Staff News

For Stevens Park Elementary School kindergarten teacher Deborah Castro Torres, creativity is the name of the game. If she is having fun, she said it’s likely that her dual language students will be, too, so she has spent the past 17 years and counting looking for innovative ways to keep her classes engaged. 

That often means using real-world interactions to keep students involved, whether she is teaching math, science or reading. 

“One thing that I love to do when we’re doing science is to bring real worms,” Castro Torres said. “I won’t touch them because they gross me out, but kindergartners love touching worms. I also love to take them out to the garden for science or math. It’s a blast.”

Another piece of the puzzle is encouraging her students to take advantage of opportunities to help their community. Castro Torres joined the Leaders Readers Network this year to help provide diverse books in English and Spanish to all Stevens Park students, and she is encouraging the entire school to get involved through her monthlong Pennies for Literacy project. 

Her class of 22 students has been helping her lead campus-wide efforts to raise money to buy books for students to take and read at home by putting up fliers, signs and collection containers, and they are looking forward to the results.

Castro Torres also organized the Gratitude Project, during which her kindergarten class made their way around the school to thank teachers and other team members. 

“These projects spark a love of giving and giving thanks,” Castro Torres said. “I have always wanted to find a way to help people, and I have been able to get books for my kids, and they’ve been super excited. And they have been loving the service projects.”

Whether she is teaching in her classroom or supporting her community, Castro Torres’ efforts are paying off. She recently became a 2022-2023 distinguished teacher, and she said she is proud of the accomplishment, a result of dedicating herself to growing as a person and as a teacher and “never working alone.”

“In this job you can’t work alone,” Castro Torres said. “Whenever we get new teachers, I ask them, ‘What do you need? I probably have what you’re looking for, whether it’s in English or in Spanish.’ We have so much to do, so it’s a big team effort. Rely on other people. Work with them and find ways to collaborate and grow.” 

Castro Torres is passionate about making everyone around her feel welcome and puts joy at the forefront of everything she does.

“You have to be happy when you come to work,” she said. “That, for me, is the ultimate thing. If you’re happy, you do your job well, you work well with others, you help whoever needs help. It’s about growing yourself and growing others so that we all grow together and we all look amazing together.”

In celebration of Random Acts of Kindness Day, we would like to know if you’ve recently participated in a random act of kindness or perhaps have been on the receiving end of one. You can share your thoughts, stories, or ideas with us by clicking on this link. 

Random Acts of Kindness Day falls on Friday, Feb. 17. If you’re looking for ways to commemorate this day, here are a few ideas from the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation:

1. You can pay it backward and buy coffee for the person behind you in line.
2. Compliment the first three people you talk to today.
3. Try sending a positive message to five different people. 
4. Post inspirational sticky notes around your school, office, or community.
5. Donate old towels or blankets to an animal shelter. 

One more thing: While you’re out bringing joy to others, don’t forget to practice kindness with yourself. 

International Boost Self-Esteem Month is celebrated annually in February to encourage people to prioritize their mental health and well-being and to believe in themselves. The benefits of having a positive self-esteem affect every area of life, and everyone can work toward improving their self-esteem and receiving those benefits. 

A 2022 research review conducted by psychologists at the University of California, Davis, and the University of Bern found that people with high self-esteem tend to have better social relationships, more success at work, improved physical and mental health and more active social behavior that lasts throughout their lives.

The following tips, which the Mayo Clinic devised from cognitive behavioral therapy, can help you assess your current self-esteem habits and alter your thought patterns.

Identify your pain points. Consider which areas of your life are most likely to result in your experiencing low self-esteem. These situations could include projects or presentations at work, crises at home, conflicts with loved ones and more.

Recognize your thoughts and belief systems. As you reflect on these moments that decrease your self-esteem, pay attention to how you are thinking about the situations and talking to yourself. Determine if your thoughts are largely negative, positive or neutral, and whether they are based on facts or emotions. Then consider whether those beliefs are true. A common test is to imagine how you would talk to a friend or family member in a similar situation. If you would respond differently to them, why are you the exception? 

Challenge negative patterns. Negative thinking can be hard to address, especially if it has become a longstanding habit. If you experience negative thought patterns, practice naming and defining them. A few examples are listed below:

• All or nothing thinking is when you see something as all good or all bad, like having a difficult time with one piece of a project and deciding the entire project was a failure. 
• Jumping to conclusions involves assuming an outcome will go wrong based on fears instead of facts, like deciding someone is mad at you because they did not respond to a message. 
• Filtering out the positives means you focus on the negative and skew your perspective of a situation. 

Practice positive thinking. Just as negative thoughts are powerful, so, too, are positive ones. Instead of remaining trapped in negative or untrue thoughts, work to replace them with positive, accurate ones.

• Adopt hopeful statements like, “It may be hard right now, but I will learn from this experience.” 
• Reframe your anxious thoughts. When you fall into negative thinking, use it as an opportunity to find out what you need. Try asking yourself things like, “What can I do to ease my stress?” 
• Learn from the past and consider what changes you can make to turn a negative outcome or situation into a positive one. 
• Have realistic expectations of yourself. Instead of saying you “should” or “must” be doing certain tasks, determine what you can realistically achieve and avoid overburdening yourself.
• Show yourself grace by remembering that you are a human being. Forgive yourself for your mistakes and do not expect perfection.
• Be your biggest cheerleader by encouraging yourself and building positive self-talk into your daily routine. 

In the words of Brené Brown, “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.”

If you need additional support as you develop positive self-esteem, help is available through Dallas ISD’s Employee Assistance Program by LifeWorks. The confidential, secure platform has countless resources available online for free. From 24/7 on-call counselors to practical tips on subjects like managing anxiety and achieving work-life balance, team members can find what they need, when they need it. 

Reach out to LifeWorks at (972) 925-4000, or visit www.dallasisd.org/benefits and click on Benefits Resources to access online EAP information. Mental health and wellness is available to everyone, so do not hesitate to get the assistance you need. 

Sources: University of California, Davis, and Mayo Clinic

On Feb. 11, the world will be celebrating and advancing equitable development of women in the science fields during International Day of Women and Girls in Science. North Dallas High School biology teacher Kathy Nguyen is proud to be among the powerful women scientists, leaders and innovators being celebrated. 

Nguyen never guessed that she would become a teacher at her alma mater when she was going through high school and college. In fact, she planned to become a lawyer and was even accepted into Harvard Law the day after signing her contract with Dallas ISD. But she realized that law was not her passion and turned her attention to a career that she said felt “purposeful” and let her “grow as a leader and as a public servant.” 

She called Principal Katherine Eska and was told that North Dallas had available positions in English, math and science. Nguyen selected science, both for the challenge and for the insight it would give her into her own life.

“I battled osteosarcoma all through college,” Nguyen said. “By becoming a biology teacher, I was able to learn more about what I had and how I can help others understand the risks of cancer and how we can prevent it from happening.”

Nguyen dove into the curriculum, driven by the belief that if anything was confusing for her, it would also be confusing for her students. Her hard work paid off. Not only did she earn the title of “Rookie of the Year” last year, but she also learned that her test data was No. 1 in the network twice with two recent major exams.

She said she likes to “go all out” with her labs to catch her students’ attention as soon as they walk into her classroom. Whether that means setting up a fossil excavation or turning her room into Hogwarts to sort students into houses and study genetics and Punnett squares, Nguyen is eager to step up and get her students involved.

“Whenever a student has an aha moment, that’s when I feel most accomplished,” Nguyen said. “It sparks my curiosity even more to push students into science, especially my female students because we are very limited with women in STEM. Science is one of those subjects that people think is really hard, but in reality it’s not. One concept will always scaffold into another.” 

Another way she motivates her students is by sharing her own story. All through her first year of teaching, she battled yet another form of cancer. She is currently in remission, and she uses her experiences to fuel her students’ curiosity and form deeper connections. 

‘I tell them my story to show them, ‘I went through this my first year of teaching trying to get you to understand this content. If I can do this—having to show up to chemo every morning and then coming here and teaching eight hours a day—you can literally do anything you want in life,’” Nguyen said. 

Jenny Christian, director of STEM Science and Wellness, said she is proud to see the accomplishments of Nguyen and so many other team members across Dallas ISD. 

“The International Day of Women and Girls in Science provides us with an opportunity to celebrate the relevant impact that women and girls in science make in present-day society,” Christian said. “Since not all scientists wear lab coats (only a small percentage), having women and girls engage in science means that we are recognizing and celebrating the innovative advancements in multiple areas of science that they bring to the table. We are very fortunate in Dallas ISD that we have many women and girls in science who use their creativity and innovation to solve real-world problems on a daily basis, and that is worth celebrating!” 

At Dallas ISD, all-stars work among us, sometimes literally. Shantell Grant, the executive director of Board Services, is one of them. Grant is a familiar face during school board meetings, but her legacy and her contributions to Dallas ISD began when she was a student. 

Grant, who started working for the district in 2006, was a track and field star for David W. Carter High School. As a student, she advanced and won state in the long and triple jump categories and in team relays. She was also a 200-meter sprinter and went to regionals in that category. Working for Board Services gives her a different opportunity to help Dallas ISD shine.

“I remember being recognized at the board meetings as a high schooler for going to state and winning,”  Grant said. “That memory was kind of distant until I began to work in Board Services. It’s certainly one of the reasons why I love working with Board Services, which is when we get an opportunity to highlight our students. When they go to board meetings to get recognized for their achievements, it’s a big deal, because I still have that lasting memory for myself.” 

As a Dallas native, Grant’s long history with the district began when she attended Mount Auburn Elementary School, W.H. Atwell Middle School and David W. Carter High School. Upon graduation, Grant was awarded an athletic scholarship to The University of Texas at Austin. 

Grant returned to Dallas ISD nearly 17 years ago, to work in the Compensation Department. She had only been with the department for six months when she received a phone call that would change the trajectory of her career. 

“I received a call from the superintendent’s office, and I had only recently started working for the district, so I was really surprised,” said Grant. 

Grant was offered the opportunity to work as an administrative assistant under the administration of then superintendent Michael Hinojosa’s team. She ended up working there for a total of five and a half years. When Grant expressed interest growing her leadership skills, district leaders supported her. She applied for a move to Board Services, where Deno Harris, who is now deputy chief of Operations, hired and mentored her. 

The team she worked in before is the team she now manages, Grant said. She says most of her team has 20 plus years of experience working in the district. 

“To come back and manage them is a privilege and an honor because everything I know about Board Services I learned from Deno, but also from working with these amazing ladies. I feel privileged to have that kind of experience on the team,” she said.  

In 2016, Grant had the opportunity to move back to the superintendent’s office as the special assistant to the deputy superintendent. 

“During the entirety of my tenure, I’ve had the chance to work for some phenomenal leaders,” Grant said. “They saw something in me and said, ‘You can do this.’ And for that, I am extremely privileged and honored to be in the position I am today.”

She acknowledges that had it not been for her mentors and leaders pushing her toward reaching her full potential, she might still have been in her previous positions because she’s enjoyed every role she’s served in.

Grant left the district for a year and a half to work in Houston as the director of Board Services, and returned to Dallas ISD in November 2018, as a project manager in Human Capital Management. In  September 2020, the opportunity to become executive director of Board Services opened up, and she jumped at the chance. 

Grant was so overcome with emotion when she learned she had the job that she pulled over to process this important moment.

“I was in tears when I got the call,” she said. “It’s not a call you get every day, and to have that trust and confidence in me was astounding.”

She was happy to work with the same faces she had grown with when she initially worked for Board Services. 

“They welcomed me back with open arms. I just appreciate Board Services and the support they give me, and I try to support them in any way that I can. They are the experts, and I just try to remove the hurdles that they have, so they can get the work done,” she said. 

Grant loves her job and working with her team and recognizes that it’s a high service position as the stakeholders include the superintendent, trustees, chiefs, constituents and anyone who may enter a board document for approval. They also work with external stakeholders, such as city council and other elected officials, when assisting trustees and school officials with district business. 

No matter where her career journey has taken her in Dallas ISD, Grant has always kept the reason for her services front and center: the students. 

“The message is that no matter what position you’re in, we’re here for children,” she said. “We’re in a job of making sure our kids get the best education. We all impact the accessibility and the opportunities for their education and support the needs of all our students. We must always keep our focus on the kids.”

When Adam Garcia attended a Dallas ISD job fair last year, he didn’t know the path he was about to take would not only transform his life but also the lives of dozens of students. 

“It all happened so fast,” said Garcia, now a theater teacher at Young Men’s Leadership Academy at Fred F. Florence Middle School. “It just seemed like it was meant to be. All the chips lined up. I had just literally gotten off a plane from Florida, where I was previously working [in the theater industry], but for whatever reason, I had the strength to go straight from the airport to the job fair.” 

The job fair was a turning point in Garcia’s life because that’s where he met Maria Puentemejia, principal at YMLA at Florence, who mentioned to him that they were looking for a theater teacher. Garcia told her that he had grown up in the community and saw it as an opportunity to give back to the area that raised him and gave him his roots. 

“At the end of my internship with The Naples Players, I realized that there was a lot going on with the theater industry,” he said of his decision to become an educator. “In order for me to make the change and the impact that I wanted to see in the theater industry, I had to start from the very beginning, and that’s in the schools.” 

Having grown up in southeast Dallas, teaching at YMLA at Florence has brought Garcia full circle. He is proud to say that he’s a product of Dallas ISD—having attended Annie Webb Blanton Elementary School and John B. Hood Middle School (now Piedmont Global Academy) and eventually graduating from nearby Bryan Adams High School. 

It was while Garcia was at Bryan Adams High School that he discovered his passion for theater. 

“It was the first time I was exposed to theater,” he said. “I knew I needed a fine arts credit and choir wasn’t quite cutting it for me anymore. So I ended up joining theater and I honestly ended up falling in love with it on the technical side.” 

Technical theater, which includes anything from stage managing, lighting, sounds, set design, costumes, etc., is Garcia’s forte. Nevertheless, he makes sure his students learn all aspects of theater onstage and behind the scenes. 

“When I was in school, I wished I would have had this creative outlet because I liked to move around and I loved the energy of it all. I know there’s a lot of kids here that like to get up and work onstage and backstage,” Garcia said. 

Garcia says that his students are able to identify with him for different reasons. 

“My strongest connection with them is because I know what they’re going through. I’m not an outsider. I’m an insider who came back to show that there is more outside this circle, and that anything is possible,” Garcia said.   

When the students pointed out that there were very few, if any, people of color in the theater videos that were part of the curriculum, Garcia knew he had to make some changes. 

“I had to really sit there and readjust my entire curriculum because they couldn’t see themselves in what I tried to show them,” Garcia said. Last fall, he had them create their own plays, where they were the writers, directors and designers. With Garcia’s guidance, the students directed and produced their own plays. 

Students took on classic tales and, with limited resources, produced them. 

“Some kids, for example, did a Little Red Riding Hood story and instead of the traditional story, it was Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader,” said Garcia. “What they were able to accomplish onstage with literally tables and chairs and what they had was just genuinely impressive.” 

Currently, Garcia and his students are preparing for their spring production of a play that Garcia wrote called “Los Hijos de La Llorona.” The idea came about after one of the students jokingly said they should do a story about La Llorona, a popular figure found in Mexican folk tales. 

“It’s a story they are all familiar with,” he said. “I did it in English, and, depending on how I cast it, I would love to consider doing it in Spanish. The script is very Spanish-language influenced.” 

In order to truly teach students about the different equipment that is needed in a professional production, Garcia recently raised funds through Donors Choose to get a new headset system, wireless system, and more light fixtures. 

His dream of transforming student lives as a teacher is already coming to fruition, he said. He has seen once shy and reserved kids become leaders. They are directing, writing, stage managing, and taking on other tasks. 

“Now they are comfortable and they’re not scared anymore to be in this space,” Garcia said. “They feel they can be themselves there. They are getting more creative with their projects and more intricate with their designs. Now they’re actively listening to each other and working collectively as a team, which I think is amazing.” 

National School Counseling Week is celebrated annually during the first full week of February to highlight the powerful impact school counselors have on student success and career planning. This year’s theme is “School Counselors: Helping Students Dream Big,” and Dallas ISD is joining in the celebration. 

“School counselors are climate enhancers, trauma-informed care specialists, barrier removers, heart menders, dream weavers, mental health custodians, parent advisors, staff consultants, listening experts, relationship builders and student success team players,” said JoAnn Jackson, director of Counseling Services. “They help students develop critical life skills, face major and minor challenges and achieve academic and mental health wellness. Their work is critical to student success because they guide students to self-awareness to refine and realize their college and/or career dreams.” 

Janizelle Marichal, one of the district’s 467 school counselors, has been in her current position at Leonides Gonzalez Cigarroa, M.D. Elementary School for the past two years, and she said she loves what she does. Her main responsibilities include doing guidance lessons on topics like empathy and self-regulation in the classroom, providing individual and group counseling and delivering academic conferencing. 

Marichal said she enjoys watching her students have “lightbulb moments” and put lessons into practice. In one guidance session, she taught a group of students about self-esteem and how everyone is unique. They discussed using positive self-talk and daily affirmations in the mirror while they get ready for school and explored the idea that self-love is not just about who they are on the outside, but on the inside, too. 

A student came up to Marichal after the lesson and told her, “I love my glasses. I used to think they weren’t cool, but it’s my favorite thing about myself now. I love that they help me learn better and be a better student.” The moment touched Marichal’s heart and reminded her of her purpose as a school counselor.

“I want them to know that yes, school is a learning place, but it’s also a place where we can reflect on our emotions and process them together so we can be successful in the classroom and in our overall lives,” Marichal said. “These students have deep stories. They come to school and they’re learning, but they bring so much from home. To know that we’re able to not just support them academically but emotionally and socially is very fulfilling.” 

Another key part of being a school counselor is setting students up for future success. They do this in a variety of ways, but Marichal said she is especially excited for Cigarroa’s upcoming Career Day in May. 

Last year, she invited 42 speakers to give presentations during Career Day, from doctors and plumbers to construction workers and lawyers. They represented pathways her students had never heard of or considered before, such as video game design and event planning, and Marichal said she got to “see their minds expand.” Her goal for this year is to bring in even more speakers to get the students dreaming of future possibilities. 

“School counseling really is life changing,” Marichal said. “Some of the students will never see a counselor or therapist outside of school, and to know that you have the ability to change a life and maybe be the first person to validate feelings for them is absolutely amazing. Their futures are so bright.” 

Imagine walking into a professional development training, bonding with a stranger over salsa during lunch and finding your “forever person.” As improbable as it may sound, that is precisely what happened to Jazmin and Marlon Harrison. 

Jazmin, who is now a director of business operations in Student Transportation Services, was a high school counselor when she first bumped into Marlon—now the assistant superintendent of enterprise, client support and program management—back in 2018. The PowerSchool training they were both attending lasted a few days, so they continued getting to know each other over their lunch breaks. When the training ended, Marlon asked Jazmin to meet for coffee. 

They started dating not long after. Both Marlon and Jazmin said they are very family oriented and love to travel, so they later decided to bring their children together for the first time on a trip to Disney World. 

“For me, that was the first glimpse of what life could be for the future,” Marlon said. “I was sold at that point. I remember driving home, and I told my son that I wanted to ask Jazmin to marry me. I wanted to know if he approved, and he said yes. So that was my green light to move forward.”

They got married in a small courthouse ceremony in Dallas on June 19, 2021, followed by a trip to California so their extended families could get to know each other and celebrate alongside them. 

Almost two years later, they are enjoying doing life together every day and crossing paths occasionally at work. With Jazmin in Student Transportation Services and Marlon in Information Technology, it does not happen often, but they said they love Dallas ISD and their roles. 

Each of them has over 15 years of experience working in the district in various positions, so they do not see themselves leaving anytime soon. 

“For me this is home,” Jazmin said. “My kids have grown up attending Dallas ISD schools, and they have been very fortunate to have an amazing education. As for me personally, I have been able to serve in different roles, grow in my career and get to know people from different departments—like I met Marlon. I have had the opportunity to build my extended family, and it has been a blessing.” 

“Jazmin is a remarkable woman,” Marlon added. “She is the smartest person in our family, and I’m very blessed to have had the opportunity in my work to meet my forever person.” 

Students from Dallas ISD high schools will have the opportunity to receive mentorship and support to become teachers thanks to the national Call Me MISTER® program and a partnership with the University of North Texas at Dallas. Dallas ISD is the first public school in Texas to offer this program to our high school students. 

The Call Me MISTER®— Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role-models—program was developed 22 years ago at Clemson University to increase the pool of available teachers from a broader, more diverse background. Call Me MISTER® and Diverse Male Educators Destined to Teach, Hope, Respond, Inspire, Value and Empower (THRIVE) are UNTD’s programs to attract diverse males into the teaching profession. 

Through its partnership with UNTD, Dallas ISD male students from participating high schools will have the opportunity to be part of the Call Me MISTER® program. They will be part of a support group and receive mentorship as well as a chance to attend the Clemson Call Me MISTER® Leadership Institute and Investiture at Clemson University this summer on their journey to become teachers and join Dallas ISD. As their P-TECH Education Pathway Industry Partner, Dallas ISD’s Human Capital Management Department will focus on work with approximately 40 students from Bryan Adams High School Leadership Academy, Lincoln High School and Humanities/Communications Magnet, W.T. White High School, Sunset High School, W.W. Samuell High School and Rosie M. Collins Sorrells School of Education and Social Services at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center, along with students from all other Dallas ISD high schools that are interested in being a future educator. 

“We are very excited to bring this highly-recognized national mentoring and support program to our students as we continue our efforts to encourage them to join the profession and to come back and teach in Dallas ISD,” said Chief of HCM Robert Abel. “We will begin programming opportunities this spring at several high schools with our education pathways and all male students across the district interested in becoming educators in Dallas ISD.”

Some opportunities offered to participating students include academic scholarships, attending the MISTER® summer institute at Clemson University, participation in Call Me MISTER® professional development and educational conferences, UNTD end-of-year banquet, and program leadership support.

It is with much excitement and anticipation that Counseling Services invites all team members at the Linus D. Wright Administration Building to share a treat in celebration and recognition of No One Eats Alone Day on Friday, Feb. 17. 

Teams from central district offices are welcome to stop by room 202 from noon to 1 p.m. to enjoy the No One Eats Alone Treat Station and some relaxing music. Counseling Services will also have a contest, and the winning floor may get a prize. 

Learn more about the event and No One Eats Alone Day by watching this short video and reading this invitation. 

If you have any questions after watching the video and reading the invitation, contact Stacy Owens at stowens@dallasisd.org or 972-814-9349.

The Counseling Services team expects the day to be a lot of fun and hopes to see everyone in room 202 on Feb. 17. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1takXjlKtU