Weekly Teacher Download for February 24

Educators of the Year: HISD will be recognizing teaching excellence across our district through the Teacher of the Year (TOY) awards at the annual HISD Educator of the Year banquet on Friday, May 1 at Hilton Americas Hotel (1600 Lamar St., 77010). This year we are celebrating New Orleans-styleto recognize our 2019-2020 Campus Teachers of the Year (TOYs), Beginning TOYs, Librarian of the Year (LOY), Instructional Coaches, Leadership Excellence and other special recognitions. Every school is encouraged to purchase tickets for your campus TOY and one guest, BTOY honoree and one guest, as well as additional tickets for the campus/community team who will attend to support your campus honorees by March 27. For more information on how to purchase tickets, click here.

ALL TEACHERS

Spring 2020 DDIS Cohort: Are you interested in learning more about the Data-Driven Instruction Specialist (DDIS) Program? Do you enjoy supporting teachers in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please join the HISD Student Assessment Department in conjunction with the HISD Office of School Leadership for an information session on the new DDIS Leadership Cohort on Saturday, March 7 at Waltrip High School from 8:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. Click here for the flyer.

Goalbook—The Web-Based One-Stop Shop for Educators:  Need academic or behavior interventions?  What about progress monitoring tools, lesson planning ideas, or new strategies?  You don’t want to miss the Goalbook Training on March 5 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. or 1-3 p.m. at HISD Nutrition Services (6801 Bennington St., 77028). The course will present all the features of Goalbook including strategies that support academic content aligned to the TEKS, strategies and content to support social/emotional learning, and strategies and content to support English language learners. Those interested may register in OneSource, course #1441134. For more information, click here. 

Info Session-Early Reading Specialist: The Elementary Curriculum and Development team will host an informational session for any qualified teacher interested in becoming an Early Literacy Reading Specialist on February 24 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at Hattie Mae White Board Auditorium (4400 West 18^th St., 77092). During the 86th legislative session, new reading requirements were included in House Bill 3, which states kindergarten through third-grade teachers are required to participate in professional development known as Reading Academies that focus on teaching core reading and writing skills. To learn more about the cohort and requirements, click here.

HISD Self-Care Initiative: Have you ever experienced burnout? The Social and Emotional Learning Department will host a self-care series on February 26, where SEL trainers will hold one-hour yoga, mindfulness and other self-care sessions for teachers and district staff. This initiative is targeted to help teachers and staff avoid burnout, improve mental wellness and staff morale. Participants may register for the course in One Source, #1441062. For more information, click here. Principals can request to host a session for their campus teams by contacting Nicole Batiste at nbatiste@houstonisd.org.

Student Assessment Summit: The Student Assessment Department will be hosting a 2020 Spring Student Assessment Summit on February 29 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at Lawson Middle School (1400 Stancliff St., 77045). Sessions will focus on how to make summative and formative connections to STAAR and will include state accountability, designated supports, TEKS monitoring, data tracking systems, as well as critical reports for teachers and leaders. Register today in OneSource, course #1440130. For more information, click here.

ELEMENTARY

Literacy X3 Reboot Day 2: In partnership with Scholastic, the Elementary Curriculum and Instruction Office will provide and facilitate Day 2 of a full-day training for the district’s Literacy X3 Reboot from March 10-May 7 at HISD Educational Learning Center (10725 Mesa Dr., 77078). All kindergarten through third-grade teachers will attend a day of professional learning centered around building a culture of independent reading and holding students accountable for grade level comprehension and vocabulary standards. Teachers will attend the professional learning sessions with their grade level band.  Schools may choose to stagger the teachers in attendance or send them on the same day in grade level teams for both rounds of professional learning. For more information, click here.

SECONDARY

CTE Professional development:The CTE Department is offering the following trainings—”Employability Skills: It’s What Employers Want!” on March 2, “Supporting English Learners in the CTE Classroom for CTE Math and Science Teachers” on March 5, “Integrating Robotics and Arduino into CS and STEAM Education” on March 6, and “ Soar High with Drones” on March 26. For more information on the trainings and OneSource course numbers, click here.

Call for CTE presenters: Do you have a best practice you would like to share with your peers?  Are you interested in leading a professional development? We’d love for CTE teachers to consider sharing what you are teaching and show how you’re preparing students for certifications, employment and beyond. Also, this helps empower peer collaboration by creating space and time for authentic planning and collaboration. To submit your request, click here.  

College and Career Readiness Survey: As part of the efforts to better assist students as they transition into life after high school, a districtwide survey will be administered to seniors through a course on the HUB entitled “College and Career Readiness Survey”. The information gathered in the survey will assist the College Readiness Department and will be used in an evaluation of the program by the Department of Research and Accountability. Each senior in the district will be placed in this course and assigned the survey as a task, which should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. All surveys should be completed by March 27.

TSU Summer Engineering Program: The Department of Engineering at Texas Southern University, in collaboration with the Army funded UNITE program, will be hosting its Annual Pre-College Engineering Summer Program from June 8 to July 2. The program encourages and helps prepare students to pursue a college education in engineering and related fields, as part of a national initiative to develop a talented and trained STEM workforce. Students are eligible for a $400 stipend and must apply by May 15. For more information, click here.

Prom Challenge: Do you want a chance to win $5,000 to throw a legendary prom? Prom Challenge is a new program created in p partnership between, the “When We All Vote” and “MTV’s +1thevote campaign.” Rent the Runway and other brands have joined forces to celebrate and recognize 20 high schools across the country integrating voter registration into their schools. Schools interested can apply here by sharing creative ideas for how to incorporate voter registration into their school. The goal is to register voters in your community and on your campus.  The deadline to apply is March 13. Click here for more details.