HISD’s Construction and Facility Services (CFS) department recently launched an internal Employee of the Month program to recognize 24 members of its team per year—one per month from each of its two main branches: facilities (maintenance) and operations (custodial services).
Gianni Ledezma
The first two honorees were announced in June 2014. They are:
Joe Vasquez
Congratulations to first two Employees of the Month from Construction and Facility Services!
Dr. Michelle Cloud
Dr. Michelle Cloud has only been a member of Team HISD since 2009, but during that time, she has gone from being a principal intern to overseeing five specialized campuses as a school support officer.
“I have loved every moment,” said Dr. Cloud. “It’s been an absolute joy.”
The veteran educator made the decision to join HISD after completing her doctorate, which was on the subject of school choice. “HISD was doing some exciting things at the time, and I wanted to be a part of it,” she said. “It was an adjustment, coming from such a highly centralized district, but the thought of being able to be creative and take some risks intrigued me. The idea of every principal being their own CEO was just so desirable, and it ended up being just what I thought.”
During her two-year stint as Brookline Elementary School’s principal, Dr. Cloud was recognized as a first-year Principal of the Year, which pleased the child of educators to no end. “My Mom taught at Scarborough Elementary School for years,” said Dr. Cloud. “She was one of the district’s first bilingual teachers. And I went to Hohl Elementary, M. C. Williams Middle School, and Booker T. Washington High School.”
Dr. Cloud officially marked her fifth anniversary with the district on June 8, but several other employees are also marking theirs this week (June 8–14). See if you know anyone on this list:
| Check back next Friday for more June Milestones. Leave a comment below if you’d like to congratulate any of the above employees. |
This week’s Shout Out goes to all of the members of Team HISD who contributed to making the 40 graduation ceremonies that took place over the weekend an unqualified success.
“We had parking attendants who stayed at their posts throughout the heaviest of the thunderstorms,” said School Support Officer Lupita Hinojosa. “They never came in, as they knew that the guests needed to get in on time to see their graduates receive their diplomas. The police officers were drenched and kept on going. Every single one of our team members kept pushing and never complained: custodians, parking attendants, police officers, plumbers, EVERYONE! Their drive and determination to ensure that every guest was safe as they walked through the parking lots and into the building was unbelievable. If I tell you my heart swelled and tears were in my eyes, it is an understatement. I am so very proud of each and every member of Team HISD who poured their heart and soul into this weekend to make sure that each graduate, and his or her family, friends, and guests had the best experience possible. It was truly a weekend to celebrate.”
| Know someone who deserves a shout out? Send an email to info@houstonisd.org with the subject line “Shout Out for eNews!” and tell us why. |
The 2014 hurricane season has officially begun, and that means it’s time to start taking stock and getting ready in case a tropical system should threaten the Houston area. Some of the best online resources available to help citizens stay informed are the National Hurricane Center (managed by the National Weather Service), the City of Houston’s Ready Houston, and the Harris County Flood Warning System, which keeps an on-going tally of rainfall totals at hundreds of locations in real time.
HISD uses a number of methods to communicate with parents, students, and employees when inclement weather affects the district’s operations, including the main HISD website, social media (Twitter, Facebook), a call-out system, and local media. But don’t forget, you can always call the Inclement Weather Hotline (713-267-1704) for up-to-the-minute status reports. You can also visit the links above for details on how to make an evacuation plan and build a disaster kit.
Luis Gavito back in the late 1980’s (left) and today
Like many HISD employees who have been with the district for any significant length of time, Luis Gavito has “worn many hats.” But over the past quarter century, the common thread has always been the constituency he serves: students attending alternative campuses.
“Before I came to HISD, I was in the ministry,” said Gavito, whose current title is administrator of student discipline. “I was an ordained priest, and doing missionary work, so I guess in a way, I have always worked with special populations—the marginalized, rather than the mainstream.”
Over the years, Gavito has also served as the principal of four alternative campuses simultaneously, overseen charter school contracts, and been responsible for updating the Code of Student Conduct with help from the Legal Department. But it’s the district’s success stories that keep him coming back.
“It’s not always the students who stand out as an immediate success,” he said, “but when you do find a match between a child and a program, that’s rewarding.”
Gavito officially marked his 25th anniversary with the district on June 5, but several other employees are also marking theirs this week (June 1–7). See if you know anyone on this list:
| Check back next Friday for more June Milestones. Leave a comment below if you’d like to congratulate any of the above employees. |
The Houston Symphony is launching its annual series of free summer community family concerts throughout the Houston area, and HISD’s Booker T. Washington High School is on the list of venues.
Symphony musicians will play a program of family-friendly music celebrating composers of diverse backgrounds, ranging from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony to Ravel’s Suite from Mother Goose, conducted by Robert Franz.
The Washington HS concert will take place at 11 a.m. June 11.
For more information, visit the symphony’s website. Or click here to see the entire family concert schedule.
Writers in the Schools (WITS) has joined forces with the University of Houston Honors College once again this year to offer seminars on the craft and teaching of writing through the Common Ground Teachers Institute.
This incredible opportunity will be offered to secondary teachers June 30–July 11. The program is free, but applications must be submitted no later than June 10 for consideration.
Please see this related package of materials (.pdf) for details.
For more information, please contact Kim Golden or Theresa Campos at 713-696-0600 or kgolden@houstonisd.org and tcampos@houstonisd.org.
Middle- and high-school science teachers are invited to participate in one of three, three-day workshops over the summer sponsored by Marathon Oil Corporation.
The first one starts on June 16, and sessions are limited to the first 22 applicants. Participants will acquire knowledge of careers in the energy industry by touring production sites such as the Cedar Bayou Natural Gas Power Plant, the Varel Drill Bit Factory, and the South Texas Nuclear Project.
The workshops cost $45 each, and lunch and transportation from the HMNS to the workshop’s sites will be provided each day. Please see this related flyer (.pdf) for details.
If you’ve been trying to think of a way to advance in your career, consider Toastmasters.
Toastmasters is a nonprofit organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Members learn more about public speaking, how to conduct a meeting, how to listen effectively, and how to provide constructive feedback. HISD’s Toastmasters club currently has 30 members and is accepting applications. It received its official charter on Jan. 9.
To see if Toastmasters is right for you, drop in on one of the monthly meetings, which take place on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month from 5:05 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th St., 77092), in either the cafeteria or Room 1E02.
All new members will receive a manual and resources about how to become a better speaker and a more confident leader.
For more information, please contact Kim Golden or Theresa Campos at 713-696-0600 or kgolden@houstonisd.org and tcampos@houstonisd.org.
The Houston ISD LinkedIn group is a virtual meeting place where district employees can connect, collaborate, and share information and ideas. If you have a LinkedIn profile, please take a moment to join the group—just select “group” in the drop-down search menu and enter “Houston ISD,” then click “join group.” If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, go to www.linkedin.com and create one. Please be sure to list your employer as Houston ISD.
In this week’s I am HISD, which features district students, graduates, employees, and other team members, we talk to in-coming Harvard Elementary School Magnet Coordinator Jennifer Moore about how she met her husband (Travis ES Principal Tom Day), why she’s taking the leap from the classroom into administration, and who the next person from her family will be to enter the teaching profession.
So, I hear that you and your husband are a true HISD love story. Tell me a little bit about that.
Jennifer Moore with her husband, Tom Day, and their son, Elliott
We met in 2002 on the campus of Lockhart Elementary School. I was a first-grade teacher and my husband, Tom Day, was assigned to Lockhart for his Alternative Certification Program (ACP) Field Week. Tom was assigned to my classroom for the week, along with another ACP intern. Later that summer, he was hired as a new first-grade teacher at Lockhart and I was assigned to be his mentor—which at that time, was a three-year commitment.
Somewhere along the line, we moved from being colleagues to being friends. When we started dating, I transferred to Garcia Elementary. Tom and I married in 2006 and one of my bridesmaids was a teacher from Lockhart. She still teaches in HISD.
How fun! Is your husband still teaching there?
No. Tom is now a first-year principal at Travis Elementary School. Prior to that, he was an assistant principal at Black Middle School. We think it’s funny that we now work just about a mile away from one another.
Wow. So he’s a principal and you’re a teacher. Do you find it difficult not to talk shop at home? How do you find a balance for that?
Some days it does seem like we eat, breathe, and sleep school at our home. In our early days together, we would often spend Friday evenings together grading papers over a take-out meal. Today, we still look to one another for proofreading or a professional opinion on a matter. Our son has really helped us find more balance on the weekends. While the school work must be done, our number one priority is our family. We try to plan special outings together to explore all that Houston has to offer. Some of our favorite activities are hiking, fine arts, and historical sites.
You just finished your fourteenth year as a first-grade teacher and your sixth at Harvard Elementary, and in 2013, you were named Harvard’s Teacher of the Year and one of HISD’s 12 Teacher of the Year finalists. But this fall, you’ll move into the magnet coordinator position there for the 2014–15 school year. What made you decide to accept a role in administration, when you’re so clearly good at teaching?
I really love teaching, especially watching the students grow throughout the year. As this year closes and I prepare to say good-bye to my students, I know that I will dearly miss this part of education – the relationships that are formed in the classroom. I also have enjoyed the leadership opportunities I have had in HISD: sharing best science practices at my campus through HU-LINC, writing Social Studies curriculum, and most recently, leading the Rigor Institute. I thrive on the challenge these roles have given to me and have discovered that I enjoy helping other teachers learn and grow, too.
I hear you’re already nurturing the next crop of educators at your house. True?
Yes. The next generation is on its way. Our son, Elliot, just finished kindergarten at Harvard and tells us he wants to be a teacher when he grows up.
| If you know a graduate, student, employee, or other member of Team HISD who should be featured here, please email us at info@houstonisd.org. |
Starting on Monday, June 2, the HISD administration will be resuming its “4-10” or “40 in 4” summer work schedule. Under the 4-10 schedule, HISD offices are open for business from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and closed on Fridays (through Aug. 1, 2014, this year).
First implemented in 2011, the 4-10 schedule has saved HISD more than half a million dollars each year on operating expenses during the hot summer months. The district will revert to its normal five-day work schedule starting Monday, Aug. 4.
One of the many benefits HISD offers its employees is the opportunity to sign up for a Supplemental Sick Leave Bank (SSLB). This bank gives participants up to 30 additional paid leave days in the event of a catastrophic illness or injury, resulting in an extended absence from work.
To participate, eligible employees must agree to contribute one day of their earned Local Leave time to the bank, and to access the bank, all of their other accumulated leave time must be exhausted first.
For some people, it’s hard to imagine they might one day need such a benefit, but the SSLB has saved a number of employees from financial hardship when the unexpected came to pass. Check out the stories of Louvenia Matthews (Oates ES) or Joshua Martinez (Janowski ES) for details.
If you’d like to share your SSLB story with our readers, please send an email to info@houstonisd.org. And if you would like to participate, be sure to sign up for this benefit by May 30. The next opportunity to do so will not be until September.
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