One question stumps survey-takers in last week’s ‘Ask HISD’ Pop Quiz
In last week’s edition of Friday eNews, we tested readers’ knowledge of how to get problems solved within the district with an ‘Ask HISD’ Pop Quiz.
About two-thirds of respondents hit all the right notes, selecting Payroll as the place to call if their paycheck was short, Grant Development for assistance with proposal-writing, Strategic Partnerships for help setting up community business relationships, and pscsupport@houstonisd.org as the email account to use for questions regarding Parent Student Connect.
The one question that left three out of every four respondents scratching their heads was number two: “Your phone isn’t working. Who can fix it?” Only about 25 percent of those who took the survey selected the right answer: Construction and Facilities Services.
“Technically, we’re a part of Technology and Information Services,” said telecommunications team lead Anthony Mendizabal. “But the number to call for problems with bells, clocks, radios, security systems, and telephones is 713-556-9400, which is in Construction and Facilities Services (CFS).”
The answer key to last week’s survey is 1) b, 2) a, 3) d, 4) c, and 5) b.
Pablo Picasso, The Kiss, 1969
A new exhibit entitled “Picasso Black and White” is slated to open at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston’s Beck Building on Feb. 24, and educators who want to learn more about this gifted artist and his works can sign up for a special teachers’ workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 26.
Picasso is reported to have said that “color weakens,” and this workshop will give participants a chance to look at the artist’s exploration of media through monochromatic glasses. Simple printmaking techniques can be taken back to the classroom.
The class is designed for teachers of Grades 5–10. Click here to register.
Other learning opportunities:
The MFAH will also be offering the next session of its Learning Through Art series on Saturday, March 2. Through “Go Global,” participants can reach beyond the walls of their classrooms to discover how art from cultures such as China, Africa, and Central America can be used to teach math, language arts, and social studies.
Highlights include:
- An investigation of how art and legends are intertwined in history through a hands-on art-making activity involving Native American sandpaper paintings;
- The discovery of science at work in art through an investigative lab exercise;
- The construction of a paper sculpture that demonstrates the mathematical concept of transformation geometry.
The class is designed for teachers of Grades 1–6. Click here to register.
For more information about MFAH’s programs, please visit its website. Descriptions of additional Learning Through Art workshops are here (.pdf).
Fit With Friends "before"...
Last summer, two teams of employees from Robinson Elementary School got lighter frames and heftier wallets when they won two of the top three prizes in a national weight loss challenge called the HealthyWage Matchup.
Now, two more teams from HISD have earned prizes through that same competition—one for losing more than 16 percent of its members’ collective body weight!
Two electricians with Construction and Facilities Services, Joseph Magee and Salomon Muñoz, were members of a team called “Fit with Friends” that placed third in the latest round of the competition, which ended Jan. 11. They split a cash prize of $3,000 for losing a total of 172 pounds, or 16.2% of their collective body weight, but individually, they lost more than 18% of their body weight.
...and "after."
And “Fat Chance,” a team made up entirely of educators from Westside High School, was awarded a bonus prize of $1,000 for losing more than 14% of its collective body weight.
Stephanie Barnett-Wilson, Robert Kilzer, Craig Malinsky, Brenden McBride, and Robb Peterson placed fifth out of 202 teams by losing a total of 160 pounds.
On Feb. 14, Superintendent of Schools Terry Grier announced that HISD would soon have a new Controller.
Sherrie H. Robinson, who comes to the district from Pearland ISD, will be filling that position, which has been vacant since Ken Huewitt was promoted to Chief Financial Officer late last year.
Robinson has more than 20 years of accounting experience, including 15 in public schools. At Pearland ISD, she served as the director for accounting, where she implemented a new finance/general ledger system and converted the district’s fixed assets from a stand-alone system to an integrated system.
“Ms. Robinson has been very effective at PISD,” wrote Dr. Grier in an email to Board of Education members. “She has been successful due to her desire to continuously learn, ability to lead groups to meet desired outcomes, and building relationships.”
Robinson is a Certified Public Accountant who received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas.
The mission of the Office of the Controller is to ensure that the district’s business operations and financial systems enable stakeholders to have timely access to financial data using best business practices while maintaining proper internal controls which allow for the disposition of public funds.
The Office of the Controller is responsible for the collection and reporting of resources, the proper recording of expenditures to budgetary accounts, investment of all available funds in accordance with the district’s Cash Management and Investment Policy, payroll tax reporting, and other duties.
When Las Americás Middle School secretary Maria Garcia first came to the United States with her parents, she depended on the kindness of strangers to help her make her way in this country. Little did she know then that one day she would build a career out of returning the favor.
Garcia, who will celebrate her 25th anniversary with the district on Saturday, credits a social worker for steering her toward HISD and a life in education.
“My son was only a couple of months old at the time,” said Garcia. “I was really young, and one of my social workers asked me what I wanted to be. I said, ‘a teacher,’ so she told me about an opening as a tutor at the Pilgrim Academy.
Garcia was hired in 1988, and since then, she has also served as a teacher’s aide, a data entry clerk, and a SIMS coordinator at various campuses.
“I’ve really enjoyed all of the different job roles I’ve had over the years,” said Garcia, “because I get to know more parents and students.”
Garcia, who received a ceremonial key to the City of Galveston when she became a naturalized American citizen during a special Columbus Day ceremony held in 1984, said she finds the prospect of helping other children of migrants particularly gratifying.
“A lot of our kids are in need,” she explained, “and helping them locate resources really makes my day. There are so many different cultures and languages and customs. I get to learn more about the world.”
Many other HISD employees are also marking milestones this week—see if you know anyone on this list:
25 years
- Evangelina Alejandro, teacher, R. P. Harris ES
- Elaine Sam, plant operator, Construction and Facilities Services
20 years
- Darrell Burns, officer, Police Department
- Judy Reyes, teaching assistant, Helms ES
15 years
- Guadalupe Alvarez, teacher, Helms ES
- Yolanda Belloso, custodian, Longfellow ES
- Horacio Rodriguez, teacher, Chávez HS
10 years
- Olga Diaz, custodian, Construction & Facilities Services
- Sara Flores, attendant, Food Services
- Earl Gafford, bus driver, Transportation Services
- Bernadette Leos, secretary, HAIS
- Carolyn Nation, attendant, Food Services
- Ruth Robinson, teacher, Lamar HS
- Allison Sutton, clerk, Pin Oak MS
- Tiffany Wilcox, assistant principal, Gregory-Lincoln MS
5 years
- Juana De La Rosa, custodian, Waltrip HS
- Jacinda Fontenette, teacher, Anderson ES
- Margarita Garza, custodian, Yates HS
- Suella Gayle, teacher, McNamara ES
- Essie Belle Henry, crossing guard, Garden Villas ES
- Josalyn Hernandez, clerk, Oates ES
- Wilber King, teaching assistant, Kashmere Gardens ES
- Auketria Manor, team leader, Business Operations
- Ray Mendez, clerk, Hamilton MS
- Mollie Milliet, Archer, teacher, Davis HS
- Chigoziri Moses, teaching assistant, Washington HS
- Juan Munoz Jr., teaching assistant, Love ES
- Mayra Nieto, teacher, Dávila ES
- Miguel Orozco, teacher, Wharton ES
- Amelia Pace, attendant, Food Services
- Maria Partida, custodian, HSPVA
- Monica Peña Martinez, teacher, Westbury HS
- Diana Perez, teacher, Braeburn ES
- Tynisha Sanders, clerk, Transportation Services
- Doris Tindall-Ennis, secretary, Benefits
- Christina Valencia, teacher, Stevens ES
| Check back next Friday for more February Milestones – and if you know someone who should be featured in this space, let us know at info@houstonisd.org. Leave a comment below if you’d like to congratulate any of the above employees. |
Some of the most common questions emailed to “Ask HISD” involve problem-solving and whom to call. Take our short pop quiz to see if you can guess which department would handle which problem – and to see a comprehensive list of Who Handles What (.pdf) and other general information, visit the Directories page on houstonisd.org.
Be sure to check back in next week’s Friday eNews for results and answers!
In this week’s I am HISD, which features HISD students, graduates, and employees, Bellaire HS graduate Deidrea Samuels talks about how she became a public information officer for TxDOT, what got her interested in the field of communications, and why she will never text behind the wheel again.
The cover of TN magazine for Jan/Feb 2013; photo courtesy TXDOT and GDC Marketing & Ideation
How did you come to be a public information officer for the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT)?
It started as far back as when I was at Bellaire High School. I took a journalism class my senior year, and that was the start of me knowing that I wanted to work in communications. When I graduated from Sam Houston State with a degree in that field, I started working at TxDOT in traffic operations/traffic safety and then was hired as a spokesperson a few years later.
You were recently featured on the cover of the January/February 2013 edition of TN magazine, an internal publication for TXDOT employees. How did you feel when you found out?
I was pretty excited! But Tyra Banks I am not! It was certainly an honor, though, to be chosen as the first woman on the cover in 38 years. The opportunity to use the article as a platform to spread our Talk.Text.Crash. Distracted Driving Campaign message even further was the best part.
The article talks about how you became an advocate against distracted driving, and your efforts to get TX DOT employees to pledge not to text while behind the wheel. What spurred that campaign?
I lost a friend of mine to distracted driving. It made me realize that something that I used to do so casually in the car—sending a text message, checking emails, updating my Facebook status—changed his life and the life of his family forever in a matter of seconds. And what was so tragic is that it could have easily been prevented. Now I make it a point to get into schools, because the pain I saw on his wife’s face is something that I would never want anyone else to experience.
You give presentations to students?
Yes. I give them at all levels, but I really like to target high schools, because I’m always very interested to hear what teenagers have to say about why they choose to text and drive. They feel invincible, but in reality, traffic crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers. When you tie texting and driving in with the fact that teenagers are also the most inexperienced drivers on the road, that can be a recipe for disaster. I just want to help them see that they don’t have to text and drive.
How can interested principals set up a presentation for their campuses?
Just send me an email (deidrea.samuels@txdot.gov) and say you would like me to speak with your students about distracted driving. We also do presentations on “Click It or Ticket” (a safety belt-wearing campaign) and drunk driving.
Were you disappointed when Governor Perry vetoed the bill that would have made texting illegal?
Personally, of course, because I feel so strongly about the issue and am familiar with the facts. But it’s about more than just me knowing the facts. One of my duties as a spokesperson is to educate, not advocate, to make sure that people know how serious distracted driving is. They’re not going to talk to their elected representatives unless they know the facts.
What advice would you give to students?
I know that to them, Facebook-ing, texting, and checking emails are important, but when getting behind the wheel, know that getting to your destination safely is more important than updating a status could ever be.
| If you know an HISD graduate, student, or employee who should be featured in I am HISD, please email us at info@houstonisd.org. |
All active HISD employees are eligible to participate in the 403(b) and 457 voluntary retirement savings plans.
Visit the 403(b)/457 plan resources page for a list of active providers (.pdf), enrollment instructions, frequently asked questions (FAQ) and other plan details. A copy of the 2013 annual eligibility notice is here (.pdf).
Questions may be directed to Employee Support Services at 713-293-9780.
When the Professional Support and Development team gathered feedback from teachers last May, one theme surfaced again and again. Teachers spoke highly of the way the district’s new Instructional Practice rubric gave campuses common language for talking about instruction—but teachers wanted more real-life examples of effective teaching.
“The rubric is a great step toward outlining the expectations we share for teaching districtwide,” explained Assistant Superintendent Lance Menster, “but to make the rubric come alive, we needed to show teachers what great teaching looks like and sounds like in HISD classrooms.”
To build a comprehensive online video library of top HISD teachers in action, PSD worked with principals and teacher development specialists to identify 20 teachers who excelled in areas like differentiating instruction, developing higher-order thinking skills, and promoting high expectations for students.
Ferryn Martin, a history teacher at Davis High School, participated in the video exemplar on maximizing instruction because she believes in the power of teacher-to-teacher collaboration.
“After 30 years of teaching, I can honestly say that I’ve gotten some of the best ideas from fellow teachers. When you read about a strategy or listen to an expert, it doesn’t seem to connect with your classroom. But when you watch other teachers, you’re much more likely to pick up new strategies and make them your own.”
Principals and teachers have been enthusiastic about the new resources, which are available on both the HISD eLearn and the PSD website, along with 72 “Effective Practices” downloadable resources on the specific teaching techniques, strategies, and classroom routines modeled in the videos.
“The video exemplars are meaningful and relevant. I carve out time to play them during staff meetings, and we use the discussion questions to reflect on the instructional practices,” explained Kettisha Jones, principal at Highland Heights Elementary School. “My appraisers have a better idea of what to look for and my teachers have a better understanding of what’s expected of them.”
“Being a visual learner, the video exemplars are outstanding. It’s wonderful to have an example of what best practices look like in the classroom,” said Nicole Trahan, a second-grade teacher at Highland Heights Elementary School. “When you can see what you need to do to be a more effective teacher, it sets you up for success.”
