Cherie Ybarbo
When Cherie Ybarbo first came to HISD in 1998, she had no idea she would one day be helping to keep the district’s computer network secure.
“I have come a long way from being a secretary in Food Services,” observed Ybarbo, who just marked her 15th anniversary with the district. “But working my way up has allowed me to see a different perspective on HISD and its operations.”
Ybarbo has spent the past 13 years serving in various roles in IT. In her current position as an information security analyst in Information Technology’s security division, she monitors potential threats to the district’s network and neutralizes any that could potentially compromise the system. She also plays a key role in supporting the new PowerUp program.
“I have been fortunate to see the huge impact technology has from both a parent’s and an employee’s perspective,” said Ybarbo. “My job is to assist educators in easily accessing available technological resources in a secure manner and ensure that the integrity of our network remains sound, so teachers can focus on instruction.”
Ybarbo officially marked her 15th anniversary with the district on July 14, but several other employees are also marking theirs this week (July 14–20). See if you know anyone on this list:
40 years
- Alice McKinney, teacher, Bellaire HS
25 years
- Craig Dailey, maintenance repairer, Construction & Facility Services
20 years
- Lovie Cardwell, attendant, Food Services
- Velma Davis, attendant, Food Services
- Cynthia Gipson, attendant, Food Services
- Rodney Jackson, teaching assistant, Wesley ES
- Maria Short, production attendant, Food Services
15 years
- Lorene Harrison, clerk, Textbook Operations
5 years
- David Gonzales, teacher, Westside HS
- Marshall Lawson Jr, teacher, Yates HS
| Check back next Friday for more July Milestones. Leave a comment below if you’d like to congratulate any of the above employees. |
HISD’s Summer Meals program will be ending at most campuses this week. Exceptions are Austin High School (1700 Dumble, 77023) which is offering free meals to Houston-area children through July 29, and the four new campuses located in the North Forest community (see related flyer here; pdf), which will be serving meals through Aug. 1.
If parents need information on where to find free meals after mid-July, please direct them to the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department’s website or ask them to dial 713-676-6832 or 2-1-1.
Here are some other dates you might want to mark on your calendar:
- Aug. 2: Summer Schedule concludes
- Aug. 4: Cool to Be Smart celebration
- Aug. 5-9: HMNS Summer Energy Workshop
- Aug. 7: Administrative Inservice
- Aug. 8: Board meeting (regular)
- Aug. 9–11: Texas Sales Tax Holiday
- Aug. 10: Back to School Fest
- Aug. 26: First day of school (students)
- Sept. 2: Labor Day holiday
- Sept. 7: Grads Within Reach walk
Peggy Roberts
This week’s Shout Out goes to Insurance Manager Mary Margaret “Peggy” Roberts, from her boss, Risk Management Senior Manager Kermit Falgout, for the recent hurricane preparedness exercise she coordinated.
“You can’t think of everything and that’s why we do these things,” said Falgout. “But I did one a few years ago, and compared to what she did, mine was a failure. Her presentation was head and shoulders above what I did—and she did a lot of this work on a plane coming back from New York.”
Falgout noted he has already heard from a number of attendees who said the exercise made them aware of some holes in their emergency preparation procedures that needed to be addressed.
“Peggy is a real benefit to the district,” added Falgout. “She’s very, very sharp. I have certain backgrounds and she just complements everything that I do. She knows the things that I don’t. She came from the broker side and I came from the policy holder side, so she knows a lot of those little details that are just not in my background.”
| 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 week’s Shout Out goes to the more than 350 members of Team HISD who have been working 24 hours a day for the past week to ensure the district’s newest campuses were ready to go when summer school started in the North Forest-area on July 8.
“There has been the most amazing dedication by our staff,” said General Manager of Construction Dillon Brady. “When the call came in, the maintenance, operations, construction, warehouse, transportation, and custodial team members all came running to ensure that HISD’s newest campuses were brought up to the safety, security, sanitary, and programmatic standards HISD strives to provide all of its students.”
Brady noted that a lot of work continues at the seven campuses in the North Forest community, but the work that has been completed has not gone unnoticed. A number of community members, parents, and students have already remarked upon the amazing turnaround at these campuses. “We have the best staff,” Brady said. “People gave up nights, weekends, and even their holidays to make sure things were done right.”
| 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. |
- Is Texas’ ‘top 10 percent’ college admissions rule working?
- Special needs students gaining workplace experience
- The starting block America needs: High-speed broadband in every school
- College prep, career readiness, and the common core revolution
- At retooled summer schools, creativity, not just catch-up
HISD’s budget/fund coding includes a number of changes for the 2013–2014 school year, related to sub-objects, functions, instructional areas, and capital funds.
For complete details, please see this related Academic Services memo.
Schedule your fall mobile mammogram today
Each year, The Rose offers on-site screening mammograms to female HISD employees who meet certain criteria.
The last few dates in July are already booked solid, but seven new dates have been added for the fall, starting on Sept. 9 at Lee High School and extending through Oct. 30 at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center.
Interested women are encouraged to act quickly, as only a limited number of mammograms can be performed each day.
Please see the attached flyer (.pdf) for complete details.
HISD’s Multimedia Services department will be conducting an all-day workshop on Tues., July 30, 2013, in the Board Auditorium of the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th St., 77092). The workshop will be split into two sessions, and interested employees may sign up for either or both.
The morning session will take place from 8:30 a.m. until noon, and will cover the following:
- Web Design & Social Media—Participants will learn how to better engage and stay connected with their staff/community through best practices for web design, SchoolWires, and social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. They will leave with the tools needed to improve a site’s look, evaluate its effectiveness, and efficiently manage related social media.
The afternoon session will take place from 1:30 until 4 p.m. and will cover the following:
- Photography, Video & Photoshop—Beginning or advanced participants will learn techniques to improve their photography and video projects regardless of their equipment’s limitations. They will learn how to optimize controls, choose the best perspectives, and other simple ways to improve their photographs. They will also learn how to properly size, tone, export for web or print, and archive images using a variety of editing programs.
This workshop is open to all district employees, but members of Team HISD who are responsible for managing websites, generating content for print or the web, or handling photography or social media for their respective departments or campuses are strongly encouraged to attend. Participants are asked to bring a laptop and their favorite camera.
Both sessions are free, but all interested employees must register via eTRAIN, using course codes MM0001 (afternoon session) and MM0002 (morning session).
Questions? Call Senior Manager of Multimedia Services Dave Einsel at 713-556-6138 or send him an email at DEINSEL<at>houstonisd<dot>org.
If keeping track of all of your passwords is a constant challenge, HISD’s Benefits department just made your life a little easier.
Benefits-eligible employees who wish to access their accounts online can now do so using only one password. Just login to the employee portal, go to “Employee Services,” and click on the “Benefits Outlook” box.
If you have already registered with RedBrick Health, you will automatically be transferred to RedBrick’s website. On your first access, you will be asked to agree to the Terms and Conditions to use the single-sign-on feature. If you are a new employee or have never accessed RedBrick Health before, you will need to complete an online registration form.
Through RedBrick, employees can find comprehensive information on medical benefits, access the Aetna and Caremark websites, obtain details on cash incentive programs, and much more.
Lamar HS Assistant Principal Johnnie Jackson autographs a football at the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame banquet
Johnnie Jackson, an assistant principal at HISD’s Lamar High School, is one of nine distinguished athletes to be inducted recently into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame (RGVSHOF).
Jackson, a 1984 graduate of Harlingen High School, was selected in part for his incredible versatility. As a youngster, he excelled not only in football, but also in basketball, track, and baseball. While at the University of Houston, Jackson set a National College Athletic Association record in 1987 for the most interceptions returned for a touchdown (three) in a single game. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 1989 and won a Super Bowl ring that same year.
Jackson was formally recognized for his achievements during a ceremony held at the RGVSHOF’s 25th annual banquet on June 29 in Pharr, TX.
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Congratulations also go out this week to Dr. Beth Goodrich, a senior manager in HISD’s Special Education Services, who provided the answer to a question published in the June 24, 2013, edition (.pdf) of OT Practice.
Dr. Goodrich’s response, entitled, “School-Based Practice: Understanding the IEP-Driven Service,” appears under the “Practice Perks” section on pages 7 and 21.
"Coach Lance" interacts with Math-a-letics cohost Arithmeticia
Lance Menster has been the assistant superintendent of Professional Support and Development for the past year, but veteran employees might remember him best as “Coach Lance,” the host of HISD’s Math-a-letics show, which was produced from 2007 until 2011.
Menster was originally hired as the math instructional coordinator for what was then known as the Northwest District office, but he has also served as the manager of elementary mathematics and the senior manager of elementary teacher development specialists.
“What I love most about my job is that I’m so close to what’s happening in the classrooms with teachers and principals,” said Menster. “Now, when they tell me what they need, I’m in a position to create it and make it happen.”
Menster officially marked his ten-year anniversary with the district on July 7, but several other employees are also marking theirs during the first half of this month (July 1–13). See if you know anyone on this list:
35 years
- Quincy Oliver, plant operator, Warehouse Operations
30 years
- Otilia Gomez, instructional coordinator, The Rice School
25 years
- Michael Clark, asbestos abatement team lead, Construction & Facility Services
- W M Miller, senior manager, IT Business Solutions
20 years
- Michael Bisase, hazardous material inspector, Construction & Facility Services
15 years
- Benigno Acosta, plant operator, HAIS
- Bruce Aycox, associate teacher
- Carl Johnson, mechanic helper, Transportation Services
- Renmin Ye, internal applications developer, Research and Accountability
- Ebrahim Zareh, compliance representative, Construction & Facility Services
10 years
- Fermin Cordero, plant operator, Fonville MS
- Lucille Dew, registrar, North Houston Early College HS
- Gladys Guerrero, plant operator, Cage ES
- Sizwe Lewis, construction project manager, Bond Fund Program
- Edward Payton, mechanic team leader, Transportation Services
- Rosa Rosales, secretary, Jackson MS
- Evelia Velazco, secretary, College & Career Readiness
5 years
- Kentrel Code, maintenance repairer, Construction & Facility Services
- David Grisby, custodian, Blackshear ES
- Leonard Kelly, teacher, Austin HS
- Jasmin Roland, teacher, Washington HS
- Rita Sotelo, teacher, Eastwood Academy
| Check back next Friday for more July Milestones. Leave a comment below if you’d like to congratulate any of the above employees. |
