Adele Ramirez
This week’s Shout Out goes to Adela Ramirez, a teaching assistant at Mitchell Elementary School, for her outstanding work ethic and sincere compassion for students.
“Mrs. Ramirez is a jack of all trades,” says Teacher Development Specialist Bronchelle Johnson. “She assists with classroom support, technology support, clerical duties, maintaining records, and textbooks. She is an amazing individual, and is well-respected by students, staff, and the community. She goes above and beyond the call of duty, and we appreciate her hard work.”
| 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. |
This spring, HISD will once again be joining forces with HealthyWage to help district employees tighten their belts while simultaneously fattening their wallets.
Starting next month, HISD is hosting a weight-loss challenge that comes with up to $160 in cash incentives.
From February through May, participants who lose at least four pounds per month could see a $40 incentive added to their paycheck.
For complete details, please see this related flyer (.pdf).
Q: I’m a school nurse. Am I eligible to participate in the Early Notification Program?
A: Unfortunately, no. Nurses, librarians, and other non-instructional staff are not eligible for this incentive. Because the Early Notification Program was designed to give the district adequate time to replace educators who would be retiring from the classroom and other key leadership positions, it only applies to teachers and certain campus administrators (e.g. principals, assistant principals, deans, etc.).
Please contact HR at 713-556-7383 or hranswerline@houstonisd.org if you have additional questions or need further clarification.
The National Wildlife Federation will be hosting two webinars in the next four weeks for high-school science teachers and club sponsors who want to help their schools “go green.”
The first will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 22, and will provide an introduction to the Eco-Schools program. The second is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 5, and is entitled “An Innovative Approach to STEM Education.” Both are scheduled from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.
All webinar participants will be eligible to receive for a $500 grant to jump-start their projects. For complete details, please see this flyer (.pdf).
Get to know the district and what it means to be a member of Team HISD at one of the new employee orientations being held monthly at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th St. 77092).
Topics include benefits, retirement options, and an overview of HISD’s Strategic Direction and employee policies.
The next session is scheduled for Tues., Jan 14. Details and sign-up information are here.
When Teacher Development Specialist Team Lead Monijit Katial went to Crespo Elementary School late last year, her mission was to help Alternative Certification Program intern James Lee in his work with fourth-grade students receiving Special Education services.
What she didn’t expect to find was a bulletin board filled with student work that already illustrated perfectly how effective cross-curricular instructional techniques—in this case, particular writing strategies in a math class—can be.
“I went to provide some extra support,” said Katial, “and when I arrived, I noticed his bulletin board, which is a great example of implementing learning from our professional learning Saturdays, highlighting student work, and pushing for creativity.”
“I wanted to show my students that writing is not just reserved for a STAAR test in April,” explained Lee. “Being successful in math means that you can communicate with other people, in writing, what goes on in your head.”
For his bulletin board assignment, Lee asked students to imagine a parent who had two children, 4/5 and 7/10, who were arguing about who was bigger, and draft a thank-you note from one of them addressed to a fraction strip model, which helped them determine who was bigger once and for all.
“7/10 kept saying that he was bigger because his numerator and denominator were larger than 4/5,” said Lee. “But reading their responses, I was able to gauge which students understood the key of making sure that fraction strip models are the same size…so we could see that 4/5 is actually bigger than 7/10.”
Lee credits another first-year teacher, Claire Fritz at Stevens Elementary, with the idea for using this writing strategy in his class. “I like having students write about math concepts,” he said, “because it reinforces the content, but also lets them explore math in a more creative way.”
| Had a breakthrough in your classroom? Tell us about it! Just send an email to info@houstonisd.org briefly describing your situation, and we could feature it here. |
HISD’s longtime community partner, the Houston Rockets, will be hosting HISD Nights for district employees on Thursday, Jan. 16, Saturday, Jan. 18, and Friday, Jan. 24, 2014.
Employees can get tickets to all three of these games at a discount, and everyone who purchases tickets through this special offer will get to shoot a free throw on the Rockets’ home court immediately after the game.
For details, please see this flyer (pdf).
Employees who signed up for a 2014 benefits package are eligible to receive a $125 incentive just for completing an online health assessment.
Visit hisdbenefits.org and click on this link to get started. The RedBrick online assessment will ask about 100 questions related to diet, exercise, and general lifestyle to help identify areas in which small changes could lead to big fitness rewards.
To earn the maximum incentive of $125, the assessment must be completed by Friday, Jan. 31, 2014. For complete details, including the deadlines for smaller cash incentives, please visit the RedBrick website.
Employees may also call the Benefits Department at 713-556-6655 with any questions.
Patricia Hunt
Patricia Hunt has been an elementary school teacher for the past 40 years in HISD, first at Kelso ES, and later at Southmayd ES. She transferred to Sánchez ES when that campus first opened in 1985, and she has been there ever since.
“I started out as a fourth-grade teacher at Kelso,” said Hunt, “but once I switched to first grade, I stayed. I just like working with the little ones—you see the growth and it’s very rewarding. They’re so happy to learn! It’s fun to see it in their eyes. This is my first year of pre-K.”
The New Jersey transplant moved to Houston with her family while still in college, and completed her studies here at the University of St. Thomas. And while Hunt has no plans to retire just yet, the city’s recent cold snap did make her a bit sentimental for her old home town.
“That was the hardest thing,” she said. “Missing the seasons. It’s hard to teach students about fall colors when the leaves are still green here in October. And describing snow’s even harder.”
Hunt officially marked her 40th anniversary with the district on Jan. 3, but several other employees are also marking theirs early this year (Jan. 1–11). See if you know anyone on this list:
35 years
- Nancy Buechel, teacher, Cage Elementary
- Patsy Cavazos, school support officer, Elementary Schools Office
- Vicki Domaschk, speech therapist, deaf campus
- Joyce Hobbs, teacher, Vision Programs
30 years
- Barbara Gilson, evaluation specialist, Child Study
25 years
- Patricia Butler, teacher, MCLIMS
- Kenneth McClellan, teacher, T. H. Rogers MS
- Lindsey Tela, teacher, Bellaire HS
20 years
- Charlotte Bellard, student information representative, Reagan K-8
- Deborah Blocker, secretary, Curriculum
- Otis Davis, senior HVAC repairer, Construction & Facility Services
- L. J. Jenkins, plant operator, Construction & Facility Services
15 years
- Larry Boisley, teaching assistant, Westbury HS
- Maria Flores, teacher, Ketelsen ES
- Jessica Hodge, secretary, Multilingual/Special Program
- Jennifer Logan, teacher, N. Q. Henderson ES
- Deborah Phillips, custodian, Construction & Facility Services
- Leticia Sifuentes, teacher, Briscoe ES
- Rachel Taylor, teacher, Condit ES
- Tehani R Trejo, teacher, Roosevelt ES
- Regina Williams, Magnet coordinator, Durham ES
10 years
- Martha Alvarez, teaching assistant, Braeburn ES
- Cara Boynton, Magnet coordinator, Lovett ES
- Blair Brown, teacher, Twain ES
- Raquel Escamilla, teacher, Briscoe ES
- Ermic Gaston Jr, teacher, Jackson MS
- Juana Gonzalez, teaching assistant, Ketelsen ES
- Gwendolyn Johnson, manager, Health and Medical Services
- Marcella Melancon, teacher, Herod ES
- Jennifer Stokes, teacher, Elrod ES
- Hortencia Varela, student information representative, Las Americas MS
- Patricia Villalon, teacher, Mitchell ES
- Sandy Ward, teacher, Gross ES
5 years
- Juan Batrez, teacher, Southmayd ES
- Nardo Dominguez, teacher, Elrod ES
- Tresa Milton, teaching assistant, Chávez HS
- Erin Van Pelt, instructional specialist, Briargrove ES
| Check back next Friday for more January Milestones. Leave a comment below if you’d like to congratulate any of the above employees. |
