At John J. Pershing Elementary School, two educators are using innovative approaches to strengthen bilingual literacy in their classrooms. This year, Maria Fernandez and Jessica Riedel used the funding from Read Conmigo Educator Grants to transform their students’ reading experience.   

Fernandez, who teaches fourth-grade bilingual reading, used her award given by the Kemper Foundation to launch Break a Leg, a drama-based literacy initiative that uses puppets and theater to help students improve reading comprehension, build vocabulary, and express their emotions. 

“I began to notice emotional learning gaps after the pandemic,” she said. “The plays helped my students find new vocabulary to express what they were feeling everyday. There were also academic benefits.” 

The grant allowed her fourth-grade bilingual reading students to perform literature and read plays, gaining exposure to elements of theater such as acting, lighting, and music. 

Fernandez’s dedication as an educator led her to being named 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year at her school. She has also received classroom grants from Donors Choose and the Junior League of Dallas. Originally from Spain, Fernandez began teaching in the United States through the Exchange Visiting Teachers from Spain program, and eventually became a teacher in Dallas ISD 10 years ago.

Jessica Riedel joined Dallas ISD in 2021 and has spent the last two years as a bilingual reading teacher at Pershing Elementary. In her kindergarten classroom, she is rethinking the way students interact with reading.  

With her grant money, Riedel purchased technology and literacy materials, including 30 licenses for a bilingual reading program loaded on each student’s iPad.  

“Thanks to these resources, 90 percent of my students are reading,” she said.  

In addition to receiving the educator grant, Riedel was selected for a special recognition, in which one teacher from each state receives a campus celebration with the Kemper Foundation. In October, the president of the Kemper Foundation visited her classroom and Riedel received backpacks with bilingual books and school supplies, along with a lunch party and official recognition.   

Riedel’s passion for education goes beyond literacy. She has a background in engineering and project management—she previously worked with NASA while studying at Florida International University—and brings this STEM and entrepreneurial lens to her teaching at Pershing.  

The Foundation annually awards up to 100 Read Conmigo educator grants to dual-language teachers in Texas, Florida and California. Applications for the fall 2025 cycle close June 16. Teachers can apply at the Kemper Foundation website.

In addition to grants for educators, the foundation awarded Read Conmigo School Impact Grants to Annie Webb Blanton Elementary School, Alex Sanger Preparatory School, and Stephen C. Foster Elementary School, honoring their commitment to campuswide dual language education.

With the support of the Kemper Foundation, Fernandez and Riedel have turned their ideas into action, reinforcing the legacy of innovation at John J. Pershing Elementary, a 2024 Lighthouse Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. 

“I am grateful, inspired and motivated to continue helping our students and honored to have support from the Kemper Foundation and the state of Texas,” Riedel said.  

Rogelio Garcia believed there were only two options for him after high school: the military or college to later join the FBI. In the end, he found his calling in teaching.

The El Paso native applied to 15 universities and was determined to attend St. Edward’s University in Austin, known for having one of the best criminal justice programs in the country, which would prepare him to become an FBI agent. Unfortunately, he had received only a $5,000 scholarship, not enough to cover the cost.  

Garcia almost signed on with the military, but his mother dissuaded him. It was July, and he remembered David Wisher, the admissions counselor from Abilene’s McMurry University, who had visited his high school in El Paso, and gave him a call.

“When he picked up, David said, ‘I knew you were going to call me. You’re going to be a McMurry Indian,’” Garcia said. Wisher secured him a strong financial aid package.

Just this past month, nearly three decades after graduating from McMurry with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology, Garcia returned to his alma mater to receive the 2025 Outstanding Alumnus in Education Award.  

“I was caught off guard, but it’s truly an honor,” Garcia said. “McMurray is limited on the number of Hispanic students that they have, so to receive such an honor says that we’re making big strides.”  

With 26 years of teaching experience under his belt, Garcia has taught in five elementary schools across Texas, including Adelfa Botello Callejo Elementary School and Solar Preparatory School for Girls. He is currently in his fourth year at Alex Sanger Elementary School.  

Throughout his career, Garcia has earned significant recognition for his commitment to teaching low-income students. In addition to the Outstanding Alumnus in Education Award, he was honored with the Milken Award in 2010 and has been twice named Teacher of the Year at Sanger Elementary. 

Garcia’s teaching career began when his cousin, who was a teacher, invited him to apply at a school in Garland. It was a timely opportunity because he needed two years of work experience before joining the FBI.

When the time finally came to pursue a role in the FBI, Garcia had fallen in love with teaching.

“Teaching gives you something that a nine-to-five job doesn’t give you,” Garcia said. “It gives you the satisfaction of knowing that you helped a kid who needed help. When nobody else is helping that kid, you were the one.” 

Teaching is about making good connections, Garcia said. And his connections with students persist even after they leave his classroom. Former students, now college graduates, continue to keep in touch with him, often sharing life updates and even inviting him to celebrate their children’s milestones.  

Just like countless students before them, the fifth-grade class at Alex Sanger has benefitted from Garcia’s teaching strategies: daily reading, annotations, and reading strategy cards. 

“Most of the students don’t have that reading background,” he said. “The only way to remedy that is to practice.”

To engage his students, Garcia likes to display the reading on the projector screen and read along with them.

“When you’re choral reading, you’re modeling for them, but they’re also practicing and getting immediate feedback,” Garcia said.

Garcia believes that having strong district leaders who empower teachers—and colleagues who hold each other accountable—have played a role in his growth as an educator.

“You have to definitely have strong leaders who are going to let you teach,” Garcia said. “But most importantly, I learn from my colleagues. I think that’s the best fountain of knowledge.” 

At the end of the day, Garcia says he measures himself by the effort he invests in each student.

“Year after year, I learn from my students. I learn how to become a better teacher,” he said.  

Emotional fitness involves how you view yourself and your place in the world. Emotional fitness includes accepting and liking yourself, having confidence in your abilities, and the ability to cope with stress and challenges in healthy ways. But like physical fitness, achieving emotional fitness takes time and effort.

Here are a few work-out tips for your mind:

Practice positivity. Focus on what is great about your life, not the things that are causing you stress, and try to put a positive spin on negative thoughts. For example, instead of thinking “I completely blew that interview! I’m such a loser!” think “I did my best and learned from the experience. I’ll do much better next time.”

Take responsibility. Try not to blame situations or others for your unhappiness. They may have an influence, but you are in charge of how you want to live your life.

Take action. Don’t hope a problem will go away or that others will resolve it. Take steps to tackle the situation because feeling in control helps you cope and come up with creative solutions.

Build resilience. Resilience is about not letting a situation overwhelm you. This doesn’t mean not feeling sad, angry, frustrated, or fearful because of traumatic or difficult events; it just means you’re able to deal with them in spite of these feelings. You’re able to adapt, learn, and move on.

Manage stress. Stress affects everyone differently, and we all cope in our own way. Find healthy ways to manage stress, such as exercise, talking to friends, or meditation.

Give yourself regular breaks. It’s important to give your brain time off. Pursue hobbies, read a book, go to the movies, or just spend time with family and friends.

Help others. Volunteering is good for you and your community. It gives you a sense of meaning and purpose to your life, serving as a reminder that you have experience, knowledge, and talent to share.

Maintaining emotional fitness also means knowing when to ask for help. If you’re having trouble coping or would like more information, call your assistance program to speak to a counselor.

For Jose Torres, a teaching assistant at W.A. Blair Elementary School, the district’s 2024-2025 theme of Make it Happen has been more of an approach to life. He made it happen as a senior in high school when he stepped in to teach a chemistry class and is doing it now as he works on his teaching degree. 

Torres, who graduated from Dr. Wright L. Lassiter Jr. Early College High School at El Centro College, loves chemistry, and it was through that subject that he learned he also loves teaching. When the chemistry teacher moved to teach physics, the chemistry class was left without a teacher, so he took on the challenge for a brief period. 

“I love chemistry, and so I took that opportunity to do this,” he said. “But I was just doing it because it was something I felt like I would enjoy.” 

After graduating from Lassiter Early College with an associate’s degree in science, Torres tried a variety of jobs in which teaching was a recurring theme. 

“I worked with the city of Dallas pools, teaching lifeguard classes,” he said. “I also worked in the medical field as a medical scribe. And even when I went to college, I was teaching and making YouTube videos for my chemistry class.”   

It was during that time in college that he took a step back and asked himself what he really wanted. 

“In my last year, I was like, ‘What is something I’m actually passionate about?’ I realized that everything I’ve done in my life revolved around teaching, and so I looked into it,” he said. 

Now pursuing a Bachelor of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education and Teaching from Dallas College, Torres is one semester away from completing his yearlong teacher residency at W.A. Blair Elementary School. He also has gained experience as a teacher while working for Park in the Woods Recreation Center in Dallas, where he worked with the after-school program, tutoring students with their homework. Sometimes, the students couldn’t read, so he took the time to teach them, he said. 

Torres keeps making it happen as he juggles working at Blair and attending class at Eastfield College to finish his degree. He not only has fourth- and fifth-grade classes as a teacher assistant, but also coaches fourth- and fifth-grade soccer for girls and boys. 

“Honestly, I help everywhere, wherever they need me,” he said. “In the morning, I start up with fifth-grade math, and after that, I teach fourth-grade Reading and Language Arts.” 

On Wednesdays, he drives to Eastfield College to take a four-hour class composed of five courses compressed into one. His busy schedule and commitment to his studies is one of the things he believes allow him to connect with his students. 

“The kids know. They’re like, ‘Oh, it’s Wednesday, Mr. Torres. You have class.’ I always tell them I know exactly how they feel coming into class.” he said. “I’m still a student.”   

His own background growing up as a Spanish-dominant student in bilingual classes allows him to better understand and connect with his students at Blair Elementary, who were reluctant at first to participate in class, he said. 

“The most rewarding part is just seeing [the students] grow, especially my Spanish-speaking students,” he said. “They would talk, of course, especially after seeing a familiar face they’re able to relate to. I also grew up going to bilingual classes when I was in elementary school, and I know that the language barrier can be difficult.” 

Torres plans to continue in education—as a teacher in Dallas ISD once he graduates and pursuing a master’s degree in the future. One day, he said, he would like to become a chemistry professor. 

Torres knows that being a teacher is a calling and acknowledges that it is not easy, nor should it be, he said. But making a difference for even one student matters greatly. 

“It’s worth it in the long run,” he said.  

The dedicated counseling team at Emmett J. Conrad High School has earned a prestigious state award recognizing their role in helping students grow and secure life-changing scholarships and opportunities.

Claudia Rodriguez, lead counselor, works alongside fellow team counselors Leslie Moore, Sonia Gilb, and Nicole Butler to champion their students’ academic achievement and well-being. This collaborative approach has been key to their success and their recognition through the Counselors Reinforcing Texas Award. 

“We are the heart of the school,” Rodriguez said. “And we are grateful to have a supportive administration that allows us the autonomy to find creative solutions for our students and not just follow a one-size-fits-all script for the students we interact with.” 

Rodriguez said the program follows a model set by the American School Counselor Association, which emphasizes supporting students in reaching their academic, career, and social-emotional goals.  

Through events like Career Day and through student achievement awards, the counseling team helps students build lasting connections and boosts academic morale across the campus.

According to the four counselors, their success stems from key qualities, such as flexibility, creativity, passion, and patience.  

“We love what we do every day. It’s been amazing to see that, as counselors, we can in turn help adults as well,” Moore said. “What we do for the students often trickles down to their families, making them better parents to their children.” 

That deep sense of purpose is shared across the team with each counselor bringing a unique background and decades of experience in education to meet the daily needs of the program. 

Moore has been an educator for 27 years and currently supports Conrad High School students in grades nine through 12. She discovered her passion for counseling while teaching math at South Oak Cliff High School where a fellow teacher encouraged her to consider counseling after observing her strong connection with students.   

“I would have after-school tutoring, and I always ended up talking to the students about their day,” Moore said. “I would have so many kids in my room because my class wasn’t just a math class; at times, it felt like a counseling class.” 

Moore received her master’s degree in school counseling from Prairie View A&M University. 

Butler, also a counselor for grades nine through 12, taught middle school art for eight years before discovering her passion for counseling. She has been an educator for 18 years and a counselor at Conrad for six. 

“It feels good to be able to help students both understand and change their perspective on life and to help make their futures better,” Butler said.  

Gilb became a counselor because of her love for high school. She began her career in education as an ESL teacher, helping students earn college scholarships, and has since dedicated herself to supporting high school students throughout her career path. 

“The students bring me joy,” Gilb said. “I love interacting with them and helping support them. It’s a joy to work with my counseling team. They are my people.”   

Gill collaborates with Rodriguez, and together they support students in P-TECH and early college pathways. 

“I love being a counselor because I can help the students, the bilingual community and the parents all at once,” Rodriguez said.  

Through a partnership with East Texas A&M University, Dallas ISD’s Grow Your Own Program encourages and supports district team members who want to earn their bachelor’s degree to become certified teachers, without having to leave their current roles.

Last fall, nine dedicated employees began their journey through ETAM’s Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in organizational leadership with a teacher preparation emphasis—a fully online, flexible pathway designed for working professionals. Participants received:

• a $425 scholarship per term toward tuition
• seven-week Competency-Based Education (CBE) terms, renewable for up to six terms
• transfer credit opportunities (up to 84 credit hours)
• additional financial aid for those who qualify
  

Led by Kara Campbell, ETAM’s Pride Pathway provides further scholarship support for paraprofessionals, assistants, and other team members who lack a bachelor’s degree the opportunity to become certified Texas teachers.

“Through our partnership, up to 20 Dallas ISD employees may receive scholarships to move closer to becoming certified Texas teachers, and that’s a game-changer for the future of education in Texas,” Campbell said.

Why apply?

• 100% online so participants can learn from anywhere
• Accelerated terms so participants can graduate faster
• Affordable, starting at $1,000 per term (before scholarships)
• Built for working adults who can keep their jobs while earning their degree

Team members who are ready to inspire the next generation of students as classroom teachers can apply today or learn more by contacting: Simeon Oston, Grow Your Own coordinator, at soston@dallasisd.org. 

Resilience is the ability to adapt well in the face of adversity, such as experiencing personal or family issues, a serious health concern, work stress, money worries, or other challenges. It’s the ability to bounce back from those challenges. One of the key ways to build resilience is to focus on self-care. 

Get physical

Make exercise a priority, especially during challenging times. Try to get a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise that increases your heart rate on all or most days of the week, whether it’s walking, swimming, biking, working out at the gym, or with an exercise video, or even doing vigorous housework. Make sure you check with the doctor before starting a new exercise program.

Follow a healthy diet by avoiding junk food and fast food and limiting alcohol.

Establish a bedtime routine and try to stick to it. It can be as simple as listening to soft music, drinking a cup of herbal tea, or having a bath and then turning out the lights at the same time every night. Try not to watch TV shows that are too stimulating, as it may then be difficult to turn off your brain. 

Reframe your view 

A key element of resilience is perception of an event. Reframing means changing the way you think or “talk” to yourself about a stressful event. Instead of saying “I will never get through this,” you could try a more positive approach, such as, “I will get through this.” Use techniques that have helped in difficult experiences in the past, including asking others for help and finding strength in community.

Build emotional resilience

Think about other people you know and admire who are resilient, whether they are public figures or people you may know in your personal or work life. What are some of the strategies you’ve noticed them using to deal with and stay strong through adversity? Think about how you could adapt and use some of those strategies in your own life.

Try to see your situation as temporary, no matter how difficult. Life tends to ebb and flow in ways that are impossible to predict. This view can help you gain perspective and maintain momentum to work through the current circumstance. Try to avoid catastrophic thinking. We may wonder “what if this happens” and imagine worst-case scenarios. While it is good to be prepared, it is rare that worst-case scenarios come true.

Practice relaxation techniques. Deep breathing, meditation, mindfulness, and yoga are four widely used relaxation techniques that can help improve mental as well as physical wellbeing.

Take a break

When a national or world event is dominating the news, avoid over-exposure to media, especially if it’s making you feel ineffective, anxious, or unable to have control of your life. Unplug for part of each day from all your sources of media and news.

Make meaningful connections

Strong ties to family, friends, coworkers, and community groups help you find the social and emotional support you need to bounce back from setbacks or disappointments. Make time for your closest relationships. Try to have dinner together as a family as much as possible. Spend time with people you like and doing things you like. Carve out time to be with friends. 

Talk about what you are going through with others. Family, friends, and co-workers can be a lasting source of emotional support as well as “reality checks.”

Spend time with like-minded people. Even when the circumstances seem beyond your control, connecting with others who feel similarly can help form an important bond. Ideas on ways to manage, take action, or cope may arise from such bonds. Doing so will make you feel less alone.

Keep it simple

Simplifying your life is especially important during stressful times. Plan simple meals, don’t take on too much, and resist signing up for too many activities. Don’t be afraid to say “no.” Make time for simple pleasures, such as playing with your pet, or simply sitting and drinking a cup of tea.

The Dallas ISD’s proposed budget for the 2025-2026 school year includes a 2% raise for exempt campus and central team members, differentiated increases for team members in excellence initiatives, and an increase to $17 an hour in the district’s minimum wage. 

The proposed increases in salaries for all team members amount to $35.9 million in the 2025-2026 budget and focus on the district’s compensation priorities: market competitive salaries, Dallas ISD’s commitment to a living wage, strategic compensation, and stipends for service at identified District Support Initiative campuses.  

Increases for excellence initiatives

The proposed budget also sets the minimum teacher salary at $64,000 and has adjustments to the new hire schedule for teachers to match market rates. Returning teachers will receive a projected average teacher salary increase of approximately $2,235 or 3.6%, based on the greater of three increases:

• Change to effectiveness level
• Change to compensation level value
• Board approved differentiated salary increase  (2% of compensation level)

Proposed TEI compensation levels

The proposed budget also includes increases for other employees who are evaluated through an excellence initiative—assistant principals, principals, school leadership executive directors.  Increases for excellence initiative team members are paid in October 2025 retroactive to contract start date. 

Minimum wage and other central increases

The proposed increase to $17 per hour in the minimum wage continues to place Dallas ISD as a regional leader in minimum wage among area school districts and primarily impacts support and operations team members.

Employees not on an excellence initiative will see the greater of two increases:

• Minimum wage adjustment to $17 per hour or
• 2% of the midpoint for support (non-exempt) employees and professional (exempt) employees

Campus and central team members who are not on an excellence initiative will see their increase reflected in their paychecks starting in September if they were hired before Dec. 31, 2024.   

Stress is unavoidable. People carry stress within their bodies, as everyday pressures cause muscles to tense up. Too much stress can make people physically ill and leave them at greater risk for serious conditions such as heart disease and depression. There are many effective ways to relieve stress, including some that can be done without the help of professionals. 

Learning to relax is one of the best ways to deal with stress and its physical and emotional symptoms. Relaxation gives the body and mind a chance to calm down and recuperate and can also help manage pain, get an energy boost, or just feel better in general. It can help decrease muscle tension, lower blood pressure, decrease irritability, improve sleep, and generally improve well-being.  

Therapies you can do on your own

Some methods are very simple, such as taking a few minutes to just sit quietly. Other methods may require instruction and practice because you need to tune in to and teach the body to shift into a relaxed state. The key is to keep trying. For many people, first attempts at relaxing may be less fulfilling than hoped for. But as you experiment to find what works for you and practice, you’ll find yourself more and more able to relieve tension any time you want to.

Find a comfortable place, free of distraction.

Deep breathing. Concentrate on your breathing. Inhale with slow, deep breaths through your nose, and slowly exhale through your mouth. Imagine calmness entering your body with every inhalation and tension leaving your body with every exhalation. Counting each breath will help you stay connected to your breathing. Try to extend your exhale to be a few seconds longer than you inhale.

Progressive muscle relaxation. Lie down on a bed, sofa, or floor—anywhere you can comfortably stretch out. Breathe in and out slowly and deeply while you concentrate on each of the muscle groups in your body one at a time. Starting at your toes and working your way up your legs and continuing through your body to your neck and face, contract each muscle area for three to five seconds and feel the tension as you breathe in, and then concentrate on letting it go on the exhale. Gradually your entire body will be completely relaxed.

Meditation. Many ways to meditate have been developed over thousands of years. Meditation offers techniques and practices for attaining inner peace by focusing on images, sounds, or breathing. For instance, you might take a few minutes in a quiet place to close your eyes and quietly focus on a mental image, such as walking on a beach or in a wooded area, or on an object that calms you. 

Stretching. Tension builds up in the muscles throughout the body. Just a few minutes a day of slowly and gently stretching your muscles can relieve a lot of that tension. Hold each position for 30 seconds. Don’t stretch too hard—you want to feel the muscles extended, but not pulled.

Exercise. It doesn’t have to be very strenuous. Even a quick walk around the block can help to relieve tension. Find a physical activity that works for you and do it at least a couple of times a week. Work up to 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise on all or most days of the week.

Mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way of becoming more aware of the moment without making judgments that can get in the way of being fully present. You can try to become more mindful on your own by, for example, slowing down and savoring the taste of each bite of a meal instead of rushing through it. 

Massage. Massaging muscles can relieve tension and help your muscles relax. You can get a professional massage, or you can rub the tension out of your neck and shoulders yourself any time you feel tight. Remember to take a moment to stop what you are doing and concentrate on relaxing while you massage your neck and shoulders.