Weekly Teacher Download for August 26

A Message from Dr. Lathan: We have officially reached the end of the summer break and the start of the 2019-2020 school year! I cannot express how excited I am about what’s to come for our students as we work to build equity across the district for Houston’s children. Read more

ALL TEACHERS

What Great Teachers Do Differently: Teachers and principals are invited to attend the “What Great Teacher Do Differently” workshop led by Dr. Todd Whitaker on September 4 from 1-2:30 p.m. or 3-4:30 p.m. at the Harris County Department of Education (6300 Irvington, 77022). Teachers will gain skills to add to their toolboxes, while leadership will learn how to support a rich learning environment. The first 100 participants in each session will receive a copy of Dr. Whitaker’s book, “What Great Teachers Do Differently.” To register for the 1-2:30 p.m. workshop, click here. For the 3-4:30 p.m. workshop, click here. For more information on the workshop, click here.

Health Clinic Options for Employees: All employees and their eligible enrolled dependents covered under an HISD medical plan may use any of the 14 Houston-area Next Level Urgent Care centers. HISD employees and their eligible dependents enrolled in the Select Plan may use these clinics at no charge. All other employees and their eligible dependents enrolled in an HISD medical plan must pay a $20 visit fee. Employees not enrolled in a HISD medical plan will not be able to use the Next Level Urgent Care Centers under the new program. For more information on the new partnership with Next Level Urgent Care, click here.

Back-to-School Technology Tips: To ensure you have a smooth transition into the 2019-2020 school year, Information Technology would like teachers and principals to take a few moments to review the Technology Tips listed here.

Campus Safety: In today’s school safety climate where preparation is everything, it’s important that everyone at HISD work collaboratively to ensure each of our campuses are well prepared for any type of major event. Campus administrators should coordinate with Risk Management to begin scheduling their school safety trainings. Throughout the school year, the department offers a mandatory school safety training for each campus, as well as numerous courses on OneSource for teachers, administrators, school and office personnel. For more information on how to schedule a training, click here.

New Transportation Services: Transportation Services is launching two new tools designed to better facilitate communication with parents and allow them to track their students’ buses in real time. The first tool is Let’s Talk!, an easy-to-use, online program that will streamline communication by giving parents and school staff a central location where they can submit questions and concerns, track their inquiries, get quick answers, and rate our service. The second tool is SafeStop, a school bus tracking app that will allow parents to track their students’ buses. For detailed information on Let’s Talk, click here. For detailed information on SafeStop, click here.

Free Meals for HISD Students: Due to the district providing free breakfast and lunch to students for the 2019-2020 school year, parents will need to fill out the blue socioeconomic form available by Friday, October 25. While parents will not need to complete and return a free and reduced-price meal application, they will need to complete the form that is available at all campuses and returned to each school where they have a child enrolled to ensure Title I funding for HISD schools. Forms are not required for pre-K students. Click here for more information.

Free Flu Shots for Students: HISD is partnering once again with Healthy Schools to offer free flu vaccines to students during the 2019-2020 school year. A team of nurses and other staff from Healthy Schools will rotate to each campus for half-day clinics beginning in October through December. Parents will be able to consent electronically or through a print copy available at their child’s campus. All parent consent forms and translations will be provided to campuses, and parents can either complete the form and submit to the campus prior to clinics or have their child bring the completed form on the day of clinic.

SECONDARY

Free Internet Hotspots for Students: The Sprint Foundation will once again donate free internet access to high school students who do not have high-speed internet at home. A partnership with the Sprint 1 Million Project, the program aims to provide internet hotspots to eligible high school students enrolled in a PowerUp Campus. Eligible students will keep the mobile hotspot throughout their high school career (four years) at no cost to the families. To identify those students in need during laptop distribution process, they will be prompted to complete an eligibility survey from August 27-September 27.