Central Staff News

Dallas ISD is observing Mental Health Awareness Month throughout May to highlight the importance of maintaining one’s overall health and well-being.

Check out these 15 recommendations from Mental Health America to prioritize mental health in your everyday life, and remember that you are more than enough:

1. Make time to get some sunlight. If you cannot get outside, use a daylight lamp or a blue light lamp when you spend all day indoors.
2. Create a space to highlight your favorite things. You can include pictures of people or things you love, textures that bring you joy, or your favorite color.
3. Remember the mind-body connection by prioritizing movement. Find a good place to stretch, practice yoga, or do other exercises from the comfort of your own home.
4. Spend time with the people you care about. If you are not able to meet in person, build online communities or pick up the phone. 
5. Build a collection of affirmations or notes that you can look at throughout your day. These could go in your home or car to serve as regular reminders.
6. Play music or listen to a podcast or audiobook instead of watching TV when you are trying to relax at home.
7. Do some spring cleaning to remove clutter and benefit your mental health. Focus on getting rid of any objects that may trigger negative thoughts or habits.
8. Focus on the good in life! Put pictures of loved ones or pets in places that are easy to see to increase positive thoughts and feelings throughout the day.
9. Feeling overwhelmed by regular chores? Set a timer and clean what you can in 10 minutes. Doing this regularly will help you maintain your space in a stress-free way.
10. Stop and get some fresh air. Studies show that being surrounded by nature is a mood booster. You can also add plants to your space to improve air quality and cognitive functioning.
11. Relax by reading a good book. Reading can help people get out of their heads and relieve stress and tension. 
12. Be kind. Studies show that random acts of kindness increase release of oxytocin, the “feel good” hormone. It can be something as small as holding the door for someone or buying a stranger coffee. 
13. Incorporate more activity to decrease tension and improve sleep. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, or park your car farther away from the store. 
14. Bring your favorite colors into your home. If you can’t paint your walls, use art, pillows, blankets, or curtains to add joy to your day.
15. Prepare workday meals or pick out your work clothes the night before. The practice will save you some time each day and start your morning with a feeling of control.

Team members can also take advantage of Mental Health Services’ Mental Health Month Toolkit, where they have provided activities and resources to raise awareness about mental health. 

Feel free to click on the links, download the articles, videos, and more and use them with your students, family members, or for yourself. Mental Health Services is encouraging every member of the Dallas ISD family to look within and embrace all of who you are. 

Dallas ISD’s Employee Assistance Program

If you need additional support, all district employees have access to Dallas ISD’s Employee Assistance Program by LifeWorks. The May Mental Health Awareness Month campaign is focusing on the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which is free for employees, 100 percent confidential, and available to all employees and their dependents. 

Sessions through the EAP are available by phone, virtual, and in person. Employees can also find tips, articles, self-assessments, and topical features focusing on specific EAP resources available through the EAP smart App.

To start on your wellness journey please visit dallasisd.lifeworks.com and follow these instructions:

• Select ‘Sign up’ in the top right-hand corner of the page.
• Alternatively, you can download the free LifeWorks mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store on your smartphone and enter the invitation code in the ‘Sign up’ section. 

If you have already registered, you can download the free LifeWorks mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store on your smartphone and press ‘Log In’. You can also visit LifeWorks on one of the supported browsers (Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, or Edge) and log in.

If you need additional support, reach out to EAP by calling 972-925-4000 and selecting option 3 for EAP. You are more than enough! 

Thousands of team members have called Dallas ISD home for years, even decades, and the district is recognizing their commitment to the community through the Service Recognition Award program. Beverly Tillmon, a campus instructional coach at Personalized Learning Academy at Highland Meadows, is one of those being recognized for her long-time service—53 years. 

After graduating from the University of North Texas in 1969 with a degree in elementary education, Tillmon began her teaching career in Dallas ISD at Elisha M. Pease Elementary School as a fourth-grade math teacher. 

She said Dallas ISD was a “natural choice” because of her family’s historical ties to the city of Dallas. In fact, L.G. Pinkston and Lee A. McShan—for whom district schools are named—were the attending physicians at her birth in 1948 at Pinkston’s Clinic in North Dallas. 

In her years with Dallas ISD, Tillmon has served as a fourth-grade math teacher, a fourth-grade science teacher, a third- to fifth-grade interventionist, a kindergarten to fifth-grade interventionist, a new teacher mentor, and a math instructional coach. 

Tillmon said she is proud of her time in Dallas ISD and shared some of her memories and experiences. 

How have you seen the district change from when you started until now?  

When I came to the district in 1969, there was segregation for teachers and students. Shortly after, in 1971, it moved from a segregated district to a desegregated district. I have seen many strides in efforts to equip all teachers, students, and parents with tools and opportunities to achieve the optimum benefits from being Dallas ISD stakeholders.

What has inspired you to continue calling Dallas ISD home? 

Calling a place home makes me think of family. Throughout the years, I have made so many friends and lifelong relationships with administrators, teachers, parents, and students that it feels like home each day I come to work. I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to teach children of former students as well as work alongside former students as coworkers. Before I knew it, days became weeks, weeks became months, and months became years!

What is one of your favorite memories from your time in the district? 

Being a part of a family legacy of Dallas ISD educators is one of my favorite memories. My mother, aunt, and sister were Dallas ISD educators for several decades. At the present time, my daughter is also a proud Dallas ISD educator.

Dallas ISD has conducted hundreds of school and classroom visits, and based on feedback from educators at the campuses, new curricular supports will be implemented next year to help teachers.

The lesson plans and materials available for teachers in kindergarten through eighth grade through Amplify for reading and Eureka and Carnegie for math are designed so that teachers can spend more time planning how to implement strategies for their students’ needs rather than designing the lessons themselves.  

“By removing the need to create lesson plans, teachers will have more time to plan for the lesson, which includes unpacking the standards, choosing engagement strategies and lesson internalization,” said Chief Academic Officer Shannon Trejo. 

The district will also transition to a new Curriculum Central site that will host all curricular resources, so they are available districtwide. The existing district curriculum and resources will be moved from Schoology to the Managed Curriculum Portal by July 20. Schoology will be discontinued in the district and access to the platform will end on June 30. Curriculum Central currently contains information for the 2022-2023 school year and will be updated with both new curricula and any continuing district curricula/resources.

How to Save Schoology Content to PC or Cloud Drive

Teachers who have created their own courses and resources in Schoology will need to download those resources to their computers to avoid losing access to them. Click “Learn More” to view directions on how to export resources. District lessons, custom lessons, and district resources will remain accessible in Schoology through the end of June. No additional content or lessons should be added to Schoology for the 2023-2024 school year. 

Professional Development is Available

To help educators better familiarize themselves with these supports, Teaching and Learning has announced summer learning opportunities for campus and central teams, provide information on how to transition from Schoology to the new Curriculum Portal and share additional guidance on the minimum minutes for Tier 1 instruction.

Professional development sessions have been customized to create an overview of instructional philosophy, an in depth view of the lesson structure, and opportunities to apply content knowledge using high leverage strategies. Campus leaders and teachers are expected to attend the summer Curriculum Camps for Amplify, Eureka, and Carnegie. Assistant principals and teachers will receive supplemental pay for attending the two-day summer Curriculum Camps in June or July outside of contract time. Most sessions will be face-to-face.

Questions?

Campus team members who have questions about the rollout of the new curricular supports can ask questions by filling out this Ask Us form.

Training

Dallas ISD’s school counselors promote and support the academic excellence and well-being of students by helping them focus on academic, personal, social, and career development. To celebrate their tremendous contributions to the district, the Counseling Services Department recently hosted the annual School Counselor of the Year event, which was co-sponsored by the Dallas Education Foundation.

This year over 52 amazing counselors were nominated by their principals for awards in various categories. A panel of judges read and scored each of the submissions, narrowing them down to four semifinalists, seven finalists, and the Overall Elementary and Overall Secondary School Counselors of the Year. The program also honored the Trailblazer Counseling Team winners, Rookies of the Year, and 2023 Counselor Retirees. To see a full list of the honorees, click here. 

School Counselors of the Year 

Counseling Services was proud to announce that the 2022-2023 Dallas ISD Elementary Counselor of the Year is Nancy Brinkley from Anne Frank Elementary School, where Beverly Mullens Ford is the principal. 

The 2022-2023 Dallas ISD Secondary Counselor of the Year is Shauntee Watson from Hector P. Garcia Middle School, where David Lee is the principal.

Elementary, secondary, and magnet/choice schools finalists

The Counselor of the Year finalists representing elementary schools were Nancy Brinkley from Anne Frank Elementary School and Silvia Cabrera from William Anderson Elementary School. Khaynisha Edwards from Rufus C. Burleson Elementary School was also honored as an elementary semifinalist. 

The secondary school finalists were Marsona Jackson from Moisés E. Molina High School and Shauntee Watson from Hector P. Garcia Middle School. Andrea Alexander from Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. Early College High School at El Centro College was also honored as a secondary semifinalist.

The magnet/choice school finalists were Tisbet Fitzgerald from School for the Talented and Gifted in Pleasant Grove and Danielle Redmon from Alex W. Spence Preparatory and TAG Academy. Yolanda Carter from Alex W. Spence Preparatory and TAG Academy was also honored as a magnet/choice schools semifinalist.

The last finalist, accumulating the most votes from counselor peers and thus receiving the Counselors’ Choice Award, was Shelisa Taylor-Benton from Seagoville High School. Mary Glenn from Clinton P. Russell Elementary School was honored as a semifinalist in this category.

Congratulations to all the Counselor of the Year nominees, semifinalists, finalists, and the overall winners for their outstanding service to the students and parents of Dallas ISD. Counseling Services also applauds the stellar Trailblazer Counseling Teams, retirees, and Rookie of the Year nominees for their excellent services that impact student success.

Assistant Principal Kelsey Cronin has been in education for the past nine years, so she understands the importance of celebrating every student’s success. That is why she said she was so excited to help organize Seagoville High School’s first Senior Signing Day alongside the college advising team from ASP Dallas, an organization that provides professional comprehensive college counseling to high school students. 

On the big day, 40 of the school’s graduating seniors— who have received college acceptance letters and wanted to be part of the celebration—invited 170 people to come cheer them on in Seagoville’s gym. Each student shared why they chose their college while sitting at tables decorated with their college gear and signed a certificate of intent at the end of the event. 

The community celebrated their accomplishments with cupcakes, balloon arches, music, and more, and Cronin said it was a huge success.

“On most campuses, if it’s not athletics, there’s no buzz,” Cronin said. “I really want to change that culture to promote going to college. Whatever kind of dreams our students have, we have a platform to get them to that point.”

Cronin said Seagoville’s community liaison, Yennifer Reyes, and campus coordinator, Marissa Romer, were phenomenal in bringing the Senior Signing Day together, along with the school’s Link Crew club, a group of junior and senior leadership students who helped with set up and event flow.

In addition to celebrating students’ college acceptance, Cronin wanted to honor the parents and families who have helped their students reach this stage. She said Senior Signing Day gave them an opportunity to celebrate and feel proud of what their students accomplished and was entirely family focused.

The event was so successful that the Seagoville team is already planning to host a second Senior Signing Day for the 2023-2024 school year. Cronin hopes more of the school’s graduating seniors will participate in the future and will continue bringing their achievements to their school community to be recognized as they deserve.

“I really want kids to be so happy about their senior year,” Cronin said. “I feel like a lot of them are filled with worry about what’s next, and these are really big decisions. I want their parents to sit in that audience and be proud of their child, and be recognized and feel this sense of community because we are the heart of Seagoville.” 

Rubinna Sanchez, the principal at Young Women’s STEAM Academy at Balch Springs Middle School, has called Dallas ISD home for several decades. 

She was born and raised in Dallas and attended all Dallas ISD schools: Rosemont Elementary School, Jesús Moroles Expressive Arts Vanguard (formerly known as Sidney Lanier Expressive Arts Vanguard), W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy, and ultimately Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. 

After graduating, she decided to pursue a career in education, where she has spent 24 years, with 21 of them as a member of the Dallas ISD team.

Sanchez recently joined the more than 20 Dallas ISD principals who were awarded Master Principal designations for the 2022-2023 school year. She said she is proud to be among the top 10 percent of Dallas ISD principals as they collectively work toward student success and college and career readiness. 

What drew you to education? 

I was drawn to education by family and friends. Being a part of a big family, I had several younger cousins that were struggling in school. I was asked if I could help them with homework. I began making real-world connections to help them understand the concepts they were learning. My uncle then mentioned, “You should be a teacher.” Providing support to my family members coupled with tutoring students at a nearby school while in college created the spark for me to pursue a career in education.

What qualities make a great principal? 

I believe a good principal is able to build relationships, promote collaboration, and be an effective listener.

What is your educational philosophy or a motto by which you work? 

I work by several mottos: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and “Your circumstances do not define you.”  

What inspires you about your position? 

I am inspired when I see students have that “aha” moment when something they struggled with just clicks. I get to see students take their learning and continue to grow. I am able to see the positive impact on not only students, but on team members and the community.

The 2023-2024 Calendar Start and End Dates for district team members are now available. There will be one calendar for all schools in the coming year, and highlights include:

• Principals return to work July 17
• Assistant Principals return to work July 24
• Teachers, media specialists, speech therapists/assistants, and nurses who are 191-day employees will return to work on July 31. This date will allow for additional staff development throughout the year. These groups will be required to work 1½ days on Sept. 14 and Feb. 22
• Campus based professional staff will receive one full day in the fall, and one full day in the spring credit for parent conference instead of the .5 day in the Fall and .5 day in the Spring as in past years. 
• Employees with duty periods of 185 to 221 will receive a fall Break on Oct. 12 and 13. They will not receive a Fair Day for the 2023-2024 school year.
  • Head athletic trainers (215-day) and athletic trainers (205-day) are required to work during the fall Break and will receive a fair day. Employees working 226 days or more will continue to receive a fair day in October.
• President’s Day (Feb. 19) will not be a board approved holiday for the 2023-2024 school year.
• The district will be closed Dec. 25-Jan. 5 for winter break
• The dates for parent conferences are still being determined and an update will be sent when finalized.
• The district will be closed July 1-5, 2024, for summer break
• Central team members who work 226 days will receive four non-duty days
• Police and security employees who work 235 days will receive seven non-duty days

Download the Calendar Start and End Dates for additional details.  

During its monthly board briefing, Dallas ISD trustees will hear reports on the proposed budget for the 2023-2024 school year that includes raises and a presentation on the district’s sustainability efforts.

The presentation about the proposed budget for the 2023-2024 school will include a discussion of a plan to:

• increase the minimum teacher salary to $61,000,
• increases to the new teacher hiring schedule to meet market rates, and 
• an average increase of $1,000 for most TEI compensation levels as well as a differentiated salary increase of up to 3%. 

The proposed compensation package also includes increasing the minimum wage to $16 an hour and a 2% increase from the midpoint for exempt campus and central team members. Details of the 2023-2024 retention incentive, including an additional $1,000 for employees with at least five years of service with Dallas ISD, will also be part of the discussion. 

The presentation about the district’s progress toward sustainability goals—set in 2020 as a result of a board environment and climate resolution—will include information about installation of water fountains and bottle filling stations with lead-free filters at schools and other district facilities. Operations team members will also provide updates on the district’s acquisition of 17 electric school buses through a federal grant and the status of the recycling program at schools. Other updates include:

• The district achieving and maintaining a 97% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2020
• Plans to continue use of 100% renewable sources for electricity for existing and new facilities
• Increase reduction of natural gas use beyond the current 29.7%

Monthly board briefings are scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. and can be accessed by visiting the meeting webcast page.

Since she was recruited from the Philippines 27 years ago, Estrellita Perez Richter, a gifted and talented program teacher at Julius Dorsey Leadership Academy, has made Dallas ISD home. 

Perez Richter came to the United States in 1995 to be a teacher as part of the district’s worldwide recruitment efforts of experienced teachers in response to teacher shortages here. She had been a teacher in the Philippines since 1978 and was teaching English as a second language to Chinese refugees—from 5 to 60 years old—before coming to Dallas. 

Even though Perez Richter spoke fluent English when she emigrated to the United States—an important language in the Philippines—the transition was not easy. She faced the many challenges that immigrants face, such as finding themselves alone, but was able to make a connection with her students and family members. In fact, she sees them as her extended family. 

“One of the reasons why I see my students and their families as part of my family is because I don’t have a child,” she said. “I tell them, ‘I love you guys.’ I want you to make good decisions because I want you to be successful.” 

Although Perez Richter feels very connected to the Pleasant Grove community where Dorsey is located, she has never forgotten her roots. 

“I’m proud of being Asian because being Asian represents so many—Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and many others,” she said. “I’m proud of my brown complexion and my beautiful country with beaches with blue water, rich food, and people who are very hospitable and accommodating to visitors.”

Like many Filipinos, Perez Richter says she comes from a mixed culture with influences from China, Spain, Malaysia, and other countries that have played a role in the history of the Philippines, from the cuisine to the language. She is able to make connections with her students’ families, most of whom are Spanish speaking, because some words in the dialects spoken in the Philippines are similar to Spanish, such as “sapatos” (shoes) or “mesa” (table). There might be some variations in the spelling, but the meaning remains the same, she said. 

Beyond sharing common ground with her students when it comes to some of the aspects of culture and language, she loves helping them find their potential.

“The gifted and talented program is something that is boundless, and the kind of instruction that you give has no limit,” she said. “Although we follow the curriculum, I can go beyond, and I can be flexible depending on the needs of a child, because every child is different.”

She attributes her success to her education growing up in the Philippines and wants education to open the doors for her students, as it’s done for her. 

She was the second of eight siblings, and believes education is the key to change the course of one’s life. 

“I would not be in the United States if I did not get the education that I sought for myself,” she said. “I want my students to have an abundance of opportunities. I teach based on my experiences, and I share them with my children in the classroom.”

Jacinto Cabrera, principal at Dorsey, is thankful for the wealth of knowledge that Perez Richter shares with her students.

“Her years of service and dedication to the field of education extend beyond the classroom to our parents, community, and other educators, and that truly amazes me,” he said.

Sujehy Arredondo grew up in El Paso, Texas, where she had a teacher who changed the course of her life. She said her sixth grade teacher, Mr. Salcido, treated her and her classmates like “mini adults” and served as a role model for them. As Arredondo was entering the workplace, originally in public health, she realized her true passion was transforming the lives of middle school students as her teacher had done for her. 

Arredondo has been in the classroom for five years, and the Hector P. Garcia Middle School sixth grade math teacher is achieving her dream of giving back to students and her community. 

“Every year I get above 90 percent on my student surveys because I build those relationships with my students,” Arredondo said. “I always remember how Mr. Salcido treated us, what he did for us, the stories and experiences that he would share. I wanted to share my experiences with my kids, too, and here I am telling those stories.”

Her passion for making memorable moments and setting her students up for success led to positive results when she became the 2020-2021 Campus Teacher of the Year at Seagoville Middle School as a second-year teacher. She credits her accomplishment to being a go-getter and always prioritizing her students.

“Every time that I would receive feedback, I would take it as, ‘This is an opportunity to grow,’” Arredondo said. “I’m always open to constructive feedback. I welcome others to observe my classes, and every single test that we take, I analyze and ask, ‘What is our next step after this?’ I am always thinking ahead.”

Gabrielle Paulo, who taught alongside Arredondo at Seagoville Middle School, saw Arredondo in action and said she was impressed by the commitment and leadership Arredondo brought to the forefront of their campus. 

“Ms. Arredondo goes above and beyond not just for the students, but the teachers as well,” Paulo said. “She is a wealth of knowledge about data and uses that to help everyone bring scores where they should be. She won teacher of the year her second year teaching ever because her scores and data were so good. She then became team lead and brought the entire department up.”

As a member of the Hector P. Garcia community, Arredondo has continued to lead by example as a member of her campus’ Language Proficiency Assessment Committee and Sunshine Committee and as a mentor teacher. 

“I always try to come to school with a positive attitude, and that makes a difference,” Arredondo said. “We get to see our kids, our students, and they’re excited to see us. I make everything as positive as I can, and I don’t let anyone tell me, ‘You can’t do this.’ I truly think that makes a difference.”