Staff News

Summer is finally here, and Dallas ISD is committed to providing a comprehensive set of opportunities for students to connect with their peers, engage in rigorous tasks, accelerate learning, and improve their social and emotional well-being through Summer Breeze 2023. 

Summer Breeze is the overarching name for all the summer programming being offered through the Extended Learning Opportunities department. Each program has a focus on mitigating summer learning loss while keeping students engaged. 

“These programs will allow us to get a head start, and most campuses can even satisfy all of their House Bill 4545 tutoring hours prior to the start of the school year thanks to the built in academic hours,” said Merrill Devenshire, director of ELO. “We have also used a lot of the same enrichment curriculum that we use during our after-school programs, so students will get exposure to extracurriculars and enrichment. We are hoping that this will peak students’ interest so they will participate in these types of programs throughout the school year.”

Summer Breeze includes several programs, including Summer Cool for prekindergarten through eighth-grade students, High School Credit Boost for high school students who need credit recovery or acceleration, and Dallas City of Learning-sponsored events throughout July that are available to all students. 

Most of the program costs fall under ELO’s general operating budget, with additional support from a $2 million allocation from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund that is covering transportation, contract services, and materials. 

Devenshire said Summer Breeze was a success last year, with 7,500 students participating in Summer Cool, 4,000 students participating in the credit boost program, and 700 students participating in July’s Dallas City of Learning programs. Thanks to the positive attention the summer activities have received since then, Devenshire said they anticipate even more students this year.

And that is not all that Dallas ISD is offering students over the summer. Other departments will host summer camps and engagement activities, while ELO will have State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test preparation for all the students who will retake the STAAR in June. 

“Our number one goal is to provide a free service to parents and families in a safe environment that is open to all students,” Devenshire said. “That way families don’t have to worry about where their students will be all summer long, and learning will continue across all grade levels.”

A proud graduate of Dallas ISD—“Go Woodrow Wildcats!”—Mia Witt is a special education teacher and teacher leader at César Chávez Learning Center. She began teaching at J.L. Long Middle School, where her grandmother was a cafeteria worker for years and many of her family members attended. 

Witt has provided interventions to and advocated for students with disabilities from prekindergarten through eighth grade for over eight years. Her teaching philosophy is to meet children at their level and scaffold them to academic, social, and vocational independence. Witt, who has a degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of North Texas, is an Apple teacher and digital ambassador and uses technology to streamline accommodations and modifications for students. 

She founded a campus food pantry at J.L. Long Middle School and continues to facilitate a food and clothing pantry at César Chávez. She relies on open communication with students to meet their needs while maintaining their dignity and privacy.

What is some advice you wish you had received when you were starting out as a teacher?  

I wish I had been told about modeling mistakes earlier in my career. Teachers are humans, too. We’re fallible, and it builds strong connections and sets a good example for students when we make a mistake and show ourselves correcting an error.

What is your best tip for classroom management?  

My best classroom management tip is to first decide what few things really matter in order to provide good instruction and then set and hold your students to those expectations. An inclusive classroom requires flexibility for seating, for movement breaks, and for the inevitable meltdown. When my expectations are clear, consistent, and concise for students, they are able to take care of their needs without disrupting instruction. They know how to use the restroom, where to get supplies when they run out, and how to take a break when needed. Those expectations are explained in August and practiced daily. The entire classroom runs easier when everyone knows the expectations.

How do you build strong connections with students?  

I build strong connections with my students by making time for morning meetings and calendar time. It’s not revolutionary, but by consistently making that time in my schedule, my students are able to share about their lives and interests, upcoming birthdays, or if there’s a holiday they’re excited about. In turn, I can incorporate those things into classroom instruction, stickers or other incentives, and themed brain breaks. The things my students share in those 10 minutes allow us to connect as humans, and allow them to connect with their peers as well.

What are your hopes for your students in the future?  

My hopes for my students are that they make good choices and live a life they are proud of.

If you were not a teacher, what would you be doing instead?  

In another universe where I am not a teacher, I would like to work with local and state government offices to increase supported employment opportunities for adults with disabilities.

What do you consider to be your superpower as a teacher? 

My superpower as a teacher is teaching kids to persevere. Kids need to learn that the classroom is a low stakes environment where they can always erase and try again.

While the 2022-2023 school year will be over for most students this Friday, students and team members at 45 schools will go a few weeks longer because of the added days for Intersession and School Day Redesign. All schools and students will go back to a single calendar for the 2023-2024 school year. 

May 29—Memorial Day—is a districtwide holiday.

The last day of work for teachers on the base calendar will be May 30, while teachers in the Intersession calendar will see their last day of work for the school year on June 26. Teachers in the School Day Redesign calendar will have extra days on May 31 and June 1-23.

These additional days in the extended year calendars are regular school days for students and are critical for the recovery from learning disruptions caused by the recent pandemic. 

Because contract days for teachers in SDR schools end May 30, all of the June days are beyond the contract and paid at the daily rate. If a teacher is absent on any day in June, they will not get any extra pay for that day and cannot use PTO. 

The Intersession days—June 5-9—are not contract days for teachers. They will get their daily rate for the week and cannot use PTO if they miss. The days after Intersession, those are contract days. If a teacher is absent on one of those days, they will need to use PTO. 

Olivia Moka was not certain she wanted to be in a classroom when she entered college, despite the fact that her mother and grandmother were both teachers, but that changed as soon as she did an internship observing a third-grade classroom. 

“I literally had the best semester of my life,” Moka said. “And I thought, ‘I need to do this now.’”

So she joined Dallas ISD’s Alternative Certification Program, moved from Arkansas to Texas, and is now in her second year as a sixth-grade teacher at Benjamin Franklin International Exploratory Academy. 

Moka has been making a positive impact on students ever since, using her own personal interests of gardening and cheerleading to make memorable moments for students on campus in addition to championing their academic success. 

Early on in her first year as a teacher, she was asked to help with the school’s cheer team. Having been a cheerleader in high school, Moka said she was excited to get involved, and by the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, she became the team lead—of a brand new team. None of her students this year had any experience, so they had to start from scratch, and Moka said she has loved seeing their transformation.

“I remember before the first football game, they asked, ‘Do we have to cheer in front of people?’” Moka said. “Now I’m seeing them do stunts, and they are begging me to go to away games. It’s been amazing to watch them build that confidence in themselves.”

And that is not the only student activity Moka has turned on its head. She also leads the school’s gardening club. When she started out last year, all they had was an empty plot of land, so she applied for a grant and was able to provide her students with soil, plants, and other gardening equipment this year. 

“We have completely transformed the space,” Moka said. “Now I see people walking by and realizing there’s a garden here, and the kids are always asking when we can go outside into the garden and read or write poetry. It’s been a great journey.”

From her dedication to student activities to her drive in the classroom, Moka has left an impression on her students and peers alike.   

Mark Olateju, a fellow Dallas ISD teacher, said, “Ms. Moka rises to each and every occasion. During the first week of school she was changed from sixth-grade English language arts to an English language learner position covering sixth- through eighth-grade due to the fact that she is ESL certified. In her first month of school as a new teacher last year, she gladly took on the role as cheerleader coach, a job she still does, and her afterschool duty was changed from carpool to bus duty on day two. She has diligently adapted to every change with no protest. She is the ultimate team player!”

Molly Schrader joined Dallas ISD as a digital coordinator more than a year ago. 

She moved to Dallas in 2020 from Austin after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin. She’s a big Taylor Swift fan, an animal lover and a world traveler. We asked her to share some thoughts about her identity as we celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander month. 

There are things in this life that you can control and others you cannot. One of those is how you are perceived by others, and I’m sure you can guess which of the two categories that fits into. One of the beauties of life, and something that I’ve learned can set you free, is who you decide to be and the choices you make. Oftentimes, there is a lack of control over parts of your identity such as where you grow up or who your family is, but there is something powerful about the amount of autonomy you actually have once you claim it.  

My generation, Gen Z, is commonly referred to as anxiety-ridden when it comes to identity and figuring out who we want to be, but I find that this generation largely subscribes to the idea of liberation of the self. It’s liberating to feel that I decide what I like, what I dislike, who I surround myself with, what I wear, and so much more, but something I haven’t ever had control over is how I am perceived. 

I was born in Jiangmen, China, and adopted by a loving set of parents 8,000 miles away in the United States, with a house full of pets. I am their only child. I have hooded eyes, naturally dark hair and barely stand 5 feet tall. It’s easy for people to put me in a box, to assume my culture and sometimes ask odd questions. I’m accustomed to answering those odd questions after years of rehearsing my response. I’m okay with it now–sometimes people are unsure what to make of you and can’t help but be curious.

The place where I first started to question my identity was at school. Growing up, I attended a small parochial school in Florida where I was the only Asian student for the entire eight years I was there. Of course, I knew and felt that I was different. I thought that made me unique or even special. But some days, it made me feel isolated. Thank goodness Disney has had an Asian princess since the early 2000s, right? 

While the younger me didn’t fully understand why some kids felt the need to point out my physical differences, I realized by the end of elementary school that having my identity questioned, and as a result feeling inclined to question myself, was something that would follow me for the rest of my life. The conversation around identity has a depth that many—both children and adults—find difficult to navigate. Even now, in the 21st century, identity remains an elusive and controversial concept to grasp. 

Do I identify with being Asian? I used to tell people that I only looked Asian. That’s probably still true; after all, I was an infant when I left my native country. But it’s always been a lengthy, multi-faceted question to answer. It wasn’t until college that I found other friends of color who are as Americanized as I am but with their own non-white identities and yet not foreign by any means.

Things changed after the pandemic and the ensuing anti-Asian rhetoric in some quarters. Then, suddenly, there was a cultural shift when many young people began to copy the makeup of Korean idols, eat Korean food and watch K-dramas.

In one way, I’m glad that society is becoming more accepting of Asian culture, perhaps through the surge of K-pop’s global influence. On the other hand, I often think back to the younger me who rejected the idea of being Asian and felt it was a shameful thing to be. Your identity touches so many parts of your life: who’s interested in hiring you, who’s trying to check a diversity box, who thinks you’re the deciding factor in whether something is insensitive, and so on. And really, we’re all influenced by our environment. I grew up speaking Spanish and eating arroz con pollo, but no one expects that from the only Asian girl in the room. 

It’s likely that I’ll never feel just one way about my identity and that insecurities about being Asian will inevitably surface from time to time. But I’m learning to embrace feeling comfortable with how others view me and not trying to change their perception of me. In the past, I probably would have felt bothered by being asked to contribute to Dallas ISD’s Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month initiative. Today, I can say that writing this account has brought me back to feeling that my story is unique. 

Dallas ISD’s Reading Academies team is finishing up the third year of providing intensive, research-based professional development for kindergarten to third-grade teachers and administrators on the science of teaching reading, and Elena S. Hill, assistant superintendent of Early Learning, said the academies are making a measurable difference on student success. 

Funded with a $2.28 million investment from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund this year, Hill said the Reading Academies have empowered district educators to provide “very explicit instruction” that is focused on foundational skills including phonics, letter sounds, and more to fill learning gaps. 

That instruction has paid off with improvement in the STAAR scores of students who were in a classroom with a Reading Academy-trained teacher, Hill said. The first cohort from 2021 saw students make a 12-point gain in their “meets plus” scores when they took the third-grade assessment, while the second cohort saw an eight-point gain. 

Deena Tipton, a recent 2022-2023 Reading Academy graduate and a teacher at Larry G. Smith Elementary School, has seen the benefits of the instruction firsthand. 

She had a student enter her second-grade classroom in the fall who could not read, so she worked with her Reading Academy cohort leader to find new strategies that would help him develop critical skills. 

“And it worked,” Tipton said. “He actually started reading. He’s still not where he needs to be, but he was able to read a book by himself. I was able to get him there by using what I learned from the Reading Academies, so it has really helped, especially being a new teacher.” 

Yuddie Ewelike, manager of instructional strategy in Early Learning, said the best is yet to come as their team moves into the implementation phase of the Reading Academies in year four. 

The first three years of the intervention program achieved the state requirement of training every Dallas ISD kindergarten through third-grade teacher and principal in the science of teaching reading, so Ewelike said the fourth-year cohort will target teachers who are new to the district as well as other educators, including assistant principals, media specialists, and instructional lead coaches.

“We want to continue building strong literacy systems across early childhood grades and ensuring that there is a shared language and methodology around teaching children to read in our district,” Ewelike said. “We will also continue to provide coaching support on the science of reading to help teachers internalize and apply all the great learning from the academies.”

Chapter 21 employees are reminded that the deadline for penalty-free resignations is June 30, 2023. According to the Texas Education Code, educators have a penalty-free resignation deadline that falls on the 45th day before the first day of instruction of the coming school year. 

This deadline is for all Chapter 21 employees including but not limited to teachers, counselors, assistant principals, principals, etc. Resignations are generally accepted via the electronic submission process (S-54), using the Oracle log-in, and must be submitted by 11:59 pm, June 30, 2023. 

The resignation deadline will be enforced; resignations received after the June 30 deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on:

• whether the campus is able to secure a suitable replacement,
• the date of submission, and 
• the circumstances around the resignation. 

For additional information about how to submit a Notice of Separation, please visit the Retirements & Resignations page at https://www.dallasisd.org/Page/28102. 

If you have any questions about this information, please contact the HCM Contracts team at contracts@dallasisd.org. 

Every spring, graduation is a rite of passage for many, and this year, one graduation was special—a mother and son graduated together with associate degrees. 

Esmeralda Landa-Soch, office manager at Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. Early College High School at El Centro and her son Elijah Soch, a student at the high school, graduated from Dallas College on May 12. 

“I was so happy when our names were called to go up there, especially with my mom, because that experience was amazing. As we walked up to receive our diplomas, I could just feel my heart,” Elijah said. 

Esmeralda describes the day as emotional because they had entered the program together, and had now reached the pinnacle—graduating—together. 

The journey to earn an associate degree began when Elijah was in middle school and was thinking about his options for high school. When he told his mother that he wanted to attend Lassiter Early College High School, she encouraged him to apply. That’s what gave Esmeralda the motivation to go back to school and go for her degree alongside her son at the Dallas College campus at El Centro, where Lassiter is housed. It was not an easy process. 

“My mom just kept telling me that I just had to push through and do it,” Elijah said. “Even if I messed up on my assignment, I needed to keep pushing through and come up with a solution like going to tutoring, and trying to figure out what I did wrong, to fix my mistakes and then learn from them to do better next time.” 

While Landa-Soch graduated with an associate degree in education, Elijah graduated with a degree in science and plans to continue his studies at Texas State University in the fall. She plans to put her degree to good use by ultimately teaching American Sign Language to high school students. 

Sign language is something deeply personal to both Esmeralda and Elijah, whose father is deaf. At the end of the year senior luncheon, Elijah presented a heartfelt message to his family in English and then in sign language. To see the video, click here. 

Landa-Soch learned sign language years ago as a way to communicate with a cousin who was deaf, and it enabled her to communicate with the person who would become her husband and Elijah’s dad. 

“It makes me very proud that my son knows that language. It’s his first language,” she said.

The school, community and principal couldn’t be prouder of the two graduates. Laura Landry, Lassiter principal, believes that higher education changes everyone’s outcomes and is proud that one of her team members is embodying the mission.

“Mrs. Landa-Soch is not only exemplifying our organization’s values, but she’s also showing the kids first hand what can be done,” Landry said. “She’s leading from the front, and we love that.” 

Throughout the experience, Landa-Soch and her son motivated each other to keep going no matter the challenges. There was a piece of advice she held onto that helped her get through challenging moments.

“A former colleague told me to take a class every semester, and that before I knew it, I was going to be done,” she said. “It was very valuable advice.” 

Although their studies will take mother and son on different career paths, they are both thankful to have had this opportunity to help each other. 

“It’s always so exciting to see someone achieving an accomplishment like this that changes lives,” Landry said. “You can’t help but have such a sense of pride. And just the joy on their face, between Elijah and his mom, was really special.” 

Mental Health Services is inviting all team members, students, and community to join the district in fighting the stigma around mental health during Mental Health Awareness Month and beyond. Maintaining mental health and wellness can be complicated, especially when stressors and difficult life circumstances appear, so it is important to remember that it is OK to ask for help—and that you are not alone. 

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five adults in the United States experience mental illness, while one in 20 adults experience serious mental illness. 

The good news is that help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Dallas ISD’s Employee Assistance Program

Dallas ISD is committed to the four pillars of its wellness program—health and wellness, mental health, social health, and financial health. Mental Health Awareness Month is a great time to focus attention on the resources available to district employees to ensure their mental and emotional well-being.

The May Mental Health Awareness Month campaign is focusing on the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which is free for employees, 100 percent confidential, and available to all employees and their dependents. 

Sessions through the EAP are available by phone, virtual, and in person. Employees can also find tips, articles, self-assessments, and topical features focusing on specific EAP resources available through the EAP smart App.

To start on your wellness journey please visit dallasisd.lifeworks.com and follow these instructions:

• Select ‘Sign up’ in the top right-hand corner of the page.
• Alternatively, you can download the free LifeWorks mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store on your smartphone and enter the invitation code in the ‘Sign up’ section. 

If you have already registered, you can download the free LifeWorks mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store on your smartphone and press ‘Log In’. You can also visit LifeWorks on one of the supported browsers (Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, or Edge) and log in.

If you need additional support, reach out to EAP by calling 972-925-4000 and selecting option 3 for EAP. 

More resources

People in need can also rely on the NAMI HelpLine, a free, nationwide peer-support service providing information, resource referrals, and more to people living with a mental health condition, their family members and caregivers, mental health providers, and the public. HelpLine staff and volunteers are experienced, well-trained, and able to provide guidance. All you have to do is call or text the NAMI HelpLine at 800-950-NAMI (6264). 

Additionally, you can find help, support, and comfort from your social or familial network, a mental health professional, and/or a support group. 

As you assess the status of your mental health, remember that help is available and you are more than enough. If you would like to see more resources, visit Mental Health Services’ Mental Health Month Toolkit. 

Marco Antonio Barker, the principal at Rosemont Lower Elementary and Upper Middle School, began teaching in the summer of 2004 and has called Dallas ISD home ever since.

Originally from San Andrés Island in Colombia, Barker was finishing up his last semester at Paul Quinn College when the Dallas ISD Alternative Certification Program recruited him. Placida McDonald was instrumental in recruiting and supporting Barker through the early stages of his teaching career, and Barker said he is thankful for the many opportunities he has had to transform student lives ever since. 

His passion and dedication to Dallas ISD’s mission of educating all students for success has contributed to his recent accomplishment of being awarded the Master Principal designation for the 2022-2023 school year. 

These designations are awarded annually to the top 10 percent of Dallas ISD principals as part of the Theory of Action, which governs how Dallas ISD makes decisions that ultimately impact student achievement. The criteria used are the School Effectiveness Index, State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness/ EOC Domain 1, and campus climate data.

Learn more about Barker and his passion for education below.

What drew you to education? 

As a child, my mother always said, “Son, I cannot give you much, but the one thing I will ensure you receive from me is a good education.” My mother’s wisdom is what led me to my path in education. She understood education’s value and instilled that same value in me. I know I have the opportunity to deposit this value into others. I didn’t have a choice; I was destined for this!

What qualities make a great principal? 

There are so many qualities a great principal should possess; three of the most crucial attributes that have positively impacted my principalship are empathy, reflection, and humility. Being empathetic allows us to listen without judgment, which helps us make unbiased and objective decisions. Being reflective and acting on that reflection helps us to build trust with our stakeholders, and remaining humble causes people to follow us for the right reasons. 

What is your educational philosophy or a motto by which you work? 

Transforming mindsets through scholarship, character, and self-discipline. 

What inspires you about your position? 

I get to change lives! It’s up to me how I choose to go about it!