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.
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.
We humans are wired for connection. We survive because we are connected, and the same principle holds true in the workplace.
Employees are wired to connect with others for growth and support, but many shy away from building new relationships because they feel they lack the skills necessary to nourish them or network effectively.
The Onboarding and Organizational Development Department is offering a new professional development session to help employees build their networking skills and make the most of their workplace connections.
“Leveraging Internal Expertise: The Power of Workplace Networking” will take place from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. on Monday, May 19, at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th St., 77092), and participants will:
- Explore the benefits of building networking into their workplace
- Identify their personality type and apply networking strategies to complement their style
- Acquire strategies for building relationships
- Analyze their personal network and learn ways to strengthen those ties
This session is designed to promote people and team development.
Interested employees should register on eTRAIN using course code #OB0015 (oh, bee, zero, zero, one, five).
Other professional development opportunities available:
- Go With Your Gut: Leveraging the Power of Intuition: Offered by HISD’s OODD on Thursday, May 22, at the HMWESC from 9:00 a.m. until noon, this workshop will explore the five workplace intuition styles and provide tips on how balance intuition with reasoning to make better decisions, identify solutions to problems, and increase employees’ value to an organization. Select course code #OB0014 in eTRAIN.
- PowerPlay: Fitness and Learning in the Classroom: Offered by the Children’s Museum of Houston to teachers of grades 3–5 on Saturday, May 17, this workshop will explore creative ways to combine health and fitness with everyday core subjects to get students moving. Details are here.
- Summer Energy Field Trips: Offered by the Houston Museum of Natural Science to secondary science teachers starting June 16, these three-day workshops will let educators explore the topics of power plants, drilling, and technology. Details are in this related flyer (.pdf).
Students only get a finite number of hours in the classroom each year, so it’s important to make the most of them.
That’s why Adrian Acosta, a science teacher at the Young Men’s College Preparatory Academy, has been working with some of his colleagues at both the YMCPA and other campuses to harness the power of the internet by offering online tutorials.
“We all know that different teachers have different ways of explaining material,” said Acosta, “and students have different ways of learning. By having teachers do online tutorials, students are able to access different teachers explaining the same concept in different ways. That lets students find the best way to help them understand.”
An example of a typical lesson can be seen in this related 30-minute video, which explores the Hardy-Weinberg principle, a mathematical way of determining the frequency at which certain alleles occur in a population.
“This concept is actually an Advanced Placement biology objective, and most teachers don’t get to cover it due to the time constraints,” noted Acosta. “But this year, I was able to cover it in more detail due to the online tutorials and I had some interesting results. First, the students got a better comprehension of genetics. Second, the basis of the Hardy-Weinberg equation is binomial expansion, which is used in solving quadratic equations. So by having the online tutorials, not only was I able to cover my own objectives in deeper detail, but it also became a cross-curricular lesson.”
Each session is recorded so that students who can’t attend may watch it after-hours. “The ultimate goal is to make these recordings available to students 24/7 on the hub,” said Acosta.
| 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. |
When Charles Payne Jr. was hired back in 1989, George H. W. Bush was still in the White House, Madonna was dominating the airwaves, and the classic baseball movie Field of Dreams was making its debut in theatres.
Now, it’s a quarter of a century later, but the 1988 graduate of Jordan High School has no plans to go anywhere.
“I love my job,” said Payne, who works now as a welder in Construction and Facility Services. “I just want to keep working here. It’s a great place.”
Payne first joined team HISD as a janitor, but after earning a number of certifications from Houston Community College, he started working as a welder in 1999. Most of Payne’s projects now involve iron fencing, but “I love any kind of welding. I love to be focused and to complete projects.”
Payne officially marked his 25th anniversary with the district on May 8, but several other employees have also marked theirs this week (May 4–10). See if you know anyone on this list:
25 years
- Consuelo Becdach, bus driver, Transportation Services
20 years
- Jaime Iniguez, repairer, Construction & Facility Services
- Mark Ortega,teaching assistant, Deady MS
15 years
- Antonio Garcia, plant operator, Construction & Facility Services
10 years
- Timothy Bryant, teacher, Sam Houston MSTC
- Arthur Jones, crossing guard, K. Smith ES
- Abram Maurice, custodian, Construction & Facility Services
- Rodolfo Silva, officer, Police Department
- Roy Toliver, bus driver, Transportation Services
5 years
- Margretta Abrahamson, teacher, Pin Oak MS
- Charles Benson, teacher, Milby HS
- Donna Bolden, nurse, Dowling MS
- Janet Campos, clerk, Sutton ES
- Jerlene Dotson, crossing guard, Dogan ES
- Kyanna Ferguson, after-school program specialist, Marshall MS
- Otis Jasper, crossing guard, Travis ES
- LeBruce Peacock, warehouse, Food Services
- Maria Peña, production attendant, Food Services
- Samuel Spiller, teacher, Sharpstown HS
- Debra Taylor, accountant team lead, Finance
- Deandra Waters, teacher, Bonham ES
| Check back next Friday for more May Milestones. Leave a comment below if you’d like to congratulate any of the above employees. |
In an email sent to all employees on May 6, Superintendent of Schools Terry Grier announced a number of staffing changes within the district.
- Helen (Olin) Spencer—chief of staff
- Dr. Jocelyn Mouton—chief school officer of Elementary Office Area 2
- Darryl Williams—chief school officer of Leadership Development
- Erin Smith—principal at Blackshear Elementary School
- Dave Wheat—principal at The School at St. George Place
- John Baker—principal at Helms Elementary School
- Lance Menster—officer of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction
- Nancy Gregory—officer of Innovative Curriculum and Instruction
Dr. Don Hare, who serves as the chief of special projects, also informed employees of a number of other staffing changes in a previous email sent out on May 2.
- Adam Stephens—formerly the principal of The School at St. George Place, Stephens has been named the new assistant superintendent of Linked Learning
- Michael Webster—previously the director of Career and Technical Education, he has been named the new assistant superintendent for career readiness.
- Michael Love—previously the manager of the FUTURES Academy, he has been promoted to assistant superintendent of the FUTURES Academy.
“Team HISD is blessed with an amazing pool of talent,” wrote Dr. Grier. “To be able to fill several key positions from within is a testament to how we hire and nurture gifted educators and support professionals.”
Getting to and leaving HISD’s headquarters became a bit more challenging last week when the Texas Department of Transportation (TX-DOT) closed down a number of freeway on-ramps and exits near the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th Street, 77092). The building is bordered by US-290 to the north and Loop 610 to the east.
Perhaps the biggest change involves the permanent closure of the 18th Street on-ramp beneath IH-610, which previously allowed motorists access to the southbound lanes of the Loop and a nearby interchange with I-10. That on-ramp was permanently closed as of 8 p.m. on Friday, May 2.
Additional closures include an eastbound entrance ramp from US-290 onto the North Loop just past Dacoma St. (expected to last through April 1, 2015), and a westbound exit ramp to 34th Street off of US-290 (which has been closed indefinitely).
For more information about these and other closures related to construction on US-290, as well as suggested detours and alternate routes, please visit the TX-DOT’s my290.com website or sign up here to receive updates by email.
And, whether you work there daily or just drop by occasionally, plan to build some extra time into your commute to the HMWESC for the next few weeks, as Houstonians get used to the new arrangements.
In this week’s I Am HISD, which features district students, graduates, employees, and other members of Team HISD, McReynolds Middle School teacher and Chess Academy Director Robert Myers talks about how he became a nationally certified chess coach, which personal achievement makes him the proudest, and whom he’d love to play against someday.
Over the ten years you’ve been with HISD, you’ve taught speech, debate, photojournalism, public speaking, and now computer application technology. You also serve as the chess coach at McReynolds MS and the freshman basketball coach at Chávez HS, but I hear you worked as an on-air personality for KSBJ for about 20 years before that. Why did you give that up to be in education?
It was my son. When he was little, his mother had bought him some Tweety Bird tennis shoes that she thought were cute, and he was getting teased about them at school. He didn’t like it, and he told me about it in the car one day. I asked him what the teacher did to stop it, and he said, “Daddy, she do nothing.” Then he said, “Daddy, I wish you were my teacher.” And when he said that, it was a wrap for me. It just synched.
At that time, Dr. Rod Paige was still the HISD superintendent, and I had just interviewed him for the radio on a Monday. But by the end of the week, I’d already been hired at Milby High School, and they wanted me to start the following Monday.
I understand you also serve as the director of The Chess Academy. How long have you been interested in chess, and how old were you when you first learned to play?
I’ve been interested in chess all my life, but I only got serious about it about 12 years ago. My now 25-year-old son, who was 12 or 13 at the time, asked me to play one day, and then proceeded to beat me 30 games in a row. So I said, “Okay, let’s do this again.” And I started using the pieces in combination to attack. He’s been trying to beat me ever since.
Why should today’s kids consider learning the game?
Chess is the game of life. It’s the best game in the world. It has everything: hidden opposition, deception, strategy, thinking before you move, responding instead of reacting, critical thinking skills, and working your way through a problem. Everything is there. Ten to the 25th power is the number of nanoseconds since the Big Bang. Ten to the 75th power is the number of known atoms in the universe, and ten to the 250th power is the number of possible moves in a single game of chess. It is harder to become a grand master than it is to earn a PhD.
Last year, you had a six-year-old kindergartner win first place at the United States Chess Federation’s National K-12 Chess Championship and a team win the All-Girls State Championship at the Louisiana State Chess League for the third consecutive year. Out of all your students’ accomplishments, which one pleases you the most?
Well, there’s one kid who was a numbskull. When he was a ninth-grader, there was a tenth-grade girl he was trying to talk to in the hallway, and she wouldn’t give him the time of day. His diction and grammar were just terrible. But he started learning chess and eventually, he won a $100,000 chess scholarship to Texas Tech. And that girl is chasing him down now. His name is Adrian Patterson, and he’s one of my coaches. I hired him. I’m the most proud of him.
To what to you attribute your success, both in the classroom and on the chessboard?
I’d like to say it’s a gift, or my witty banter, but it’s got to be God, because it sure isn’t me. It’s like that old saying about the tortoise on a fence post. I don’t know how I got here, but I know I didn’t get here by myself. I just set myself on fire and the kids come and watch. But there’s a lot of prayer, and dedication, discipline, and desire. And in everything I’ve ever taught, you’ve got to begin with the end in mind. In chess, checkmate is the ultimate goal; in math, it’s the solution to the problem; in photography, it’s how you want the image to look; and in public speaking, it’s how you want your audience to respond. If you begin with the end in mind, you’ll succeed.
You’ve earned a number of recognitions yourself over the years, including Teacher of the Year and HISD’s own Elizabeth Brand Memorial Award. Which one makes you the proudest?
You know, I’ve been named Teacher of the Year at every campus I ever taught at, but the thing that’s most impressive to me is the school yearbook. Every year, the students vote for the coolest, smartest, funniest, and best-dressed teacher, and pretty much every year, I win all of those.
In April of 2013, you were designated a Level IV (National) Certified Chess Coach by the United States Chess Federation—making you the only one in Texas and one of only eight (now nine) in the entire world. What drove you to obtain that certification and why was it so important to you?
Here’s the thing: it’s about what you say versus what you know. It’s one thing to say, “I’m a Level IV coach,” but where’s the proof? Once you have the certification, you have the paper to back it up. A lot of people coach, but they don’t coach on the same level I do. This way, I can say that only eight other people in the world know as much about coaching chess as I do.
Over the years, you have met some pretty accomplished chess players, including Grand Masters Timur Gareev, Hiraku Nakamura, Susan Polgar, and Julio Sadora. Which one left you the most star struck, and who is still on your wish list to meet? Do you have a dream opponent?
You know, these guys are great, but they’re just regular people. And when I’m at a tournament where they are, they are usually so many kids around me, that they’re wondering who I am.
Hiraku Nakamura is number four in the world, an amazingly humble yet highly intelligent guy. Susan Polgar is as smart as she is beautiful. Timur Gareev is the funniest and coolest guy around, but Julio Sadora has to be, by far, my man. They all act as consultants for us, but he calls and talks to us on Skype all the time.
I’d have to get in a time machine to play my dream opponent, because he’s dead, but that would be Bobby Fischer. I’d also like to play Garry Kasparov, who played against Deep Blue, and Magnus Carlsen. He is amazing.
| 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. |
All active HISD employees are eligible to participate in the 403(b) and 457 voluntary retirement plans. Read the 2014 annual eligibility notice here.
Please visit the 403(b)/457 plan resources webpage for the active providers list, enrollment instructions, frequently asked questions (FAQ) and other plan details.
Questions may be directed to Employee Support Services at 713-695-5561.
The largest art car parade in the world will be cruising down Houston’s streets on Saturday, May 10, starting at 1 p.m., and HISD has nine schools participating! Be sure to get there early and you can walk around and inspect some of the more than 250 entries up close, including cars from Billy Reagan K-8 Education Center, Davis HS, Durham ES, Garden Villas ES, Lovett ES, Milby HS, Oak Forest ES, Sharpstown International HS, and Travis ES. Click here for general parade details.
Here are some other dates you might want to mark on your calendar:
- May 6–12: School Nurse Appreciation Week
- May 17: Empty Bowls
- May 21 (.pdf): Payday
- May 26: Memorial Day (school in session)
- May 29: Last day of school (students)
- May 30-June 8: Graduation ceremonies (.pdf)
- June 1: Hurricane season begins
- June 4 (.pdf): Payday
- June 2-Aug. 1: Summer schedule in effect
- June 12: Regular Board meeting
This week’s Shout Out goes to J. P. Henderson Elementary School Principal Herlinda Garcia, who was recognized as a “distinguished administrator” by the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) last month, thanks in part to the glowing recommendation she received from one of her teachers.
“Ms. Garcia has supported me in every way that a music educator should be,” wrote second-year music teacher Micki Hoevelman on her nomination form. “She has not only insured that I received as much professional development as possible, but she has also given me the tools that I need to become a successful teacher. I have completed more than 90 hours of professional development, I have access to an amazing mentor and appraiser, and many purchases have been made to create a successful program.”
“Especially now, when budgets are shrinking and the focus on test scores is increasing, we have an even greater appreciation for your daily commitment to providing a high-quality, well-rounded educational experience for all of your students,” added TMEA Executive Director Robert Floyd, in a congratulatory letter to Garcia.
You can also read more about Garcia in this Milestones entry from 2013.
| 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. |
