Central Staff News

National Suicide Prevention Month is recognized during September—along with National Suicide Prevention Week from Sept. 4-10—to raise awareness and support for those who are struggling. Because the safety and well-being of students and staff is Dallas ISD’s top priority, departments and schools across the district are working together to encourage everyone to watch for warning signs and intervene as needed. 

“People who are having suicidal thoughts need to know that help is readily available,” said Juany Valdespino-Gaytan, the executive director of Social and Emotional Learning. “We are working to reach the people who are silently suffering through proactive social and emotional learning strategies to access the support and tools they need at any time.” 

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, warning signs of suicide include: 

• Feeling empty, hopeless or trapped
• Talking about wanting to die or being a burden 
• Experiencing intense guilt or shame
• Making a plan or researching ways to die
• Eating or sleeping more or less
• Feeling extremely sad, anxious, agitated or angry
• Withdrawing from friends, saying goodbye, giving away important items or making a will
• Displaying extreme mood swings
• Taking dangerous risks such as driving too fast
• Using drugs or alcohol more often

Anyone who is experiencing a crisis can get immediate support by contacting the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in English or Spanish at 988. Additionally, people can access the National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., by calling 1-800-950-6264, texting “HelpLine” to 62640 or emailing helpline@nami.org. 

Dallas ISD staff can take advantage of the Employee Assistance Program by LifeWorks. This confidential, secure platform has free specialist counselors on call 24/7, as well as personalized wellbeing tips, podcasts, videos, exercises, assessments and more. 

Contact LifeWorks by calling (972) 925-4000 or visiting www.dallasisd.org/benefits and clicking on Benefits Resources to access online EAP information. LifeWorks also has an app that offers specialized self-help resources developed by experts. Once downloaded, the app can be accessed through the EAD login credentials. 

Several other proactive measures are in place across the district to help students and families get the support they need. SEL is teaching students self-management and self-awareness daily at every campus and is offering tools like the Rhithm app, which alerts counselors to students who are showing signs of feeling down or anxious. Counseling Services has incorporated suicide prevention education into its guidance lessons and will be offering suicide prevention trainings to all staff.

“The goal of these guidance lessons is to nurture and build resilience in students by instilling the message that they are loved, worthy and not alone,” said JoAnn Jackson Powell, director of Counseling Services. “This quote—by someone unknown—sums up the main idea that counselors want staff and students to remember: ‘It isn’t weak to ask for help. It’s like using a flashlight when you’re lost in the dark.’”

Mental Health Services is rolling out a partnership with an organization called The Defensive Line to host monthly trainings to help staff identify signs of suicide and know what steps to take, and Parent Services will be training families to recognize when their children may need additional support. 

Ultimately, Tracey Brown, executive director of Mental Health Services, wants to remind everyone that it’s OK to not be OK, and that there is no need to suffer in silence. She wants to encourage all—students or staff—to reach out and get the help they need today. 

“We have the most strength in our weakest moments,” Brown added. “Many times we struggle and strive to be strong, but our greatest strength is found in our greatest weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Just know that you’re not in the struggle by yourself.” 

Starting as early as 6 a.m. on some weekends, school buses pull up to dozens of Dallas ISD schools to pick up hundreds of students to take them to contests, debates, chess tournaments, esports championships and an array of other extracurricular activities.

On any given Saturday throughout the school year, students can be found on one side of town debating current political and social issues while on another end of the city, others are tumbling at a cheer workshop, playing chess down the road at Skyline High School’s gym, or dueling it out at the esports lab at Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy. Student Activities currently sponsors 13 districtwide programs in which students from kindergarten through 12th grade can participate.

In the 2021-2022 school year, more than 130,000 Dallas ISD students participated in at least one extracurricular activity, ranging from athletics to academic competitions to visual and performing arts. Of those students, more than 16,150 participated in 13 activities sponsored by Student Activities.

Dallas ISD’s Student Activities Department team are committed to making sure that students from across the district have the opportunity to participate in activities that enrich their educational experience and advance their skills.

The department prides itself in offering something for everyone with no shortage of activities. There are team competitions and individual contests ranging from academics to gaming. There are also campus-based, co-curricular courses offered like academic decathlon, debate, cheer, yearbook, and newspaper.

“We provide students with opportunities to participate in the department-sponsored activities at no cost,” said Leonidas Patterson, director of Student Activities. “Providing participation options allows students to explore their passions and interests while introducing them to new experiences beyond the academic day.”

For participating schools, Student Activities provides everything needed from study materials and equipment to meals and transportation. As an added bonus, campus-designated coaches receive stipends and are given opportunities to participate in workshops to better help prepare their students for success.

Adrienne McCann, a W.H. Gaston Middle School teacher, was one of more than 1,500 teachers who sponsored a Student Activities program last year. She is not only the campus activity coordinator but also sponsors several academic events at the school.

“Student Activities has been a great help with encouraging students to become lifelong learners through a variety of activities,” McCann said. “Our students are more engaged in learning core content materials while pairing the things they learn in the classroom with competitions like debate, UIL, [academic] pentathlon, and robotics.”

One of McCann’s students, Max Lopez, said debate improved his test-taking skills on the STAAR Reading exam. “Being in debate helped me comprehend and analyze what I was reading,” Lopez said. “I was able to answer the questions related to the text.”

He added, “Plus, I can argue a ton better now.” 

Leveling Up

This year, programs are being expanded and participation is projected to rise. Additions include chess for grades kindergarten through second grade, cheer and esports for fourth and fifth grades, and yearbook for middle school grades.

“Getting students involved in extracurricular activities is certainly a priority for the district leadership team and the Board of Trustees,” said Sharla Hudspeth, executive director of Extracurricular and Extended Learning Opportunities. “Expanding programs provides students a chance to participate in extracurriculars as early as possible. Early participation will lead to continued involvement as well as better outcomes in academic achievement and social-emotional learning.”

Because of this, most programs are vertically aligned from elementary to high school. For instance, a student can master the intricacies of chess by being able to stay involved for 13 years if they start in kindergarten and continue through their senior year.

Several programs come with special acknowledgments of merit and achievement.  Cheer, debate, academic decathlon, and UIL academics offer opportunities to earn letter jackets for students who meet certain criteria. Also, scholarships are available through cheer, decathlon, debate, UIL, and esports.

Aside from merit-based recognitions, students reap the added benefit of life experience. Through participation in extracurricular activities, students have been to cities all over Texas, and to New York, Kentucky, Washington D.C., California, Tennessee, and Kansas. They travel by bus and by plane, stay in hotels, see historic sites, and eat meals together as a team, all while creating lifelong memories.

While Dallas ISD students participate in local, regional, state, and national competitions throughout the year, they are building social and networking skills, broadening their minds to new ideas, and thinking about paths they want to take in the future, Patterson said. In addition, competitions are often hosted by a college or university, giving students a glimpse at college life.

But it doesn’t stop there. The benefits of participating in student activities go beyond preparing kids for the world and instilling in them the skills needed for success, said Julian Spearman, Student Activities coordinator.

“The real magic is the sense of belonging students get from being involved in extracurricular activities,” he added. “I have had students come up to me at a tournament and tell me about how they never felt like there was anything for them until esports came along, and how they feel part of something.”

Student Activities Department Programs

Academic UIL (Grades 2-12)

The University Interscholastic League provides 23 high school and 17 elementary and middle school academic competitive events that challenge students to think critically, exhibiting much more than knowledge and comprehension.

Cheer (Grades 4-12)

Cheer creates and promotes school spirit while encouraging quality performance and high academic standards. Through the development of spirit and cheer technique, cheerleaders will encourage their student body and their community through support in the promotion of athletic events and activities.

Chess (Grades K-12)

The districtwide chess program provides students the opportunity to showcase their problem-solving and critical thinking skills at school and chess tournaments.

Debate (Grades 5-12)

The partnerships with the Dallas Urban Debate Alliance and Debate|Able provide Dallas ISD secondary and elementary school students the opportunity to participate in competitive academic debate programs.

Decathlon (Grades 9-12)­­

Academic Decathlon is a theme-based, ten-event scholastic team competition wherein students match their intellect with students from other schools.

Destination Imagination (Grades K-12)

Destination Imagination motivates young people to look for the challenges in life and see them as opportunities for growth. DI inspires students to solve problems, search for creative solutions, and to work cooperatively with others.

Esports (Grades 4-12)

With weekly practices and tournaments, students will be able to improve their gaming skills and develop a sense of community and involvement at school and in the esports community.

Link Crew (Grades 11-12)

An elite group of juniors and seniors, Link Crew leaders organize and implement the freshman orientation on their campuses. The freshman transition program provides members of the freshman class with support and guidance to improve their overall first-year experience in high school. Participating high schools are Adams, Adamson, Business, Gilliam, Law, Madison, Samuell, Seagoville, Skyline, and Wilson.

Lone Star Challenge (Grades 4-6)

Lone Star Challenge is the elementary competition equivalent to Academic Decathlon and Academic Pentathlon. Lone Star is a theme-based four-event scholastic team competition wherein fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade students match their intellect with students from other schools.

Pentathlon (Grades 6-8)

Academic Pentathlon is a theme-based, five-event scholastic team competition wherein sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students match their intellect with students from other schools.

Student Publications (Grades 6-12)

Student publications supported by Dallas ISD are secondary yearbook and high school newspaper programs. Staff members are charged with producing professional publications that showcase their design, writing, and photography skills.

Texas Math & Science Coaches Association (Grades 3-12)

Involvement in TMSCA invitational meets provides students the opportunity to practice UIL math and science contests through grade level and team competitions. Contests include Number Sense, Calculator Applications, Mathematics, and Science.

For Eric Benson, transforming student lives has had different meanings over his 38 years as a physical education teacher at Bishop Arts Steam Academy. Several of his former students are now leading life-changing careers of their own, including Diana Nunez, a proud Dallas ISD graduate who has spent over two decades working as a teacher, principal and executive director in the district.

“We knew early on that Diana was going to be something special, just like everyone else in her family,” Benson said. “I’m so happy for her and all of her siblings, the direction that they’ve gone and all the things they have accomplished.”

Benson and Nunez first met when Nunez was in sixth grade, but their connection did not stop when she transitioned into seventh grade. Nunez was followed in school by her younger brother and sisters, so Benson spent another eight years getting to know her family through the students in his class. As the siblings grew older, they began inviting their old coach to their graduations and some even to their weddings.

“I always enjoyed going to see their graduations,” Benson said. ”Afterward, their parents would invite me over to celebrate, eat dinner and enjoy all the other festivities. I never left hungry and was always in a good mood. I still appreciate that to this day.” 

After working as a teacher herself, Nunez has a new appreciation for everything Benson did for her family and still does for so many students. He always went above and beyond to ensure his students could participate in different sports and stepped up to lead after-school leagues, she said. 

“All these years later, he is still making sure there are great opportunities for his students,” Nunez said. “Teachers go through hundreds of students, so the fact that teachers like Coach Benson still try to make those connections and show up and go to events, it’s so special.” 

The two of them have stayed in touch by running into each other over the years at district events, but they have also maintained a positive personal connection. For example, Benson drives by Nunez’s parents’ house every day on his way home from work and makes sure to stop and say hello.

“I’m just so proud and touched to be a small part of this family’s lives,” Benson said. “That’s what we’re all about in Dallas ISD—making these positive connections with our students and seeing them grow and become successful adults like her entire family.” 

“This Is Home has a different meaning for those of us who have been with the district for a long time,” Nunez agreed. “Throughout the years, Coach Benson has always been very supportive of my family. When we invited him, he would show up every time. I’m really thankful for that.” 

The Human Capital Management Central Staff Leadership Development team is inviting staff across the district to grow their leadership skills this fall by attending any or all of the upcoming learning sessions. 

Click on the link to sign up for the following sessions in Cornerstone:

DATE	SUBJECT	MODE
September 13	Goal Setting Power Hour	Online
September 21	Finding Your Roots: Team Dysfunction	Online
September 26	Finding Your Roots: Team Dysfunction	In Person
September 27	Goal Setting Power Hour	In Person
October 3	Finding Your Roots: Team Dysfunction	In Person
October 6	Fostering High-Performing Teams – Team Building Basics	In Person
October 18	Mindset in the Workplace v.2	In Person

 

Dallas ISD administrators, teachers, faculty and staff are invited to apply for the two TEXAS YES grants available to support students across all grade levels this school year. 

TEXAS YES is an educational nonprofit committed to closing the gap for educational equality by providing schools in San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, Corpus Christi and Austin with resources and supplies. 

Applicants must apply for a grant by Sept. 30. The new TEXAS STEAM Grant—presented by Thomas J. Henry—will focus on STEAM education, while the 2022-2023 YES Grant will focus on updating school equipment such as library books, computer labs and physical education equipment. 

Once the application window closes, TEXAS YES will review the applications and announce the grant recipients the week of Oct. 11. Please note that applicants may only receive one grant per year. 

Apply for the Texas STEAM Grant or the 2022-2023 YES Grant today. For more information about the grants and what to expect during the application process, visit https://www.texasyesproject.org/yes-grant/. 

From the curb to the classroom, the Dr. Billy Earl Dade Middle School reminds every passerby and guest, and every student, parent and educator that Dade is Home.

Friendly greetings from the front office and enthusiastic voices of educators and students echo in Dade’s luminous hallways. The white overhead lights that reflect on the waxed floors contrast with the black and bright-orange decorations displayed in every hallway that cause the 600 Dade Vikings and 41 staffers to beam with pride.

Only seven years ago, this South Dallas campus was home to abysmal staff turnover and deep behavioral issues, and was deemed low-performing by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for three years in a row. Now, Dade has earned a “B-83” rating on the state’s 2022 Accountability Rating System, and Dallas ISD’s Local Accountability System calls it a “Breakthrough Campus” with one of the highest-rated climates and school cultures districtwide.

Rockell Williams Stewart, a South Dallas native and Dallas ISD homegrown educator, has led Billy Earl Dade Middle School as principal for the last four years. She graduated from Lincoln High School, earned her teacher certification, and returned to Dallas ISD to teach Reading Language Arts at her former middle school, Pearl C. Anderson Middle School. After 12 years of teaching, she left South Dallas to work as an academic facilitator with Dallas ISD’s central staff.

“The district closed Anderson in 2013 and sent all the students to Dade, which became the home of two rival middle schools that served two different zip codes and fed into two different high schools,” Stewart said. “The work, to turn around and transform a school where kids might have been allowed to behave a certain type of way and were getting in trouble often was challenging, to say the least.”

In 2015, the district recruited Stewart – along with a team of elite, like-minded educators – to support a pilot program designed to fix low-performing schools as an assistant principal at Dade.

ACE, which stands for Accelerating Campus Excellence, has become Dallas ISD’s most successful initiative to boost student achievement in the highest-need campuses. Dade was part of the first ACE cohort seven years ago and is one of the schools that helped build the foundation of this exemplary program.

Under ACE, the district incentivizes top teachers and principals to voluntarily work at the district’s highest-need schools. The program combines strategic staffing, effective instruction, positive culture, extended learning and collaborative partnerships implemented in a culture of high expectations. Most ACE schools turn around within one year and stay in the program for three years before they bridge back to their geographic feeder pattern.

Tracie Washington, who currently serves Dallas ISD as executive director of middle school strategy & innovation, was the Seagoville Middle School principal at the time Dallas ISD wanted to address the issues at Dade. When the opportunity arose, she met with then-superintendent Mike Miles, who asked her to build a team and recruit teachers who could support the mission of transforming the school.

“ACE works because it is an intentional effort to recruit and incentivize like-minded people,” Washington said. “We had a true opportunity to be honest with the scope of the work: that this was going to be the most challenging and the most rewarding work of anyone’s career. I had the very best teachers, not measured by metrics, but because of their belief system and their grit, and because collectively, we would honor commitments and give the kids the experience of their life.”

Seventh-grade Texas Studies educator and Dade’s Teacher of the Year Marquis Barnes-Wheeler is among the former Seagoville Middle School teachers who joined Washington at Dade. Like Stewart, Barnes-Wheeler is a product of South Dallas who attended Pearl C. Anderson and later graduated from “The Great” James Madison High. He’s been part of the Dade family since the transition, and for the last 10 years has volunteered to coach at his high school alma mater.

“I wrestled with the decision, just because I knew the kind of environment I was going to be thrown into,” Barnes-Wheeler said. “I gave it a lot of thought and a lot of prayer, thinking about what I could contribute to this change. I knew I had to come, because if I don’t do it, being from this community, who else is going to do it? I had to come and give back to these kids, because they deserve everything that anybody from other environments has. These kids deserve that, too.

“From the curb to the classroom”

Like Barnes-Wheeler, Dade’s PLC Facilitator and Culture Coordinator Vonda Pipkin is a former Seagoville Middle School staffer who followed Washington onto the Dade frontlines. Ever since, she’s worked alongside Stewart at Dade and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary (another South Dallas ACE success). Under Principal Stewart’s leadership, MLK’s earned the highest-rated positive climate and culture in the district and went from a “D-61” to a “B-81” during the 2018-2019 school year.

For the last seven years, Stewart and Pipkin have placed a heavy emphasis on climate and culture because they’ve found it to be a key factor in turning struggling schools around. The aligned belief and strategy that Stewart and Pipkin implemented, both at Dade and MLK, emphasizes that when teachers and staff feel appreciated, the kids feel it, too.

Dade implemented a house system where every student, teacher and staff member belongs to one of three teams and scores points based on attendance, achievement, behavior and character. Every other Wednesday, administrators check on their teachers and encourage other teachers to check on each other as part of Wellness Wednesdays. Every staff birthday is celebrated and every appreciation day is honored. The leadership team often visits classrooms to cheer on the teachers while coaching in the moment and building inspiring relationships. The success of these strategies are reflected in the 2022 Local Accountability Rating, where Dade earned a 96.1% positive response on its Campus Climate Survey and a 93.4% positive response on its Parent/Guardian Satisfaction Survey.

“When we saw that the heat was being turned up for expectations, there was a need to turn up the love even more,” Pipkin said. “Climate and culture is not just one thing, it’s everything, from the curb to the classroom. When you pull up in the parking lot, is the grass cut? Does the school look warm, welcoming, inviting? When you enter through the doors, are you greeted? It starts with showing love and appreciation and valuing others. It is not one thing, it is everything that we do daily.”

Good nutrition and a balanced diet can improve physical and mental well-being. For the month of September, the Benefits Department, in collaboration with Food and Child Nutrition Services, will launch Healthy Eating Month to share a variety of resources and information to help staff make healthier eating choices.

Throughout the month, we will focus on nutritional tips, recipes, and cooking demonstrations that help you continue or jump-start a healthy eating lifestyle. Whether you want to lose a few pounds before a trip or wedding day, or you want to feel good inside and out, Dallas ISD health and nutrition experts are there to help. 

In addition to online resources, experts will be available during two webinars in September to answer questions about the benefits of healthy eating, how to make easy changes to your diet can reduce the risk of hypertension, diabetes, and what constitutes healthy eating to improve your overall health. To register for the webinars, click on your preferred date:

5 p.m. • Tuesday, Sept. 13

5 p.m. • Tuesday, Sept. 27

You can visit www.dallasisd.org/benefits for the complete list of tips, recipes, and cooking demonstrations. The month will include:

• Weekly communication featuring nutritional tips, how to eat healthy, nutritional recipes and much more.
• Recorded cooking demonstrations by FCNS chefs to prepare easy, healthy meals.
• Recorded interviews covering nutritional health topics such as managing or mitigating risk of hypertension, diabetes, and other health conditions that can be improved with a healthy diet.
• Recipes 

This healthy eating campaign is one of the many ways—such as the PINK OUT for breast cancer awareness, GO RED for heart health, flu clinics, and Mental Health Month in May campaigns—sponsored by the Benefits Department to support Dallas ISD employees’ total health and wellness program.

Dallas ISD schools are invited to transform education by applying for the Innovation Engine, an annual opportunity for campus funding. The program will provide up to 20 Dallas ISD neighborhood schools with $50,000 each to support them in exploring and implementing an innovative program or initiative.

Applications are due Friday, Sept. 16, by 11:59 p.m. The Innovation Engine recipients will be announced later in the fall, and the supported programs and initiatives will be implemented in the spring. 

Eligible applicants include principals of neighborhood schools that have not previously received funding through the Office of Transformation and Innovation. Innovation schools, transformation schools and wall-to-wall magnet schools are not eligible for funding. However, neighborhood schools with magnet or other application-based programs may apply for an initiative that will support their general student body.

Learn more about this opportunity by visiting https://www.dallasisd.org/Page/59096 or by attending one of two information sessions on Sept. 6 or Sept. 13 at noon. Register for the virtual sessions by clicking here.

If you have further questions about your school’s eligibility, contact Angie Gaylord, deputy chief of Transformation and Innovation, at agaylord@dallasisd.org. 

Over the last six months, people have found alternate paths to make a difference for children by becoming Dallas ISD teachers through the district’s Alternative Certification program. The program has experienced increases in the number of applicants, candidates admitted, candidates transitioning into an internship, and interns recommended for standard certification.

 During the program’s most recent recruitment season, the number of applications accepted increased more than 30 percent, which can be attributed to more strategic recruitment efforts to support the students of Dallas ISD, said Chele Andreason, executive director in HCM.

 “There are a lot of people who are passionate about education and who want to teach, but they have degrees in other fields,” Andreason said. “Our Alternative Certification Program provides them the opportunity to fulfill their dream of becoming teachers while supporting them through the process. It’s a great program.”

In January 2022, the program was redesigned to attract more applicants who want to make Dallas ISD home. The redesign included free tuition for candidates seeking certifications in critical need areas. In addition, the program has held weekly information sessions, which average an attendance rate of 90 people per session, as well as updates to social media sites, advertising on hiring platforms, such as LinkedIn, and paid advertisements in local news publications, and the placement of billboards throughout the metroplex. 

 The Dallas ISD Alternative Certification Program offers much more than just an alternative route to become a teacher. It also provides intentional content test preparation and a standards-driven training program, where future educators can:

• engage with others
• explore and practice innovative approaches to teaching
• develop a deeper understanding of their impact on student achievement

 For any questions on the redesign of the program or if you know someone who is interested and needs information on admission requirements, please review our website at https://www.dallasisd.org/altcert or reach out to Andreason at candreason@dallasisd.org. 

Volunteer attorneys with the Dallas Bar Association will answer legal questions at no cost from 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays during September through a LegalLine E-Clinic.

To participate, complete the online form found here https://tinyurl.com/DBALegalLine. A volunteer attorney will call the registered participant to provide up to 15 minutes of free legal advice for a legal issue. Space is limited, and registration closes at noon the Tuesday prior to the clinic. 

Please note that the volunteer attorney will remain anonymous. Participants should watch for a call from an unknown number that should be labeled “No Caller ID” or something similar. No attorney-client relationship will be established. We cannot guarantee that the attorney will speak any language other than English. Individuals may also receive referrals to local, legal, or social service agencies.

For legal assistance any time, contact the DBA’s Lawyer Referral Service at www.dallasbar.org/index.cfm?pg=LawyerReferralService.