Central Staff News

Schools reopening a week early for students moving between certain grade levels

While school starts in a distance-learning model for all district students on Tues., Sept. 8, current plans call for the restart of on-campus classes in Dallas ISD on Mon., Oct. 5. Based on the recent leveling out of Dallas County COVID-19 cases, Dallas ISD is inviting students who will attend classes for the first time in a new building to return a week early, on Mon., Sept. 28.

Students in grades prekindergarten, kindergarten, those moving to a new campus for fourth or sixth grade, from elementary to a new middle school, and from middle school to a new building for high school have the option to start school on Mon., Sept. 28. This early start of on-campus classes only applies to students who are transitioning to a new building. Students who are simply moving to the next grade in a school they attended last year will return with all other students on Oct. 5. A document detailing the phased-in reopening is available here.

School Leadership Chief Jolee Healey says giving the district’s youngest learners and students moving to new schools a one-week jump-start on the school year will give them a chance to get acclimated to new surroundings and start building relationships with teachers and peers.

“The current health environment has made the start of school an unusual experience for all students,” said Healey. “Add to that the stress of navigating a new building, and it’s not a stretch to realize that students may need a period of adjustment to get acclimated. That’s the idea behind the one-week early return for these students.”

Healey said principals of schools receiving these students will be reaching out to their parents to communicate plans for the early restart of on-campus classes.

Beginning today, the district is also launching a parent survey asking parents to indicate their preference for on-campus or distance learning for their children. Parents are urged to respond to the survey by Sept. 7.

As previously announced, the district is also phasing in designated special education related services by appointment in a one on one setting on Sept. 8, and certain special education classes will be opened for face-to-face instruction with parent opt-in on Sept. 17.

The phased-in return to campus also impacts athletics. At high school, athletics strength and conditioning, sports and related UIL extracurricular activities will restart per the following schedule.

• Tuesday, Sept. 8—Varsity ONLY for the following sports: cross-country, football, golf, swimming, team tennis, and volleyball.
• Monday, Sept. 14—Sub-varsity (ninth grade and JV) for the following sports: cross-country, football, golf, swimming, team tennis, and volleyball
• Monday, Sept. 21—UIL marching band, drill team, and cheerleading

Plans call for the start of middle school conditioning Sept. 28, followed by practices for athletes, UIL band, drill team and cheerleaders on Oct. 5 and the start of in-district football and volley ball games on Oct. 12. As of now, the middle school football season will consist of six to seven games and the volleyball season will include 10 to 12 games.

The restart of in-person classes and athletic activities will be subject to all approved district health and safety protocols. District officials caution these plans are based on current county health data with the understanding that plans may be adjusted if data changes. All activities will be closely monitored, and if confirmed cases of COVID-19 are detected, appropriate action will be taken to protect students and staff.

Specifically, the phased-in restart of athletics and UIL activities will be required to comply with the following key tenets, and transportation will not be provided for athletic or UIL activities.

Guidance:  Details of the CDC- and UIL-aligned protocols have been provided and explained to each of the campus coordinators and will be strictly enforced.

Implementation:  All schools will implement a “Small Group Instruction” Model to minimize the number of student athletes on campus at a given time. Strength and conditioning sessions will occur outdoors. Marching Band, Drill Team, Cheerleading and other extracurriculars will implement all required safety protocols for participation.

Monitoring: Central office athletic directors and athletic trainers as well as visual and performing arts staff will monitor and assist with all phases of the reentry implementation. Campus visits will be completed to ensure fidelity of process implementation.

A change to DH (REGULATION) announced today will allow the children of classroom teachers and campus staff to accompany their parents to campuses during the period of districtwide distance learning for all. Children must be at least 4 years of age and no older than 15 and can be enrolled in any school district to qualify.

All campus staff must request and receive permission in writing from the principal before they bring their children to work with them. Approval can be revoked by the principal or district at any time during the districtwide distance learning period.

The change will avoid creating a hardship for teachers and campus staff who choose to work on campus and whose children would otherwise have to attend daycare or stay home alone.

Teachers and campus staff who take advantage of this option are responsible for the personal safety of their children and for ensuring there are no disruptions to their daily tasks or campus operations. The children must follow all district and campus health and safety procedures.

Children who are enrolled as Dallas ISD students must abide by all district rules, regulations, guidelines and expectations while on campus.

The school year is about to start and the STEM Environmental Education Center is ready to provide teachers and students with a wild experience in nature—virtually that is.

The center will provide 130 free, live, virtual field trips for 15 grade levels/subjects.  Each trip will be 45 minutes in length and align to the science standards taught during the current nine weeks grading period.

During these virtual trips, experienced teachers and naturalists will provide students with interactive opportunities to explore prairie, forest, and freshwater ecosystems, study fossils, visit a working barn with a variety of livestock, meet live amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds, tour gardens, and more.

All of the virtual field trip information can be found at 2020-2021 Guide to Virtual Field Trips at the STEM Environmental Education Center.  You can register for as many trips as you like with as many students as you want–there is no limit.  If you have any questions about free, live, virtual field trips to the STEM EEC, please email eec@dallasisd.org. You can also download the flyer.

Annual benefits enrollment, leaves of absence, alternative work arrangements , qualifying life events, and other benefits topics may be on your mind. Do you know who to call to get the information you need?

The Benefits department has many resources available to help employees navigate the benefits system. The information below should help.

Call: 972-925-4300 or email benefits@dallasisd.org when you need to:

• Discuss your benefit options, including
  • Benefit plans, costs, eligibility
• Request an ADA Accommodation
• Discuss alternative options in lieu of an Alternative Work Arrangement
• Discuss retirement options
• Get information on the Employee Assistance Program
• Get information about fitness, mindful meditation and stretch classes
• Submit a bereavement leave form

Call: 972-925-4000, when you need to:

• Enroll or make changes to your benefits (annual enrollment or qualifying life event)
• Apply for a leave of absence, including Expanded COVID-19 Leaves)
  • Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
  • General Medical
  • Expanded Family Medical Leave (EFML-COVID childcare leave)
  • Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act
• Apply for a hardship leave (first 20 days)
• Enroll in Sick Leave Bank
• Contact the LifeWorks Employee Assistance Program

BenefitsReviewCommittee@dallasisd.org:

• Inquire or submit completed ADA Accommodation forms and requests
• Submit completed Sick Leave Bank requests
• Submit local leave requests (professional, emergency, hardship extensions)

In compliance with state and federal laws, Dallas ISD requires that all employees complete an annual policy acknowledgement and compliance training every school year. The window for both the annual policy acknowledgement and compliance training closes Oct. 31.

Annual Policy Acknowledgement

Using their EAD, employees will log into the annual policy acknowledgement web-based application at http://PolicyAcknowledgement.dallasisd.org. The system can be accessed from work or home. 

Compliance Training Videos

Online compliance training will be available to all District employees in Cornerstone at https://dallasisd.csod.com. Employees will need to use their EAD username and password to log into Cornerstone. The compliance training assignment will be in the “Training in Progress” or the “Your Assigned Training” box located on the “Welcome” page. If the assignment is not listed, employees can hover over the “Learning” tab and select “View Your Transcript.” The compliance training curriculum will be listed on your transcript.

For questions or concerns regarding the annual policy acknowledgement and compliance training, please contact Policy and Compliance at HCMcompliance@dallasisd.org or (972) 794-7858.

A change in the workflow process when submitting requisitions will  shorten the turnaround time to issue purchase orders.

Currently, once a department or school submits a requisition so that a purchase order can be issued, if additional information is needed by the buyer in the Procurement Department, the requisition would be rejected and the process would have to be repeated.

To enable this process, requisitions should be submitted as a Non-Catalog Request in iProcurement. Before submitting, the Simplified PO box should be checked. Once this is done, if the buyer has any questions, the process is halted. When the information is received, the process is activated again and the purchase order can be issued without having to resubmit the request. Requisitions will only go through the approval process once, even if returned for additional information.

Application and Training is conducting Oracle training and will be able to provide guidance on how to submit Non-Catalog Request in iProcurement. Please reach out to that department if there are questions.

“It’s a smoother process and a quicker turnaround time because Procurement is involved only once,” said Candace Yarbough, contracts director in Procurement Services.

El Superintendente Michael Hinojosa decidió hoy, después de consultar al liderazgo del distrito y el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos del Condado de Dallas, que el distrito abrirá con clases 100% a distancia cuando las clases se reanuden el 8 de septiembre y continuará con el aprendizaje a distancia hasta por lo menos el 6 de octubre. Además, todas las actividades extracurriculares continuarán a distancia, incluyendo fuerza y acondicionamiento, banda y equipos de baile, todas las actividades de UIL y de artes escénicas.

El superintendente hizo un anuncio público esta tarde acerca de la decisión durante una conferencia de prensa.

En este momento, para poder satisfacer las necesidades del distrito y asegurar que las escuelas estén listas para recibir a los estudiantes, el proceso de reingreso para el personal se diferenciará basándose en las necesidades del distrito y del departamento.

Maestros

Todos los maestros deberán notificar a su director de escuela a más tardar el 25 de agosto si participarán en el aprendizaje a distancia desde la escuela o si impartirán las clases virtualmente desde sus casas.

El 17 de septiembre, todos los maestros deberán reportarse en persona a sus respectivas escuelas para prepararse y continuar impartiendo las clases a distancia a menos que tengan un AWA (Arreglo Alternativo de Trabajo), acomodaciones relacionadas con el ADA, o licencia laboral, y conforme esté permitido por el departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos del Condado de Dallas, para aclimatarse a los procedimientos y prepararse para las clases.

Personal basado en la escuela que no participa en la instrucción

Las fechas de comienzo de contrato para el personal en las escuelas que trabajan más de 185 días permanecerán igual que las que se anunciaron en el documento de fechas de comienzo y final del 2020-2021 que se diseminó este verano. El salario de emergencia y esencial para este grupo finalizó el 21 de julio.

Otro personal no involucrado en la instrucción (días de trabajo 185, 187, 191, 193, 195) deberá reportarse basando en las fechas de comienzo y final para el 2020-2021. El salario de emergencia y esencial para este grupo de empleados a partir del día en que re reporten a su puesto.

Todo el otro personal escolar de contrato extendido / que se reporta anticipadamente se reportará a sus sitios de trabajo basándose en el calendario de fechas de comienzo y final del 2020-2021.

Personal de administración central

Los empleados de administración central cuyas obligaciones laborales no se pueden realizar de manera virtual regresaron en persona el 3 de agosto para ayudar a preparar las instalaciones del distrito para el comienzo del año escolar 2020-2021. Estos grupos incluye a Policía y Seguridad, Mantenimiento e Instalaciones, y a algunos empleados de Tecnología, Servicios de Comida y Nutrición Infantil y Transporte Estudiantil.

Todos los empleados de Transporte Estudiantil y FCNS, por sus siglas en inglés, que trabajan 185 días se presentarán en persona a partir del 28 de agosto. Mientras que la instrucción en el distrito tiene lugar de manera virtual, este personal se reportará a sus lugares de trabajo como es costumbre, y se les asignarán tareas de apoyo para satisfacer las necesidades del distrito.

Estos empleados que trabajan 185 días podrán continuar trabajando los 10 adicionales si optaron participar en esta oportunidad a través del 27 de agosto realizando tareas de apoyo, incluyendo instalar anuncios, organizar material de protección, y asistencia con organizar materiales para las escuelas

El proceso de reingreso para otro personal de administración central variará debido a la capacidad de los edificios y elementos estructurales, dificultad para mantener distanciamiento social, el mayor uso de los elevadores para desplazarse, acceso limitado a las escaleras, el uso más amplio de los espacios comunes para mayor número de empleados, y depender más de o tener más densidad de cubículos en los espacios laborales.

Todo el personal que puede completar sus tareas remotamente puede, con la aprobación de su supervisor, continuar trabajando remotamente hasta el 6 de octubre. Cualquier miembro del personal que no pueda realizar sus funciones laborales remotamente debe reportarse al trabajo en un horario A y B dependiendo de las necesidades del departamento y las instrucciones de su supervisor.

Todo el personal central debe reportarse a su lugar de trabajo el 7 de octubre. Cualquier persona que no se pueda reportar en su fecha asignada deberá pedir un Arreglo Alternativo de Trabajo a su supervisor, pedir una acomodación relacionada con el ADA o solicitar una licencia laboral conforme se aplique para cualquiera de estos procesos. El salario extendido de emergencia para estos empleados cesará el 4 de octubre.

Para preguntas acerca de quién puede solicitar un AWA, acomodaciones o licencia laboral, deben ponerse en contacto con el Departamento de Beneficios mandando un correo electrónico a benefits@dallasisd.org, visitando www.dallasisd.org/benefits, o viendo la AWA Request Form Guidance Document. 

Superintendent Michael Hinojosa decided today, after consulting with his senior leadership team and the Dallas County Health and Human Services staff, that the district will open with 100% distance learning when school starts Sept. 8 and will continue with distance learning through at least Oct. 6. In addition, all extracurricular activities will remain in a distance setting, including strength and conditioning, band and drill team, all UIL and visual and performing arts activities.

The superintendent is expected to make a public announcement of the decision at a late afternoon news conference today.

At this time, to meet the needs of the district and ensure schools are ready to receive students, the reentry process for staff will be differentiated based on district and department needs.

Teachers

All classroom teachers will notify their campus principal by Aug. 25 if they will participate in distance learning from the campus or deliver instruction virtually from home.

On Sept. 17, all classroom teachers will report in person to their respective schools to prepare to continue teaching classes via distance learning unless they have an approved AWA, ADA accommodation, or benefits leave, and as allowed by the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department, to get acclimated to procedures and prepare for instruction.

Non-teacher campus-based staff

Contract start dates for campus staff who work more than 185 days will remain as stated in the 2020-2021 start and end dates document shared earlier this summer. Emergency pay and essential pay ceased for this employee group on July 21.

Other non-teacher campus employees (workdays 185, 187, 191, 193, 195) should report to the worksite based on the revised 2020-21 start and end dates. Emergency and essential pay will cease for this employee group starting on the established start date for their position.

All other extended contract/early reports campus-based staff will report to the work site based on the revised 2020-21 start and end date work calendar.

Central Staff Employees

Central staff whose duties cannot be performed virtually returned to work on-site starting Aug. 3 to help prepare district facilities for the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. These groups include the Police and Security Department, Maintenance and Facility Services and some employees in Information technology, Food and Child Nutrition Services, and Transportation.

All 185-day Student Transportation and Food and Child Nutrition Services employees will work on site starting Aug. 28, 2020. While districtwide distance learning is in effect and bus services are not needed, staff will report to their work site as usual and be assigned to perform other duties to support the needs of the district.

These 185-day bi-weekly employees will continue to be able to opt-in to work up to 10 days through Aug. 27 in miscellaneous support, including installing signage, organization of PPE, and assistance with shipments of materials to campuses.

The reentry process for other central staff will vary due to building capacity/structural elements, greater difficulty in social distancing, high elevator dependency for mobility, limited stair wells, wide use of common spaces for large numbers of employees, and high dependency/density of cubicles in office spaces.

All staff who can complete all work required for their position remotely may, with supervisor’s written approval, continue working remotely through Oct. 6, 2020.  Any staff who cannot complete all work duties remotely will be required to report to work on an A day-B day type schedule depending on department needs and supervisor guidance.

All central staff will return to the work site on Oct. 7.  Anyone who cannot report to the work site on their designated date can request an Alternate Work Arrangement with their supervisor, request an ADA Accommodation or file for a benefit leave as applicable through those established processes. Extended Emergency pay for all employees in this group will cease on Oct. 4.

For questions related to what may qualify for an AWA, accommodation or an approved leave, contact the Benefits department at benefits@dallasisd.org, visit www.dallasisd.org/benefits, or reference the AWA Request Form Guidance Document.

For more details about the reentry dates, please download this document.

District employees can use the online platform Donors Choose to get help from friends, family and even strangers in funding classroom projects and equipment. When teachers create a project, they are creating a shopping list from the organization’s list of vendors that offer special pricing and outstanding service. Setting up a project is easy.

1. Visit donorschoose.org and create a project
2. The project is reviewed and posted
3. Spread the word
4. Get email notifications when project funded
5. Equipment and materials arrive (consumable supplies to teachers’ homes and technology and larger supplies to the schools)
6. Equipment received must be tagged, a decal applied and the donation logged
7. Don’t forget to thank your donors!

Just remember that all district policies for donations apply and that the donation must be properly reported. Some other things to remember:

• Applicant must be a full time Dallas ISD employee who spends 75% of their time with students.
• Registration from principals, administrators, PTAs, teacher assistants, student teachers, substitutes and part-time teachers will not be accepted.
• Pursuant to CDC policy, donations must be documented and logged online by school designee.
• Materials/equipment that is delivered to the school is the property of the school and will primarily remain at that school if the teacher leaves.
• A point system gives teachers the opportunity to create projects with higher monetary values.

For more information on how to get started on Donors Choose, visit https://www.donorschoose.org/teachers.

To make it easier for staff to stay safe as the reentry process continues, Dallas ISD will observe a business casual dress code that includes scrubs, starting Sept. 8.

In response to feedback from employees concerning the challenges of aligning work attire with safety protocols, the district will follow a business casual dress code. This dress code will allow employees to feel more at ease and comfortable while implementing safety and cleaning protocols as they perform their work duties.

In accordance with district policy, please remember that the business casual dress code does not mean unkempt and does not allow for inappropriate apparel. To guide you in determining what is business casual clothing, the dress code guidelines can be found below. During specific occasions and for formal meetings, employees will be expected to wear standard business attire. Please consult with your supervisor to determine appropriate attire for your job and the various business needs of the department.

The dress code will be reevaluated every quarter and may be subject to change.

2020-2021 Dress Code Guidelines

Business Casual

Overview

• Business casual includes clothing that is comfortable and neatly put together while communicating professionalism.
• Business casual may differ based on the various business needs of the department. Please consult with your department supervisor to determine appropriate attire for your job.
• Certain events on the District’s calendar may require employees in a specific department or location to wear business attire instead of the business casual look.
• Take your workday schedule into account when considering your attire for the day. If you have a meeting scheduled with the public or vendors, you may need to wear business attire.
• Administrators will have the discretion to make exceptions to appropriateness of attire as it relates to culture, religious beliefs, vocational courses, physical education, maintenance, medical necessities, events, and spirit days.
• Employees required to wear District-issued uniforms are expected to wear the assigned uniform.

Acceptable Attire

• Clothing should be clean, pressed and wrinkle-free, without holes or frayed areas.
• All attire should fit appropriately (not excessively tight or excessively loose).
• Footwear – Loafers, boots, flats, sandals, and leather deck shoes are acceptable.
• Slacks – Nice pants or cotton slacks.
• Shirts – Blouses, casual shirts, and golf shirts are acceptable.
• Dresses and skirts – Casual dresses and skirts appropriate for an office environment are acceptable.

Unacceptable Attire

• Inappropriate attire includes, but is not limited to, form-fitting, snug, sagging, or transparent clothing.
• Excessively worn, faded, or tight clothing is not acceptable.
• Revealing or provocative attire is not acceptable.
• Slippers, flip-flops, house shoes, sneakers, and athletic shoes are not acceptable.
• Jeans, sweatpants, shorts, bib overalls, leggings, spandex, and lycra are not acceptable.
• Tank tops and shirts or t-shirts with inappropriate messages/graphics are not acceptable.
• Dresses and skirts shorter than three inches above the bend of the knee are not acceptable.
• Gym clothes and beach wear are not acceptable.