Staff News

Brandon Harper has been in education for 17 years—14 as a classroom teacher and three as a coordinator.

What attracted you to education? 

My journey into education began with the strong influence of close friends and relatives who were educators. Their stories and classroom experiences always fascinated me. Eventually, I made the decision to pursue teaching, even though I wasn’t sure where it would take me. Over time, I found success in teaching my content area and building rapport with my students. Witnessing their growth and success became my driving force. Like many of us, I am also a parent. I strive to be the kind of educator I would want for my own children. I am committed to passing on my knowledge, investing my time and attention, and dedicating myself to education to benefit the next generation.

Why do you think the district’s culture tenets are important? 

In simple terms, the core tenets are like the district’s compass, guiding how things are done and why. They’re all about sparking new ideas, making sure everyone feels welcome, working together, and never giving up on giving kids the best education possible.

Is there a time when one of the Core 4 tenets made a difference for you or someone else? 

Absolutely, there have been countless times when the core tenets of Dallas ISD, particularly flexibility, have made a significant difference. One instance that stands out is when unexpected circumstances arose during a project deadline. Instead of panicking, I remembered the importance of flexibility and adapted our approach to meet the challenge head-on. By embracing a flexible mindset, we were able to pivot our strategies and still achieve our goals effectively. In life, change is inevitable, and being flexible is not just a Dallas ISD core tenet; it’s a life lesson. It’s about being resilient, adaptable, and open to new possibilities. Like a tree bending in the wind but not breaking, flexibility allows us to navigate through life’s twists and turns while staying rooted in our values and goals. As educators, it’s crucial never to lose sight of the impact we have on students, the community, and society as a whole. Our ability to adapt and remain flexible directly influences the quality of education we provide and the future success of our students. So, while techniques and practices may evolve over time, the core value of flexibility remains constant, guiding us through the ever-changing landscape of education.

Is there something your coworker would be surprised to know about you? 

My coworker might be surprised to find out that I’m a passionate DIY enthusiast when it comes to construction and home improvements. While I’m dedicated to my work during office hours, I also love rolling up my sleeves and tackling various projects around the house during my free time. From building custom furniture pieces to renovating rooms, I find joy in the hands-on process of enhancing my living space. It’s a hobby that allows me to unleash my creativity and problem-solving skills in a completely different setting outside of the workplace.

Summer is right around the corner, and with it, various opportunities for free professional development for Dallas ISD teachers. One of those free opportunities is the Sue Rose Summer Institute for Teachers, which is currently accepting applications. 

Dallas ISD teachers from all grade levels and disciplines are welcome to participate. In partnership with the University of Dallas, the institute will provide a stipend of up to $1,000, books, lunches, seminars, and professional development credit of up to 98 continuing education hours, and up to six hours of graduate credit. Participants will explore profound literature across all subjects, fostering inclusive discussions. 

The institute will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays from Thursday, June 27, through Friday, July 19, with the exception of July 4 and 5. Participants have the option of attending all three weeks or may register for whichever week or weeks best suit their schedule. 

To register for SRSI click here. Although the link says “sold out,” the institute is giving priority to Dallas ISD teachers. There is no registration deadline indicated on the website, however the Dallas ISD Social Studies Department recommends that teachers sign up as soon as possible to secure their spot. 

If you have any questions, contact Michael McShane at 262-770-5217 or Mmcshane@dallasinstitute.org.

If you are thinking about furthering your education, don’t hesitate to apply now for the 2023 William H. Cotton Scholarship for Dallas ISD educators who want to pursue post-graduate degrees. The deadline to submit the completed scholarship application is March 31.

The scholarship—worth $20,000—was established by Credit Union of Texas to honor the legacy of Cotton’s 46 years of dedication and service to Dallas ISD and the Credit Union of Texas. It is awarded to one district educator or administrator seeking to pursue continuing post-baccalaureate education, including certifications, to further their career in the field of education for the benefit of the Dallas ISD community and its students. Cotton was a long-time principal and administrator who was also the first African-American president of the Dallas School Administrators Association. He retired in 2000 as an associate superintendent.

Who is eligible?

•   Must be a CUTX member with a checking account or a loan product prior to submitting an application. Please note that
•   Checking account, and all other accounts at CUTX, must be in good standing.
•   Must be a full-time or part-time Dallas ISD faculty or administrator.
•   Must intend to further your career in education and serve the Dallas ISD community during the course of the scholarship term.
•   Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident.
•   All required attachments must be submitted with the application.

Please note that these eligibility requirements must be met annually for renewal. CUTX employees and family members of CUTX employees are not eligible for this scholarship. 

The rules

•   Incomplete applications or those missing any required documents will not be considered.
•   Applications postmarked after the deadline will not be considered.
•   Scholarship funds will be paid directly to the educational institution. Continued disbursement of scholarship funds requires a grade of C or better in a graded course and passing in a pass/fail course.
•   The scholarship value will be awarded in increments of $5,000 per semester over a period of four semesters.

For more information about the scholarship and to apply by March 31, visit https://www.cutx.org/community/cutx-cotton-scholarship.

Three teachers recently received $750 grants from the Dallas Retired Teachers Association for innovative and creative programming that will have a positive impact on their students and their schools.     

Amber Holmes-Turner, teacher at Hillcrest High School, was awarded her grant to promote students’ understanding of broadcast journalism, media development, laws surrounding free speech and ethical considerations, all while providing timely and relevant information to the school community. The funds enabled the school to invest in essential equipment to enhance their video production capabilities and engage the school community.

Armina Wrice, teacher at Henry W. Longfellow Career Exploration Academy, was awarded her grant to acquire a set of computer drawing tablets in order to facilitate hand-written equations, hand-drawn images, graphics and diagrams. This created information rich content for a virtually interactive learning atmosphere.

Heidi Zeko, functional life skills teacher at Victor Hexter Elementary School, was awarded her grant to enable her students to gain skills in work experience, communicating with others and money counting while running a school store. A simple cash register, table, display bins or shelves, and a cooler for drinks will also be purchased.  Signs advertising the store will be put in the school office and lounge to advertise the store and its operating hours. 

Dallas Retired Teachers Association awards these grants annually and applications are accepted during fall. The grant application information is available on their website: dallasretiredteach.wixsite.com/dallas-retired-teach. 

Are you new to the district, haven’t had your headshot taken before, or simply in need of an updated headshot? Now is your opportunity. Signups for the quarterly headshot session are now open. 

In an effort to meet the growing photography needs of the district, our district photographer will offer a professional headshot week with two dates available once per calendar quarter. The quarterly sessions will be the only times available for headshots, so don’t miss your chance.

Dallas ISD team members are invited to sign up for the next professional headshot session on Tuesday, Feb. 27, or Wednesday, Feb. 28. Hurry, as spots are limited and are filling fast. 

The photo sessions will take place at 5151 Samuell Blvd., Dallas, TX 75228. Each photo will only take a few minutes.

Who can sign up:

• Central team members
• Campus principals 
• Executive directors
• Associate superintendents
• Chiefs and deputy chiefs
• Board of Trustees

The district photographer is unable to photograph team members in group photos or any on-location requests of headshots outside of 9400.

Having a photo taken can be stressful for some. The district photographer will take great care to help you look your best by helping you pose, selecting your best headshot, and providing basic retouching on the finished image. 

Reserve your spot for the third quarter session by 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 23. Additional instructions will be emailed to those who sign up a few days ahead of their session. 

Lacey Kalina has been with Dallas ISD for nine years, and Devan Trussell has been working in the district for one and a half years. They create video content for departments in Academic Services.

What attracted you to education? 

Being able to create video content and find creative solutions. 

Why do you think the district’s culture tenets are important? 

The district’s culture tenets are all important to ensure that we can all work together in a collaborative environment to successfully support the district.

Is there a time when one of the Core 4 tenets made a difference for you or someone else? 

Being able to apply any of the Core 4 tenets allows us to effectively create content and support departments all while having fun.

What is your go-to Core 4 tenet and why? 

Our go to Core 4 tenet is flexibility. We are always on the go and working on multiple projects and have to be ready for anything to pop up. You might spot us running around with cameras at a campus, event or even your professional development.

Is there something your coworker would be surprised to know about you? 

Outside of Dallas ISD, Lacey films weddings. Devan worked on a commercial film set with an Oscar winner.

People are often motivated by the desire to make a positive difference, and research has shown that this desire to show kindness has positive effects on mental health.

Research has found that kindness can help create a sense of belonging and reduce feelings of stress. And when directed toward oneself, it can help boost self-esteem and well-being. So as we celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day on Feb. 17, think about how you can be kind to others and yourself while reading experiences and tis by Dallas ISD team members.

Glenda Clark, Skyline High School

I am chairperson for a group of teachers called B12. Who are We? We are a group of 12 leaders who have agreed to invoke change and foster a positive impact on our Skyline campus. Our goal is to create a space where not only teachers feel valued and welcomed, but also to boost the moral between the students and team members by continuing to motivate and uplift each other. We randomly surprise teachers and employees with gifts and prizes. We have created events like Coffee with B12, State Fair of Skyline (we created a State Fair scene in our student center and gave faculty and other team members free state fair type foods, prizes and more events. 

T’Shaunda Davis, SPED/Vision

The principal at Bishop Arts STEAM Academy, Ruth Roman-Meza, is always so kind. Every time I enter her campus, she greets me with a smile, asks how I am doing and thanks me for working with her students. Once, when I came to the campus, she told me she was so glad I was there. She always makes me feel welcome, and I thank her so much for her kindness especially since I am new to the district.

Kamron Barton, Edward Titche Elementary School 

I pay compliments daily. My mother, a retired DISD counselor, sent all Titche counselors a box of chocolates for National School Counseling Week. 

Tip: During next week’s guidance lessons my students will write kind notes to people of their choosing.

Tamara Handy School Leadership Region III-IV

It all starts with a smile and hello, serving a warm welcome rather it’s over the phone or in person can make all the difference for someone who may not be having a good day.

Each day, the team I work with is always willing to step in and offer support; it’s like a real work family.  No job is too big or small. We stand ready daily as a team to make a difference in the lives of students, parents, leaders, departments and stakeholders.

Tip: Wall of Kindness/Greatness. Post simple acts of kindness, words of encouragement/inspiration, helping people understand that they have a light and it’s important to keep it bright for themselves and others. Random acts of appreciation and celebrations with music, cards, colors, chants or a dance. Pass the wave with a random act of kindness and pay it forward and continue on to make it contagious.

Mohammad Zamad, school bus driver

Three years back, one of the drivers got in an accident and was admitted to the hospital. We needed to fundraise for her family during medical leave. Later, we found out that she was a coffee lover, and she didn’t get a chance to have a sip of coffee. With the money I donated we were able to buy coffee for all 280 drivers for a month. So with my supervisor’s permission, I decided to buy all the coffee ingredients. In the hard cold morning, a sip of coffee can wake up a driver and increase performance a lot. Everyone loved this idea. Now a few colleagues also help me with these coffee ingredients. 

Susan Floyd, Solar Preparatory School for Girls at James B. Bonham

I bought my colleague flowers and a card to thank her for being an amazing partner and to wish her a Happy National Counselors week!

A student handed me a note this week that said you remind me of the sun!

Tip: Give compliments and smiles out as gifts! You never know who may really need it.

Deborah Shultz, Childfind Evaluations

Abagail “Ms. Abby” Tuazon, special education teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School, was placed with us this year from the “Teacher search goes international” program. She is from the Philippines. (Her husband and two children still live there.) I am the diagnostician at Jefferson,  and am recently recovering from chemotherapy from colon cancer. Abby has gone above and beyond as I returned to campus. There have been several days where I walked into the special education office and the smell from one of the teacher assistants hand cream was extremely comforting. I commented to her on how great it was to get my senses back. (Anyone who has gone through chemo knows that you lose your sense of taste/smell and things you once loved are awful.) Last week, I got an email from Abby asking when I would next be on campus. She explained that she had a special gift for me. The next day I walked into the office and there was a surprise tube of hand cream. The reason this gift is so above and beyond is because Abby does not have a car. She has to use several buses to get to work and home each day. The majority of her money goes back to her family to help pay for her husband and two children still living in the Philippines. Abby lives with several other international teachers in order to save money, and the fact that she spent these valuable funds to make me happy was just overwhelmingly special. She had to take a bus and walk to the store to buy the cream. She then spent her much needed money on me. I think that we take for granted how much we have and when someone goes above and beyond to make your life better “just because” that is the most precious gift. Thank you Dallas ISD international program for bringing Abby to Jefferson High School. I plan on giving her a personal letter of how great she made me feel and a charm for her to keep.

Many departments and schools throughout the district already have ways to celebrate team members who embody the district’s Core 4 culture tenets. But for those that don’t, here are some tips. Student success is at the core of the district’s culture tenets. That’s why it’s important to model and recognize when team members exemplify them by being:

• Focused on transforming student lives
• Fast by working with urgency for all 
• Flexible when striving for the yes
• Friendly to make memorable moments

Department recognitions

Central departments are encouraged to hold monthly recognitions to highlight outstanding examples of those embracing the culture tenets. These employees can then be submitted for recognition in central quarterly recognitions. 

Departments can hold recognitions as frequently as every month by asking team members, parents and the community (when appropriate) to share instances where someone has exemplified one of the tenets in an outstanding way. The example should be specific and mention the tenet and how the person being recognized exceeded expectations during their interaction. We recommend that examples be submitted in writing or by creating a Google form using these instructions. We recommend designating a Core 4 coordinator or ambassador for each department to gather these nominations, to coordinate who is chosen each month for recognition, and to share them with the department and, later, the districtwide recognition committee.

Once team members have been chosen by departments, we encourage you to share their names with the rest of the team by:

• Setting up a Core 4 Board in the employee lounge
• Announcing them in meetings
• Adding a Core 4 card to their door or workstation

Keep an eye on The Beat for the next call for Core 4 champion nominations. To see the winners from this past quarter, click here. 

A drumline with dancers, typical in a marching band, is not a common part of the elementary school experience—but that didn’t stop teacher Andra Birdsong from making it happen at her school. 

Birdsong, a music teacher at Daniel Webster Elementary School, first got the idea when her students were invited to participate in a community parade after Justin F. Kimball High School’s boys varsity basketball team won the state championship in the Spring of 2023. Kimball is the high school into which Webster feeds.

Nearly a year later, she has at least 25 students performing as either part of the drumline or as dancers. Birdsong, who used to be part of a drumline when she was a high school student, wanted to bring that experience to her students. She got the idea when she saw some orange paint buckets and turned them over to convert them into drums. She purchased more orange buckets and already had a small drum set—and that’s what she used to begin the student drumline. 

After a while, she realized her students were ready to advance. She then borrowed some percussion instruments from Jimmie Tyler Brashear Elementary School and Kimball High School. Through her resourcefulness, and with the support of her school and community partners, she’s been able to realize her vision of a drumline. 

To watch a video of her students performing, click here.

“Ms. Birdsong is not only expanding opportunities for our students through the drumline, as they are learning to play instruments at an early age, but she’s also giving students more tools to be successful beyond their elementary school years,” said Clement Alexander, Webster principal. “The students look forward to her class, and the sense of pride and joy that they exude onstage is contagious not only in the school but in the community.”

Birdsong, who began her teaching career at Webster in 2017, is a graduate of Texas Women’s University and is a certified music therapist as well as a modern band teacher at her school, in addition to teaching the drumline. 

“I know that musicians like to teach quarter notes,” Birdsong said. “But I like to teach emotions. Every time somebody comes into my classroom, I check-in on them.” 

She tries to keep the line of communication open and uses the strategies she has as a music therapist to help students express those emotions on their instruments. That’s why, she believes, that when people hear them perform, they feel happy—they are hearing the students’ emotions transmitted through their instruments, Birdsong said. 

Working with her colleagues, she is trying to help build community and unity. One of the things she has done is create songs for each house at Webster, which is part of the Ron Clark Academy House System. Birdsong is part of House Amore. To see her students sing their house song, click here.

She says her program not only gets students excited about learning, but also thinking of the future. Several of her students have already expressed interest in attending historically Black colleges and universities to pursue a higher education and be part of a marching band.  

She makes sure to include other genres that her students are interested in such as hip hop, music on TikTok, and is looking to incorporate mariachi music in the near future inspired by third-grader Jade, who performs with her family’s mariachi band and who wants to be able to sing mariachi at the school. 

Birdsong says that one of the motivations of bringing different music opportunities to her students is because of the important role music played in her education. 

“When I was a student, I lived and breathed music,” Birdsong said. “I’m also trying to provide something that I didn’t get as a student– the emotional support and the opportunity to play instruments at this level in elementary school. I’m giving them something that I wanted as a kid,” she said. She does it for the “love of music.”

Tabatha Sustaita-Robb has been in education for 32 years and with Dallas ISD 11 years, the last four of which she has worked as a Library and Media Services coordinator.  

What attracted you to education? 

I knew in sixth grade that I wanted to be a teacher with the help of Mrs. Lowry, my fifth- and sixth-grade social studies teacher at Lenore Kirk Hall Elementary School. Her passion and love for the subject and her students inspired me to follow in her footsteps.

Why do you think the district’s culture tenets are important? 

The district’s culture tenets are important because they help to create a positive, inclusive, and effective environment. They also help guide our decisions and actions, contributing to the overall success of the district.

Is there a time when one of the Core 4 tenets made a difference for you or someone else? 

After my husband passed away, it was Robert Abel who made a difference in my family’s life by exhibiting all the Core 4 tenets. Mr. Abel assisted me with information the insurance was requesting quickly, friendly, focused on what I needed and who could help me and I’m sure flexible since this was an unexpected request. Thank you, Mr. Abel!

What is your go-to Core 4 tenet and why? 

I think for many of us in education our go-to core 4 is flexibility. There are so many things that happen in and out of school that are out of our control that we have to be flexible and do the best that we can in our daily walk.

Is there something your coworker would be surprised to know about you? 

I think my coworkers would be surprised to know that our former Superintendent Michael Hinojosa was my seventh-grade P.E. coach and interviewed me for my first teaching job when he was head of HR in a nearby school district.