Staff News

Mr. Gobbles used to waddle in line with the kids. The big white turkey would spot a cell phone, tilt his head just so, and pose for photos like he knew exactly what a selfie was. He followed classes around the Environmental Education Center grounds, a feathered celebrity among Dallas ISD students.

Mr. Gobbles is gone now, but his story says a lot about the place Mark Broughton, director of the Environmental Education Center, runs. Animals here are not merely props; they are residents whose lives are interwoven into the daily life of the center and the educational experiences of thousands of district students who visit each year.

Broughton, who grew up in northern Minnesota, started his career with the district as a first-grade teacher at Maple Lawn Elementary School. Later, as a science coach in the district, he organized student field trips to the Environmental Education Center long before he worked there. When the previous director retired in 2016, he saw a chance to turn a place he already loved into his full-time job.

Ending up at the EEC was almost fated because his childhood was defined by long days in the woods behind his house and summers on his grandparents’ farm.

“My backyard was a forest, like what we have here,” he said. “I always have liked being outside and working with animals.”

Now, his days start early, especially in the summer. He walks the grounds, checks on the animals, and tries to finish the outdoor work before the Texas heat settles in. There are cows and a donkey in the pasture, goats that come running when they hear kids along the fence, chickens with complicated social lives, a few ducks that have claimed their small pond, and a rotating cast of classroom animals like snakes, turtles, rabbits, and chinchillas.

“We have a small staff and a lot of animals, so animal care is a challenge,” Broughton said. “Someone has to be here every day.”

That was especially true during the 2021 winter storm. The district was shut down, roads were icy, and the water troughs froze solid.

“All I could think to do was boil pots of water in one of the classrooms, then walk out and dump it on the ice,” he said. The hot water melted just enough that the goats and cows could drink before it froze again. “Those cows were standing by that trough pretty much the whole week. They almost never left because they were always thirsty. At least I kept them alive.”

This kind of work demands more than just feeding and watering. The center has grown its herd, expanded the goat corral, added a nature play area for younger children, and planted an orchard with dozens of fruit trees. Broughton still rattles off the varieties almost by habit, from pears and peaches to pomegranates and mulberries.

Broughton is equally focused on people. When Dallas ISD buses pull up, he tries to be at the front to greet students and teachers. During the school year, the center hosts around 20,000 students. Broughton said many are “city kids” who have never fed a goat, walked a forest trail, or stood in a quiet place without traffic noise.

“A lot of kids, when they first get here, do not like being outside because they’re just not used to it,” Broughton said. “Once they see how pretty the forest is during a hike, or how fun it is to feed the goats, they hopefully learn to appreciate nature and develop a love for nature, so they take care of it when they get older.”

He is proud that the center serves all students. Trails are accessible for wheelchairs, and his team designs programs specifically for classes in special education and for autistic students. He is now pushing for an accessible trail marker system in the Post Oak Preserve so blind and low-vision visitors can navigate the paths independently using a phone app.

“We’ve never said no to anybody who wants to come out here,” he said.

Broughton talks about attendance numbers and outreach totals because he’s a data-minded educator, but when he walks past the chickens arguing over a feeder or a shy goat hanging back from the crowd, the reason he stays late and comes in on holidays is obvious.

“We try to let them live their best life out here,” he said of the animals. He wants the same for the students who visit, even if they only get one day.

“We want to give these kids the best experience when they come out here,” Broughton said. “They only get to come for one day for their field trips. We want it to be a good day for them.”

As the principal at Biomedical Preparatory at UT Southwestern, Gina Maffucci leads a campus where students are introduced to bioscience as early as prekindergarten. After serving four years as the school’s assistant principal, Maffucci is stepping into her first year as principal, continuing the next chapter of learning at a school she has helped build. 

“I had the opportunity to be the first assistant principal here at Biomedical Prep,” she said. “I was part of the founding team for the school. I helped establish the vision for the school, welcome new families and students, and shape what we wanted the campus to become.” 

At Biomedical Prep, students are prepared to become innovative global thinkers and future scientists. The school opened in August 2022 with prekindergarten and first grade. Since then, it has added one grade level each year and is on track to eventually serve students through eighth grade. 

As Maffucci prepares for the new school year, she is preparing to welcome the first class of fifth graders, another milestone in the school’s continued growth. 

“I love every back-to-school season,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to celebrate how much our students have grown while building excitement for what’s ahead. Every year, as our school grows, we continue improving and expanding opportunities for our students.” 

Now entering its second year in its permanent home, Biomedical Prep continues to evolve with new additions, including an outdoor courtyard designed to support collaborative learning.  

The vision for this unique school began with Charles Ginsburg, M.D., former vice provost and senior associate dean for education at UT Southwestern. Before retiring, Ginsburg imagined a partnership with the district that would give students from all backgrounds early exposure to biomedical sciences and inspire future careers in medicine.  

“I was fortunate to be a part of the team that brought Dr. Gingsburg’s vision to life,” Maffucci said. “Through our instructional programs, students begin exploring science concepts and discovering what’s possible for their futures.”   

With 13 years of experience as both a teacher and instructional coach, Maffucci draws on her background to support both student learning and teacher growth as Biomedical Prep continues expanding.  

“We create real-life experiences that allow students to simulate what medical professionals do in real-world situations,” Maffucci said. “Doctors and scientists come to our campus to work directly with students through hands-on simulations and experiments, introducing them to their fields in ways that are engaging and age appropriate.”

Through these partnerships, students gain hands-on experience practicing CPR, learning to use EpiPens during allergy response simulations, exploring laparoscopic surgical tools, and using cervical collars to stabilize the neck and spine during emergency response scenarios. 

Across the campus, teachers guide students in exploring concepts ranging from the body’s organ systems to the functions of the brain. 

The immersive approach to learning has become central to the school’s identity, inspiring its motto: “Science starts here.” 

Guided by the school’s six core values—curiosity, creativity, resilience, empathy, innovation, and leadership—Maffucci is preparing students to approach science with an understanding of its power to improve lives. She credits the school’s success to the educators who bring that vision to life each day.  

“Our teachers are phenomenal,” Maffucci said. “They live our core values and work every day to instill those same values in our students. They are true partners in building the future of this school, and we share a collective vision with our teachers, staff and community.”

Special contribution by Sherlyn Santana

For Health Services Supervisor Rosa Guerrero, student success begins with good health. From making sure nurses have the resources they need to helping students build healthy habits, she believes school health services play a strong role in every student’s education. 

Guerrero said her decision to become a nurse was inspired by her experience as a child. She watched the school nurse at Ignacio Zaragoza Elementary School care for the students, staff, and on occasion helped her father who suffered from vertigo.

“I still remember her name,” Guerrero said of the school nurse. “Watching her and the way she cared for the students left a good impression.” 

Years later, after her father was diagnosed with cancer and was in hospice care, another nurse sparked her calling. Guerrero recalls the nurse was “very caring, very supportive, and was able to provide that emotional support to our family.” Seeing how compassionate the nurse was inspired her to pursue a career in health care. 

This year marks Guerrero’s 15th year as a school nurse with Dallas ISD. During her time in the district, she said her favorite part of the job has been building relationships with students and their families. 

“You get to know them, you get to know the student,” she said, explaining how connecting with families helps team members have a better understanding of the many facets of the job. “My favorite part of being in Health Services as a nursing supervisor is our ability to ensure that our school nurses have the tools that they need and the support to perform their job.”

Guerrero said school nurses support student achievement by collaborating with counselors, administrators, 504 coordinators, and other departments to ensure students receive the care they need to succeed. School nurses also conduct medical referrals, such as hearing and vision screenings to help students stay healthy. 

“Student health is really important,” she said. “We create a foundation for the students to gain skills that will impact them for the rest of their life. If you create a good foundation for them both academically and health-wise, they learn good behaviors and good habits.”

Math teachers across the district will soon have a new layer of support when the district launches Math Academy, a year-long professional learning initiative focused on strengthening elementary math instruction.

The program, led by Cristal Jackson, director of Instructional Strategy, is part of a state requirement through House Bill 2 and will begin its pilot year in 2026–2027. Modeled after the Reading Academies, Math Academy is designed specifically for early grades. 

“It’s for kindergarten through third grade,” Jackson said. “Right now, we’re targeting all kindergarten through second-grade teachers, third-grade math teachers, and administrators.” 

In addition to teachers, those encouraged to participate in the academies include principals, assistant principals, and elementary instructional staff who support math on their campuses. The program consists of five modules. 

The first two will be delivered face to face, with the remaining three completed virtually and asynchronously. All participants begin with a shared foundation before branching into grade-level pathways. 

“Right now, everyone—administrators and teachers—will take modules one and two, and then split into specific pathways: kindergarten through first, second grade, and third grade. That’s where they’ll really dive into the specifics of their grade level,” Jackson said.

The district anticipates about 500 participants in this first year across seven pilot vertical teams: Wilmer-Hutchins, H. Grady Spruce, W.W. Samuell, Dr. L.G. Pinkston Sr., Emmett J. Conrad, David W. Carter, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

Those teams span 39 schools. Teachers must be part of the pilot vertical team, and their participation depends on whether they have already completed Reading Academies. 

Math Academy begins for teachers with an orientation during the second or third week of school, followed by two full days of in-person professional development in late August. The remaining modules will take place over the course of the school year. 

“When they do asynchronous work, that’s supposed to be after school during their weekly 90-minute PLC time,” Jackson said.

A key feature of the initiative is the support structure built around it. Cohort leaders, trained by the state, will guide educators throughout the year, offering feedback and helping them connect the strategies from the modules to actual classroom practice.

Jackson’s team is partnering with the Mathematics Department so that teachers can clearly see where Math Academy strategies appear in the curriculum. For example, when the program emphasizes discussion and student discourse, those opportunities will be clearly flagged within math lessons to help teachers apply what they are learning.

Jackson contrasted Math Academy with Math Magic, an existing district initiative centered on fluency and timed student practice. Math Academy focuses on teacher knowledge and confidence. 

“The impact is that teachers feel comfortable teaching math, and that we’re helping to build their capacity in ensuring that they can take that learning and help student achievement and student outcomes across the board,” Jackson said.

The district expects gains in the early grades to carry forward into upper elementary as students build a stronger foundation in number sense and fluency.

Looking ahead, the district has mapped out a multi-year rollout, with plans to expand beyond the initial seven vertical teams and train educators by the 2030-2031 school year, Jackson said. 

As she put it, the team is “really excited to kick off this pilot year and to bring this learning to our teachers, with the ultimate goal of helping students see themselves as capable, confident mathematicians.”

It is time to take charge of your benefits and have them work for you. Annual Enrollment runs through Aug. 14. This represents each team members’ opportunity to review, update, and make the best choices for themselves and their family for the 2026–2027 school year.

Enrollment is passive, meaning if you do not make changes, most of your current benefits will roll over automatically. However, there are important exceptions of which you need to be aware. If you want to continue participating in any of the following plans, you must re-enroll because these plans do not roll over and require a new election each year:

• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Limited Purpose FSA (LPFSA)
• Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA)

We strongly encourage you to enroll in the Sick Leave Bank by donating one local day. Once enrolled, eligible participants may receive up to 20 days, if they meet program requirements.

To view the Benefits Overview Guide to review benefit options that best meet the needs of you and your family click on the following link: Guide. 

Benefits will offer virtual webinars to help team members navigate the benefits process and options. These online sessions will provide a more detailed overview of available benefits. To register for the Benefits Annual Enrollment Seminar of your choice, visit the sign up page by clicking on the link.

For those who prefer personalized assistance, one-on-one appointments with an expert in the Benefits Department can be scheduled. You may schedule a face-to-face, virtual or a phone appointment. This is a great option if you have specific questions or would like help selecting your coverage. Click here to schedule a one-on-one appointment.

When you are ready to enroll, you can:

• Visit the Dallas ISD Benefits Portal
• Call 972-925-4000 option 1 for enrollment 
• Log in through the MyDallasISD App

Have Questions? We’re Here to Help!

• Internal Dallas ISD Benefits: 972-925-4300 
• Email: benefits@dallasisd.org

The countdown is on! Dallas ISD is less than two weeks away from the 2026 Legacy Launch Party, and we can’t wait to celebrate the start of another incredible school year with Team Dallas ISD.

On Thursday, Aug. 6, campuses and departments across the district will gather to watch a one-hour virtual celebration featuring a special message from Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde, student performances, prize giveaways, and more.

The Legacy Launch Party video will be available for download beginning at 8 a.m. on Aug. 6 at www.DallasISD.org/LegacyLaunchParty. Principals or supervisors should share details about each campus or department’s watch party. 

Event details and ways to win exciting prizes, such as Texas Rangers tickets, Dallas Arboretum passes, gift cards, and more also can be found at www.DallasISD.org/LegacyLaunchParty.

During the 2025-2026 school year, Health Services celebrated 100 years of serving students across Dallas ISD, caring for them, supporting their well-being, and helping them succeed in the classroom. 

During the department’s end-of-the-year celebration, campus and central staff nurses were recognized for their dedication and impact throughout the school year.  

This year, Sheryl Edwards, nurse at Robert T. Hill Middle School, was named the 2025-2026 Nurse of the Year. 

Ashley Escamilla-Rorie, nurse at Louise Wolff Kahn Elementary School, received the Rookie of the Year award, while Alisha Warren-Simmons of North Dallas High School was recognized as Nurse Assistant of the Year. Warren-Simmons also celebrated 25 years of service with Dallas ISD. 

Behind every campus and school nurse is a dedicated team of central office nurses who support each school. This year, several of those team members were also recognized for reaching service milestones: 

• 5 years: Samantha Dickinson, Cindy Fairfield 

• 10 years: Rosa Guerrero 

• 15 years: Lacy Amelunke, Vemita Scales 

• 25 years: Jennifer Finley, Yolanda Everett 

As Health Services, founded in 1925, begins its next century of service, the department continues its legacy and commitment to advancing student wellness and academic success.

From the outside, the Resource Center South could be easily mistaken for another school building. But the inside tells a different story. 

Instead of classrooms, Dallas ISD parents find the resources they need for their families and a place where it feels safe to ask for help. 

“This is my purpose every day—to literally make sure that a family has what they need,” said Tiphanie Sanders-Wright, manager of Resource Center South.

Down the hall, past the front desk and a small waiting area, is a scaled-down grocery store with shopping carts and humming reach-in refrigerators. Shelves of canned goods and household staples line walls and stretch across the room, forming aisles. Inside the commercial coolers, parents find milk, eggs, and meat. Produce fills bins and crates: greens, onions, potatoes—whatever Brother Bill’s Helping Hand, a nonprofit organization in North Dallas, was able to donate that week.

“When a family checks in to shop, they don’t get a pre-packed box,” Sanders-Wright said. “We want parents to get exactly what they need for themselves and their families.”

Parents walk the aisles like any shopper would. Small signs taped to the shelves offer instructions: “Choose one” on some items, “Choose two” on others. By the time their cart is full, they’ve usually reached around 100 pounds of food. Volunteers help them bag groceries and walk them out to the car.

Sanders-Wright said that in the beginning that freedom startled some parents, especially those accustomed to pre-packed grocery boxes. 

“When we first opened, they were like, ‘I do it myself?’” Sanders-Wright said. “And we said, yes, this is a self-service process. You get a cart. You choose. We’re just here to help.”

The grocery store is only one part of what the center offers, but it captures its spirit—restoring a sense of control to parents who may have gone a long time without feeling any.

Resource Center South opened its doors to families in 2022, after voters approved the 2020 Bond Program that included funding to “plant resources” across the district. Before anything was built, the Office of School Improvement held surveys, focus groups, and interviews in the community. Families asked for food support, health care, safer neighborhoods, help with work and schooling.

Now, a parent can walk in needing groceries and leave with far more. On Wednesdays, Children’s Health staff set up in an office and sit side by side with families, helping them complete applications for CHIP, TANF, Medicaid, or Medicare. Parkland Health nurses come to give immunizations and flu shots. In the evenings, parents trickle into ESL or GED classes while their children attend reading sessions, art, or piano lessons just a few doors away.

There are even dedicated quiet spaces for parents who need to “dock in and work” and a computer lab. Through the center, parents are given their own Dallas ISD login. Other spaces include a mental health suite and a small library where “the vision is for families to essentially build their own home libraries,” Sanders-Wright said.

While Resource Center South is not the only resource center in operation, it was the first of four centers to open and served as a template for the others. Located near Dr. Elba and Domingo Garcia West Dallas STEM School the West Dallas, the Resource Center West is housed in a renovated space where Dallas ISD families can access free groceries, mental health and wellness support, and other wraparound services. It offers a service not available in the first center—a laundry facility that any parent in the district can use. 

“It doesn’t matter that one resource center is south and another is west. Parents from all over the district can access services at either location,” Sanders-Wright said.

Resource Centers South and West will eventually be joined by two other centers, one opening in January 2027 at the old John Lewis Social Justice Academy, and another planned next to the renovated H. Grady Spruce High School around 2027–2028. Both are designed to address the same core priorities like access to healthy food and mental health support.

During July, the center shifts into summer camp mode with its Summer Enrichment Program. Elementary students come for cooking, dance, music, and art, rotating through rooms that feel more like studios than classrooms. Older students can choose from among life coaching, podcasting, and even musical theater. Sanders-Wright said seeing former students return each summer, taller and more confident, is one of the quiet joys of the job.

Despite its mission to be inclusive, Dallas ISD can still feel huge and confusing from the outside. Sanders-Wright hears that all the time.

“Sometimes parents just need someone to slow it down,” she said. “We have the time to sit and say, ‘No, you need to go here,’ or, ‘Call this person.’ And then they come back and tell us, ‘You helped me, and now my child is doing better.’ That’s the part that stays with us.”

The center runs with only three full-time staff members. Everyone else—partner organizations, volunteers, even high school students who come in for service hours—keeps the place moving. By the end of the day, the stories can be heavy. Food insecurity. Rent overdue. A teenager asking for hygiene products because there’s nothing at home.

As closing time nears, the staff gather to check on each other, to trade the day’s hardest and best moments. They hug in the hallway. They plan what to cook next in the demonstration kitchen—or gush about the mothers who used the kitchen to make lunch for them. They talk about the parent who walked in with hesitation and left with groceries, a class schedule, and a little more air in their lungs.

On her way home, Sanders-Wright thinks of those faces.

“Sometimes parents just fall into our arms crying,” she said. “They say, ‘Thank you so much. I was so proud and embarrassed before coming in here.’ Those are the stories I hold on to. That’s when I know we really did something that day.”

Financial Services has released its 2026-2027 activity calendar with requisition approval deadlines so team members can effectively manage their purchases before the fiscal year ends. Purchases are to benefit the current school year students and programs. 

Employees should adhere to the deadlines listed below to help ensure departmental requests are successfully processed. 

Approval deadlines

Take note:

• Purchases should be made as early as possible during the current school year.
• Failure to meet the approval deadlines may result in requisition cancellation.
• The cross-functional budget transfer deadline is April 30, 2027.
• At the end of each fiscal year, open encumbrances are carried forward to the same line codes in the next fiscal year. Additional budget for those encumbrances is not guaranteed, particularly in the general fund.
• Purchase requisitions and check requisitions must be in Procurement’s approval queue by the deadline date.
• Internal requisitions must be in an approved status by the deadline date. 
• Exceptions to the approval deadlines must be obtained via emailed request to Deputy Superintendent Eduardo Ramos.
• Exceptions may be made to the established deadlines for specific departments (i.e. School Nutrition, Maintenance & Facility Services, Information Technology, and Bond) with ongoing projects that started prior to May 1 and are needed for the upcoming school year preparations.
• Purchase Requisitions must be submitted timely and in accordance with this calendar to ensure that:
  • Procurement can submit purchase orders in time for suppliers to deliver goods/services by June 30, 2027.
  • By July 8, 2027, the campus/department can appropriately enter an Oracle receiver confirming the June 30, 2027, receipt. The campus/department must be sure to backdate those Oracle receipts to the June 2027 period.

In-process and/or incomplete requisitions will be mass cancelled by quarter according to the schedule below. 

Finance DivisionContacts

• Executive Director Procurement: Candace Yarbough at cyarbough@dallasisd.org
• E-Commerce Supervisor: Victor Hendrix at vihendrix@dallasisd.org   
• Executive Director Budget: Sherry Dodson at sdodson@dallasisd.org  
• Special Revenue Exceptions: Sequetta Marks at smarks@dallasisd.org   
• General Operating Exceptions: Eduardo Ramos at eduarramos@dallasisd.org 
• Activity Fund Exceptions: Kim Merkson at umerkson@dallasisd.org  
• Gifts/Donations Exceptions: Corby Harbin at charbin@dallasisd.org  
• Software Purchase Exceptions (GO): Sherry Dodson at sdodson@dallasisd.org 
• Software Purchase Exceptions (SRF): Sequetta Marks at smarks@dallasisd.org 
• Software Purchase Exceptions (Bond): Devyn Mountain at dmountain@dallasisd.org