Weekly Teacher Download for May 17, 2021

ALL TEACHERS

Congratulations to the 2020-2021 HISD Teacher of the Year finalists and the Beginning Teacher of the Year winners! Twelve educators have been named the 2020-2021 Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year finalists, and two teachers have been named the Beginning Teachers of the Year. See this story for details.

Social and Emotional Learning
When was the last time you went 24 hours without technology? While the pandemic has driven many of us to spend more time on our devices to work, attend school, connect with loved ones, and perhaps get essential items like groceries, when was the last time you took time off from technology? Taking a break can provide us with the opportunity to check in with ourselves and ask:

• How am I doing, REALLY?
• What is one way I can connect with myself and/or my loved ones this week?
• What can I let go of that is no longer serving me?
• What can I let go of that is getting in the way of my growth/health/healing/etc.?
• What are five things that I am grateful for (asking daily)?
• Have I been letting myself feel what is happening in my life? If not, what am I avoiding?

Technology-free time is a time to find stillness, pay attention to your needs with kindness, and listen to what you need to process, heal, and grow. We know that when we feel good, that feeling permeates our lives and impacts our ability to be present with families, friends, colleagues, and school communities. So, consider putting your technology away and giving your full presence. Signs you may need a technology break include:

• You feel stressed if you can’t find your phone
• You feel the need to check your device every few minutes
• Your emotional state is affected after spending time on social media
• You are afraid of missing information when not using your device
• You lose track of time when on your
• Change in concentration level due to checking devices

If it is still too difficult, it may be time to talk to someone. The HISD Employee Assistance Program provides eight free counseling sessions, per issue, per year. To learn more about how your EAP benefits can help you and your family with many of life’s challenges, call ComPsych Guidance Resources EAP at 1-833-812-5181. You may also access Guidance Resources Online and link to vital information, tools, and support, including articles, podcasts, videos, on-demand trainings, and “Ask the Expert” responses to questions. Log on to www.guidanceresources.com and use the Web ID HISD. This is provided at no cost to all HISD employees. You can find additional information on the Benefits website here.

Academics
Friday, May 28, has been designated a teacher professional development or preparation day. 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 devices. This instruction will be offered at the student’s regular campus. For complete details, see this story.

Multilingual
Registration is now open for the third annual multilingual symposium, “The Blueprint: Engineering Foundations that Build Academic Language,” June 25 and June 26, 2021. The deadline to register is June 24, 2021. See this story for more information.

SECONDARY TEACHERS

Career and Technical Education
Please see the May 2021 CTE Bulletin Vol. III regarding how to submit your CTE Teacher of the Month entry, CTE student highlights, professional learning opportunities, workshops, conferences, job opportunities for youth, and other CTE resources. See the bulletin for information on a 2021-2022 certification planning open lab on May 28, a panel and introduction to Junior Achievement for grade 9-12 CTE teachers, and training May 28 on advanced Microsoft Excel tips for secondary CTE teachers. Please view the May 2021 Professional Development Calendar, including OneSource courses, where CTE teachers can receive one hour of credit. Visit the HUB for weekly Career Readiness updates, resources, and announcements. Join CTE on May 20 for Career and Military Singing Day. See this story for more details. See also the 2021 Region 4 Distance Learning Event Schedule effective throughout the summer.

Career Tip Tuesday is a series of short informative career videos for students to help them learn helpful tips to support their employability skills and prepare for post-secondary goals. Teachers and students can subscribe to the CCR YouTube channel at https://tinyurl.com/hisdCareerTipTuesday to receive updates as new videos are released the second and fourth Tuesday of the month during the school year. The videos for May are “New Employee Orientation” and “Paycheck 101.”

EMERGE

EMERGE is recruiting current 10^th graders through May 31, and 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 information on EMERGE, visit houstonisd.org/emerge or contact EMERGE Student Recruiter Bethany.Okezie@houstonisd.org.

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

Early Childhood

Prekindergarten and Kinder Enrollment Videos. Share these promotional videos with your campus administrators so they may be added to your campus website:
English: How to Enroll in Pre-K or Kindergarten at HISD
Spanish: Cómo inscribir a su hijo in prekínder o kínder en HISD

Summer School Trainings: May 28 has been allocated for teacher professional development and planning. The Early Childhood team is suggesting that PK teachers who will be teaching summer school spend the day completing the CIRCLE Assessment observable subtests (see below) and attending these mandatory summer school trainings:

• EC_ English Summer School for Pre-K Teachers (mandatory training), course #1452197 SO: 1818932 (virtual), 8:30-10:00 a.m. If your campus is offering PK summer school for English-speaking students, this mandatory session will walk you through the curriculum documents they have created, as well as the required documentation. (This is not the Multilingual summer school training for bilingual, ESL, and dual language teachers.)  
• ML_ Summer School training for teachers of PreK English Learners, course #1441410 SO: 1817001 and 1817002 (virtual), 8:30-10:30 a.m. Participants will gain knowledge regarding required documentation and instruction for teaching a PreK class for English Learners.

Circle EOY Assessment

The CIRCLE EOY Assessment window is open through 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 Claudia.Azcarate@houstonisd.org or Mnavarr8@houstonisd.org. They can also answer any CIRCLE questions.