Staff News

The Office of Transformation and Innovation has extended the application deadline for Innovation Engine to Friday, Oct. 16.

The Innovation Engine is a program designed to provide funding and support to neighborhood schools interested in implementing innovative programs or initiatives. The program will select up to 20 neighborhood schools to receive $50,000 each to implement their proposed model during the 2020-2021 school year. Principals are invited to submit applications with their executive directors’ approval by 4:59 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16.

Visit the Innovation Engine web page to view the application materials and learn more. For questions, contact Shakeatha Butler, OTI director, at shakbutler@dallasisd.org.

Dallas ISD is holding an Oct.19 webinar to share with district staff, students and parents actions the district is taking to transform Dallas ISD into an anti-racist school community. The webinar will feature a brief presentation defining terms such as racism and cultural intelligence and how those tools can help create an anti-racist organization. The district’s executive leaders will also share what their departments are doing to reform programs and operations.

This first in a series of gatherings will be held as a virtual meeting at 5 p.m., Monday, Oct. 19. It will be headed by Dr. Sandra Upton, a national expert on diversity, equity and inclusion and will be conducted in English and Spanish on Zoom and streamed live on Facebook. While this webinar will be primarily a listen and learn event, future sessions will be designed to engage the community, collect input and ideas and answer questions.

Register in advance for this webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

For two decades, the Dallas Independent School District and the  United Way of Metropolitan Dallas have partnered on the district’s employee giving campaign—raising more than $5 million.

A key component of a successful giving campaign is the selection of a dynamic campaign champion. Following their selection and attendance at the district’s United Way information session, these individuals will be asked to assume responsibility for encouraging their colleagues to support the campaign and develop strategies to ensure their departments or campuses reach their fundraising goals.

This year, the Dallas Education Foundation will be the district’s charity of choice. As the district’s nonprofit partner, DEF aligns with our strategic initiatives and connects with area business leaders, residents and the philanthropic community to raise funds for programs that enrich the lives of our students.

The 2020 Employee Giving Campaign is scheduled for Oct. 26 through Dec. 11 and has a fundraising goal of $150,000.

Principals and department heads are asked to select and share the name and contact information of their campaign champion by Tuesday, Oct. 6, by clicking here. Once the champion is assigned, the district’s United Way Campaign Coordinator will schedule a 30-minute virtual information session the week of Oct. 12. Exact dates/times and registration can be found on the Districtwide Datebook.

Effective Nov. 1 Non-Exempt and Exempt Attendance Report Form will be available electronically through Laserfiche, replacing the paper forms. Timekeepers will continue to make entries to the employees’ timecards for absences and adjustments; however, all Non-Exempt and Exempt Attendance Report Forms must be completed by employees and approved by respective supervisors using the Laserfiche submission process.

The new electronic Non-Exempt and Exempt Attendance Report Forms can be found on the Payroll Services website under the Forms option. You will need to sign in using your EAD username and password to gain access to the form, which will be routed automatically to the designated supervisor for approval.

In preparation for the upcoming change, please click here to view the training video on how to submit and get approval for the Non-Exempt and Exempt Attendance Report Form in Laserfiche. If you need assistance with completing or approving the attendance forms in Laserfiche, please send an email to NotifyPayroll@dallasisd.org.

In its efforts to promote social distancing and maintain the safety of staff, Dallas ISD staff working in person in district facilities have several choices to clock in and record their attendance: the biometric clocks, available in multiple locations in district buildings; the web clock, available online; and the attendance forms. The choice of which option to use is up to the employee.

Additional biometric clocks have been installed throughout the buildings to decrease the number of users per clock.

Employees who choose the web clock can access it at https://webclock.dallasisd.org, using Internet Explorer or Google Chrome. When using the web clock, staff will continue to submit PTO requests directly to their timekeeper. Payroll Services has created a step-by-step guide to accessing the web clock and recording their clock in and out for the regular time and attendance and for supplemental pay. The guide can be found here.

For those interested in becoming principals and needing addition information before completing their application, the LEAD Department is offering a virtual information session at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6,

The LEAD team will share information about the Principal Candidate Selection Process, how to apply and what to expect following submittal of the application. All individuals interested in joining the information session should RSVP at https://forms.gle/6k8m6aqRqCD3sEQ46

Submit your application on TMS by Oct. 9. Those who complete their application in TMS by the deadline will receive a link from HCM to complete the second stage of the application.

Should you have any questions or need additional information, please contact LEAD@dallasisd.org

Dallas ISD will enhance daily cleaning of all facilities, with special attention to specific high touchpoint areas such as door handles, knobs, and buttons. Daily cleaning will utilize the safest and most effective products approved by the Center for Disease Control and the EPA and complies with CDC guidelines.

The district will continue to utilize the CDC guidelines and recommendations to ensure we implement the safest and most current practices for the cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting our school campuses.

Electrostatic Disinfection

To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the district will apply electrostatic disinfectant on a weekly basis. The product is a safe, environmentally friendly and a powerful disinfection product. The product systematically removes and destroys dangerous microorganisms in the environment and because surfaces are treated with a protective polymer that inhibits growth of microorganisms for a period of time after application. The product is registered with the EPA and approved for contact services.

During the weekly spraying of facilities and buses, classroom teachers may leave out any items they want disinfected to include face shields, computer keyboards, math manipulatives, books, etc. This safe application will reduce reduce the possibility for transmission of germs through those items.

Custodians

The campus custodians will also receive professional development on the deep cleaning of a facility or a specific site within a facility. Should a confirmed case of COVID-19 be identified on a specific campus, the Environmental Health and Safety Department will be notified and additional measures will be taken if necessary.

Disinfectant Wipes and Sprays

While disinfectant wipes do not interfere with the effectiveness of the weekly electrostatic disinfection, they are recommended for use with spills and accidents. Each classroom has received CDC approved disinfectant wipes and disinfectant spray to be used by the teacher. No one under the age of 18 is allowed to handle disinfectant wipes and sprays.

The arrival of fall brings with it flu season. Seasonal flu mimics many of the same symptoms of COVID-19, which can make it difficult for patients and providers to tell the difference between the two illnesses. Getting a flu shot is an important step we can all take to protect ourselves and our families.

The district has partnered with CVS Pharmacy to provide convenient locations for employees to get flu shots, whether on-site or nearby. Flu shot clinics will be available Monday, Oct. 5, through Friday, Oct. 30.  For ease of service, complete the flu shot form available here before going to get your flu shot.

The flu shot clinic will be available from 8 to 11 a.m. at two central locations next week: Linus D. Wright Dallas ISD Administration Building Oct. 6 and 7, and at Turney W. Leonard Governance and Training Center, 5151 Samuell Blvd., Oct. 8.  from 8-11. Future clinic locations will be communicated through The Beat.

The district and CVS will be taking extra steps to ensure employees feel safe while receiving a flu shot by introducing new on-site drive through locations and door-to-door, classroom-to-classroom services. The high dose flu shot for employees over the age of 65 or at high risk will be offered on-site as well.

Several Dallas ISD departments offered a helping hand to families displaced by Hurricane Sally who have been staying in Dallas hotels. The staff who visited the hotels offered help with enrollment for about 150 children, uniform assistance for those who will be attending school, snacks, laptops, social emotional learning support, and parent workshops.

According to staff who worked with families, students who enrolled in Dallas ISD are excited and ready to attend school.

Representatives from Centralized Enrollment, School Leadership, Campus Data Support, Early Learning, Information Technology, Parent Engagement, Food Services, Operations, Transportation, Mental Health, Special Education, Translations Services, Bilingual ESL, Reading , STEM, CTE, Advanced Academic Services, Computer Science and Technology, World Languages, and Social Services were at three Dallas hotels to help families—Anatole, Hyatt Regency Downtown, Crown Plaza Downtown.

A new online assessment tool developed by School Leadership, Information Technology and Evaluation and Assessment will make monitoring student progress easier.

The new districtwide assessment platform—Dallas Assessment Navigator (Powered by School City)—will be used to administer and score district assessments online. The system eventually will allow for more teacher collaboration and provide easily accessible data so schools can make necessary changes to improve student outcomes.

It will also help students get used to taking assessments online as the State of Texas of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, will continue to shift away from paper assessments.

District assessments will be available through the new platform, which will be on Clever and accessed through the single sign on.

The Dallas Assessment Navigator also allows users to easily create a variety of other assessments. Students may take assessments online in the student portal. The platform can be integrated with most learning management systems as well as Google Classroom, so teacher generated assessments and reports can be launched right from the digital classrooms.

Training sessions for teachers to learn the new platform will be available in the coming weeks. To access Dallas Assessment Navigator, visit dallasisd.schoolcity.com and log in with EAD Credentials.

For a look how the Dallas Assessment Navigator will work, watch this video.