Weekly Teacher Download for May 3, 2021

ALL TEACHERS

Teacher Appreciation Week
Teachers, you are truly are the heart and soul of HISD, and over the past year, you have stepped up as true team players for our students and families. You have transitioned to virtual learning and back again, often teaching two classes at once—one at home and one in-person. As part of Teacher Appreciation Week, we have updated our Educator Discount Page with year-round discounts for you! In addition, Kendra Scott is offering 20% off the full purchase price all week with your district ID. Thank you so much for your service.

Teacher Recruitment
HISD Teacher Recruitment is hosting a virtual teacher job fair from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 8, 2021. Interested internal teacher transfer candidates do NOT need to complete an application but must register to attend. Register at http://bit.ly/may8teacherregistration. All registered candidates will receive final details by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 7. For questions, contact TeacherRecruitment@HoustonISD.org or call 713-556-7373.

Academics
According to guidance provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), districts may apply for a waiver for spring 2021 that allows a district to change a traditional school day to an asynchronous instruction day to provide additional planned teacher professional development or preparation days. The district was approved by the HISD Board of Education during the April regular board meeting to apply for this waiver from the state to offer asynchronous instruction for students and teacher professional development on Friday, May 28. As a result, all students will participate in at-home virtual learning on May 28. In-person instruction will only be available to students without internet accessibility or access to appropriate digital learning device. This instruction will be offered at the student’s regular campus. For complete details, see this story.

Teacher Incentive Allotment Program
Next spring, HISD will be participating in the TEA’s Teacher Incentive Allotment, a program that aims to help districts boost student success while recruiting and retaining high-quality educators. This program will help increase salaries for the district’s highest performing teachers while ensuring students have equitable access to the most effective teachers. Please take a few minutes to complete the Teacher Incentive Allotment Stakeholder Engagement Survey. Responses will be submitted anonymously, and all information is confidential. Visit www.houstonisd.org/tia to learn more.

Leadership Development
Apply now for the Campus Leadership Internship Program: HISD is seeking qualified internship candidates who would like to become campus leaders in the district next school year. The 2020-2021 HISD Campus Leadership Internship is a one-year paid residency that includes a $15,000 scholarship to the University of Houston for a master’s degree. For more information, see this story.

Social and Emotional Learning
Please join SEL for Live Student SEL Lessons every Friday on topics such as coping skills, anxiety, mindfulness, relationship skills, and more. Teachers may click on the link for their session of choice in real time with students. There are separate sessions for elementary and secondary students. Also, please join the SEL Relaxation Corner for self-care techniques each Monday and Wednesday for online sessions scheduled throughout the lunch hours. Scan the bar code on the attached SEL Relaxation Flier or visit the SEL Google Training Site to access the Relaxation Corner sessions. No registration is required.

Multilingual
Save the date! The third annual multilingual symposium, “The Blueprint: Engineering Foundations that Build Academic Language,” via Teams is set for June 25-26, 2021. The deadline to register is June 24, 2021. See this story for more information.

SECONDARY TEACHERS

Career and Technical Education
Please view the May 2021 CTE Bulletin regarding how to submit your CTE Teacher of the Month entry, CTE student highlights, professional learning opportunities, upcoming workshops, conferences, job opportunities for youth, and other CTE teacher-related resources. CTE content is aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in current or emerging professions.

EMERGE
EMERGE is recruiting current 10^th graders, and we need help identifying competitive applicants. The EMERGE-HISD Class of 2023 application has a deadline of May 31. Students can apply at http://bit.ly/emergeapp23. EMERGE recruitment sessions will be held twice a week virtually through Sat., May 29. Students can sign up at calendly.com/emergerecruitment. See this flyer and this brochure for more information. For questions or more information on EMERGE, please visit houstonisd.org/emerge or contact EMERGE Student Recruiter Bethany.Okezie@houstonisd.org.

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

Early Childhood
The CIRCLE EOY Assessment window will be open May 3–June 4, so start preparing all the items necessary to make this administration a successful one for you and your students. Feel free to visit the CIRCLE Assessment Folder inside our Early Childhood Guide HUB Course to find virtual administration guidance. Below are a few reminders as you plan for the assessment:

• If you are requesting that a student be added or removed, the change must first be made in PowerSchool Connect before the PK specialists can make changes in the CLI rosters.
• Use the this link to submit requests to update/make changes in your CLI rosters. 
• If you are a 50/50 Dual Language teacher or if there are two or more teachers at your campus who will be assessing a group of students, reach out to the specialists listed below to request access to share students’ rosters.
• If your campus administrators need access to campus CIRCLE data/CLI Engage, have them email Maria or Claudia.
• Email Claudia.Azcarate@houstonisd.org or Mnavarr8@houstonisd.org with any CIRCLE questions.