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Weekly Teacher Download for October 19

2020 October 19
by HISD Communications

ALL TEACHERS

Teacher Service Days:The next Teacher Service Day (no students) is on Wednesday, Oct. 21. This is a virtual professional development day. The Oct. 21 professional development catalog is posted on the HISD eLearning website and will be updated with any new courses offered. The final catalog will be posted on Monday, Oct. 19. Pre-registration is required. Register for courses in OneSourceMe Learning through Tuesday, Oct. 20. Courses are available for administrators and teachers throughout the day as full-day, half-day, or quarter-day sessions. For any questions, contact your campus administrator or PSD@HoustonISD.org.

Additionally, there will be no virtual or in-person classes for students on Tuesday, Nov. 3, which is Election Day. Nov. 3 is now a student holiday and virtual staff professional development day. The student holiday and staff professional development day scheduled on Wednesday, February 24 has been changed to Nov. 3. All students and staff should report to school as normal on Feb. 24.

Campus administrators and teachers may choose from the following three options for staff professional development:

  • District pre-approved staff development
  • Campus or other staff development approved by their area superintendent
  • Comp day for teachers or campus administrators who have accumulated the required number of staff development hours as approved by their manager (Only applicable to the Nov. 3 staff development day).

Teacher Appraisal and Development System (TADS): Teachers, it’s time to reflect on your individual students and set realistic and ambitious goals for them within TADS. By now your appraiser has set your measures in the new AIM Portal. Now it’s your turn to set goals for your students within the AIM Portal. While this process is done in collaboration with your appraiser, please take a moment to check out the TADS Toolbox under Student Performance to access a number of resources to guide you through the student performance goal-setting process. Within the TADS Toolbox, you will find navigational guides on how to log into the AIM Portal and acknowledge your measures, as well as set goals for your students. You will also find the 2020-21 Student Performance Guidebook.

TADS Calendar Update: Due to adjustments made in the 2020-21 academic calendar, the annual TADS calendar has also been modified. Dates have been adjusted to provide additional time to complete TADS appraisal activities. Please access a copy of the revised 2020-21 board-approved TADS calendar in the TADS Toolbox. Additionally, to support teacher transitions from virtual to in-person learning, a 10- working-day grace period has been applied when a teacher transitions from virtual to in-person learning. During this grace period, no formal observations or formal walk-throughs are permitted.

Aspiring Program Specialist and Aspiring Department Chair Cohorts: The Office of Special Education Services (OSES) is currently seeking special education (SPED) teachers and other instructional professionals with a SPED certification to apply for the Aspiring Program Specialist and Aspiring Department Chair Cohorts. The purpose of the aspiring cohorts is to develop a pool of potential SPED leaders to provide timely and relevant instructional support and services to campus leaders, special education teachers, staff, and other stakeholders who serve students with disabilities. Interested applicants may access the applications online via the HISD Careers link – Business Professionals>Special Education Cohort. For more information regarding the timeline, application criteria, and frequently asked questions, click here. The cohorts are scheduled to begin on Nov. 16 with an orientation, mixer session. For questions related to the Aspiring Cohorts of Special Education Leaders (A.C.S.E.L.), please contact Carolyn Henry via Microsoft Teams or Cattani Frye via Microsoft Teams or email at cattani.frye@HoustonISD.org.

National Bullying Prevention Month: The SEL Department is participating in National Bullying Prevention Month to help keep all HISD students safe from bullying. The week of Oct. 19 is designated as HISD Bullying Prevention Week, in conjunction with the Sandy Hook Promise “Start with Hello” campaign to raise awareness of a growing social isolation epidemic. Please encourage your students (and parents) to help raise awareness around bullying incidents. The HISD Bullying Prevention Week provides daily activities to increase awareness and reduce incidents virtually and in-person. This toolkit contains activities that students and staff can complete to participate.

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

Sanford Harmony Training: For your professional development in social emotional learning, please check out the Social Emotional Learning Department Google site for the Sanford Harmony Training. Sanford Harmony is a social emotional learning program for pre-K-6 grade students designed to foster intergender communication and understanding, connection, and community both in and outside the classroom and develop boys and girls into compassionate and caring adults. As always, please consult with your campus administrator before attending any professional development. To join the course, click here.

SECONDARY TEACHERS

CTE Professional Development Opportunities: Please view our upcoming virtual training sessions for CTE instructors on Oct. 21. You must register through OneSource to receive credit. The Microsoft Teams links to join the sessions are included in the confirmation email after registering and are embedded on the PD calendar. If you have any session questions, please contact Dr. Stacey Whitmore, Manager by email at SWHITMO1@HoustonISD.org.

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