The Houston Texans, HISD’s longtime community partner, is offering HISD employees a special discount on tickets to the annual Bayou Bucket matchup.
The Houston Cougars will take on Rice Owls at Reliant Stadium on Sat., Sept. 21, 2013, and district employees can get a seats for as little as $15 each and hotdogs for only a dollar each. A special family pack is also available at participating Shipley’s donut stores that includes four tickets, four personal pizzas, and four sodas for $84.
To take advantage of this special offer, please contact Warren Caguioa at 832-667-2319 or warren.caguioa@houstontexans.com. A downloadable flyer (.jpg) is available for reference.
All processing charges, taxes, and fees will be waived.
In this week’s I am HISD, which features district students, graduates, employees, and other team members, Reagan High School teacher Christopher Wise talks about how he became “a writer who teaches,” what he learned at the ABYDOS Summer Writing Institute, and why he spent 18 years perfecting a poem about cowboys.
I remember hearing about you back in 2008 and 2009, because you’d had several excerpts/adaptations from an unpublished novel, The Hard Way, appear in Cowboys and Indians magazine. When did that book finally come out?
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Chris Wise
Actually, I never finished it. (laughs) I’m writing three novels, but the only one I finished has been rejected like 54 times. It’s called The Smirk of Fortune, which is funny, because it’s about having bad luck. But if you Google “Whiskey in a Ghost Town,” you’ll find a poem I started back when I was still in the army. That piece took me 18 years to finish. It was my homage to the spaghetti western. I revised it and revised it, and when I finally submitted it, it was the quickest turnaround I ever had. Last time I looked, about 800,000 people had viewed that website.
What is it about the western genre that appeals to you so much?
I bleed Texas. This is my state! But that western piece came about one night while I was on guard duty during basic training. My friend and I were “guarding” a pile of coal—that no one wanted to steal and was half-frozen. So for entertainment, I was reciting poems. He was telling jokes. And he asked me, “Hey, Wise, you got any poems about a cowboy?” And I said, “No, but I will.” So I wrote it. Then we got sent to different bases, and he never got to see it. But I owe that one to him.
I understand your writing ability also got you noticed at this year’s ABYDOS Summer Writing Institute. How did that come about?
As part of the Institute, we had to write a “reflexive” piece and an “extensive” piece. The first was something like a short story or a personal narrative, and the other was more like a Supreme Court ruling, to use the most extreme example. They teach you that the boundary between the two is more of a tissue rather than a brick wall. You might remember that quote, “I refuse to believe that a student’s rights are checked at the schoolhouse door.” So even in that, you have an “I” (a Supreme Court Justice using the first-person narrative). At the end of the Institute, everybody’s work got published in a workshop publication called A Rhythm, A Gesture, A Voice. I was really shocked and complimented that they liked mine so well that I’ve been asked to write the fourth book in their award-winning Writers/Young Writers’ series, which will have my poems and stories, as well as my notes on craft, and extensions for young writers to write.
You were one of only about 50 participants to be picked to be a “trainer of trainers” at that event, too, right? What does that involve?
For myself, I will have to read 15 books and 15 articles in a year and write a paper on each. Then I have to go observe (some trainings) in San Antonio and give a demonstration for my peers on certain days. The three-year certification offers me an opportunity to provide instruction on these topics on a contract basis, so I can make a little extra money. But most importantly, it’s an opportunity to become a better writer and a more effective teacher. I think of myself as a writer who teaches, not a teacher who writes.
Can you give me an example of how you plan to apply what you’ve learned in the Summer Writing Institute to the classroom?
One thing that they did was called “clocking,” which I really like. Each student has a role in the editing process, like spelling or grammar or punctuation. So the kids will sit and pass a paper around in a line, and by the time they’re done, the student who wrote it has quite a lot of comments. Each one only comments on what his or her role is, and that divides it all out to make sure they have an equitable amount of comments on various topics.
Another strategy we learned was “ratiocination,” or approaching the writing process in the way that real writers write. As adults, we know that writing is not lock-step brainstorm, draft, revise, and publish. Sometimes we brainstorm in the middle of drafting, and sometimes we have done the prewriting in our heads. From here, students can approach grammar from within the writing process, and it works because they want to be clear and understood when there is a publishing aspect in the classroom.
You’ve also had some pretty impressive results as an Advanced Placement (AP) teacher of literature. What can you tell me about that?
According to the numbers I was given, for whatever reason, Reagan only gave seven AP literature tests during the 2011–12 school year, and nobody scored above a three. Last year, we paid for 101 tests and gave 95 exams. We had 38 ones, 9 twos, 27 threes, 15 fours, and 5 fives. That was almost as many students scoring a five on the exam as took tests the year before.
That was my first year teaching AP, but we had an AP mentor program that gave me what I needed to know. I went to every training I could—weekends, weeknights, whenever. And the instructor was from Westside, a gentleman named Rob MacGregor. Whoever picked him really knew what they were doing. He was a great teacher and a great teacher of teachers. If not for him, I could not have done what I did.
When I talked to you several years ago, you were still teaching at Fonville Middle School. How did you end up at Reagan?
I like kids and I like talking about writing, but I worked at Fonville for nine years, and I just got tired of talking about “the main idea.” I wanted to get into stuff more like philosophy, character development, the more complicated aspects of writing.
I hear you’re also involved in some other activities that help youth. What are some of those?
I’m involved in the Word Around Town poetry tour, which runs seven venues in seven days and really demonstrates how there is top-notch poetry going on every night all over Houston. I was also in the Kerouac Fest at the Orange Show, sponsored by Poets and Writer magazine, which was an honor. And I go to a lot of open mic nights, where I’ve seen kids get up there and just fail miserably, because they use profanity at the wrong time, or it rhymes too much, or whatever, and I’ll help them if they’re interested, but really, I just like to be involved in the local conversation.
I’ve gotten to hear and meet many of the amazing writers in this town. If it’s good for the community and good for me, I usually want to participate. For example, right now I’m hoping to find someone who’s willing to donate a case of champagne (or two) to the gala for the Mission at Serenity Ranch on Sept. 21. It’s a safe haven for people who are victims of human trafficking; some of the stories they have are pretty horrific. We might forget how much we need each other, until we need each other. So, I’d like to help if I can.
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. |
Whether you’re a teacher, a principal, or a chief schools officer, HISD’s new Analytics for Educators dashboard tool makes it quick and easy for you to track student attendance.
For CSOs—From the Student Attendance graph, you can find the answers to:
- Which of my schools have their year-to-date average daily attendance rate below target level?
For Principals—From the Student Daily Attendance quadrant, you can find the answers to:
- Who has missed 2-3 to 10+ days?
- Who has perfect attendance?
- What is my campus year-to-date average daily attendance rate?
For Teachers—From the Attendance pane, you can find the answers to:
- Who in which class has missed 2-3 to 10+ days, or has been tardy for as many days?
- Who has perfect attendance and in which classes?
Let A4E Dashboards help you make sure your students are in school every day.
The HISD’s fall workshop series for educators continues on Sept. 18 with a session on how to enlist the aid of parents and families in improving student attendance.
For a full schedule, please see this related Academic Memo or this schedule. Registration for the workshops must be completed on e-TRAIN.
The professional development series, which is open to all school-based staff members, is the brainchild of the district’s Family and Community Engagement (FACE) department.
Learn your options at Sept. 18 retirement seminar
The Retirement Storefront at HISD will be hosting retirement seminars from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. on the following dates this fall:
- Wed., Sept. 18
- Tues., Oct. 22
- Wed., Nov. 6
- Wed., Dec. 4
All district employees are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about their Teacher Retirement System (TRS) benefits.
Employees must register through e-TRAIN to attend, and select course code #BN0200.
Questions may be directed to V. Janene English at 713-695-5561 ext. 343.
SMART offering special loan rates through Sept. 30
SMART Financial Credit Union, which was launched in 1934 to serve Houston-area educators, is honoring its roots once again this year by offering HISD employees some special financing terms on auto and personal loans through Sept. 30.
For details, please see this related posting.
Free movie screening for fifth- and sixth-graders on Oct. 24
In observance of Food Day Houston 2013, Recipe 4 Success, will be hosting a screening of the educational film, What’s on My Plate?, on Thurs., Oct. 24, at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (1001 Bissonnet, 77005).
The documentary, which follows two 11-year-old girls as they explore their place in the food chain, is geared to fifth- and sixth-graders.
Admission is free for schools (transportation not provided), but space is limited, so please register by Sept. 30 to sarah@recipe4success.org. Details are here (.pdf).
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Outreach workers Carl Green, Ilka Rosado, and Lisa Jackson
This week’s Shout Out goes to outreach workers Carl Green, Lisa Jackson, and Ilka Rosado, from Senior Special Populations Program Specialist Bernadette Cardenas, who praised them for the work they do with students experiencing homelessness.
“These three workers give entirely of themselves to support our students,” said Cardenas. “They will work evenings, Saturdays, and whenever they are needed in order to assist students and families. Carl, Lisa, and Ilka can always be counted on. They ensure that these children have uniforms, school supplies, shoes, undergarments and personal hygiene items in order to attend school. They also assist with enrollment, obtaining school and medical records and immunizations, and serve as leadership for school-based personnel in identifying students and increasing community awareness. As a team, they also collaborate with other district personnel to provide transportation, free breakfast/lunch, tutorial programs, and referrals to social service agencies and resources.”
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. |
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A close-up of the dogtags Principal Diana Gibson-Johnson uses to reward good attendance
Sometimes the art of motivating people all boils down to finding the right incentives.
That’s what Principal Diana Gibson-Johnson discovered last year, when she used a variety of prizes to boost student attendance at Windsor Village Elementary School.
Children who came to class for an entire week had their names entered into a drawing for small prizes, while those who were present for an entire nine weeks were treated to an ice cream party in the cafeteria. Students who maintained perfect attendance for the entire year had their names entered into a drawing for a laptop, and last year, first-grader Adrian Escalante took home the inaugural prize.
“We had a chicken pox epidemic that really hit us hard last December,” said Gibson-Johnson, “but overall, we saw monthly increases in attendance figures from the previous years. Students get really excited about such small things, like hearing their name called out over the intercom, getting to wear jeans or jerseys on certain days, or getting to play games for 15 minutes. We also gave out dog tags for attendance and honor roll students. It works.”
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. |
Of all the employees who took last week’s eNews survey, only one said he/she did not maintain a perfect attendance record for at least one school year as a child.
And while nobody had a perfect record from start to finish, almost 30 percent said they had maintained a perfect attendance record for an incredible 10 or 11 of their 12 years in grade school.
Another 30 percent said they could claim one or two years, while the remainder fell in between those two extremes.
Of those who had come to school every day, only 40 percent said it was due to parental pressure. The rest said their motivation came from within, because as one survey-taker succinctly put it, “School was a lot easier than staying home to work.”
Hispanic Heritage Month begins on Sunday this year, and HISD students will soon begin celebrating with festive folk dances, delicious food tastings, and other activities that explore the culture and traditions of people who trace their ancestors back to Spanish-speaking nations.
Initiated by the U.S. Congress as Hispanic Heritage Week more than 20 years ago, the celebration was expanded to a full 30 days in 1989. It takes place from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 each year because several Latin American nations achieved independence during that time period.
Be sure to check out HISD’s Facebook page and Twitter feed during that period, as the district will be highlighting one distinguished alumna/us or campus (named for a Hispanic leader) each day.
Here are some other dates you might want to mark on your calendar:
- Sept. 13: Fall holiday (.pdf)
- Sept. 15-21: Share Our Strength’s Dine Out for No Kid Hungry
- Sept. 18-Dec. 18: Friends of Houston Public Library Farmers’ Market Book Sale
- Sept. 17: Constitution Day
- Sept. 28: The Museum Experience
- Oct. 4 & 5: Friends of Houston Public Library Children’s Book Sale
- Oct. 10: Board meeting (regular)
- Oct. 19: Energy Day
- Nov. 5: Election Day
- Nov. 27-29: Thanksgiving holiday (.pdf)
HISD’s Office of Communications has developed a new plan for disseminating information to employees to help them stay abreast of district developments.
The new procedure, which was first used last week with the announcement of the new chief academic officer, was designed to alert employees first about breaking news, before the information is released on a wider scale.
The new procedures will be used to update employees on high-level news stories, such as the selection of new cabinet members or announcements regarding major districtwide initiatives. The plan was developed in response to employees who said that they sometimes only learned of staffing changes to the superintendent’s direct reports through local newspapers, TV broadcasts, or education-related websites.
Under the new process, announcements such as these will only be released to the community and local media organizations after employees have been notified by email.
When you come to Human Resources to complete your hiring process, you will have your ID badge photo taken and you will be assigned a random number which you can use to check the status of your ID badge at www.tinyurl.com/hisdbadge.
Once your ID badge is ready for pick-up, you may collect it from the Employee Services reception area at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (HMWESC), 4400 W. 18th Street, 77092.
If you have any questions, please send an email to onboarding@houstonisd.org.
How can I get a replacement badge?
Replacement ID badges cost $5 (cash only) and are available from the HR reception area at the HMWESC.
For details on how to obtain an ID badge for access to the HMWESC, please visit this webpage.
For a list of other FAQ for new employees, please visit this page.