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Creating opportunities for students takes many forms, from tutoring and career fairs to providing them with essential resources. When teacher Julian Beltran and community liaison Maribel Roca realized not all students at the School for the Talented and Gifted in Pleasant Grove had access to hygiene products, they took it upon themselves to solve the problem, and now the school’s hygiene bank is helping their community thrive. 

“Essentially, what we wanted to do was serve the whole student,” Beltran said. “We want them to have a sense of belonging, and the hygiene bank serves what I’m calling the learning community. It’s open to anyone who is a student or is related to a student here—parents, siblings, or guardians have access as well.”

Roca and Beltran worked together to find a way to hand out the supplies without drawing unwanted attention to the students. Their solution? A Google form that parents or guardians can fill out to have free hygiene supplies delivered quietly to their students in class.

“Every Monday I’ll check the form and start filling it up,” Beltran said. “I recently had a student who came from gym to ask for deodorant and had no embarrassment about it. Before, that would have been something that might have been awkward, but we’ve opened up these conversations and let them know that everyone needs hygiene products. We’re going to talk about it and do something about it. That makes us feel really good.”

Beltran and Roca said they have received requests from students who need hygiene products for their siblings at other campuses, and parents have told them they were thankful to get support while they were waiting for a paycheck to come. 

They currently have about 52 families making requests through the Google form, and that does not include the students who come to them directly. Those families can continue to make requests as long as they need support with no questions asked. 

The hygiene bank has turned into a true community effort, Beltran said. Its shelves are stocked thanks to community partnerships, a DonorsChoose campaign, an Amazon Wish List, and contributions from the community. Its impact has been clear.

“We just want everyone to feel confident when it comes to hygiene, whether it’s students, parents, former students, or anyone who’s at the house,” Beltran said. “That’s what matters to us. We just want everyone to feel their best.”

Peggy Sanchez, a campus manager in HCM, has dedicated 23 years to Dallas ISD, where she discovered her passion for making sure schools have the team members they need to be successful. The district is highlighting her accomplishments in honor of Human Resource Professional Day. 

The national day is celebrated annually to recognize the hard work these professionals pour into helping organizations run smoothly. Dallas ISD’s Human Capital Management teams are among them, leading transformation and creating opportunities by focusing on the greatest asset in the district—the people—and ensuring there are highly effective employees in every position. 

Sanchez has worked in a variety of roles in the department, all of them related to putting the right people in the right positions. Currently, she oversees a team that hires campus employees, from teachers to school monitors and parking lot attendants.

“People I supported over a decade ago still remember my name, even though they may only have seen me that first time we met for their hiring appointment,” Sanchez said. “I have had many of those—teachers, teacher assistants, and even custodians—who see my name and say, ‘You were the person who onboarded me. I had a good experience.’ That makes me feel good. We’re giving opportunities to new candidates who come to the district, and they feel that they were welcome and that we took care of them from the beginning.”

Sanchez is motivated not only by her desire to support students in Dallas ISD but also by her own children. 

“My kids came from Dallas ISD,” she said. “My youngest one is a senior this year, so I really have a passion to make sure we have the best teachers in the classroom. It’s a big satisfaction. I love doing what I do, and HCM has been a great place for me.”

She said she is proud of her team and the way they keep Core 4 customer service at the forefront of everything they do—focusing on meeting and exceeding deadlines, ensuring new hires have the best possible experience, and managing ever-changing responsibilities and schedules with a smile. 

“Within my 23 years in the district, I have built a lot of strong relationships,” Sanchez said. “I’ve met a lot of people, and I always do my best on anything I put my hands on. We’re opening doors for the future. I just see everything as an opportunity, and building those relationships and being friendly has helped me a lot.”

If you are faced with the need to move the office or campus Xerox copier, don’t do it yourself. Get help from the Graphics Department to make sure your service is not interrupted or you face connectivity issues. 

Avoid unplugging the device from the network in preparation for moving it.

Unplugging it resets the DCHP/IP address and re-establish the connection will require a call to Xerox and to Educational Technology, which will delay the move request, sometimes by several days.

For a smooth move, make sure your Xerox copier is always connected to the network, which enables the district to receive vital printer readings, monitor the health of the printer, auto-replenish toner, allow remote IT support, and ensure Papercut features are up to date.

If the device is not on the network, please email the device model number and serial number to Linda Richardson-Taylor at LRICHARDSONTAYLOR@dallasisd.org to request connectivity to the district’s network.

Before the move, it is vital to make sure that the new spot where the copier will be located has a network drop and an appropriate power outlet. It is recommended to place a request to install these outlets if they are not available or to test them to make sure they are functional before making the move request. Remember to check the power requirements of your printer because some printers need more than the standard 110-volt outlet.

Following these standards will ensure that your copier device transition is fast and efficient, minimizing any down time. If you have any questions, please email graphicsinfo@dallasisd.org.

Gloria Prieto Puentes, a dual language teacher at Lakewood Elementary School, feels passionate about opening her students’ minds by bringing world cultures into her classroom.

“I teach them that there are many stories, many people, many books, and many cultures,” she said. “I always add this culture component to the instruction, so students can understand cultures outside of their own, and to accept other people’s realities.”

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. Prieto Puentes was recognized this year with a Service Above Self Teacher Award from the  Rotary Club of Dallas, which included an engraved plaque and a cash prize. 

Prieto Puentes, who admits to being pleasantly surprised, says these kinds of recognition are important because all teachers should feel like they are appreciated every once in a while. 

She said she feels appreciated when students and parents thank her for her work in recognizing cultures from other countries. She has students from countries like Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Mexico. As a yearly tradition, she has an activity called “My Favorite Spanish-speaking Country,” in which students prepare a presentation via Google Slides or PowerPoint about a country of their choice. 

Many of her students choose a country they have a connection to, according to Prieto Puentes. The research culminates in a presentation in front of their parents, in which many of the students bring traditional food or wear traditional clothing from the country they chose. 

“What happens is that my students feel important and appreciated,” said Prieto Puentes. “They are learning that their culture and their voice are important.”

Another way in which Prieto Puentes incorporates culture into her teaching is by talking about the city she grew up in–Barcelona, Spain. Part of this includes teaching students a new flamenco song every year. They not only learn the dance but read together about the origin and meaning of the dance, as part of their research. 

For the last two years, Prieto Puentes has also led an international exchange program, with a school in Spain named Escola Serraparera, located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona. The main intent of the program is for students at both schools to communicate, as they work on an artistic project together. To learn more about the program, click here.

Among the criteria for the Rotary Club of Dallas award was “evidence that the nominee participates in activities or organizations that benefit the community in such a way that it positively affects students.”

Prieto Puentes’ passion for culture extends beyond the classroom with the work she does in the community, serving as the vice president of Casa de España, an organization that celebrates Spanish culture. She is also an actress and storyteller with Flor Candela theater company, and is the curator for the Día del Libro and Three Wise Men celebration at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas. She also organizes art workshops in public libraries for students and community members. 

Prieto Puentes’ wish for all of her students is that they grow up to be compassionate people, who care for each other and for the planet. 

“It’s the idea that when we do good things, the idea spreads,” Prieto Puentes said. “It’s not something that stops in class—it goes beyond. I want my students to be good people, and potentially be our future leaders who will help make the world a better place.”

Dallas ISD is a step closer to introducing electric school buses for student transportation. The district is expected to begin the process of installing the infrastructure and chargers at the Lawnview Service Station in late winter or early spring.

According to Bryant Shaw, manager of the Energy and Sustainability Services Department, the first electric school buses are expected to roll out in the fall of 2024, and everything is currently on schedule for the district’s eventual transition to all electric buses, something that Shaw anticipates to happen by the year 2030. 

“I can’t wait to see the new buses rolling down our streets, picking up our students with zero emissions, making our air cleaner, and more breathable for generations to come,” said Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde, Ed.D. when the buses were first announced. 

As part of the installation of the electrical infrastructure, the district has a partnership with Oncor. According to Shaw, the district and Oncor are working closely together to work on things such as managed charging, so the buses will be charged at a certain time, such as the evening hours, so the cost will be less. 

The district currently has 17 buses on order, mostly funded by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program. Two other buses are being funded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. As the district carries out this project, most of the funding is going to come from the federal government thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, Shaw said.

Shaw and his team continue to diligently work on applying for federal funding to get more buses, including the EPA grant stemming from the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act. 

Dallas ISD has also received national attention for this work, as Shaw has presented  the district’s efforts around the country. He shares with other districts how to get onboard, as well as some of the issues to watch for along the way. 

For more information on the district’s electric school buses, visit the Energy and Sustainability Services website at www.dallasisd.org/energyandsustainability.

Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde, Ed.D. provided an update to Dallas ISD’s Board of Trustees reporting significant progress in closing achievement gaps among students in grades three through eight. In comparison to the state and other urban districts, remarkable gains were made in the Approaches and Meets levels in reading and mathematics. 

Reading Achievements

Dallas ISD is above pre-pandemic levels in reading for grades three through eight and narrows the achievement gap within seven points of the state at the Approaches level. At the Meets level, the district improved to 45% of students reading on grade level while the state was at 51%, closing the achievement gap by almost 33%.

There was an accelerated growth with African American students in the Approaches level. Now at 67%, compared to 70% at the state level, this is the smallest gap in this student group since prior to the pandemic.

Emergent bilingual students and English learners are outperforming the same group at the state level in reading at the Approach and Meets levels.

Mathematics Achievements

The district continues to make strides in mathematics, with 71% of students reaching the Approaches level, closing the achievement gap by only one point from the state.

A significant milestone was achieved as African American students in Dallas ISD now outperform their state peers in mathematics at the Approaches and Meets levels.

Emergent bilingual students and English learners also outperformed the state in mathematics at the Approaches and Meets levels. 

View the full report from the September Board Briefing here. You can download a PDF of the presentation here. 

https://www.dallasisd.org/cms/lib/TX01001475/Centricity/Domain/17649/SEPTEMBER 2023-Superintendent Report .pdf

Secondary teachers who teach sheltered or English-as-a-second-language courses will have the opportunity to participate in a paid teacher leadership cohort offered through the Dual Language ESL Department over the 2023-2024 fall and spring semester. 

The 2023-2024 ESL Teacher Leadership Cohort has space for approximately 10 to 15 teachers selected from a pool of districtwide candidates who meet the selection criteria. 

The purpose of the ESL Teacher Leadership Cohort is two-fold—to assist teachers in developing action research projects in their classroom and to build instructional capacity to support the academic, linguistic and social needs of emergent bilingual learners, said Stephen Button, instructional specialist in the Dual Language ESL Department.  

The ESL Teacher Leadership Cohort will meet virtually on a monthly basis on Saturday mornings. Daren Stark, supervisor in the Dual Language ESL Department, said cohort members will be approaching professional development from a different perspective.

“Rather than teachers coming in and being given information, teachers are coming in and using their expertise and their professional knowledge and skills to create information and share it with their campuses,” he said. 

According to Stark, the initial session will focus on what teacher action research is. Cohort participants will identify a focus area where their students are struggling, and over several meetings, they will try different approaches and strategies to address it. The ESL Leadership Cohort members will later share their findings with a districtwide audience as part of the 2024 ESL Summer Institute.

Stark said learning to identify problems and solutions is an empowering process.  

“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, and everything can seem out of your control, especially if you are a new or less experienced teacher,” he said. 

Walt Shields, a coordinator in the Dual Language ESL Department and ESL Leadership Cohort lead, is a former teacher who participated in the cohort the last couple of years and said it helped him in the daily practice in the classroom. 

“It strengthened my presentation skills and gave me an opportunity to network across schools with people who were in the same line of work, who were facing the same kind of challenges,” Shields said. “We were able to continue to grow together even after the training was over.”

Teachers interested in finding out more about the cohort can attend a virtual information session at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5. To learn more about the ESL Leadership Cohort and to express interest about the Oct. 5 information session, fill out this form or send an email to wshields@dallasisd.org. You can also scan the QR code that directs you to the form. 

Dallas ISD’s commitment to the safety and security of all team members and students extends into cyberspace, which is why the district is implementing a new level of security when it comes to sensitive data. 

A Data Loss Prevention solution (DLP) safeguards critical sensitive data that’s available within the district’s network to prevent unintended and unauthorized exposure. The DLP agent runs on team members’ computers to monitor the use and transmission of sensitive and protected data, such as student information, private health information, PII, etc. The definition of sensitive information is outlined in district regulations and included in the annual compliance videos.

What does that mean for me? 

If your work involves handling data that the DLP agent has recognized as potentially containing sensitive information, you may see prompts throughout the course of your day if there is a potential for the action you are performing to lead to unauthorized exposure. For example, you might be sendinding sensitive data through email, a web-form, cloud storage, messaging apps, social media sites, etc., which could lead to exposure.

This doesn’t mean that the action cannot be performed or that it is wrong. It just means that the DLP is flagging it and creating a record of the action, the information about the data involved and details of why you received the prompt for further review by the district’s Information Security team. Receiving the prompt doesn’t necessarily mean that what you are doing is unauthorized or that you are in trouble. 

Information Security has been working to reduce instances in which the DLP flags data that is not sensitive and to avoid generating prompts for uses and transmissions of data that are following secure standard procedures outlined by the district and departments. 

What should I do if I receive a prompt?

Depending on the data you are working with and the actions you are performing, you can either cancel the action by clicking the “Close” button, or you can proceed with the action by choosing the justification that best fits your situation from the “Justification” drop-down menu and click “Continue.”

If you receive a prompt and are unsure about the use of the data or how you are handling it, contact your supervisor.

What if I believe I received a prompt in error?

In some cases, you may receive a prompt when you don’t think you should have. If you don’t believe you should be getting prompts under certain circumstances, please open an incident ticket in ServiceNow and provide the following information in the description:

• The approximate time and date of when you received the prompt
• Your computer’s device name (for Windows: located by right-clicking the Windows Start Menu and selecting “system”. For Mac the device name is the serial number)
• Why you don’t believe you should have received a prompt
• Details about the data you were working with and the actions you were taking—i.e. uploading to a database, pasting into a webform, attaching to an email, etc.

Charlie Diaz Rivera, a first-year teacher at Career Institute East, had been supervising Dallas ISD students in the electrical technology field at one of the district’s industry partners. He is now living his dream of creating opportunities for students and as an Electrical Technology teacher at the school. 

“I was being given this opportunity to help kids to succeed in life, and I saw this as a door that was opening,” Diaz Rivera said. “This was something that I always wanted to do, and now I’m able to do it.”

Becky Barker, industry partner coordinator for Career Institute East, said she is always looking for talented individuals who are passionate about their work and like to work with youths. She noticed the rapport Diaz Rivera had with students he supervised as part of his work with Excell Electric—one of the district’s leading industry partners—and asked him if he wanted to teach. 

Diaz Rivera, who has been in the industry for five years, worked with Dallas ISD students who intern at the company, which also offers seniors jobs after graduation. He welcomed the opportunity to work with the students because he had enjoyed working with youths in the past as a volunteer youth leader, as a pastor, and as a coach. 

Diaz Rivera, who identifies with his students’ challenges, tells them that he understands that each one of them has a story and personal struggles, but that those things shouldn’t define them. 

He reassures them that while some might have challenges in areas such as reading or math, nothing is impossible. Out in the field, there are many opportunities to discover and hone their talents in the industry, so he teaches them the skills they need to get a good job and be successful, he said.

He knows that encouragement and understanding from a teacher can make all the difference—his high school teacher at South Garland High School, Ashley Wills, had such an impact on him. 

“If it wasn’t for her and for the love and guidance that she showed to me and [all] her students, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today,” Diaz Rivera said. 

“She had a lot of patience and a lot of love to give,” he said. “She made sure she took her time to make sure that I understood everything that I did, and made sure that I felt appreciated and that I belonged. That’s how I want my students to feel.”

Diaz Rivera’s hopes and dreams for his students are that they all become business owners and leaders in this industry. 

“Whether it’s owning a mom and pop shop and working your way up, the goal is for each of my students to become masters at what they do, and to keep growing—the sky’s the limit,” he said. 

Not only is Diaz Rivera teaching his students skills to be successful, he’s also teaching them to be confident. He believes that by giving his students opportunities, they can break out of their comfort zones. 

“As long as you have that confidence, and we can build you up, the possibilities are endless,” he said.

National IT Professionals Day is celebrated annually on the third Tuesday in September to show appreciation for those who have dedicated their lives to keeping systems safe and efficient— Jennifer Le and Daniel Akwei are among them. 

As information security analysts in the district, they are making a huge impact on cybersecurity, said Michael Anderson, deputy chief of Educational Technology. 

“Each day, they perform a series of checks and reviews that help the security team at large to understand if there were or are any cybersecurity or privacy matters that should be investigated further,” Anderson said. “If need be, this team will spring into action to lead the investigative work as well as the incident management. They are the youngest and most talented cybersecurity analysts I’ve ever worked with since I entered management in 2002.”

Le and Akwei are both relatively new to the district, with about one and two years of district experience respectively, but they said they are driven by a “strong sense of togetherness” within Dallas ISD as well as a passion for keeping students safe.

As the district’s Cybersecurity Threat and Vulnerability Management team, they are constantly analyzing data logs and district devices for any abnormalities that could indicate a security risk. It can be difficult at times, but Akwei said the Educational Technology team helps keep him motivated. 

“Working with my colleagues is the most amazing thing ever,” Akwei said. “Everyone is willing to help and share their knowledge, and we always have team dinners. I really enjoy that. So overall, the whole Educational Technology department in my experience is the best.”

Being focused, fast, flexible, and friendly are all key components of providing cybersecurity support to the district. While Le and Akwei make up a small team, they interact with a variety of customers from principals to concerned parents, so they keep the Core 4 at the center of everything they do. 

“Focusing on what they’re requesting is very important because sometimes it can be broad,” Le said. “We have to come in with a sense of urgency, making sure everybody feels like time is being dedicated to them, and we have to be flexible because you never know what is going to happen at any moment of the day. And, of course, we need to be friendly, especially when something is urgent. That balance is very important when trying to resolve an incident or some kind of case that’s been brought to us.” 

One of their most common tasks is helping safeguard district employees from phishing attacks, both by educating their peers on best safety practices and by guiding people through securing their devices after phishing incidents. 

“I feel like I’m giving back,” Le said. “We have a part in ensuring that our students are safe, not just on the internet, but mental health-wise as well. I think that’s very important, especially with how many students we oversee every single academic year.”