Staff News

Dallas ISD students continue to excel at regional and global competitions.

Six Dallas ISD teams representing elementary and secondary schools will be competing in May at the Destination Imagination Global Finals after they finished at the top of their challenges at the state competition held recently at The University of Texas at Arlington. Some teams were made up of several schools. The finals will include thousands of teams from around the globe meeting in Kansas City, Mo.

The schools represented are:

• Henry B. Gonzalez Personalized Learning Academy
• Casa View Elementary School
• Lakewood Elementary School
• Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
• School of Science and Engineering at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center
• Woodrow Wilson High School
• School for the Talented and Gifted at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center

Dallas ISD students from 14 schools will be representing the district at the regional level in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Regional Competition scheduled for April 22-23 in various locations.

The students going to regionals were among the more than 300 who competed in more than 20 competitive academic events ranging from speaking to STEM to writing contests in the Dallas ISD UIL Spring Academic meets held in March.

To be eligible for UIL Regionals, students had to place first, second or third in their respective contests. School that will have students competing at regionals are:

• ​​W.H. Adamson High School
• Sunset High School
• Wilmer-Hutchins High School
• H. Grady Spruce High School
• School for the Talented and Gifted at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center
• School for Science and Engineering at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center
• Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet
• Marvin E. Robinson School of Business and Management at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center
• North Dallas High School
• Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy at A. Maceo Smith
• Emmett J. Conrad High School
• Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurship Academy at James W. Fannin
• Moisés E. Molina High School 
• Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. Early College High School at El Centro College
• Hillcrest High School 
• Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership Academy

Dallas ISD employees who plan to retire this year can still participate in the Retirement Service Award thanks to a deadline extension—April 29 is the last day to notify Human Capital Management of intent to retire.

Employees who enter their intended retirement date in Oracle Self-Service can get cash for their unused local days through the district’s Retirement Service Award. The more days remaining, the higher the payout.

The Retirement Service Awards pays employees a flat daily rate of pay for any unused local days accrued by July 31. The exact rate to be paid will be determined upon calculation of the total of all participants’ remaining local days (calculated by July 31). There is no cap to the number of local days paid. There is no time-in-service requirement.

If employees complete the separation process in Oracle by April 29 and work the remainder of the year, they will continue to have pay and benefits through Aug. 31.

Those who do not enter their separation date in Oracle Self-Service by the extended deadline of April 29 will not be eligible for the award.

For additional questions, employees may contact the HCM Benefits Department at 972-925-4300 or email Retirement@dallasisd.org.

Human Capital Management is preparing to disseminate contracts for the 2022-2023 school year. Electronic contracts will be available for signature for all contract-eligible employees via Oracle Employee Self Service beginning April 18, 2022. All contract-eligible employees will receive a notification email from notifications@dallasisd.org with instructions on how to complete the acceptance process once contracts are available.

According to Texas Education Code (TEC), contract-eligible educators are provided a penalty-free resignation deadline which is 45 days before the first day of instruction of the following school year. The resignation deadline for this year is July 1. Additional information, frequently asked questions and instructions may be found on the contracts home page at https://www.dallasisd.org. If you have any questions, please contact Human Capital Management at contracts@dallasisd.org.

Keeping track of your overall health and well-being is important. Of course, when life gets busy, it becomes easier and easier to overlook your own needs. That is where Dallas ISD’s Employee Assistance Program by LifeWorks can help.

Through this secure, confidential service—which is free to all district employees—you can take several online assessments to check on your health. The four main categories, or pillars, are mental, physical, financial and social. 

After completing each pillar’s assessment, you will receive a summary of how you are faring in that category, including what you are doing well, areas of improvement and recommendations to useful resources. You can stop the assessments at any time and pick up where you left off. As you complete all four, you will receive a “total well-being score” to indicate if your wellness is anywhere from “at risk” to “optimal.”

If you need additional support, you can connect with LifeWorks at (972) 925-4000. They have counselors available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help you manage personal and work-related concerns. You can also visit www.dallasisd.org/benefits and click on Benefits Resources to access online EAP support and assessments. 

One of the EAP’s primary goals is to help employees cope with issues and concerns before they become overwhelming. Whether you are looking for childcare tips, COVID-19 support or sleep advice, the EAP has something for you. Find out how you are doing in the four wellness pillars and get the care you need. 

April 15 is the deadline for open transfer to high priority and other campuses

Rebecca Bennett wears many hats at her job, though she is officially a fifth-grade bilingual language arts and social studies teacher at William B. Miller Elementary School. Despite this being her first year at Miller, she already serves as the school’s Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) coordinator and as their TEI expert. 

However, her most important role is guiding her students to success, especially considering the challenges brought on by the pandemic. 

Like so many children around the world, her students have faced countless challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, Miller’s special calendar provided “the turnkey moment” they needed to move forward, something that Bennett believes other teachers can experience if they choose to use the open transfer period that ends April 15 to apply to schools like Miller. 

“I have seen [students] excel and develop their self-efficacy, so that makes me their proud teacher,” she said. “That is my most important position here at Miller, leading their success, and they’re doing a great job.”

Under Miller’s Intersession calendar, school started Aug. 9 and will end June 23, creating time for five additional intersession weeks throughout the year. Students working in smaller classes during these weeks helps teachers develop stronger relationships with their students and personalize learning even further. They also allow students to “hone in on those muscles they have not exercised during the school year.” The result, according to Bennett, is more intentionality. 

“I’ve had date nights with my sons from when they were small, and it’s amazing what happens when they’re together, but when you spend time with them separately, you get to know them better,” Bennett said. “That’s what intersession is. You get to listen to them in a more direct way, put in place what you have heard and then you show them that they can do it.”

Current Dallas ISD teachers, instructional coaches, counselors and media specialists who are interested in making a difference on a campus with a special calendar have the opportunity during the open transfer period. Eligible employees must apply online using their EAD login at  www.dallasisd.org/careers. The deadline for principals to submit a recommendation is 11:59 p.m. on April 15. Employees will be notified of their application status by April 29. Transfers are not final until an approval email is received from Human Capital Management. 

Making any large changes in life can be challenging, but Bennett believes all lifelong learners are up to the task. The rewards speak for themselves, after all. 

“You have the opportunity to be part of a student movement outside of yourself,” she said. “Every day we come with the intention to make a difference in their lives, and it sounds cliche, but it has to be intentional. That’s how you make a difference. You will have the opportunity to leave a legacy in the lives of students.”

If you are interested in bringing your passion and talents to a campus with a special calendar, take advantage of the open transfer period by April 15. To be eligible for an open transfer, employees must:

• Hold a valid Texas Teacher Certificate in the requested subject-area vacancy and meet TEA/SBEC Certification Standards for the position
• Not be entering their fourth year of an Alternative Certification Program
• Not be identified for non-renewal at the end of the current school year due to performance
• For instructional coaches only: must receive approval from recommending campus executive director 

They are the steadfast campus leaders who carry out the principal’s vision,  who work with teachers and office staff in the day-to-day operations, who make sure students and teachers meet federal and state performance guidelines, and who often manage school safety. April 4-8 is National Assistant Principal Week, so it’s not too late to say thank you to your assistant principals for all they do.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the American Federation of School Administrators has shared some ideas on how to celebrate assistant principals.

• Send them an e-card to let them know you appreciate them.
• Use #APWeek on social media to share your words of appreciation, celebratory images, and other acknowledgments of the great work they do year-round.
• Get inspired by the ideas for activities from NASSP below:

• • Write a thank-you note for your assistant principal, with specific examples of how they have helped you.
  • Create a photo scrapbook with notes from the school community about why they are valued.
  • Plant a tree on the school campus to honor the assistant principal (with administration approval, of course).
  • Read testimonies from students, parents, and teachers over the intercom or virtual announcements.
  • Have the art, music, and theater classes do one small group project to honor your assistant principal.

Dallas ISD welcomes Gerard G. Cortez as the new assistant superintendent of Special Populations. Cortez brings to the district 28 years of experience as an educator—as a classroom teacher, instructional specialist, program supervisor, grant coordinator, campus administrator, director, and executive director. 

Prior to coming to Dallas ISD, Cortez was an assistant superintendent in San Antonio ISD. Throughout his career as an educational leader and school district administrator, Cortez has encouraged the use of instructional strategies that allow students to generalize learned skills in a variety of environments. Cortez is a strong proponent of community-based instructional activities that depict real-life scenarios and emphasizes the importance of creating opportunities for students to engage in self-assessment and self-evaluation.  

Cortez has a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Texas Tech University and a Master of Education degree with an emphasis in educational leadership from Argosy University–Dallas.  He is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

The Dallas ISD Board of Trustees is in the initial phase of conducting a national search for a superintendent to lead the district once Superintendent Michael Hinojosa retires and is seeking input from all stakeholders. To better inform the search, trustees have hired a firm to collect the input from diverse groups, including teachers and support staff.

Teachers and support staff have always been at the core of the successful operation of the district from the frontlines. In addition to providing input through the survey available at www.dallasisd.org/superintendentsearch, teachers will be able to share what they believe are the qualities for a successful Dallas ISD superintendent in three online webinars taking place April 12-14. The input collected during these sessions will be shared with the board prior to their review of the applications. Registration is required and all sessions will take place at 7 p.m. on the following dates:

Teacher sessions • All sessions start at 7 p.m. 

April 12

https://dallasisd.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NuXDCfcCRUSA47JH6TKGWQ

April 13

https://dallasisd.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9psPk9w3SYqQQuCD_McARA

April 14

https://dallasisd.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DhWXmNIqRomXThkJ6khVpw

Support staff sessions

April 11 • 6 p.m. 

https://dallasisd.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ln_kXFadSVKEsvlRwBZ6pA

April 18 • 10 a.m. 

https://dallasisd.zoom.us/j/81845624234?pwd=dm5ZdWFiNlptRVpPS3dYQndzeElLdz09

April 21 • 5 p.m. 

https://dallasisd.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_G8mP9teZTX24Ea6Rz6UK4Q

Tracey Brown, executive director of Mental Health Services, is on a mission to make sure students who need mental health support as a result of the pandemic have access to it. She and her counselors are already making sure that thousands of students who have been identified through referrals and Youth and Family Centers are getting the support they need. 

In the next two years, Brown hopes to up the number of students who are identified as being in need of additional support and receive it thanks to a depression screening tool called the PHQ9, or Patient Health Questionnaire 9. The department is developing this electronic tool with funds from the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and ESSER, the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund. 

“It’s a work in progress, but we’re really excited about the possibilities that it’s going to bring our students,” Brown said of the PHQ9. 

Mental Health Services recently received a $200,000 grant from the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas as part of the organization’s first-ever Health Innovation Technology Challenge, presented by AT&T. With these funds, Dallas ISD kicked off the first year of their three-year depression screening project, starting with the development of an app to house the tool. Next year, they will pilot the tool with school-based clinicians and at certain Youth and Family centers. In year three, they plan to deploy the tool across the district. 

The implementation of the depression screener will be simple. When a student visits or receives a referral to a Youth and Family Center or a school-based clinician, their parents or guardians can consent to use the screening tool. Once the depression screening is administered, parents can release the data to health professionals in the district and beyond.

“I always say it’s kind of like going to the minute clinic,” Brown said. “You go and get whatever you’re going to get, and then they have a portal that houses all of that data. We’re not going to have the data necessarily unless the parent shares it with us, but once we have it, it’s going to help inform our practices.”  

The United Way grant only supports the first year of the depression screening project. The second and third years will require ESSER funds as well as district board approval. Once the tool is fully developed, piloted and implemented, MHS hopes to increase the average number of students who are identified as having depression and receive support each year by 3 percent, from 12,000 to 12,360 students. 

In the meantime, Brown encourages all staff members, especially teachers, to familiarize themselves with the signs of depression, which include isolation or withdrawal, changes in eating and sleeping habits, feelings of hopelessness and changes in academic performance. 

“Even if you’re not a mental health professional, as a teacher, you know your kids,” she said. “We just want to make sure we’re providing every level of support for the students, and they’re not suffering in silence. The only way to do that is we all understand the general signs and symptoms of depression, and then be able to connect those students to mental health services.”

Ultimately, MHS’ goal is to ensure that students can focus on learning and feel good about themselves in the process. That way, they can “graduate college- and career-ready and go out into the world and make a difference.”

Brown’s team is constantly looking for innovative ways to support students around the district, and the depression screening tool will help them achieve that goal. 

“I know we’re all working hard to support our kids, our parents and our families to navigate all of the changes that are happening in the world, which can really lead to feelings of hopelessness,” Brown said. “We’re just wanting our kids and families to know that we love them, and we’re here to support them every step of the way.”

Visit https://www.dallasisd.org/mentalhealth to learn more about the school-based services that are currently available or to find your local MHS Youth and Family Center.

Dallas ISD staff and students who are pursuing a career in education and furthering their studies can apply for scholarships offered by the Association of Hispanic School Administrators. The application deadline is April 29, so don’t delay.

• Dallas ISD seniors who want to become educators can apply for of the several Sí Se Puede Scholarships. Si Se Puede— bit.ly/SiSePuedeScholarship
• Dallas ISD employees who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree and teacher certification cam apply for several Adelante scholarships. Adelante—bit.ly/AdelanteScholarship
• Members of AHSA pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree can apply Pursuing Excellence scholarships. Pursuing Excellence—bit.ly/PursuingExcellenceScholarship