. Advancement of effectiveness level (example: Progressing II to Proficient I)

     2. Change to the compensation value associated with the effectiveness level

     3. Flat-rate increase:

• $4,000 for Proficient I, II, III
• $4,500 for  Exemplary I, II
• $5,000 for Master 

    4. Board-approved increase 2% of compensation value

Expanded 2025-2026 new hire compensation

To ensure that we can continue to source highly qualified teaching candidates, the district has also modified the 2025-2026 teacher new hire schedule. Novice teachers hired into the district in 2025-2026 will enter with a salary of $65,000. 

Information about compensation for other employee groups may be accessed via the 2025-2026 Compensation Resource Book.

The Benefits Department is gearing up for annual benefits enrollment and wants to ensure team members are ready to make the choices that best meet their and their families’ needs. 

The annual enrollment window is July 7 through Aug. 15. But those who complete their enrollment by July 31 will be eligible for early-bird incentive drawings.

Below are a few reminders to help with the annual enrollment process:

• This is a passive enrollment. If you don’t make new elections, your current benefits will automatically carry over to the 2025–2026 plan year.
• Important exception: FSA, HSA, and Dependent Care FSA do not roll over, and employees must reenroll each year to continue participation.
• No medical plan changes this year, but TRS has introduced new regional rates.
• The enrollment window is a good time to update beneficiaries even if not making changes to benefits. Take a moment to confirm beneficiary designations in the enrollment portal.

How to enroll

• Online through the Dallas ISD SSO Portal
• By downloading and using the MyDallasISD Benefits App
• By phone calling the Benefits Call Center at 972-925-4000 (Option 1), available 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
• With one-on-one assistance by scheduling a virtual, phone, or in-person appointment with a Benefits specialist by calling 972-925-4300 or emailing benefits@dallasisd.org

Stay Informed

• Virtual webinars are scheduled throughout the enrollment period. Keep an eye on your inbox for upcoming dates. Each webinar includes a live Q&A session with the Benefits team.
• Tap into resources by visiting www.DallasISD.org/benefits for plan details, FAQs, and the 2025–2026 Benefits Overview Guide.

Beginning July 1, all central departments will be required to submit their professional development sessions for campus team members through an application in the Dallas ISD Portal.  

Each department will submit professional development sessions and trainings designated for campus based employees, which include parent support specialists, teacher assistants, teachers, assistant principals, and principals through the application. The application also offers a calendar view, so when departments are planning professional development opportunities, they can see what else is being offered on a particular date to avoid conflicts or overburdening campus personnel. 

Submissions will be first approved by the department supervisor and then by School Leadership before they are listed. School Leadership will review the number of requests for any given day to assist with ensuring that campuses can manage requests for employees to be off campus.

Campus team members will have access to the professional development calendar, and principals will utilize it to ensure their employees attend the required and/or appropriate sessions and plan for substitutes. This system also will allow campuses to make their own schedule around all known events.

Look for the app in the Dallas ISD Portal beginning July 1 to submit requests.

Special contribution by junior associate Dariana Albarran

Dallas ISD is building big, and team members can help by volunteering at the event to help showcase a construction mixer that is aimed at connecting the district with the community and potential contactors to increase participation in bond projects.

“Building Big” a Construction Mixer will take place on Thursday, July 24, at Thomas Jefferson High school. Josh Berrios, coordinator with the Small Business Office hosting the event, is looking for Dallas ISD employees to help with setting up, running, and taking down after the event. 

“What I’m hoping to achieve with the volunteers is teamwork,” Berrios said. “It is to get them to feel welcomed.”

Volunteers will be asked to participate in tasks like registration, traffic control, parking placement, workshop set up placement,vendor placement and other simple tasks to keep the event running smoothly. 

“Volunteers will definitely enjoy the experience,” Berrios said. 

Volunteers can choose from different shifts to make it more accessible: an all-day shift, an 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. shift, and a 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. shift. There will be an orientation to discuss responsibilities and expectations. Because the event will take place during working hours, team members should consult with their supervisors and will be able to clock in or out, if needed. 

“I’m hoping to get a good turnout from the volunteers and willingness to help make this event really great,” he said. “I don’t know any better way than to say these are the people making our schools. We want to bring in the best talent to Dallas ISD.”

Team members can sign up to volunteer for the event through this form. To learn about the different roles volunteers will play during the event, download this list.