HISD | Employee News: HISD’s news for district employees

Throughout the month of April, HISD will be participating in the Million Mile Month, a health challenge that encourages organizations to collectively log one million miles of physical activity in 30 days.

Several other local organizations (Fort Bend ISD, the City of Houston, the University of Houston) are also participating in Million Mile Month, which is also a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting healthier lifestyles.

Participants who log their activities during the month of April are eligible to win prizes, such as running shoes, gift cards, bikes, and jogging strollers.

To contribute your activities toward HISD’s total:

1. Visit http://millionmilemonth.org/register to create your login and choose a registration level. Registration is free, but you can choose to make a tax-deductible donation to the organization.

2. After choosing your level, continue registration until you reach the LAST STEP page (where you are asked for name, city, organization, etc.).

3. On the LAST STEP page, choose “Houston ISD” from the “Select your Organization” drop-down menu.

4. Then choose your school or facility from the “Select Group/Team” drop-down menu.

5. Complete all other blanks on this page and then click “Complete Registration.”

You can log your physical activity from April 1–30 at www.millionmilemonth.org in your personal profile. You can even connect you Million Mile Month profile to your Fitbit or Map My Fitness account.

If you have questions, please send an email to contact@millionmilemonth.org.

After losing nearly 22 pounds collectively during the first month of the 4 for $40 Challenge, five teachers from Travis Elementary School are walking away with more than just new iPads. They’ve also gained a sense of confidence when it comes to leading a healthier lifestyle.

The team members – Dianna Balderas, Danetta Keevil, Sara Lytle, Mary Oliver, and Rachelle Varnon – said they were able to meet their weight-loss goals by gently encouraging each other throughout the month and celebrating each other’s successes. Each member had to lose at least four pounds to be eligible for the team drawing.

“The excitement of seeing the pounds come off and our clothes fitting better is enough to keep us going,” Oliver said.

Their advice to their fellow 4 for $40 participants: keep each other accountable during the challenge in a supportive way. For example, Oliver suggests eating lunch with your fellow team members or others doing the weight-loss challenge to help reinforce making healthy decisions about your diet.

“I have never really dieted before, but the pounds were starting to creep up,” Oliver said. “I didn’t know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised that it was easier making good choices when everyone around me was making them, too. The good choices really worked.”

After the first month of this year’s 4 for $40 Challenge, participating HISD employees collectively lost nearly 15,000 pounds. By comparison, a total of 22,000 pounds was lost during the four-month challenge in 2014.

About 4,200 employees are taking part in the weight-loss challenge, and about 57 percent lost at least four pounds in the first month.

The weigh-out window for the second round of the challenge run is currently underway and will conclude on Tuesday, March 31.

The annual Open Transfer Period for teachers will begin this year on Tuesday, March 24, and end at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 15.

During this period, eligible teachers are free to transfer between HISD campuses to fill open positions for the 2015–2016 school year.

Please visit the Careers page on the HISD website to view 2015–2016 vacancies.

If you are interested in a specific position, you may apply directly via email to the principal and provide your name, employee ID, job title, and attach a resume or include a summary of your experience. Due to the high volume of applicants, principals may only contact candidates of interest.

If you receive an offer, please click here for step-by-step instructions to continue the process.

If you have additional questions, please contact Human Resources at 713-556-7400 or hiring@houstonisd.org.

Get $3 tickets to the baseball game between the University of Houston Cougars and the Rice Owls at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 2015, at Cougar Field courtesy of UH. Just go to www.uhcougars.com/tickets, put in the promotion code HISD, and you will be able to order as many tickets as you wish at the discounted price.

If you’re an HISD employee who has been unable to attend one of the free workshops given by the Employee Assistance Program at the district’s headquarters due to scheduling conflicts, rejoice! Your requests have been heard and your wishes granted.

The Benefits Office recently released its workshop schedule for the spring of 2015—and almost half of the sessions being offered at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18^th, 77092) will take place in the evening, to better accommodate field-based employees who can’t leave their designated work locations during the day.

Three of the four topics being offered this semester—Weight Management, Nutrition Basics, and Emotional Eating—have evening sessions starting at 5:30 p.m., in addition to the “lunch-n-learn” sessions being offered at noon.

A full schedule is available here (.pdf).