Staff News

Hector Soto, an alcohol and drug clinician with Mental Health Services, has always been passionate about getting to the root cause of student behaviors and helping them build resilience and take advantage of opportunities from there. 

He joined the MHS team in 2016 and has jumped into a variety of roles ever since. He started out working in elementary, middle and high schools before moving to the Youth and Family Center side and working in clinics. Now, he has taken on a new project with a mission to increase awareness and prevention around substance abuse at Sunset High School. 

“We were asked if anybody would like to volunteer for this position, and I didn’t ask any questions other than, ‘Where am I needed and when would I start?’” Soto said. “If they’re asking, it’s because that’s what the school needs. And now here I am at Sunset.”

Soto has been focusing on transforming student lives at the high school ever since. The mission is to increase awareness, expand prevention, facilitate intervention, and promote mental health awareness and recovery from substance use/abuse in teens and youths at Sunset High School, and across Dallas ISD.

“My philosophy is to get to the heart of the students,” he said. “There’s a reason why they behave that way, so it’s a matter of figuring out what type of coping skills they need. We can’t use a cookie cutter approach for every student. And even then, what worked in Tuesday’s session will not work in the next Tuesday’s session because they adapt and change.”

Soto’s role requires him to maintain focus and respond to needs quickly to keep students safe. But he said another key facet of successfully supporting students is being friendly and building strong connections. Not only does this allow him to build trust, but it also enables him to de-escalate stressful situations. 

“Let’s say a student walks in and they are angry, and I walk in and I say, ‘What did you do?’ It’s a missed opportunity,” Soto said. “But if a student walks in and they are angry, and I walk in smiling, they want to know what I am smiling at. And then I ask, ‘You wanna hear a joke?’ They are bad jokes, but they help.” 

All of Soto’s work revolves around supporting students and giving them what they need to succeed. He said the transition into his new role at Sunset has been a “walk in the park” thanks to the MHS and Sunset leadership team.

“We’ve been all in on this,” Soto said. “I can say that from the top all the way to where we are, whatever anxieties I had stepping into this role have been alleviated because of our leadership. We love these students, and we want to support them in every way we can.”

Join Dallas ISD for the largest opportunity fair in the city—Discover Dallas ISD—from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at W.H. Adamson High School. Families will have an opportunity to explore school offerings, preview all choice and application-based schools, and receive support submitting applications on-site. 

The district is committed to offering students a program that best fits their unique interests, needs and aspirations. The academic options offered are as diverse as the learners themselves and often equal or surpass what is offered at top private schools in the area. 

The Communication Services Department has created a digital toolkit to help schools promote the event within their communities. The toolkit includes graphics and video to be shared on social media, along with traditional collateral that can be printed and shared. The toolkit also includes messaging that can be used for campus-wide newsletters, social media, school messenger, and other school communications. Please access the Discover Dallas ISD Toolkit here: Discover Dallas ISD Toolkit

From innovation at its best to exceptional academics, engaging extracurricular and after-school opportunities, and safe learning environments, the district has a school or program for every child. Options include such programs as Montessori, International Baccalaureate, Talented and Gifted, Single Gender, Dual Language, STEM/STEAM, Visual and Performing Arts, P-TECH/Early College High Schools, Career Institutes, Collegiate Academies and much more.

Families interested in learning more about the application-based schools and how these choice programs can advance their students’ education can participate in informative presentations during the Discover Dallas ISD event. After exploring options and selecting their preferred school, families can complete applications and receive assistance on-site during the event. For more information visit DallasISD.org/Discover.

Dallas ISD is giving the boot to breast cancer during October—Breast Cancer Awareness Month— by sharing information and stories of survivors and caregivers. Team members from across the district shared their stories and advice about survival and caring for loved ones with breast cancer. 

If you are a breast cancer survivor or someone who has supported a survivor, we want to hear your story and share it with others throughout the month of October. If you want to share, please, fill out this form. Download the flier with tips and information about breast cancer.

Show your support for giving breast cancer the boot by participating in the district’s Pink Out Days—Thursday, Oct. 19, and Friday, Oct. 20—to bring additional awareness to the need for regular check ups, mammograms and other prevention tips. Employees who wear pink on these days will be able to wear jeans on one of the days. 

Dallas ISD team members share their stories
(We will continue to share stories in the coming weeks as they are received.)

Jamesia Dykes
J.L. Long Middle School

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2022. Through a year-long battle of chemo, radiation, and surgery, I continued to teach and attend grad school. I am now CANCER FREE by the grace of God but the fight continues. 

What advice would you give others? Stay positive, have hope, and keep fighting.

Sheryl Thompson
Substitute

Prior to the November 2019 break, my younger sister called our mother to say, “My cancer is back.” My mother and I drove to Houston to find that my sister had been in the hospital eight days, and her cancer stage was advanced to the point that it would eventually shut down all of her organs. I spent 58 days in Houston caring for my sister and my 16-year-old niece. Every day was interesting, as she was a character, finding bits of humor in common things and reminiscing about past events in our childhood. She told me she loved me every day that she could, and I told her that I loved her, too. My only sibling began to fade away on Dec. 29, and she took her final peaceful breath on Dec. 30 with our mother.

What advice would you give others? As a former caregiver to a breast cancer patient, surround yourself with pictures, words and memories that are encouraging for both caregiver and patient.

Priscilla Jimenez
Edward Titche Elementary School

I am a Breast Cancer Survivor since 2016

What advice would you give others? To always get your mammogram check-up.

Katie Moser
J.L. Long Middle School

My Mom, Martha Moser, has had breast cancer since the beginning of 2020. She is an art teacher at Maria Moreno STEAM Academy and is fighting the good fight. She is a strong and determined woman who has continued to teach through COVID and while going through chemo. We pray that one day she can say she is cancer free, but until then, we are just thankful she is still with us. We love her and are so proud of her.

What advice would you give others? Never give up and lean on the support of your family and friends. We are here to support you. We are a family!

Jami Utrera
Dual Language/ ESL Department

I had pain and a tiny lump and thought it was nothing. Most research says that breast cancer lumps are not painful. I put off going to the doctor until I broke a toe in October of 2020 during COVID. By this time, the cancer had spread to surrounding tissue, which meant more treatments, surgery, chemo, radiation and various treatments for another 10 years.

What advice would you give others? Get your mammograms on time, do self-checks and follow up with your doctor immediately if you notice any changes in your body.

Gema de Jesus Ramirez Gonzalez
Adelfa Botello Callejo Elementary School

 My mother is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with cancer the year my only son was born. She was supposed to travel to take care of me after the delivery, but instead, she needed to go through chemo and the surgery that saved her life. She is still with us 27 years later,.

What advice would you give others? The importance of having a breast cancer screening at least once a year, especially if there’s a history of cancer in the family. Time is of the essence.

During the 17 years that Raquel Radford Baker has worked for Dallas ISD’s Transportation Services, student safety has been her first priority, but she never imagined she would be in a position to actively save a student’s life while on a route.

At about 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, at Seagoville North Elementary School, she noticed a 7-year-old student staggering toward her in the bus. She first thought he might be sick because he appeared to be trying to throw up, Radford Baker said. As he got closer, she heard him mention something about a penny, and she immediately knew something was keeping him from breathing. She picked him up and stepped off the bus.

“I said God help me, because I have to save this baby’s life,” Radford Baker said. As she was running with the student toward the school, she was performing the Heimlich maneuver, a first-aid measure commonly used to dislodge an object that may be obstructing a person’s windpipe. 

To Radford Baker, the mission was to try to get whatever was stuck in the student’s throat out. When she made it to the sidewalk at the school, she asked a parent who was sitting on a bench to call 911. 

As the parent was on the phone with the 911 operator, Radford Baker continued performing the Heimlich maneuver. She remembers telling the child “Breathe, baby, breathe. Miss Rocky got you,” as she pushed. During this process, a quarter that had been lodged in the student’s throat landed on the floor. 

Radford Baker said the student then stepped to the side and said “Miss Rocky, I’m okay.” 

It was a powerful moment of relief for her, to realize she had just saved a student’s life. 

“I asked him if he was okay and he said, ‘Yes, I can breathe.’ And I immediately just hugged him tight,” Radford Baker said. 

Radford Baker asked the student to please never play by putting money in his mouth again. 

“At that moment, I told God, thank you for giving me the courage and the wisdom and the knowledge to save this baby’s life,” she said.

After the student was breathing again, Radford Baker spoke to the school nurse who made a report of what had happened. The child’s grandparents even met up with Radford Baker that day to thank her personally for saving their grandchild’s life. While she assured them that she was just there to do their job, she is aware of the impact her actions had on the child and his family. 

Radford Baker said when faced with the situation, two of the district’s culture tenets— Focused and Fast—kicked in, allowing her to react quickly and effectively.

Another skill she got through Dallas ISD that helped her save the 7-year-old student was CPR and first aid training she has received, she said. She was thankful that she still remembered it and was able to use those skills to help save the student. 

Because the skills were critical to saving the child, Radford Baker thinks CPR training would be useful for other bus drivers to have and would love to see it be part of the professional development they receive during the year.  

The events of that day remain fresh on her mind and she is thankful to have made a difference and to be able to see the students’ smiling faces every day, she said. “I always say ‘good morning, how is your day going?’ I just love to see these kids smile and make sure they get to school safely and get picked up from school and transported home in a safe manner to their parents,” said Radford Baker. “One thing I love about transporting students is that I am transporting future  NFL players, NBA players, future doctors, nurses, attorneys, lawyers, law enforcement etc. They are the most precious gift ever to me, and I am grateful and feel privileged to transport such precious cargo.”

Harry Monroe, a science teacher at Dallas ISD’s Environmental Education Center, has always had a passion for teaching students about the natural world that surrounds them. One of the ways he is able to do this is through his classroom aquarium, something he will be sharing with elementary teachers across the district thanks to a Junior League of Dallas Grant for Innovative Teaching.

With 48 years of teaching experience and 31 years in Dallas ISD, Monroe has seen students alight with curiosity and wonder time and time again when interacting with living creatures like guppies, goldfish, Gambusia (or mosquitofish), and more.

A few years ago, Monroe helped establish a professional development workshop to guide other Dallas ISD teachers through setting up and maintaining an aquarium. 

“It created a lot of interest because the teachers who had been out here had been studying interdependence and ecosystems,” Monroe said. “They wanted to do something similar back in their classrooms, but a lot of the time, the only way they could do that would be to spend money out of their own pocket. So we came up with the professional development session and provided everybody with an aquarium kit.”

The session was so successful that Monroe decided to apply for a Grant for Innovative Teaching last school year to purchase 15 aquarium kits and host another workshop, which is scheduled for October.

Each kit will include tools like a thermometer, aerator, filter, and light to maintain the aquariums in a classroom setting. Monroe said he is especially looking forward to introducing new teachers to the enriching classroom experience and seeing them create memorable moments for their first set of students.

“The last time we were able to do this project, it created a kind of network because the teachers were able to get support from some of the vendors that make the equipment and from each other,” Monroe said. “I am hoping to put together some extra aquarium kits, and we are going to try to impact as many students as we can.”

Roberto Gonzalez, principal at Biomedical Preparatory at UT Southwestern, did not set out to become an educator, but he said in many ways, teaching was all around him as he was growing up in Cartagena, Colombia.

His mother worked as a math teacher and then as a principal in Colombia, inspiring Gonzalez to pursue a life of service—one that started out in the medical field.

“I always liked to help,” Gonzalez said. “My mind was helping people, so I went into the medical field and became a family practitioner working with underserved communities.”

Due to violence that made it increasingly difficult to live in Cartagena, Gonzalez ultimately decided to leave Colombia and come to Dallas, where his sister was working as a teacher. She invited Gonzalez into her classroom to record a video of her teaching, and Gonzalez said he “fell in love with teaching.” 

Not long after, he became an educator himself. While it was a big transition, Gonzalez said he did not lose sight of his purpose because he always remembered his “why.”

“My why was never being a medical doctor or being a teacher—it was helping people get better,” Gonzalez said. “Education and medicine are very related. You have to prescribe something so a patient gets better, and you have to prescribe a good curriculum and good lessons in education so everybody gets better.” 

Gonzalez first joined Dallas ISD in 2006, working as a teacher, then as a coach, an assistant principal, and a principal. No matter the role, Gonzalez said he has remained committed to bringing equity and opportunity to the forefront for every student. 

His dedication led him to being a founding member of Biomedical Preparatory at UT Southwestern, which has “intertwined his two passions into one place.” 

Gonzalez has seen countless student success stories since Biomedical Preparatory started classes, but some of his recent favorite memories were taking students to a simulation center, where they got to experience an operating room of mannequin patients, and, of course, bringing a kangaroo to campus. 

“Seeing the joy on their faces and seeing the joy of my team members makes it all worthwhile,” Gonzalez said.

Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, Gonzalez and his team will continue working tirelessly to bring new opportunities to students—and to make them feel like they belong. Gonzalez said leaning into that sense of belonging is what celebrating culture and heritage mean to him, and he wants to ensure his school creates a culture of belonging for every student it has.

“During Hispanic Heritage Month, they will see what Hispanics can bring to the table and the struggles we have had,” Gonzalez said. “But I also look for ways to highlight every student on campus. We will celebrate Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and more, and we won’t just talk about it. We will try to live it and make our students feel at home.”

While there is always work to be done, Gonzalez said he is proud of his team and the welcoming, innovative community they have created together. He said he especially wants to thank Assistant Principal Gina Maffucci and Coordinator Natalie Cruz-Garcia for supporting his goals for their campus. 

“They read my vision, and they go with it,” Gonzalez said. “The biomedical team is amazing. It’s because of them that I’m here and this dream job is my reality.” 

Twice a year, every year, certain days are designated to give teachers the opportunity to meet with parents and discuss their students’ progress. This year, parent conferences will be a little different. 

More flexibility is being built around parent conferences by designating a parent conferences week and counting the parent conference time as one full teacher work day each semester, which is seven hours and 45 minutes per DK (LOCAL). 

This fall, the conferences are to be scheduled and conducted to meet the needs of the parents and teachers during the week of Oct. 23. Teachers will put in a cumulative total of a work day to conduct parent conferences throughout the week.

Teachers may schedule the parent conferences in person, virtually or by phone before school, after school, or during their conference period to meet the needs of their students’ parents.

The week of Jan. 22 has been designated as the spring parent conference week.

For over two decades, Dallas ISD has proudly organized an employee giving campaign to show our appreciation for organizations that support our students and families. This year, Dallas ISD is giving back to the Dallas Education Foundation (DEF), the direct and designated philanthropic partner of Dallas ISD!

By contributing to the Dallas ISD Employee Giving campaign, you are making a valuable investment in the future of our students, teachers, counselors, support staff, and schools. Every donation is directly invested back into Dallas ISD to improve educational outcomes for all students.

Your contribution will count towards our overall goal of raising $75,000 this year. With over 22,000 team members in our district, we have the capacity not only to meet but to exceed this target!

The elementary and secondary campus with the highest participation percentage by Dec. 1 will win a breakfast sponsored by Whataburger, one of our dedicated community partners! There are also incentives for individuals and champions like winning tickets to the DEF Heart of Teaching annual gala! Visit the website to learn more about all of our giving perks! 

Donate today by visiting dallasisd.org/def. Download the campaign poster found here.

Are you focused, fast, flexible, and friendly in your interactions with colleagues, students and the public? If so, you are already embracing good customer service practices, which this week are being recognized during National Customer Service Week. 

The Core 4—the district’s culture tenets—are rooted in practices that exemplify the best customer service. Keeping each one of these tenets at the forefront of everything we do helps us keep focus on being a premier district in Texas and in the nation. 

Focused – We Transform Student Lives. These are the team members that make decisions that are intentional and grounded in the needs of students and equity groups, and who are great at consistently and effectively implementing the necessary support to ensure the social, emotional and academic needs of students, families, and equity groups are met.  

Fast – Urgency for All. These are the team members who return and deliver messages within 24 hours during normal business hours, and are wonderful at consistently responding in a timely manner to requests between students, families, and team members.

Flexible–We Strive for the Yes. These are our team members  who do whatever it takes to meet the needs of our students, families and team members. They eliminate barriers and embrace innovative problem-solving.

Friendly–Make Memorable Moments. These are the team members who build respectful relationships that are grounded in communication, and embrace the positive and expect the best of each other. 

Recognizing those who best exemplify these tenets if part of the Core 4 experience. If your department or school has been recognizing every month those who go above and beyond to be Core 4, keep an eye out for a way to submit their names for a quarterly recognition. 

Nearly 30 million children throughout the country participate in the National School Lunch Program each day, and to recognize the importance of the program, Dallas ISD is celebrating National School Lunch Week Oct. 9-13.  

“Level Up with School Lunch” highlights the importance of a healthy school lunch to a student’s success both in and outside the classroom. Dallas ISD students have access to nutritious free school breakfast and lunch.

National School Lunch Week will highlight the nutritious foods available daily in district cafeterias with fun activities for students, healthy meals, and fun challenges and giveaways. 

“Thanks to government waivers, school meals are free for all students all school year, so it’s a great time to give school lunch a try,” said Debi Rowley, interim executive director of Food and Child Nutrition Services. “National School Lunch Week helps us educate parents and students about all the wonderful benefits of our lunch program.” 

For more information about national School Lunch Week visit www.Dallasisd.org/fcns.