Weekly Teacher Download for June 7, 2021

ALL TEACHERS

Social and Emotional Learning
Thank you, educators, for the opportunity to visit with you weekly and provide Social and Emotional Learning information to support you throughout this past school year. Please remember that the “Let’s Stay Connected” mental health hotline at 713-556-1340 will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the summer. The hotline provides social, emotional, and psychological supports to students and parents who feel the need for assistance. All callers may remain anonymous. Trained staff from Social and Emotional Learning are available to offer counseling and mental health education and make referrals in English and Spanish. Students may also text 741-741 should they need assistance from the Let’s Stay Connected Hotline.

All HISD staff members have access to the Employee Assistance Program, ComPsych, which is offered at no cost to employees. 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, slideshows, on-demand trainings, and “Ask the Expert” personal responses to questions. Log on to www.guidanceresources.com and use the Web ID HISD. Feel free to forward the Weekly Teacher Download to a friend, coworker, or teammate within HISD, as we want to ensure all staff have access to SEL resources. Please remember to be extra kind to yourself. You deserve it!

Application for TIA Teacher Design Committee: HISD is working on a new program to help recruit, retain, and reward educators, and we need your help.  HISD is applying for the TEA’s Teacher Incentive Allotment, a program that aims to help districts boost student success while also increasing salaries for our highest performing teachers. Part of the application process calls for the development of a local designation system to help us identify our top educators. As teachers, your feedback throughout this process is essential to ensuring we create an equitable and effective system. To capture and implement teacher feedback, we are creating a Teacher Design Committee, which will consist of teachers with experience in various grade levels and subject areas. The group will meet monthly beginning this August. If you’re interested, submit an online application by June 18, 2021. We encourage you to apply for this committee, as your feedback and participation are vital to developing a successful program. Should you have any questions, please email TIA@HoustonISD.org.

Leadership and Teacher Development

HISD has partnered with UHD to present an opportunity for K-12 teachers to obtain an online graduate certificate in leadership. The certificate provides preparation for aspiring leaders to be ready for an array of K-12 roles at the school and district level. Students in this certification program do not have to have their teaching certification to apply but must have earned a bachelor’s degree (any subject). Please see this flyer for additional information. Contact Angela Milon at angela.milon@houstonisd.org or 713-696-3047 with any questions.

Special Education
Save the date for the Seventh Annual Special Education Conference July 20-22. See this story for details.

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 CTE Summer 2021 Professional Development Calendar. It includes professional learning opportunities, self-paced courses through OneSource, summer workshops, and conferences for CTE educators. Visit the HUB for weekly Career Readiness updates, resources, and announcements. See the 2021 Region 4 Distance Learning Event Schedule now throughout the summer. A couple highlights:

• Don’t miss out on the largest CTE virtual PD event of 2021! Last year’s iCEV event was a huge success, and this year there will be even more speakers, sessions, and prizes! So, mark your calendars for July 27-29 and see this flyer for more information.
• CTE Assessments, Learning Objectives, and Aligning Instructional Strategies: Participants will receive an overview of oral language proficiency and things to consider when differentiating and planning for instruction in CTE classes. The OneSource course (ID 1451010) is self-paced and can be taken any time. See this flyer for more information.