Dickey’s offers Dallas ISD employees a 10% discount on catering. Dallas ISD staff can call Dickey’s catering experts at 1-866-BARBECUE (227-2328) and the staff be more than happy to help and provide a quote.
On Wednesday’s Dickey’s offers a $3 Pulled Pork Classic Sandwich at the following locations:
Dallas ISD employees can get a 60-percent discount on regularly priced merchandise and 30 percent off sale and clearance merchandise at JCPenney by sending a text.
By texting DISD to 67292 from a mobile device, employees can have access to special discount coupons. After sending the text, users will be prompted to provide their full name, company affiliation and company email address for verification purposes. The information will not be used for marketing.
Instructions for using the discount code:
Standard exclusions will apply to all eligible purchases. A link to a list of those exclusions will be included with your discount offer.
Dallas ISD’s Racial Equity Office is starting a series of community conversations across the district so stakeholders can share concerns about inequities within Dallas ISD and partner with the district to effect changes.
The first community conversation will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, at L.G. Pinkston High School.
The Racial Equity Office also will host a series of film and theater showings throughout the school year. The aim of the series is to host conversations related to racial, socioeconomic and educational inequities for students, families and community members. Attendees will watch a movie or theater production followed by a discussion led by students of the youth chapters of the League of United Latin American Citizens and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The goal is to encourage participants to engage in sometimes uncomfortable discussions that challenge their thoughts, beliefs and perspectives.
The film/theater series will launch at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, at W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy with the Cara Mia Theater production of “Ursula,” a play about the journey of a 7-year-old girl separated from her mother after seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. As she waits for her asylum request to be processed, she reflects on the difficulties she is leaving behind in Honduras and the new reality she is facing. This showing is intended for audiences 12 years and older.
First impressions are mental snapshots we take when encountering a person for the first time. Those snapshots are based on how we act, talk, dress, and how we present ourselves. By today’s standards, anyone who has all of these components working together in their favor are often seen as having the “it” factor. For celebrities, it’s what helps them build their fan base or followers. For everyday employees, it’s what we embody that helps us make a good first impression with customers, internally and externally.
People may not remember the color of your shirt or the exact words you say, but they will remember your attitude and how you present yourself. Projecting a positive attitude and presentation is a sure way to make a good and long-lasting impression.
Take a quick “it” factor self-assessment:
The fastest way to increase customer loyalty is by improving the quality of customer interaction, and that begins with making a good first impression. New customers will develop an impression about Dallas ISD in their first seven seconds of interacting with you. Let’s make the most of those seven seconds. Here are seven things to check:
As we continue to improve our customer service, remember to focus on delivering remarkable Core 4 service.
Hundreds of individuals and organizations from as far away as Lubbock stepped up to directly help Dallas ISD schools, students and families affected by a devastating tornado. Dallas ISD is overwhelmed and grateful for the donation of supplies for classrooms, sports equipment, gift cards for teacher materials, and help to families affected by the natural disaster.
Thank you!
The list of donors so far includes:
A number of individuals, businesses and organizations have also donated their time at schools where students displaced by the tornado damage are now attending classes and have offered to continue to support the district through volunteer efforts, including Pat and Emmitt Smith Charities, Colleyville ISD teachers, T-Mobile, Microsoft, Home Depot, AT&T, Allstate, and State Farm.
District staff and their families are welcome to attend free classes offered at Frazier House, an initiative of the Zan Wesley Holmes, Jr. Community Outreach Center in partnership with Dallas ISD. Frazier House is located on the first floor of the former Julia C. Frazier Elementary School. It offers multiple services in one building partnering and collaborating with other community nonprofits, service organizations and the Dallas ISD. This shared space offers access to educational, social services, job skills training and job placement opportunities for Frazier House clients.
Classes for November include topics such as:
Nov. 5—Cash Flow, Collateral and Leverage Class, 3-4:30 p.m. (if interested in attending or learning more, email info@zwhjcoc.org)
Nov. 14—Lunch & Learn with Trevor Noel, “Introduction to a Business Plan,” 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Nov. 18—LinkedIn & Medicare 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m., must register with Senior Source at (214) 823-5700
Nov. 21—Lunch & Learn with Attorney Antonio Glenn, “The ABCs of Business Entities,” 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
All activities and programs are at Frazier House, 4600 Spring Ave. Dallas, TX 75210. For more information about these activities, email info@zwhjcoc.org or visit https://www.zwhjcoc.org. Dates and activities subject to change.
Dallas ISD offers professional development for central and campus staff through a variety of opportunities.
Central staff
Ignite and Unleash Potential Through Talent Conversations
Audience: Supervisors, Managers, Directors
One of the fundamental roles of a leader is to recognize and unleash the talents and strengths of others. Talent conversations play a vital role in engaging employees and influencing their performance and development if done effectively and often enough. This session will provide tools to prepare for and facilitate effective talent conversations.
Results Focused Leadership: Goals and Check-ins
Audience: Supervisors, New Managers, Managers, Directors
Discover how check-in meetings make it easier to manage day-to-day work of the staff and ensure it is connected to big picture goals that impact results.
Campus staff
The Language, Literacy, and Social Studies departments cordially invite teachers to The Language, Literacy, and Social Studies Fall Conference 2019. This year’s theme is “Empowering Students Through Disciplinary Literacy.” The organizers are actively seeking attendees who wish to learn about how to best implement strategies to empower student voice and ownership of student learning.
The conference will take place from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Bryan Adams High School. Teachers may register by clicking here. Registration is required for attendees. Keynote speakers for the conference include Dallas ISD Chief of Teaching and Learning Dr. Ivonne Durant and national literacy expert Pam Allyn. Professional development credits will apply towards Future of Learning hours. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Central staff can now register for staff development sessions offered in October. All sessions will take place at the Linus D. Wright Dallas ISD Administration Building.
Audience: Central staff
The differences between a growth and fixed mindset will be explored. Participants will consider their own mindset and discover how fostering a growth mindset voice supports personal development.
The 5 Languages of Workplace Appreciation
Audience: Managers, supervisors
When managers and supervisors understand someone’s primary and secondary language, as well as specific ways to speak to them, they can effectively communicate authentic appreciation, thus raising the level of buy-in and performance across the entire team and organization. Session participants will learn how to express genuine appreciation to co-workers and staff even on a tight budget. employees
Ignite and Unleash Potential Through Talent Conversations
Audience: Supervisors, managers, directors
One of the fundamental roles of a leader is to recognize and unleash the talents and strengths of others. Talent conversations play a vital role in engaging employees and influencing their performance and development if done effectively and often enough. This session will provide tools to prepare for and facilitate effective talent conversations.
David Ybarra was working at Wing Stop before joining Dallas ISD’s Operation Services as a groundskeeper.
“I wanted something more than a job,” Ybarra said. “I wanted a good, stable and dependable career with benefits that I could grow in.”
At age 19, Ybarra had to quickly learn the new career path and craft he signed up for. And while Ybarra admits that there were times he doubted himself over his work challenges and responsibilities, they only helped him thrive.
“It took the right leaders in the Operations Division to help me grow,” Ybarra said. “They shared their knowledge and experiences with me so I could find the solutions to challenges.”
Fast forward 10 years, and Ybarra, who has a child enrolled in Dallas ISD, is now the Interim Supervisor at the Northwest Grounds Division.
“It’s a great journey being a part of the district,” Ybarra said. “Now as a supervisor, I get to help and advise new incoming leaders who will one day grow into a bigger role like I did.”
Ybarra credits his peers and supervisors for helping him achieve the role he has today. But he added that it would not be possible without internal ambition and perseverance.
“Dallas ISD is like a big door, and once you open it, there are so many other doors of opportunities in which you can grow into,” Ybarra said. “But you just have to have the patience and strive to learn above all.”
All qualifying employees who are not part of a district excellence initiative will see board-approved salary increases reflected in their September paychecks. Some employees also could see additional increases in their base pay to better align district salaries with market rates as recommended in the recent Texas Association of School Boards study.
Those whose salaries are determined through one of the excellence initiatives— most teachers, assistant principals, principals and executive directors of schools—will see salary increases, if eligible, reflected in their October paychecks.
Most pay ranges were increased to improve alignment with the current job market.
As part of TASB’s recommendation to align Dallas ISD to industry standards, the board-approved increase will now be an equal rate increase based on 2 percent of the pay range midpoint of an employee’s pay grade, which was determined by TASB. This is unlike in previous years when the board-approved increase was applied as a percentage of the employee’s actual hourly/annual rate.
Employees are able to log into Oracle and go to Employee Self Service to view their notice of assignment. These notices will include the employee job, salary, and pay grade information. For information on pay groups and pay grades, employees can consult the district’s 2019-2020 Compensation Resource Book.
Other changes in compensation
The main purpose of the TASB study was to analyze compensation throughout the district to ensure alignment with the current job market. Recommendations from the study included changes in pay range structures, consolidation of pay groups, and alignment of job titles. Some of these changes could have resulted in base salary changes though no salaries decreased due to the TASB-based adjustments.
Changes in pay range structures
Consolidation of pay groups
Alignment of job titles