Central Staff News

Four Dallas ISD teachers have been selected to receive the University of Chicago Outstanding Educator Award, which is given to educators who shape young minds in meaningful ways by thoughtfully approaching instruction, sharing an infectious love for learning, and caring for students inside and outside the classroom.

The Dallas ISD recipients are:

• Cymone Lonon—School for the Talented and Gifted at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center
• Anaïs Childress—Hillcrest High School
• Claudia Simpkins—Trinidad “Trini” Garza Early College High School
• Nate Smith—Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts

This distinguished university award has existed for more than three decades, and each year, newly admitted University of Chicago students have the opportunity to reflect on their time in school and nominate an educator who played a significant role in their education, who made a positive impact in their lives, and whose influence has brought them to where they are today.

All award winners receive a commemorative award, a certificate, and a letter that includes details from the student who nominated them. The winners were celebrated during a recent virtual event.

Cybercriminals want your information and can be creative in the ways they try to get you to provide it. Internet-enabled crimes are on the rise and getting harder to spot, so be vigilant and learn how to avoid them.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the last calendar year saw both the highest number of complaints of internet-based crimes and the highest dollar losses reported since the center was established in May 2000. In a recent year, the center received 467,361 complaints and recorded more than $3.5 billion in losses to individual and business victims. Hackers use email, social media, texts, phone calls, and other forms of communication to steal valuable data.

Phishing attacks are among the most common security challenges that both individuals and organizations face when keeping personal information secure. Phishing is a crime where a cybercriminal sends out a fraudulent communication that appears to come from a legitimate source. The goal of these criminals is to steal sensitive data like log-in information, personal details used to answer security questions, or to get the recipient to click on a link that will install malware on the device.

Four most common types of phishing attacks:

• Email phishing – a broad approach where the hacker sends the same email to thousands of users requesting to fill in personal details or click on a link that will compromise the device being used.
• Spear phishing – a personalized approach in which the hacker knows which specific individual or organization they are after, a sophisticated approach that increases the likelihood of the target falling for the trap.
• Smishing (SMS) – attempts to entice a user into revealing personal information via a link that leads to a phishing website.
• Vishing (voice) – attempts to obtain personal information about credit cards, banks or even social security numbers with a phone call, usually from a fake number.

Avoid being the victim of a cybercrime by staying vigilant and keeping the following advice in mind:

• Never give out personal information over the phone. Government agencies like the IRS and banks and credit cards never call asking for personal information. If you get a call, hang up and call the legitimate number for the agency or business.
• Think before you click. Criminals have gotten more sophisticated about sending emails from addresses that are similar to the legitimate one. If the email asks for personal information or asks you to click on a link to log into your account, make sure you thoroughly check the address.

The Texas Education Agency and The Texas Department of State Health Services are launching a new COVID-19 Testing project for the remainder of the 2021-2022 school year. Dallas ISD is working to transfer all testing materials and train test administrators in the coming weeks.

All testing for students and staff will be put on pause until further notice. All campuses, service centers, administration buildings, and the test site at 3609 Botham Jean Blvd (formerly Lamar ST.) will cease administering tests.

Please email EmployeeTesting@dallasisd.org with any questions.

Dallas ISD’s United Way employee giving campaign is under way, and as an extra giving perk, staff can wear jeans one day a week with a donation.

To accommodate diverse schedules, district employees can wear jeans one day per week during the campaign in exchange for a $5 donation per jeans day during the following weeks:

• Oct. 18-22
• Oct. 25-29
• Nov. 1-5
• Nov. 8-12
• Nov. 15-19
• Nov. 29-Dec. 3
• Dec. 6-10
• Dec. 13-17

You can make individual donations every week through Giving UNITED or a one-time, minimum donation of $40 through Oracle or Giving UNITED and wear jeans one day every week through Dec. 17.

In preparation for the start of Dallas ISD’s annual employee giving campaign, in collaboration with the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and benefiting the Dallas Education Foundation, schools and departments are asked to each choose a champion to represent them.

DEF is the philanthropic arm of Dallas ISD, and in 2020 provided over $3 million in funding that supported grants for teachers, campus needs, programming, technology, and project Dream Big. This year, the district has committed to raising $150,000 between Oct. 18 and Dec. 17.

All departments and campuses must identify an individual who will serve as champion the core of the employee giving campaign. Selecting the right individual who embodies the district’s cultural tenets is key to each department/campus reaching its fundraising goal. This individual should be someone who understands the importance of collaboration, is goal-oriented, has a philanthropic spirit, and has a go-getter attitude! Champions will receive weekly calendar invitations to attend virtual check-ins with the campaign coordinator to cover questions, receive fundraising tips and best practices.

Complete the following champion identification form.

https://forms.gle/G1q6H72HNctNRe179

Campaign resources are located on the district webpage at www.dallasisd.org/unitedway.

During its regular monthly briefing, the Board of Trustees will consider several items and reports from district departments, including the superintendent’s report that will provide the following updates:

• ESSER—Group 1A Activities
• Afterschool Expansion
• Racial Equity—Programmatic Equity
• District of Innovation (DOI)
• UT Southwestern Project

The board will also consider several other items, including proposed changes to various board policies and approval of an interlocal agreement with the University of North Texas to offer a master’s degree in autism intervention and a graduate academic certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis.

Briefings are scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. and are broadcast online through a link available on www.dallasisd.org once the meeting starts. To see a copy of the agenda and presentations associated with this meeting’s reports, visit  https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/disd/Board.nsf/vpublic?open and click on the Oct. 14 briefing to access the agenda.

The Board of Trustees will also hold a called board meeting at 2 p.m. to discuss:

• Presentation of Initial Redistricting Maps and Community Feedback
• Discussion of Initial Maps and Community Feedback
• Discussion of Timeline & Next Steps, Including Community Meetings and Tele-town halls

In Dallas ISD, we embrace the positive and expect the best of each other, which can be achieved in part by seeking to understand others and making yourself understood. Summarizing—a critical listening skill—is key to achieving understanding.

It takes effort and skill to be a good listener—to seek to understand. Whether you are on the phone with a parent or with the head of a department, it’s always a good idea to avoid miscommunications by paraphrasing what the other person said to show you have understood. Then ask if you got that right. Even if you heard clearly what the other person said, that might not be what they meant.

Using these unique skills will help make memorable moments with staff, students, parents, and the community. Grounded in building respectful relationships through professional communication, the Friendly tenet of the Core 4 rubric encourages all to contribute to a welcoming, inclusive, and respectful working environment by seeking to understand the needs of others and making efforts to meet others’ needs without bias.

Last November, with the promise of an impending vaccine against COVID and a return to normalcy, it was easy to toy with the idea of skipping the annual mammogram. What would be the harm with no family history and no previous suspicious findings?

Then I remembered the dozens of Dallas ISD breast cancer survivors whose stories I had edited for the past two years as part of the Dallas ISD Goes Pink! campaign led by our Benefits Department. They spoke of courage, strength and survival but also of urgency: Don’t wait because early detection is key. They probably saved my life.

Heeding the collective advice, I did schedule my mammogram for the week of Thanksgiving, and, by Dec. 7, after a second mammogram and a needle biopsy, I had been diagnosed with ductal in situ carcinoma. Not skipping the annual screening meant I was very lucky—it was found early.

Because the pandemic made it impossible to travel, I could not rely on family for help through surgeries and treatment. I depended on the family I have made here in Dallas and in the district. I relied on the kindness and directness of the women who have gone through this before and who were there to answer questions as I had to make decisions and face challenges. I relied on friends who just let me cry on the phone when I needed to and still do, on others who cooked for days so I could have protein rich food as I recovered from surgery. I relied on friends who cheered the end of every week of radiation and who celebrated the 15-minute walks I could barely manage as if they were marathons, who were with me at the hospital for surgeries and who spent days with me to make sure I was recovering.

The journey to recovery and, hopefully, remission is not one that should be traveled alone. I was fortunate to have great support and benefits through Dallas ISD—especially the employee assistance program—and to have access to fantastic and compassionate medical personnel at UT Southwestern.

I owe a debt to all the Dallas ISD women whose stories during past Dallas ISD Goes Pink! campaigns instilled the importance of annual screenings and the hope for survival. Had I waited a year, my prognosis and treatment would have been very different. If you are a breast cancer survivor or you are going through treatment now, share you story by sending an email to staffnews@dallasisd.org. We’ll publish these stories through October. You never know, you might save a life.

MariCarmen Eroles
Communications

More than 11,600 employees received their $500 vaccine incentive in September and more than 3,500 will be getting theirs as part of their October paycheck. If you are feeling left out don’t wait to get your first shot because time is running out to participate.

Dallas ISD full- and part-time employees who have received all the required doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are eligible to participate in the vaccination incentive.  They must provide proof of vaccination by Nov. 15 to be eligible to receive the incentive. Employees who have not yet gotten their first shot of a two-shot vaccine should plan to get it soon so they can receive their second shot and submit proof by the deadline.

With the safety and well-being of staff and students in mind, Dallas ISD is offering a one-time incentive of $500 to district employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. To get the incentive, employees should fill out the vaccination incentive form and submit proof of vaccination (COVID vaccination card, IMMTrac2 print out or written confirmation from the employee’s medical provider).

For more information and to access the form to submit proof of vaccination, visit www.dallasisd.org/vaccineincentive.