Staff News

October is National Principal Appreciation Month, and Dallas ISD celebrates the 225 dedicated principals who continue to lead their schools through challenging times to ensure that all students are educated for success. Thank you, principals!

Marlon Brooks’ almost 29-year career as an educator is full of accomplishments, including being one of the longest-serving principals in the district.

But in the eyes of the L.G. Pinkston High School principal, it’s not accolades or promotions that stand as the most remarkable milestones of his long tenure in Dallas ISD.

“Being a principal is one of the most outstanding career opportunities one can have because you can meet people, students, from all walks of life and lead them to develop and grow into adulthood,” he said.

Brooks began his career as an educator with Dallas ISD in 1992 and has been a teacher, an assistant principal and a principal at a variety of schools with diverse student bodies throughout the district. Notably, the Louisiana native has been principal at Skyline High School—Dallas ISD’s largest secondary campus—and at schools where students need a different approach to guide them to academic success—Barbara M. Manns, Maya Angelou and John Leslie Patton.

“Mr. Brooks is an outstanding Principal that consistently works to serve his students, community, and all stakeholders in order  to ensure their success,” said Salem Hussain, executive director for secondary schools in the W.H. Adamson, L.G. Pinkston, Sunset and Moisés E. Molina high school feeder patterns.

In 2011, Brooks was tasked with sunsetting A. Maceo Smith High School and transitioning most of its students to the new Wilmer Hutchins High School. In his second year as principal of Pinkston, he is once again in charge of a major transition as plans are under way to build a state-of-the-art campus for West Dallas in partnership with Toyota and Southern Methodist University.

“Challenges are all a matter of perspective,” Brooks says. “Never, has any day at any of the schools I have been not been enjoyable for me. It’s all about following a system—a mission, vision, goals and expectations—that will help students and their communities grow.”

Brooks attributes his success as principal to the talented teachers and staff he has worked with and to the support of the administration. Gaining the trust of the community he serves and their collaboration also has been a factor.

“The school is often the heart of a community, a place of greatness for the community, and it’s our job as educators to serve that community and to make sure that what we offer is the best for that community,” he said.

He feels privileged to be part of West Dallas as Pinkston principal because he believes that despite the image that some may have of the area, he knows it to be a place of unbridled potential, and Pinkston as the source of those who will lead the way. The campus housing seventh through 12th grades is an asset in his eyes—students get used to the cultural platform and high expectations earlier.

“It is our job to make sure that we are the premier educational institution that [West Dallas] deserves,” Brooks said. “West Dallas is an opportunity goldmine. As economic investment grows in the area, we need to provide educational opportunities that match or exceed that growth and prepare our students to compete in the global market by tapping the cultural diversity we find in West Dallas.”

Through the years, Brooks has amassed a wealth of experience, and his advice to principals who are starting their careers usually includes:

• Be servant minded
• Be people oriented
• Recognize the importance of your role in helping students grow not just academically, but also socially
• Always seek to learn from everyone and to grow
• Recognize it’s about the best idea not whose idea it is
• Be a part of your community

In the initial meeting Brooks had two years ago with the panel of teachers, community members, and parents formed to help choose a new principal for Pinkston, “I told them what I bring to the table, but I asked them to tell me what they needed from me,” he said. “I wanted to engage in a sense of teamwork so we could together reframe the vision for Pinkston and West Dallas to be successful. I’ve had nothing but support.”

Effective Nov. 1, Payroll Services will offer electronic versions of the Payroll Correction Forms for attendance corrections and the Supplemental Pay Correction Form through Laserfiche. The new electronic form will replace the paper versions, and all payroll correction forms must be completed and approved using the Laserfiche submission process.

The new electronic forms can be found on the Payroll Services website located at www.dallasisd.org/payroll under the Forms option. You will need to sign in using your EAD username and password.

In preparation for the upcoming change, please click here to view the training videos on how to complete an electronic payroll absence or supplemental pay correction form and how to approve the Payroll Correction Form and the Payroll Supplemental Pay Correction Form in Laserfiche.

If you need assistance with completing or approving the correction forms in Laserfiche, please send an email to NotifyPayroll@dallasisd.org. You can find the step-by-step documentation for this process on the Payroll Services website located under Resource in the How to Guides section.

Dallas ISD is looking for ambassadors and champions to participate in two districtwide campaigns: the relaunch of the Core 4 and the annual employee giving campaign for United Way.

Core 4 Culture Tenets Ambassadors

Dallas ISD is committed to providing exemplary customer service in every corner of the district. We’ve committed to the tenets of Core 4— Focused, Fast, Flexible, and Friendly—which ensure we are delivering professional, high-quality service. To ensure this commitment continues to be part of everyday life in the district, we have redesigned Core 4 to include Cultural Tenets rooted in our principles of racial equity and cultural responsiveness, comprehensive accountability, responsible use of resources, and collaboration. These changes will benefit our staff and improve communications with our students, parents, and the community.

Departments/campuses are asked to assign at least one employee to serve as its team’s Cultural Tenets Ambassador. This individual will be responsible for training his or her colleagues in the upcoming months on the Core 4 tenets. The goal is to have every Dallas ISD employee trained by the end of the 2020-2021 school year. Campuses consisting of 100 or more employees are encouraged to select two employees to serve as their ambassadors. When selecting this individual(s), please consider selecting a member of your team who demonstrates leadership skills and is able to execute a training at a high-level.

Please submit the name(s) of your department/campus ambassador using the following link:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b6LYT1PZnbHx8NpPxhoDslhRUH4YLdII6Zzonl29IDw/edit?usp=sharing. Those who have been designated as ambassadors should attend training.

1. 1. Click on this link https://www.dallasisd.org/Page/69841#calendar119054/20200918/month.The link will take them to the calendar where events are listed.
   2. The sessions are listed as Core 4 Ambassador Training. Select a training date and time.
   3. Session registration page for selected date/time. Type the Org # for your department and click register. (If you do not see register icon you are most likely not logged in. If that’s the case scroll to the top of the page and in the navy blue ribbon you will see Account in white letters. Click there and   in with your EAD credentials.)
   4. Once the registration is submitted an automatic confirmation email will be sent.

United Way Employee Giving Campaign Champions:

Principals and department heads are asked to select and share the name and contact information of their campaign champion by clicking here so they can attend training. Virtual training session will take place the week of Oct. 12. Exact dates/times and registration can be found on the Districtwide Datebook.

The Language, Literacy and Social Studies department is inviting staff to its annual conference, which this year will take place virtually on Saturday, Oct. 24.

As in past years, the conference— “Excellence through Equity: Fostering Positive Learning Experiences”—will offer district teachers support by hosting a fall conference for professional development. Several district departments will come together in the virtual conference to explore how to bring excellence through equity for all students.

In addition to information provided by district staff, participants will also hear from a variety of renowned speakers, such as Dr. Eric Jensen and Dr. Anthony Muhammad, throughout the day. For more information and to register to participate, click here.

The Office of Transformation and Innovation has extended the application deadline for Innovation Engine to Friday, Oct. 16.

The Innovation Engine is a program designed to provide funding and support to neighborhood schools interested in implementing innovative programs or initiatives. The program will select up to 20 neighborhood schools to receive $50,000 each to implement their proposed model during the 2020-2021 school year. Principals are invited to submit applications with their executive directors’ approval by 4:59 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16.

Visit the Innovation Engine web page to view the application materials and learn more. For questions, contact Shakeatha Butler, OTI director, at shakbutler@dallasisd.org.

Dallas ISD is holding an Oct.19 webinar to share with district staff, students and parents actions the district is taking to transform Dallas ISD into an anti-racist school community. The webinar will feature a brief presentation defining terms such as racism and cultural intelligence and how those tools can help create an anti-racist organization. The district’s executive leaders will also share what their departments are doing to reform programs and operations.

This first in a series of gatherings will be held as a virtual meeting at 5 p.m., Monday, Oct. 19. It will be headed by Dr. Sandra Upton, a national expert on diversity, equity and inclusion and will be conducted in English and Spanish on Zoom and streamed live on Facebook. While this webinar will be primarily a listen and learn event, future sessions will be designed to engage the community, collect input and ideas and answer questions.

Register in advance for this webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

For two decades, the Dallas Independent School District and the  United Way of Metropolitan Dallas have partnered on the district’s employee giving campaign—raising more than $5 million.

A key component of a successful giving campaign is the selection of a dynamic campaign champion. Following their selection and attendance at the district’s United Way information session, these individuals will be asked to assume responsibility for encouraging their colleagues to support the campaign and develop strategies to ensure their departments or campuses reach their fundraising goals.

This year, the Dallas Education Foundation will be the district’s charity of choice. As the district’s nonprofit partner, DEF aligns with our strategic initiatives and connects with area business leaders, residents and the philanthropic community to raise funds for programs that enrich the lives of our students.

The 2020 Employee Giving Campaign is scheduled for Oct. 26 through Dec. 11 and has a fundraising goal of $150,000.

Principals and department heads are asked to select and share the name and contact information of their campaign champion by Tuesday, Oct. 6, by clicking here. Once the champion is assigned, the district’s United Way Campaign Coordinator will schedule a 30-minute virtual information session the week of Oct. 12. Exact dates/times and registration can be found on the Districtwide Datebook.

Effective Nov. 1 Non-Exempt and Exempt Attendance Report Form will be available electronically through Laserfiche, replacing the paper forms. Timekeepers will continue to make entries to the employees’ timecards for absences and adjustments; however, all Non-Exempt and Exempt Attendance Report Forms must be completed by employees and approved by respective supervisors using the Laserfiche submission process.

The new electronic Non-Exempt and Exempt Attendance Report Forms can be found on the Payroll Services website under the Forms option. You will need to sign in using your EAD username and password to gain access to the form, which will be routed automatically to the designated supervisor for approval.

In preparation for the upcoming change, please click here to view the training video on how to submit and get approval for the Non-Exempt and Exempt Attendance Report Form in Laserfiche. If you need assistance with completing or approving the attendance forms in Laserfiche, please send an email to NotifyPayroll@dallasisd.org.

In its efforts to promote social distancing and maintain the safety of staff, Dallas ISD staff working in person in district facilities have several choices to clock in and record their attendance: the biometric clocks, available in multiple locations in district buildings; the web clock, available online; and the attendance forms. The choice of which option to use is up to the employee.

Additional biometric clocks have been installed throughout the buildings to decrease the number of users per clock.

Employees who choose the web clock can access it at https://webclock.dallasisd.org, using Internet Explorer or Google Chrome. When using the web clock, staff will continue to submit PTO requests directly to their timekeeper. Payroll Services has created a step-by-step guide to accessing the web clock and recording their clock in and out for the regular time and attendance and for supplemental pay. The guide can be found here.

For those interested in becoming principals and needing addition information before completing their application, the LEAD Department is offering a virtual information session at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6,

The LEAD team will share information about the Principal Candidate Selection Process, how to apply and what to expect following submittal of the application. All individuals interested in joining the information session should RSVP at https://forms.gle/6k8m6aqRqCD3sEQ46

Submit your application on TMS by Oct. 9. Those who complete their application in TMS by the deadline will receive a link from HCM to complete the second stage of the application.

Should you have any questions or need additional information, please contact LEAD@dallasisd.org