Central Staff News

Amanda Ashmead has been honored as the Region 10 Secondary Teacher of the Year. With 22 years of service in Dallas ISD, Ashmead currently teaches Advanced Placement English language and composition, AP macroeconomics, and AP U.S. government at the School of Science and Engineering at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center, where she has also served as the department chair for humanities for the last 10 years. 

“As a child, I loved knowing things and explaining things, and teaching seemed the natural fit.” said Ashmead, who was chosen as the district’s Secondary Teacher of the Year this spring. “Once I became a teacher, I learned there was a lot more to it—creativity, problem-solving, and logistics are also huge components. Luckily, those are also things I enjoy.”

One of Ashmead’s most notable accomplishments is her involvement with the College Board’s Advanced Placement program. Since 2016, she has participated in the AP reading process, initially as a reader and later advancing to the role of question leader in 2020. Her leadership skills were further recognized when she was appointed as an operational question leader from 2021 to 2023 when she supervised over 1,000 teachers and college instructors in scoring more than half a million essays for the AP English language exam.

In addition to her work as a question leader, Ashmead is also an AP consultant, certified by the College Board to conduct workshops for AP teachers. Her presentations at AP national conferences and College Board forums have covered a wide range of topics, from passage-based reading strategies to using Instructional Planning Reports data to improve instruction.

Ashmead’s commitment to professional development extends beyond her AP-related work. She has presented at various national and regional conferences. Her presentations often focus on strategies for improving student retention, analyzing instructional practices, and embedding college access within the curriculum.

Ashmead published two articles in “Social Education“, focusing on preparing students for the AP Economics exams and building AP Social Studies programs for non-traditional students.

Ashmead holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and recently completed her Master of Education in Educational Technology Leadership from Lamar University.

She has earned multiple recognitions, including being named Teacher of the Year at the School of Science and Engineering at Townview in 2016 and 2024.

Ashmead attributes her success to her love for words and writing, despite knowing that there are many other equally deserving teachers. Her advice to aspiring teachers includes valuing the lessons learned from veteran educators but also listening critically and being willing to challenge outdated or situationally inappropriate advice.

“If you want to be teacher of the year, in addition to all the things an exemplary teacher does, spend an hour or two a day on average writing,” Ashmead said. “The award requires not just accomplishing things but being able to write about them in an engaging and insightful way.”

As she moves forward in the Texas State Teacher of the Year competition, her work will be recognized for having an impact on students, colleagues, and the educational community.

Grief can come in many forms—from losing a loved one or losing a job to life changes like, divorce. National Grief Awareness Day on Aug. 29 highlights these situations and resources that offer support for those who are processing grief. 

According to the Center for Disease Control, people who are grieving may experience emotions such as helplessness, hopelessness, anger. sadness, numbness, or confusion. Things such as changes in appetite, mood, energy level, or sleep patterns can be part of the grieving process. 

Please know that you are not alone and Dallas ISD has resources to help team members who are struggling with grief.

Dallas ISD’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offers various resources to Dallas ISD team members. You can find various articles related to grief such as  coping with grief and loss, grieving after miscarriage, when a coworker loses a loved one, building resilience, coping with death and loss and much more. To access more articles, click here. 

Through EAP, you can also schedule one to two sessions with a counselor by signing up for  an appointment to fit your schedule.  To access the main EAP page for various topics visit https://dallasisd.lifeworks.com/life/employee-assistance. 

To enhance safety at athletic events, Dallas ISD now requires all students attending district-hosted games without a parent, guardian, or other adult responsible for the student to present a current student badge for entry. The badge must be for the Dallas ISD school that is competing in the athletic event. This requirement also applies to visiting non-Dallas ISD schools.

Students without a school-issued ID, and Dallas ISD students from other high schools, will not be permitted to enter the event unless accompanied by an adult. Middle and elementary school students must be accompanied by an adult to enter any athletic event.

Stadium safety and security personnel will be on-site to assist students who need to contact a parent or guardian for a ride home.

The new protocol does not apply to students participating in the athletic event as competitors or a related student activity group as long as they are accompanied by their coach or sponsor.

This requirement applies to all district athletic facilities, including pools, gymnasiums, and stadiums. The updated safety measures align with those of neighboring districts and other University Interscholastic League schools.

In compliance with state and federal laws, Dallas ISD requires that all employees complete the annual compliance training at the beginning of every school year by Sept. 30.

The policy acknowledgment will now be included as part of the compliance training in Cornerstone for support employees.

To complete the training

Employees (except for substitutes) will log into Cornerstone at https://dallasisd.csod.com. The compliance training will be in the “My Assigned Training” section located on the “Welcome” page or on the “Learning” tab under “View Your Transcript.”

For help with technical issues with the courses in Cornerstone, employees may go to the Live User Support tab to access the live support team. 

Substitute employees will log into the Compliance Learning Portal using their employee ID, last name (as it appears in Oracle/Bio-Clock), and date of birth.

For additional information or assistance, please contact the Human Capital Management Policy and Compliance team at HCMcompliance@dallasisd.org.

Henry B Gonzalez Elementary School’s team welcoming students

John Q. Adams Elementary School was ready to welcome students

Dallas ISD team members welcoming students at Royce West Leadership Academy

From left to right Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde, Trustee Sarah Weinberg, and Principal Lourdes Morales-Figueroa welcoming students at John J. Pershing Elementary School

 

Moisés E. Molina High School was ready to welcome students.

 

 

 

P-TECH team members at Molina High School signed in students.

 

Molina High School team members handed out clear backpacks to students who needed them on the first day.

Royce West Leadership Academy team welcomed students.

Lincoln High School set up a festive welcome for students.

Geneva Heights Elementary School welcomed students to a brand new building.

Lenore Kirk Hall Elementary School welcomed students.

Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School made sure their students felt welcomed on the first day of class. 

 

There is only one more day to make changes to your benefits during the Annual Employee Benefits Enrollment for the 2024-2025 plan year, which ends on  Aug. 16. 

For those still needing help navigating the options, there is one more virtual overview of current benefit selections, which includes time for questions from Benefits experts: Aug. 15, 4-5 p.m. Register Here.

The major plan change for the 2024-2025 year is the elimination of the Baylor Scott & White HMO plan. Employees enrolled in this plan may elect an alternative plan through the enrollment portal. If no action is taken, these employees will automatically be enrolled in the TRS ActiveCare Primary+ medical plan.

BSW and Blue Cross and Blue Shield are in negotiation for BSW plans to remain in network with the other TRS ActiveCare plans. The deadline for these negotiations has been extended to Oct. 1. Until then, employees may continue to use their BSW providers and facilities. The Benefits Department will share updated communications as information becomes available.

This summer, several Dallas ISD team members went above and beyond to assist families facing severe hardships, including lack of electricity, food, hygiene products, transportation, and housing. Just days after school ended, many families were severely impacted by a tornado that passed through Dallas in May, leaving numerous households without electricity or water for days when temperatures climbed into the 100s.

The city of Dallas received a report about the terrible conditions of several apartment buildings where Dallas ISD families, many whose children attend Charles A. Gill Elementary School. Leslie Cannon, a community engagement specialist for the City of Dallas, quickly reached out to Chandra Roberson, Gill Elementary’s principal at that time.

Roberson instantly went into reaction mode, contacting district leadership, Student Transportation Services, Food and Child Nutrition Services, teachers, community liaisons, churches, and anyone else she could think of that could help. Within hours, families were being picked up and taken to the school for food and resources—bags with hygiene products, extra water for families to take home, and additional food to support students in the community.  

“Good thing we had summer school at Gill, so we were already serving hot meals,” Roberson said. “I had some team members to help me put everything together. It wasn’t just me. I have to say that I would not have been able to make those moves had the team not been so responsive.”

Meanwhile, Jazmine Harrison, director of Student Transportation Services, worked with her department to quickly select a driver who could assist families in need.

“The district not only picked up Dallas ISD students, but they also provided support to seniors living in these apartments” Cannon said. 

Randolph Staff, a standby cover driver responsible for various transportation assignments and summer duties, was called to transport the families to Gill. He was glad to step in to help because he finds joy in working with students. 

“He helped carry all the supplies onto and off the bus and went above and beyond to help. We couldn’t have asked for a better driver,” said Cannon.

Staff often tells students, “I am taking care of you now; one day you’ll be taking care of me and my children. There will be a day you are possibly [going to be] my banker, attorney, doctor, or even be my children’s teacher or school bus driver. When that day comes, you will be helping me or my children.” 

According to Albert Brown, director in the transportation department, Staff personified the Core 4 tenets by joining in to help these families in need.  

“My favorite memory with the district is helping families in need,” Staff said.

Coach Freddie Harris, a physical education teacher at Annie Webb Blanton Elementary School, says his favorite memory of his time at Dallas ISD has been seeing his first group of pre-K students graduate to middle school.

Having taught them from a young age, their transition was a heartfelt moment filled with tears and pride, he said. Harris values the personal relationships he can build as a PE teacher, mainly the opportunity to support and influence students on a one-on-one basis.

Harris, who has been a Dallas ISD team member for 10 years, is originally from Mississippi and studied in Carrollton. He chose to remain a PE teacher after earning a master’s degree in educational leadership from Lamar University, because of the personal connection and impact he can have on students over the more formal role of a principal.

“I like to have the opportunity to be myself and the ability to grow with the district if I choose to,” said Harris. 

One of Harris’s significant accomplishments is becoming a master-level teacher after starting his career through the alternative certification program. He is also proud of his involvement in the “Kids Teaching Kids Activity Challenge.” 

The program is a 21-day challenge in which students teach other students about healthy eating. The initiative is a partnership with Medical City that encourages students to engage in healthy habits and creative activities. Normally, the challenge includes cooking videos or cooking recipes of kids teaching kids. This year, the challenge was extended to physical activity with different categories. Harris chose the rhythm category as part of the physical activity.  

During COVID, Harris started a YouTube channel and uploaded workout videos because he had experience making videos. So, for the 21-day challenge, his students helped him come up with a video idea, which he submitted. Click here to watch the video. 

“We are working to come up with a challenge for the whole district, so stay tuned,” Harris said. 

In addition to participating in the 21-day challenge, Harris has organized an annual Turkey run to help students and families have a wonderful thanksgiving. Click here to watch last year’s Turkey Run at Blanton Elementary. 

“Now it’s a yearly tradition and we get Turkeys donated from different stakeholders in the community & friends.” said Harris. 

He lives by the mantra “Iron sharpens iron, as one man sharpens another” and believes that “dreams are just dreams until you apply action, and then they become a reality.” Beyond his teaching role, Harris is also a member of the USA bobsled team, aspiring to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. 

Through his work, Harris emphasizes the importance of putting love and effort into everything, believing that the energy you give is what you receive in return. 

Making the transition from being a Dallas ISD  interpreter and tutor to a math teacher was a challenge that Ndayishimiye Innocent embraced. Innocent, who just started his second year teaching at Francisco “Pancho” Medrano Junior High School, had been working in the district’s Translation Services Department for five years before diving into teaching. 

Innocent, who speaks five languages fluently,  Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, Swahili, French, English – and is in the process of reaching fluency in Spanish – is committed to making sure all of his students feel welcomed and seen. 

“As a novice teacher, I got to learn on the spot. You learn by experiencing a challenge that was needed,” Innocent said.  Being in the classroom and working with students of different backgrounds, cultures, and different needs, makes it more challenging and very different from being a tutor, Innocent said.

Having gone through his first year of teaching in the 2023-2024 school year, Innocent realized that teachers needed support beyond the classroom, and felt it  was the responsibility of the community to do their part as well. This inspired him to found a math readiness program this summer, a collaboration between the Northwest Community Center and the Dallas Burundian Community (Dabuco), where he serves as the president and one of the co-founders.

Innocent volunteered his time teaching, with the help of community volunteers, to prepare students for middle school and receive the instruction in their native language. Students learned math vocabulary, work strategies, and technology use in the classroom, which students from refugee backgrounds struggle with, he said.

This summer he also partnered with ACT AFRICA, a group of dentists, dental and medical students at Texas A&M University and a non-profit organization named Beauty Out of Dust, created by former Dallas ISD and Fort Worth ISD graduate students. Innocent allowed the group to use his family-owned health center in Bujumbura, Burundi. 

“I wanted the students’ learning experiences to not be limited by geographic boundaries, but to be able to work on international missions such as this one,” Innocent said. He facilitated the mission trip of eight students with their two professors and two professional dentists to go practice at his family’s clinic.

Innocent has had the experience of being both an immigrant and a refugee to this country and knows the challenges that newcomers and students from underserved communities face. He said that having gone through these challenges and different life lessons was the charge and call to action that made him realize that he could use his life experiences to help students make changes in their lives and have a better future. 

“As someone from parents who managed to escape the intellectual genocide and was able to go to school, I feel like I have a duty to help this community,” Innocent said. One of the reasons why Innocent said he became a teacher is because most of the people in his Burundian community, have not had the chance for an education because of their background and history, he said. 

Having been a teacher in the past in Tanzania, he had seen the fruits of his teaching career. One of his former students who had been in a refugee camp where Innocent taught became a doctor. His student stayed in touch and was featured in the local news media for the work he was doing in Tallahassee, Florida to help others. 

Innocent is no stranger to the health industry, as one of his bachelor’s degrees is in public health, along with a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. Education and public health go hand in hand, he said. When a student’s family is struggling with sickness or when a student is sick due to a disease that can be preventable, it interferes with a student’s learning success, he said. 

His organization, Dabuco, has partnered with Dallas County Health and Human Services to provide health literacy education to improve health,  which he called a solid foundation for the learning success of a student. 

While completing his studies in Kenya in 2007, he noticed that students who were HIV positive, whose parents were HIV positive, or who had lost one or both parents because of HIV/AIDS were being discriminated against and stigmatized by community members. 

To bring the students and the community together he co-founded an organization, which not only brought the students to play together, but brought forth education to help dismantle the misinformation in the community. Innocent and his team built playgrounds and partnered with the Right to Play organization – and together, this helped the students and the community unite.

Whether he is leading and connecting his community to resources, or leading his students in the classroom, Innocent said that empathy, compassion, and understanding are what gets him through challenging days. He said he is inspired by the words “primum non nocere,” which is a Latin phrase that translates to “first do no harm.” 

“This includes other people’s dreams,” he said. “All of my students have a dream, and I have a mission to help them achieve their dreams.”  He said there was a time when not many believed that he could be somebody. He said that even if a student was struggling, that did not define them. “The student might be struggling now, but they can achieve their dream. Each child has a dream and we must support them,” Innocent said. 

Orlando Velazquez has two interests that occupy his time: his job in the front office at Anne Frank Elementary School and his pursuit of competitive figure skating.

Growing up in Puerto Rico, Velazquez was inspired to try figure skating after watching a movie about a teenager who rose to the competitive level.

“I didn’t experience winter weather, so I was amazed when my parents took me to an ice rink for the first time,” Velazquez said.

Velazquez was hooked the second his blades hit the ice. 

“I fell in love with it because it is like a form of art that allows me to express myself and how I feel. It makes me feel free, like flying on a plane,” Velazquez said. 

In Dallas, he signed up for adult figure skating classes after the 2022 Winter Olympics. He never looked back. Monday through Friday, as soon as the school day ends, he drives about five minutes down the road to the Galleria Ice Skating Center. 

Once his Edea skates are laced up, it’s game on, as Velazquez edges closer to his goal to be the first figure skater to represent Puerto Rico at a Winter Olympic Games. The Olympic moment he dreams of isn’t a medal. It’s about putting Puerto Rico in the spotlight and skating on Olympic ice.

With few “off” days, training for the Olympics is no easy feat.

In addition to practicing drills, running programs, and finessing complex spins and jumps, Velazquez does off-ice exercises and takes both private and group lessons. On the weekends, he practices at Star Center ice rinks.

One evening, Beverly Mullins Ford, principal of Anne Frank Elementary, saw him practicing at the Galleria.

“I stopped to watch the ice skaters. I didn’t know he would be there at that time, but he was, and I was amazed,” she said. “I went to school the next day and told everyone I saw him and how good he was.”

Since skating competitively, Velazquez has performed in an exhibition and entered three competitions. He recently glided into first place at a competition in McKinney. Dressed as a gladiator, he skated to the theme from “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.”

“I still get chills when I think about it and watch the videos. I get this mixed feeling of joy, pride, relief, and accomplishment,” Velazquez said.

His dream of competing in the Olympics is now shared by his Dallas ISD family, who have rallied behind him since day one. Co-workers attend competitions and share his skating videos in the school’s newsletter.

“The highlight of this experience is how it united the entire staff in celebration,” Mullins Ford said. “Many staff members enjoyed discussing his skating and watching his videos. During the hectic and busy end-of-school-year period, his remarkable talent provided a bright and uplifting moment for everyone.” 

His pursuit of interests outside working hours is an example to his colleagues, she added. 

“Having a passion like sports, art, and music can help with overall well-being and have a positive impact on our physical, and mental health,” Mullins Ford said. “It gives us an opportunity to connect with others and even help manage our stress. For Orlando, I know skating will allow him to fulfill his passion to celebrate life.”

With his Olympic goal in sight, Velazquez plans to find sponsorships. He continues to work on improving his skating skills, including cleanly landing the double axel jump. One of the most difficult jumps in the sport, skaters have to complete two-and-a-half rotations in the air before landing. 

“It feels like I am flying. The rush of jumping and rotating that fast in under a second always gets me emotional,” Vazquez said. 

His advice to aspiring athletes is simple.

“Don’t be too harsh on yourself, always keep trying your best, take diligent care of your mental and physical health, and have fun doing what you enjoy,” Velazquez said. “Sports should be about passion and fun.”