The Houston Independent School District has been selected to receive a 2014 Gold Medallion Award from the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) for its Special Communications Project/Campaign, “PowerUp Communications.”
NSPRA’s Gold Medallion Award is the highest award given by the association in recognition of outstanding school public relations programs. Judges look each year for special programs, projects, and campaigns that combine insightful assessment, detailed planning, creative communication, and careful evaluation. Judges selected only seven winners from 31 entries this year, and HISD was chosen for its internal and external communications efforts surrounding PowerUp.
Read the full story here.
Congratulations also go out this week to:
- HISD’s Office of Business Assistance, which received a 2013 Texas Excellence Award from the U.S. Trade and Commerce Institute for its success in promoting supplier diversity. The department has exceeded industry benchmarks in customer service and ethical standards within its Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Program by effectively utilizing M/WBE companies for numerous HISD projects in procurement, construction and professional services. Read the full story here.
- Principals Julissa Alcantar-Martinez (Davis HS) and René Sanchez (Chávez HS) being selected by Harvard University to participate in the “Raise Your Hand, Texas” program. They will receive training on how to lead transformational change at the campus level, and advocate for public policies that make public schools better for all Texas students.
- Sunila Abraham, who teaches neuroscience at the Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan Middle School. She received an “Excellence in Education” award from the Goldin Foundation for her innovative method of teaching sixth-graders about the brain and the nervous system. The Goldin Foundation was established in 1990 to recognize “unsung heroes” in education for their excellence, expertise, and demonstrable achievement in education.
- Chávez High School teacher Maria Jaramillo, who has been selected as one of six finalists in Johnson & Johnson’s U.S. Champions of Care program. Through May 25, the public will vote to select the grand prize winner, who will attend the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ final match in Rio de Janeiro on July 13. Johnson & Johnson is the Official Healthcare Sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ and created the program to shine a spotlight on people who go above and beyond to do extraordinary things in caring for others. Read more about all six finalists at www.careinspirescare.com.
| If you know someone who should be featured in Accolades, please email us at info@houstonisd.org and tell us why. |
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month, and to celebrate, the Audiology Department at T. H. Rogers is offering all district employees free hearing tests through the end of the month. To make an appointment, call 713-917-3575. Visit the Mayo Clinic’s website to see if you exhibit any symptoms of hearing loss.
WITS joins forces with UH to offer ‘Common Ground’
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.
Sign up now for HMNS summer energy workshops
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.
Want to grow as a professional? Join Toastmasters!
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.
Get LinkedIn! Join the HISD Employee Group for Discussion, Updates
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.
The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center will be holding a blood drive before the regular school year ends at HISD’s Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 West 18th Street, 77092) on Tuesday, May 27, 2014.
The drive will take place between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. in Conference Room 3C12, and while walk-ins are always welcome, reservations are strongly encouraged to avoid long waits. Successful donors who make their appointment online and donate on the day of the drive will receive 200 “appointment-kept” bonus points, which they can use toward purchases from the Commit for Life Store.
If you would like to donate blood, visit www.eblooddrive.org and enter sponsor code 0128 or call Charlotte King at 713-556-7379 to schedule an appointment.
When it comes to losing weight competitively, HISD employees are the undisputed champions. Teams of district workers have now won at least one of the top three prizes in the HealthyWage challenge for the past three years.
The latest victors come from the DeBakey High School for Health Professions. Clerk Win Loflin and counselor My Kim Huynh teamed up with friends Otibo Eboe-Arthur, Chie Horimoto, and Diana Ung to drop a total of 165 pounds, or 18.36 percent of their body weight, since January.
In addition to the money the co-workers earned through HISD’s “4 for $40” challenge, as well as the iPads they won last month in a drawing for teams who had met their monthly weight-loss goals, Loflin, Huynh, and the other members of “No Mo Junk in Da Trunk” will also split the top prize of $10,000 for the HealthyWage challenge that began on January 31.
“I took up the challenge because I really want to get pregnant,” explained Loflin, who lost more than 30 pounds and is Ung’s older sister. “I plan to put the money aside for maternity leave. Two years ago, my doctor sat me down and told me that I had to lose weight. He pulled out my medical chart and showed me that when I was 18, I weighed 118 pounds and that I had gained more than 60 pounds in 12 years. He told me that if I did not work on my weight and diet, it would lead to more health problems, since my family has a history of heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure. Pregnancy would be really risky, since I was not just overweight, but obese.”
HISD is now in the home stretch of its four-month-long “4 for $40” challenge. At the contest’s mid-way point, employees had shed 14,400 pounds and earned $80,000 in incentives. The most recent figures show a cumulative net loss of 21,000 pounds and a payout of $158,800 to date.
Benefits General Manager Brad Bailey noted that of the 2,146 participating employees who weighed in and out last month, only 755—or about a third of them—actually met their weight-loss goals. And of those who were on teams, only three had all members qualify to win iPads or FitBits.
“That means there were only three teams in the drawing for the iPads and the FitBits in May,” said Bailey. “That ought to encourage teams to really go for it this last month. If they can all lose four pounds, they have a good shot at each getting an iPad or a FitBit!”
The deadline to weigh-in to qualify for the final month’s prizes is Friday, May 30. You can read more about this year’s winning team on the HealthyWage website, and find details on the 2013 and 2012 winners at the links above.
Kathleen Lopez
When Kathleen Lopez first became a nurse back in 1971, she knew she wanted to work in a campus setting. But back then, nurses were expected to cover three schools at a time, “and as a new graduate, I just didn’t think I could handle that.”
But Lopez decided to take another look at HISD in 1999, when the home care industry in which she was involved was undergoing some reorganization. “The field was changing a lot at the time,” she explained, “and I wasn’t ready to do all the things they wanted, like night visits.” So she applied for a position at J. R. Harris Elementary School, and that is where she has been ever since.
“I love my job, and I love the kids,” said Lopez. “This has been a great school to work for.”
After 43 years in the profession, Lopez says she plans to retire in January. “I still love the kids, and leaving them will be the hardest thing to do,” she noted, “but I have grandbabies now, and I want to spend more time with them and my children.”
Lopez officially marked her 15th anniversary with the district on May 24, but several other employees have also marked theirs this week (May 18–14). See if you know anyone on this list:
30 years
- Ellen Elzie, teacher, Milne ES
25 years
- Nori Garza, secretary, Patterson ES
20 years
- Maria Bello, teacher, Bell ES
- Oluseye Ilori, bus driver, Transportation Services
- Irma Madrigal, teacher, Bonner ES
- Juan Perez, painter, Construction & Facility Services
10 years
- William Hepburn, maintenance team lead, Construction & Facility Services
- Larry Libis, school business manager, Henry MS
- Gilberto Rodriguez, cement finisher, Construction & Facility Services
5 years
- Eleazar Acevedo III, warehouse, Food Services
- Minerva Barrios, teacher, McReynolds MS
- Adan Buruca, custodian, Construction & Facility Services
- Tommy Kelley, plant operator, Construction & Facility Services
- Ellen Lawrence,teacher, T. H. Rogers MS
- Jose Mercado Menjivar, plant operator, Construction & Facility Services
- Olajuwon Muhammad, teacher, Woodson ES
- Shalesha Smith, teacher, Law ES
- Frances Washington, teaching assistant, Kennedy ES
| Check back next Friday for more May Milestones. Leave a comment below if you’d like to congratulate any of the above employees. |
Maria E. Moreno
This week’s Shout Out goes to Maria E. Moreno, an IT customer service representative at the HISD Help Desk.
“Maria is amazing,” said Multimedia Services writer Cynthia DeMarco. “I had a lingering issue with email after my hard drive got re-imaged through the Windows 7 Migration, and she figured out how to fix it when three other people couldn’t.”
“Turns out the system had somehow pulled all of my archived emails back into my inbox, maxing out its storage capacity, but even when I deleted them, they wouldn’t go away. Maria suggested I login to the email server directly from the private portal instead of going through Outlook, and see if that made a difference. It did! I was able to see the huge phantom files just sitting there in my deleted items folder and finally banish them at their source. Now, I’m back in the saddle again. Yay, Maria!”
| 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. |
In this week’s I Am HISD, which features district students, graduates, employees, and other team members, Class of 2014 member Edgar Avina talks about why he stayed at the DeBakey High School for Health Professions, even after losing interest in medicine; how he earned the nickname of “Curious George”; and what he hopes to accomplish professionally.
You’re zoned to attend Reagan High School, but instead, you chose to enroll at the DeBakey High School for Health Professions, even though it means a 7-mile, 30-minute bike ride twice a day in all kinds of weather, simply because the bus doesn’t arrive early enough for you to get to your first class on time. Why not just stay at Reagan?
Edgar Avina
Originally, DeBakey aligned perfectly with my goals: I wanted to become a cardiovascular surgeon, and what better launching pad than a high school dedicated to health professions? However, I soon came to realize that I am an unfixable klutz, and I would be a horrible surgeon. Although my interest in medicine has long since waned, I stayed at DeBakey for one reason: the people. The teachers are unbelievably open and friendly. The student body is a kaleidoscope of colors and cultures. DeBakey is a microcosm of the world, and I absolutely love it.
One of the things I’ve heard emphasized about you is how much time you spend on your bike getting to and from things that are far away. What is it that drives you to get involved in activities that require so much travel when you don’t have a car? And has any distance ever been “too far” for you to go? And how many miles would you say you’ve logged over your high school career?
Two things impel me to pedal so long. First of all—and I know it sounds idiotic— but I eat a lot. I estimate about 3,000 calories a day, with a diet chock full of starches and carbohydrates: lots of bread, simple pasta, and corn flakes. I need some way to burn off all that energy, and what better way than to pedal and clear my mind? Plus, I know that I have to have bucket-loads of grit if I am to one day achieve my goals. Biking is just a reflection of my determination to succeed. I am incredibly stubborn and I want to make a positive imprint in the societal fabric. Long distances are not going to dissuade me.
I have never thought that a distance is too long. The longest one-way distance I have ever traveled for academic purposes was around 12 miles; the most I have ever biked in a single day is 60. I would guess I have pedaled around 4,000 miles over the past four years. I logged about 65 miles per week my junior year, and about 30 miles per week my senior year.
I understand your interest has now turned to urban planning and politics. Why is that?
I have always been interested in buildings, bridges, and cities. When we were in New York City last summer on our Ivy League tour, I was fascinated by the subway. I had read all about it and couldn’t wait to see it. My legs had a mind of their own, and before I knew it, I was on my way, leaving the group behind. They started calling me “Curious George” because my curiosity was always getting me in trouble.
I’m also concerned about urban inequality. After traveling to many of America’s cities (thanks to free college trips), I have come to realize that the inequality is downright appalling. Ramshackle row houses stand next to glittering skyscrapers, and people with no car or even a bicycle to their name live near those with two or three luxury automobiles. I want to get involved in helping unshackle urban neighborhoods from the hard grip of poverty, idealistic as that may sound.
You’ve been determined to attend Yale University ever since you first joined the EMERGE program last year, and now I hear you’ve been offered a full scholarship there. Other than the obvious attraction of the full scholarship, why Yale?
For one thing, it is really close to New York City, which I dream of exploring. And the students who escorted us around campus were really upbeat, so I could picture myself there, absorbing the bubbly vibe. What clinched it was what I consider a celestial sign. The weather was cloudy and rainy most of the time (during our tour), but the day we went to Yale, the sky was crystal clear and the temperature was perfect.
I understand you’ve also been working part-time while carrying a full load of Advanced Placement classes. How do you get by on so little sleep?
Actually, I only worked during my junior year. I have come to realize that I simply do not have the time to juggle so many different assignments and responsibilities. There are a lot of kids in the school’s top ten who go to sleep at 10 or 11, but it’s a little harder for me. I am usually up until midnight doing homework. When it gets really hard, I resort to something I invented. It’s called textbook bashing. When I just can’t get something, I pick up the book and slam it into my head and hope something sticks. Of course, this is all figurative; I do not actually subject my brain to blunt force trauma.
Tell me something about yourself that would surprise people if they knew it.
I once drove an Aston Martin, as in the James Bond-type Aston Martin. I was a janitor at Star Motorcars during the summer of 2012. I was working at the car wash, and I got to drive it. Afterwards, I cleaned the rims.
| 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. |
Louvenia Matthews
When Louvenia Matthews first started contributing to the Supplemental Sick Leave Bank (SSLB) back in the early aughts, she never dreamed she would one day be using it herself.
But that’s precisely what happened to the life skills teacher from Oates Elementary School when she faced an unexpected surgery less than two years after she had been out for another health crisis.
“In 2011, I had meningitis, and I had to use up all of my days,” explained Matthews. “Then last August, I had to have surgery, and I only had about 15 hours built back up, so that week I used up all of my days, and I had to apply.”
The SSLB offers participants up to 30 additional paid leave days in the event of a catastrophic illness or injury, resulting in an extended absence from work. Eligible employees must agree to contribute one day of their earned Local Leave time to the SSLB to participate.
“I donated the hours every year without giving it too much thought,” said Matthews, “but I was so glad the program was in place when I needed it. I tell everybody I can about [SSLB], because you just don’t know what’s going to happen in life. [Without the SSLB], it would have been a disaster. I would have been up the creek without a paddle, because I’m the main breadwinner. And I am just so grateful.”
For more information on the SSLB, please visit the Benefits website or see this related article on the May 19–30 enrollment period.
