Central Staff News

Holidays can be a stressful time of year, and this year, the COVOD-19 pandemic has added another layer of stress and anxiety. Can you recognize the signs of stress and do you know how to manage it? Lifeworks, the district’s employee assistance program can help.

The first step in managing stress is to become aware of the early warning signs that you may experience. There are steps you can take to manage stress, both by addressing sources of stress in your life, and by treating stress with proven stress management techniques. Once you learn to recognize your own reactions to stress, you can begin to treat it effectively. Some signs and symptoms you might notice include:

• difficulty sleeping
• headaches
• working to exhaustion
• being irritable
• loss of appetite for food, fun or sex
• stomach pain or upset stomach
• neck or back pain
• fatigue
• tearfulness
• smoking or drinking more
• loss of sense of humor
• forgetfulness
• trembling, nervous tics
• chest pain
• heart palpitations or shortness of breath
• excessive perspiration
• eating too much or too little
• over-exercise
• dry mouth
• feeling tired/lack of energy
• obsessive behavior
• loss of interest in other people
• a feeling that everything is pointless
• inability to focus and concentrate
• high levels of anxiety and worry

If you are experiencing five or more from the above list, you may be suffering from stress and should consider ways to manage it more effectively. Each of us responds to stress differently. Chronic stress contributes to heart disease and heart attacks. It also suppresses our immune system leaving us more vulnerable to disease.

Once you have recognized that you are stressed, you can learn to manage it. Lifeworks offers tips and resources to help Dallas ISD employees to deal with stress in a productive and healthy way, whether it’s caused by the holidays or everyday factors. Visit dallasisd.lifeworks.com or www.dalllasisd.org/benefits for more information.

You can also download this guide to managing stress and this guide and resources to help you deal with thoughts of self-harm.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is sound advice, and it doesn’t only apply to physical health. Prevention also works to support mental health. And the LifeWorks Emotional Well-being assessment—part of the district’s employee benefits—can help.

Many of us feel sad or anxious at times. But depressive symptoms and/or anxiety that persists and are left untreated can affect your physical health, work, and well-being. The Emotional Well-being assessment question set, which leverages the Patient Health Questionnaire, will help reveal your risk of anxiety and depression.

This question set is not meant to treat, diagnose or replace medical advice. If you have any concerns regarding your emotional well-being or safety, please contact LifeWorks or your health care provider. Access the Emotional Well-being assessment by clicking on “Start an Assessment” on the NewFeed of the LifeWorks web platform or mobile app. You can also access assessments measuring your stress level, alcohol use, financial health and relationship health.

Food and Child Nutrition Services provides free meals daily for students who are attending school in person and makes sure that students who are learning virtually as well as children in the community also have access to free meals with a weekly curbside pickup.

The weekly package of meals for virtual students and children in the community include breakfast, lunch, supper and snacks and are equivalent to between $60 and $80 worth of groceries per child. All parents have to do is come to the distribution sites between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays to pick up the package of meals to take home. An additional time of 10 a.m. to noon is also available for high school specific distribution sites.

Teachers and other district employees whose children attend Dallas ISD can pick up the curbside meals for virtual students starting at 3 p.m. on Wednesdays. No identification is required, just the name and date of birth of the children.

Meals are available to all children in the community ages 1 to 18 and to students with disabilities regardless of age.

To make it easier for parents to pick up meals, they can preorder and bring the order number to the site to pick up the meal. For more information about the curbside meals, distribution sites and to preorder, visit https://www.dallasisd.org/childnutrition.

Winter break meals

Food and Child Nutrition Services will be distributing free meals curbside for children in the community during the winter break on Monday, Dec. 21 and 28, for children ages 1-18. The distribution will begin at 11 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. or until supplies last. For locations click here.

Since November, ambassadors from schools and central departments have been out spreading the word about Dallas ISD’s culture tenets: fast, friendly, focused and flexible.

Each tenet is at the “core” of everything we do and anchored in our district’s focus of racial equity and cultural responsiveness, comprehensive accountability, responsible use of resources, and collaboration.

These ambassadors are in charge of sharing the Core 4 tenets and new rubric with their departments and schools through the end of May to ensure that all Dallas ISD staff are meeting the customer service standards.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed being a Cultural Tenet Ambassador,” said Jennifer Uwe from Information Technology. “This role has granted me the opportunity to interact with ALL members within my department. As I conducted the training, I was able to engage and interact with my colleague from a space of honesty and transparency. We were all able to become reflective as an individual and reignite our passion in the work that we do and the growth we want to see in ourselves and the district as a whole. I was happy to connect with my fellow colleagues and also each session transformed my mindset on the standard that the district has and their expectations for me as an employee.”

For more information about the Core 4 tenets and the rubric, visit www.dallasisd.org/core4.

Tenets:

In Dallas ISD students thrive, and every child, family, and employee, is essential.

• Focused: We are solely concerned with what matters most – supporting students’ academic growth and overall well-being.
• Fast: We are responsive, accurate and accountable to each other. We seek timely solutions for
• Flexible: We will do whatever it takes to meet the needs of our students, families and employees. We eliminate barriers and embrace innovative problem-solving.
• Friendly: We build respectful relationships grounded in professional communication. We embrace the positive and expect the best of each other.

Neighborhood schools are home to tradition, pride, friendships, diversity and innovation. In all district quadrants, Dallas ISD offers students in prekindergarten through 12th grade, an array of innovative options in neighborhood schools. These include:

• dual language
• personalized learning
• STEM/STEAM
• leadership academies
• international baccalaureate
• Montessori
• and much more

Families build more and better relationships with other families in their community  when attending a neighborhood schools. Grow your future and build a legacy for your family in your neighborhood school. Discover the hidden gems in your own backyard!

Join Discover Dallas ISD Neighborhood Schools on Saturday, Dec. 12 from 10 to 11:30 a.m., following the webinar you can connect with neighborhood schools through virtual open houses. For more information and to register for the webinar, visit: www.dallasisd.org/choosedallasisd.

Dallas ISD has been recognized from among public and private entities statewide for its “continual process to reduce costs by reducing energy consumption.” The district—the largest urban school district in the nation with renewable energy—was recognized with the 2020 NRG Excellence in Energy Efficiency Award.

This singular recognition is a result of a coordinated effort within the Dallas ISD Maintenance and Facilities Department to enhance financial and environmental stewardship through preventive maintenance, lighting and HVAC upgrades, and focused support of the department’s Energy Management and Sustainability team. Beginning in July, Dallas ISD committed to 100% renewable energy and participation in several demand response programs overseen by the Energy Management System team. Maintenance and Facilities’ commitment to energy efficiency has resulted in a reduction in the district’s energy consumption, an increase in savings, and an impressive lessening of its carbon footprint.

“We’re very appreciative of the recognition from NRG and proud of the work our team is doing,” said David Bates, executive director of Maintenance and Facilities. “That said, the need for continuous improvement and innovation remains constant in order to meet the demands of environmental equity.”

When we care for a pet, we are practicing social emotional learning in the following ways:

• self-awareness | recognizing our thoughts and feelings towards the pet and around the pet
• self-management | Pets tend to help calm people down, by simply petting and holding them – healthy stress management practice
• social awareness |attending to the pet’s needs
• healthy relationship skills | experiencing joy and security with a companion

To learn more about the district’s social emotional learning program, visit www.dallasisd.org/sel.

The district has several resources available to employees regarding COVID-19, including reporting forms and assistance with benefits. If you have any questions about reporting COVID-19, contacting tracing or returning to work after quarantine or isolation, please contact Health Services.

COVID-19 Reporting, Contact Tracing, Return to Work

Health Services

(972) 925-4211

COVID19@dallasisd.org

Reporting Form: https://records.dallasisd.org/Forms/ContactTracingForm

Return to Work Form: https://records.dallasisd.org/Forms/ReturnToWork

For assistance with benefits, leave eligibility, and ADA accommodations, please contact the Benefits Department.

Benefits, Leaves, ADA Accommodations

Benefits Department

(972) 925-4300

Benefits@dallasisd.org

www.dallasisd.org/benefits

Benefits Call Center

(972) 925-4000

English- and Spanish-speaking representatives are available to assist

weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Additional information about safety practices and protocols, please visit the Education Evolution webpage at www.dallasisd.org/educationevolution.

Is the prospect of the holidays getting you down? Unfortunately, stress and depression don’t take a holiday. In fact, the periods leading up to and during the winter holidays can bring additional stress, anxiety, loneliness and depression. With the ongoing pandemic complicating plans, this holiday season may be especially difficult. The district’s Employee Assistance program, administered by LifeWorks is here to help.

The EAP is a confidential service that offers help with personal and work-related issues.

Professionally trained advisors are available to help with family problems, marital concerns, financial and legal matters, stress, depression, and other issues affecting life at work or at home. The service where advisers are available 24/7 the 365 days of the year is free and confidential.

The EAP encourages employees and those close to them to seek help early, before a minor problem becomes more serious and is designed to address short-term issues and to identify resources and referrals for emergency and long-term issues. When in doubt, contact the EAP for help or support.

While the EAP is free, it’s important to understand that accepting a referral to services outside the EAP, might incur charges for which you may responsible.  For example, if the EAP adviser refers you to a counselor for ongoing (long-term) counseling and the referral is through your medical benefits, co-pays or deductibles may apply; if the referral is not covered by your medical benefits, you would be responsible for fees charged by the specialist or counselor. The EAP advisor will work with you to find the most appropriate and cost-effective help to address your needs.

Download the brochure to see how the EAP works.

COVID-19 has preempted traditional open houses—a staple of the fall application window. But They are not impossible thanks to two events this month that offer virtual visits to get to know the choice elementary schools and special programs at neighborhood schools.

Choose Dallas ISD is holding a special event to feature special schools and programs at the elementary level at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, and another one to highlight the special programs at neighborhood schools at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12. Links to virtual tours of the schools that start at 11:30 both days will be distributed to participants.

Virtual open houses are not all that’s fully online this year. In previous years, the application forms varied depending on what programs the students applied for. The new application system is fully online and serves as a one-stop shop for exploring and enrolling students into a Dallas ISD campus. It allows parents to apply to up to five schools through a single online form.

“This year, it is all in one system for parents to see,” said Angie Gaylord, Dallas ISD deputy chief of transformation and innovation. “That’s about 20,000 applications that we get every year that are normally in multiple systems that are now going to be in one system for all parents to see.”

The new system is mobile-friendly and available in various languages. Parents can upload documents into the system, as opposed to having to bring documents to the school. A “Parent Dashboard” allows families to see the progress of their application.

Beginning on March 1, parents will receive emails or text messages notifying where the student was accepted. Parents will have 10 days to notify the schools if they will accept the seat.

To find and apply to the best-fit school, visit www.dallasisd.org/choosedallasisd. Parents who need assistance filling the application can call (972) 925-5560.