Staff News

Gracie Lara lives and breathes the Core 4 culture tenets as a Mental Health Services billing specialist, a mother of two who graduated from Dallas ISD and a cancer survivor. She was inspired to join Dallas ISD as an administrative assistant over 21 years ago after volunteering at district schools.

In her eyes, being fast, focused, flexible and friendly all comes down to being a team player. 

“Having the right team and working with the right people and supporting each other, it makes the job easier for everyone,” Lara said. “We have to help each other by prioritizing effectiveness, working well under pressure and performing well in everything that we do. I don’t think the district would be where it is if we didn’t have help from each other and knowledge from everyone.” 

Lara shows up every day determined to give Mental Health Services 110 percent of her passion and dedication. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015—in the same month that one of her co-workers was diagnosed with brain cancer—her entire perspective changed. 

“You learn to appreciate not just your job, but the people around you, friends, family—literally everything,” she said. “You don’t take anything for granted.” 

Fortunately, after a month of chemotherapy and radiation, she said she “bounced back,” and she has felt “blessed” to continue learning from others and leading by example, whether she is at work or interacting with her two children. 

“The district has an absolute gem of an employee in Gracie Lara,” said Denise McCorkle, an administrative assistant in Mental Health Services. “She goes out of her way to help anyone who needs anything at all. She volunteers her time whenever she can, rushes in to help wherever she is needed, takes up the slack of other staff who are overwhelmed and never complains.”

Lara has benefited greatly from taking advantage of as many professional development opportunities as possible and getting to know more people and departments in the district to gain a better understanding of what services are available to staff and students. 

“I appreciate life. For me, it’s a second chance,” Lara said. “I’m always putting myself in other people’s shoes: ‘What if I was that employee who needs help? What if I was that parent who needs services? What if I’m that stranger who’s new to Dallas?’ I always try to help out, regardless of what gets in the way.” 

Benefits Annual Enrollment for the 2022-2023 plan year begins July 5 and runs through Aug. 18.

This year, annual enrollment will be passive. This means that if you want to keep the benefits for which you are currently enrolled, you do not need to make new elections. The benefits for which you are currently enrolled benefits will continue for the next school year, except for HSA and FSA, which require action every benefit year.

Several scheduled webinars to present general enrollment information will be provided. Additional information on Benefit Open Enrollment webinars will be provided in the coming weeks.

The HCM Benefits Department is ready and available to assist you with questions about your benefits. The department has appointment options for individualized in-person and virtual appointments to assist employees with their specific enrollment questions and process. For an individual in person or virtual appointment, please email Benefits@dallasisd.org, and a team member will connect with you to schedule an appointment.

If you need assistance, please  contact the Benefits Call Center at 972-925-4000, or call or email a Benefits team member at 972-925-4300, Benefits@dallasisd.org.

Don’t forget to take advantage of the abundance of free professional development opportunities for teachers this summer, and 3,116 staff members have already taken advantage of the innovative sessions. 

Project Manager Stephanie Ford and the rest of the Professional & Digital Learning team have been hard at work developing and promoting the Summer Learning 2022 Catalog. Their main goal is to encourage teachers to review, reflect and refine their classroom practices and tools, but Ford said “anyone and everyone” is welcome to attend. 

The catalog has a wealth of information about the 234 unique sessions focused on disciplinary literacy, 132 sessions targeting acceleration and 63 sessions honing in on racial equity. It also has options to navigate these sessions by date or category. 

Staff still have time to participate in the face-to-face sessions on July 11 and July 12, or they can join the virtual sessions on July 13 and July 14. 

Available in-person sessions include: 

• Build on Your MTSS IQ: Root Cause Analysis & Interventions—Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

• • • In this session, participants will build upon their basic understanding of MTSS and explore root cause analysis methods and the characteristics of high quality interventions. 

• All About Parents—Dual Language ESL

• • • Let’s get connected! Student achievement and parent engagement are inextricably tied together. In this workshop-style experience, participants will learn to connect parents of emergent bilinguals with the educational environment. 

• Beginning Gardening with Kids—Early Learning

• • Learn the basics of starting a garden with Rikki Schramm, nationally certified Junior Master Gardener Trainer at the STEM Environmental Education Center. Educators will leave this session knowing how to take their garden from the planning stages to harvest with plenty of inquiry-based, hands-on activities for children along the way.  

Available virtual sessions include: 

• Self-Care Lounge—Social and Emotional Learning 

• • • Self-care is valuable for all those working with children. In this session, participants will understand the importance of self-care, explore potential signs and causes of stress and take an assessment of your own self-care. Participants will then create self-care strategies, which can include mindfulness. 

• Understanding Autism Summer Series: Introduction to Autism—Special Education

• • • This session will provide participants with an overview of Autism Spectrum Disorders. 

• Culturally Responsive 101: Let’s Get Started—Science and Wellness

• • Do you want to learn how to start being culturally responsive in your classroom? Then, this is the session for you! In this session, participants will learn strategies and skills to use in cross-cultural/multicultural settings. BEign a culturally responsive educator can be a game-changer in the pursuit of educational equity. This training is designed to give science educators pedagogy grounded in cultural competences for responsive teaching. 

Specific times and session locations, as well as a full list of available courses, can be found in the Summer Learning 2022 Catalog. While Professional & Digital Learning recommends registering for in-person sessions through Cornerstone, Ford said people can show up regardless because they are “not turning anyone away.” As for the virtual sessions, they require no registration. Participants can access the courses directly by clicking on the Zoom links in the catalog. 

“We really want teachers to come,” Ford said. “We want them to celebrate the growth and the learning that their students have, so why not do the same for teachers? This is the time to go, take it all in and plan for the upcoming school year.” 

If you have any questions, you can find a full list of session contacts here. 

Life has a way of throwing obstacles in our paths as often as it clears them away. To persevere through the ups and downs, we all need to develop psychological resilience. Some of that resilience comes naturally as we cope with daily stressors and learn to keep moving when the going gets tough. We can also strengthen our resilience by taking care of ourselves and building support systems into our daily routines. 

It takes a village to thrive, and that is no less true when it comes to building resilience. Surround yourself with family, friends and colleagues who will help you process your thoughts and feelings. They will give you the support you need to move forward when you are uncertain, exhausted or anxious. Just do not forget to give as much as you receive! People who volunteer and support their communities in other ways, big or small, feel more connected and purposeful. Something as simple as a smile or a kind word can make a co-worker’s day—and your own in the process.

Another core element of resilience is caring for your needs. One option is to create a third safe, relaxing space for yourself. You already have your home and your workspace. If you do not have one already, find another physical location where you can recharge, socialize or pursue a hobby. Try a favorite park, a gym, the closest public library or anywhere else you can think of that will help you de-stress. Outside of your safe space, keep an eye on your physical needs. Look up deep breathing exercises, set up an exercise routine and pay attention to how you are feeling. Early warning signs of stress will remind you to reach out to your support system and make sure you have what you need. Some warning signs include headaches, irritability or frustration, difficulty concentrating, trouble sleeping and digestion problems. 

Finally, pay attention to your mind. Self-criticism has a noticeable effect on decreasing resilience, so practice being kind and gentle with yourself. You can also build up your resilient thinking toolbox. The most resilient people work hard to keep their problems in perspective and focus on solving the issues they can control. They may keep a gratitude journal or rely on mindfulness to keep themselves grounded in the present. 

Psychological resilience is a powerful tool to keep yourself on track in your personal life and beyond. By committing to these practices and concepts, you will be able to grow your resilience and manage the stressors in your life more effectively. Of course, resilience is not a panacea. If you find yourself overwhelmed and struggling, Dallas ISD’s Employee Assistance Program by Lifeworks is here to help. 

The EAP has counselors on call every hour of every day, and Dallas ISD employees can reach out to them at any time at no cost. Contact LifeWorks at (972) 925-4000 or visit www.dallasisd.org/benefits and click on Benefits Resources to access online EAP information.

*Source: LifeWorks 

Dallas ISD’s contract with Canon is expiring, and the district will be replacing Canon color copiers with Xerox color copiers. Schedules have been set up for delivery of the new copiers and for pickup of the old ones during the transition period.

To find out when the copier switch is scheduled to be delivered to your site, click on Delivery Schedule. A Xerox representative will call the school/department a day before delivery to confirm building access. In preparation for the Canon pick-up, please place all toner, consumables, and supplies on top of the machine. If needed, move office furniture or fixtures to clear a safe pathway. 

AFTER RECEIVING YOUR MACHINE: 

Each user must download the PRINT DRIVER from the Dallas ISD Software center. Once the driver is installed, you can print by choosing the Paper Cut option in the drop-down menu. If you are unable to Add Printers or see available printers in your Paper Cut Print Deploy client or while installing the secure print driver, call the Dallas ISD IT helpdesk to place a ticket to have your workstation IP address added to the appropriate zone in Papercut to resolve the issue.

Additional information regarding network integration, training and print driver install information can be found on the Print Smart. Save Smart webpage, https://www.dallasisd.org/Page/42043 (Login required). 

XEROX SUPPORT – 469-702-4059

XEROX SUPPORT EMAIL – XBSSW-SATXSM@xerox.com

WINDOWS PRINT DRIVER HERE            

MAC PRINT DRIVER HERE

Things to remember:

• To relocate XEROX equipment please use the Xerox Move Request Form to submit your request after delivery is complete. 
• Xerox Copiers are LEASE TO OWN. Excessive opening and closing of the paper cassette drawers create wear and tear that could damage the drawers, sensors, and increase paper jams. Proper machine handling will avoid unnecessary maintenance and repair fees.
• All equipment should remain powered on 24/7.
• Supplies are auto replenished, and meter reads are automatic as long as machines remain powered ON and connected to the network.

Summer has taken a hold of North Texas and Dallas ISD staff are either enjoying or enduring it.

Several of you shared your feelings about summer and some of the activities you are enjoying. Most like the short nights and long days that let them take short walks around the neighborhood in the evening or partake of some retail therapy before dinner. And during the day, they enjoy being inside where it’s cooler.

Others enjoy the time spent with family doing fun things outdoors like swimming and splash parks, mowing the lawn and sharing outdoor meals on the patio with family and friends. Of course, finding some shade in which to enjoy the heat is a must. 

As you enjoy the summer, don’t forget to stay hydrated and use sunscreen! For more tips for a healthy summer, visit https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/infographic/healthy-summer.htm.

Food and Child Nutrition Services warehouse delivery driver Andres “Andy” Rodriguez has been working at Dallas ISD since he was invited to apply to the newly opened Food Services warehouse in 1992. He loves filling his time in meaningful ways, so even though he could retire as he approaches his 30th year in the district this fall, he is determined to continue transforming student lives. 

“The Food Services Department is not just a job—it truly is a family away from home,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed many, many friendships with coworkers whom I enjoy being around. The memories and laughter we share have bonded our lives and built a family.” 

That is why Rodriguez is encouraging people to take advantage of the current openings in Food and Child Nutrition Services. Current positions include cafeteria supervisors, food service assistants and food service cook. 

If anyone you know is interested in these jobs, they can visit https://www.dallasisd.org/careers to apply or attend the final hiring event at the Maria Luna Food Services Facility, 1515 Al Lipscomb Way, on Wednesday, June 22, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Rodriguez starts each workday at 6 a.m., loading his truck and hitting the road to deliver food to schools on his route. As a North Dallas and Oak Cliff native and as a proud product of Dallas ISD, he drives with confidence and ease. One of his favorite parts of the job is seeing students enjoy the food he delivers. 

But Rodriguez’s journey has not always been easy. He was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in November 2016 and immediately started chemotherapy and radiation. Ultimately, he had to endure a full glossectomy, a surgical removal of the tongue, in May 2017. When the cancer returned, he had to have a second surgery in February 2020, but these days he is feeling “the best I’ve ever felt in my life physically.” 

His cancer battle changed his life—and his outlook. 

“I realized tomorrow is not promised, and I must make the best of life no matter the circumstances,” Rodriguez said. “I remember being in the hospital and taking those first walks after surgery, and when I’m feeling down, I think back to those days and realize how far I’ve come.” 

He credits his faith along with his family, friends and coworkers for getting him through this difficult period. 

“I would like to thank the Food and Child Nutrition Services family for all the respect and love everyone has shown me through my journey,” he said. “With God’s blessing I will do another four years with the district, and I will think about retiring at 62 years in 2026.” 

Anyone interested in joining the Food and Child Nutrition Services family is invited to apply at https://www.dallasisd.org/careers or attend the hiring event at the Maria Luna Food Services Facility on Wednesday, June 22. Visit www.dallasisd.org/FCNS for more information about the department.

This summer, hundreds of Food and Child Nutrition staff will prepare an average of 20,000 meals—including warm meals—to ensure Dallas children have access to nutritious food during the summer break. 

The healthy, no-cost summer meals will be available for children 18 and younger and enrolled students with disabilities up to 21 years old. The Summer Food Service Program is a U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition program administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture. For children who rely on school meals during the academic year, these meals offer a source of good nutrition when school is out for the long summer vacation.

“We are committed to the health of Dallas ISD students, regardless of whether school is in session,” said Michael Rosenberger, executive director of Food & Child Nutrition Services. “Therefore, no-cost healthy meals will be available to Dallas ISD students, and to young people 18 years and under, across our district. Our meals meet or exceed every USDA health requirement, and feature items like lean proteins, whole grains, multiple fruits and vegetables each day, and cold milk. With nearly 2 million food-insecure children across our state, healthy school meals are vital to nourishing young Texans during the summer vacation.”

If you know of anyone who might be interested in being part of the team that helps provide nutritious food for Dallas children during the school year and when school is not in session, you have the opportunity to learn about these jobs and their benefits at one of several special job fairs for Food and Child Nutrition in June. 

Help spread the word

The FCNS job fair will take place at the Maria Luna Food Services Facility, 1515 Al Lipscomb Way, on:

• June 8 | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• June 15 | 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• June 22 | 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Current opening include cafeteria supervisors, food service assistants, and food service cook. If you know anyone interested in these jobs, ask them to visit https://www.dallasisd.org/careers to apply or attend one of the hiring events.

Dallas Independent School District will kick off summer meals with an event at Herbert Marcus Leadership Academy on June 16, 2022, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Visit www.dallasisd.org/FCNS for more information.

Families are encouraged to use the following tools to find a meal site near them:

• Visit DallasISD.org/FCNS for an interactive site locator map
• Call 2-1-1 to speak to a live operator
• Text Food to 304-304

Literacy is fundamental to student success, and according to Elena Hill, assistant superintendent of early learning, students who are reading at grade level by third grade are more likely to have better outcomes overall. 

That is where Dallas ISD’s Reading Academies come into play. They provide intensive, research-based professional development on the science of teaching reading for kindergarten to third grade teachers and administrators with an overarching goal to transform literacy across the district. 

While planning for the Reading Academies began before the COVID-19 pandemic to meet the legislative requirements of House Bill 3, the training programs are advancing learning recovery and acceleration across the district by enabling teachers and administrators to build capacity and fight literacy challenges at their root—challenges exacerbated by learning disruptions during the pandemic. 

The initiative received an allocation from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund to support this year’s costs. About $1.7 million was used for stipends for teachers who graduated from the program, with $300,000 going to personnel costs and $115,000 going to instructional materials. The overarching ESSER allocation will cover the 2021-2022 school year and the 2022-2023 school year. Other funds will be used to continue the academies after the ESSER grants end. 

Last year, 1,162 teachers and administrators participated in the Reading Academies with a 99 percent completion rate. This year, about 1,345 teachers completed the 12 modules in time for their graduation in June, and next year, an estimated 1,600 teachers will undergo the process. The number increases in the third year because the Reading Academies need to include year-three schools as well as teachers who are new to the district or to the kindergarten through third grade level. 

The training modules span a wide variety of topics from using data to inform instruction to decoding, encoding and word study. They also cover reading fluency and written composition with a focus on putting every lesson into practice.

“I remember as a teacher, we had a reading academy a long time ago when I was in the classroom, and it was the best training ever,” said Hill, who just completed the program. “It changed my life; it changed how I teach. This is exactly what we need for teachers to have a great understanding of the science of teaching reading.”

The Reading Academies were designed for in-person lessons, so Hill’s team had to get creative when the pandemic sent so many online. Their adaptability kept the program from falling behind, and now they are seeing early signs of success. Not only have teachers reported finding value in the training modules, but Hill’s team is also seeing student achievement gaps in the classroom begin to close. 

By the end of 2023, Dallas ISD will have trained all current teachers and will continue to train teachers who are new to the district or new to the grade level moving forward in response to the requirements of House Bill 3. 

“Reading academies are necessary,” Hill said. “Everyone is working as hard as they can right now, and when I think about why we’re doing this work, it’s so a child can smile, learn and grow—it just makes it all worth it for me.” 

To learn more about the transformational power of Reading Academies in Dallas ISD, visit https://www.dallasisd.org/readingacademies. 

As Scott Davison, an English teacher at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, is getting ready to start his 50th year as a teacher next fall, he looks back at the wealth of knowledge, experiences and fascinating stories he has amassed and recalls education wasn’t always his first choice.

In fact, he said he “sort of stumbled into it.” 

Growing up in Oak Cliff, he dove into the arts at an early age. He became a child actor at 6, but he never limited himself to one discipline, also pursuing dancing, singing, playing numerous musical instruments and athletics. By the time he was 16, he enrolled at the University of Dallas to pursue a major in visual art. By the time he was 20, he accepted his first teaching job at the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi. There, he met the students who sparked his passion for teaching for the first time.

“They would go through the motions, but they had no intellectual curiosity, and their imaginations had just been crushed,” Davison said. “I started asking myself, ‘Where is this process of not being inquisitive starting? Where can I make a difference?’ It seemed to me that high school was where it happened most profoundly. That’s also where I could turn things around before it was too late.” 

So when Davison received a letter from Paul Baker, the founding director of Dallas’ arts magnet, asking him to join the team and to spread the school’s philosophy of “unique, creative imagination,” he left behind a scholarship to the renowned Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and accepted. This was back in the late ’70s, and Davison still recalls helping select the school’s Pegasus mascot and painstakingly creating the first yearbook in his free time with the help of a typewriter, a mimeograph machine and a few student volunteers.

“We would type every student’s name and then have to hand-cut them out,” he said. “We then had to take every photo and physically paste it on the page. If you made a mistake, you made a mistake, and you’d have to cross it out or redo it. It was a lot of work.” 

He continued to make a difference at the school for over a decade, teaching a variety of subjects from creative writing to speech and supporting philosophy clubs and student publications. He also co-wrote two original musicals that had their world premieres at the Arts Magnet in its early days. Eventually, he decided to move to Los Angeles, California, to work in Hollywood as a director and playwright, ghost writer and teacher—first at an arts school in Santa Monica and then at an Orthodox Jewish school near Westwood. 

Some of his students there included Emily and Zooey Deschanel, Kate Hudson and Max Brooks, the bestselling author of “World War Z.” During parent conferences, he would meet with celebrities like Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Jackson Browne, Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft. Davison said it was an “interesting place,” but family brought him back home to Dallas in 1998 and to David W. Carter High School, where he worked for a year until a position opened up the following year at the arts magnet. He has been there ever since. 

While he may not meet with as many celebrities as a teacher in Dallas ISD, Davison’s passion for transforming students’ lives has kept him coming back to the classroom year after year. 

“I could have had multiple careers, but teaching always seemed to me to be the most important,” Davison said. “We take kids of every background and level, and in four years, we transform their lives.”

Staying power

Davison has experienced countless ups and downs in his 49 years of teaching, and he identified two support systems that have helped him through the hard times. The first is staying connected with his former students and getting to hear how his teaching changed their lives. Not only does he run two alumni Facebook pages where he posts updates on their achievements, but he has also kept up with former students like Grammy-winning blues and soul singer Erykah Badu, Edie Brickell and others. 

The second is his dedication to revitalizing himself every summer. He does this by traveling and engaging in creative projects like translating Italian and Swedish poetry or writing, which all help him find renewal and motivation for the upcoming school year. 

“Every class is a new challenge with new students,” he said. “Just because I’ve done it or taught something before, this is their first experience, so it has to be fresh and new and exciting.”

At the end of the day, fueling students’ creativity is what propels Davison forward. He is passionate about bringing his love of the arts to students and finding innovative ways to get them interested in poetry, literature and critical thinking. While teaching has not always been easy for Davison, it has been fulfilling. 

“When I was a kid, I went to Catholic school for a couple years, and I have a really strong sense of service,” he said. “Getting into high school, I felt like that was where I could make a real difference and keep students’ lights shining. I could have retired a number of years ago, but I don’t want to lose any time with the students.”