ALL TEACHERS
Classroom Management Training: The Department of Social and Emotional Learning will host a Coaching Classroom Management training for classroom-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) to assist teachers in developing effective classroom management through the power of coaching. The two-day training will be held on March 27-28 at Ryan Professional Development Center (4001 Hardy St., Houston, 77009) from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Register in OneSource, course #136003.
New Teacher Appraisal System: All teachers and administrators are invited to attend a session to learn more about T-TESS, our state’s new appraisal system for teachers. You’ll learn how the new system compares with our locally developed system, TADS, while having the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback regarding the district’s model for teacher appraisals in the future. The first info session will be held Tuesday, March 27 at Waltrip High School (1900 W. 34th St., Houston, 77018) from 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m. Click here for more information for additional dates and information.
Open Transfer Period: HISD’s annual Open Transfer Period will begin on Monday, April 23, and end at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 18. During this period, eligible teachers and nurses are free to transfer between HISD campuses to fill open positions for the 2018–2019 school year. Please visit the Careers page on the HISD website to view 2018–2019 vacancies. For more information on how to apply and for step-by-step instructions, click here.
Tough Kid Series: Want to learn positive strategies that resolve for problematic behaviors? Participate in The Tough Kid Series, a basic philosophy from Bill Jensen that outlines the causes of ‘Tough Kid’ behavior and how to avoid unproductive educational practices. Examine strategies to decrease the behavioral excesses of noncompliance and arguing. This two-day training will be held on April 23-24 at Ryan Professional Development Center (4001 Hardy St., Houston, 77009) from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Register in OneSource, course #1004001.
Attendance Tip of the Week: Did you know maintaining or increasing attendance is problematic towards the end of the year? Teacher conferences in the spring may prove more critical towards the end of the year. Teachers must make attendance the center of these conversations by sharing the student’s attendance record as well as connecting it to their work. Click here to learn more and how other positive adults in the student’s life, can be included in these conversations. Click here to learn more on Student-led Conferences that provide a creative way for teachers and parents to work closely together.
ELEMENTARY
Professional Development: The Elementary Curriculum and Development Office is pleased to offer a variety of professional learning opportunities for teachers during the month of March, including literacy training to support Literacy By 3. For more info, click the course list here.
SECONDARY
Guided Reading Training: Want to learn how to teach reading to struggling middle school or high school students to read and not sure where to start? Uncover the mystery of the reading process and guided reading as a method for growing your secondary students as readers. A final training will be offered on Tuesday, March 27 at Hattie Mae White ESC. For OneSource course numbers, click here. If you have any questions, contact Kerry McArthur at kmcarthu@houstonisd.org.
STAAR/EOC Science Training: Are you an eighth grade or high school science teacher that needs help preparing your students for the STAAR? The Secondary Science Curriculum and Development team is offering training sessions on March 29 and April 5 that feature hands-on activities and interactive stations that will allow participants the opportunity to review previously taught content and focus on check-for-understanding strategies to promote student comprehension of content. Middle school science teachers can register in OneSource, course# 1005001. High school science teachers can register in OneSource, course# 1005003.
Eligible employees may transfer between campuses during this timeframe
HISD’s annual Open Transfer Period will begin on Monday, April 23, and end at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 18.
During this period, eligible teachers and nurses are free to transfer between HISD campuses to fill open positions for the 2018–2019 school year. Please visit the Careers page on the HISD website to view 2018–2019 vacancies.
If you are interested in a specific position, you are to apply directly via email to the principal and provide your name, employee ID, job title, and attach a resume or include a summary of your experience. Due to the high volume of applicants, principals may only contact candidates of interest.
If you receive an offer, click here for step-by-step instructions to continue the process. However, if you decide to resign, please be reminded that the penalty-free deadline is July 13, 2018.
Also, be aware that this transfer period does not apply to at-will employees (i.e. Clerks, Teaching Assistants, Grad Coaches, etc.). At-will employees can transfer any time during the year with a two-week minimum notice. Promotions, for all employees, may also be processed any time during the year.
If you have additional questions, please contact Human Resources at 713-556-7406 or hiring@houstonisd.org.
Student and master schedules being created in new SIS for 2018-2019 school year
HISD Connect, the district’s new Student Information System, isn’t officially going “live” until the 2018-2019 school year, but select members of Team HISD have already begun using the new SIS to create campus schedules.
Campus-based staff responsible for master schedules and student schedules have been undergoing hands-on training in HISD Connect for the last several months and now are starting to create schedules for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year. More workshops and open labs are coming up in April through May to assist school teams working on scheduling for the coming year
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Upcoming Trainings and Training Registry
Trainings for principals, teachers, and other campus-based staff will occur over the summer and before the start of the 2018-2019 school year. The district has created an HISD Connect Training Registry so staff can review a list of their completed, canceled, and scheduled trainings. The registry also allows school leaders to view HISD Connect training completion and attendance by campus. The registry can be accessed from myHISD. Just click on the HISD Connect Banner at the top of the employee intranet, and then look for the “training registry” link in the left hand-corner.
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New Principal at Northside High School takes Attendance to a new level
With testing season quickly approaching, it’s crucial to students’ success that campus administration create a plan of action to make contact with parents and guardians of students who miss school prior to testing day.
A few strategies your team could include: checking parent/guardian contact information before test administration begins, confirming contact information in Chancery, or making contact with parent/guardian of absent students to inform them of testing day.
March Attendance Spotlight
Every month, the Student Assistance Department recognizes a different school and school leader for their efforts to make attendance a priority on their campus. For March, the team is recognizing Northside High School and its new principal, Cecilia Gonzales.
Upon her arrival at the campus, Gonzales has implemented strategies, including a bi-weekly Graduation Support Meeting that includes the principal, counselors, attendance clerk, registrar, nurse, CIS, college counselor, and all APs and their administrative assistants. The committee handles things from tracking daily attendance reports to managing best interventions for at-risk students to get them on track for graduation, including scheduled phone callouts twice a month to parents.
For monitoring and intervention, the campus attendance clerk runs a daily report of the campuses that have students with 10 or more unexcused absences, which allows administration to place students with chronic absences on an attendance contract and tracker. Students are then responsible for having each of their teachers sign the tracker document and return it to their assistant principal each day.
Gonzales and her team also take advantage of the school program Remind 101 to remind juniors and seniors of their tardies and absences.
It’s no doubt that at Northside that the principal and her team keep attendance a priority among students and parents. Don’t forget, you can review the Weekly Teacher Download for strategies and resources that will help keep students motivated and encouraged to come to school.
Do you know someone with an associate’s degree who wants to become a teacher? Coming soon to HISD this summer is the district’s first cohort, TechTeach 2+1 with Texas Tech University.
This is the perfect opportunity for HISD paraprofessionals who have completed at least 60 hours of college credits (associate’s degree), and seeking to obtain their teaching certification.
The one-year program allows participants to turn their associate’s degree into a bachelor’s degree in education and become certified in the state of Texas. Participants can complete the program in Houston at an HISD campus.
What is TechTeach 2+1?
- Reformed, recognized, awarded teacher preparation program at TTU | undergraduate and (Fall 2017) Alt- cert secondary-level. Programs in 13 districts across Texas
- District-embedded, clinically intensive, competency-based “grow-your-own,” focused on improving student achievement. Coursework completed online – assignments completed in HISD classrooms to bridge the “theory to practice” gap
- Teacher candidates (TC) and mentor teachers (MT) will use “co-teaching” instead of a traditional “take- over” model
- The 2 refers to the number of year to complete “core” curriculum at university. The 1 refers to the one year (12 months) required to complete a bachelor’s degree, and earn state teacher certification. 2+1
- Candidates never come to Lubbock (except for graduation). They are recruited in Houston, prepared in Houston ISD, for Houston ISD. Candidates commit to working in the district for up to two years after graduation.
For more information on how to apply, contact Dr. Kristi Honore at khonore@houstonisd.org.
ALL TEACHERS
Volunteer Opportunity: Would you like to help students build their very own personal library? Join the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation at the My Home Library’s Big Awesome Book Sort on March 23-24 at Region 4 Education Service Center (7200 Northwest 100 Dr., Houston, 77092). My Home Library allows students to choose six free, brand-new books to build their very own home libraries. Teachers can volunteer one to three hours to help organize and package books for more than 4,000 children. Click here to sign-up and for shift information.
Digital Literacy Moments Challenge: The Education Technology team invites students K-12 to work as teams to produce a 60-90 second digital animation and/or video, highlighting important tips about how to be safe online. “Digital Safety Moments” can be produced in any format, including live video, animation or a sequence of narrated images. Click here to view previous submissions and review possible topics. Deadline for submissions is March 29 and should be sent to http://tinyurl.com/DigLitMoment.
Attendance Tip of the Week: It’s important to review the “Three Tiered System of Intervention,” which helps students with poor to chronic attendance. To familiarize or learn more about these strategies, click here. Don’t hesitate to partner with other HISD departments such as Family and Community Empowerment, Social Emotional Learning, and Wraparound Services to help address the needs of students and families. Teachers may also contact the Student Assistance Department (Attendance Office) at 713-556-7017 or click here for more information.
ELEMENTARY
Professional Development: The Elementary Curriculum and Development Office is pleased to offer a variety of professional learning opportunities for teachers during the month of March, including literacy training to support Literacy By 3. For more info, click the course list here.
STAAR Writing Training: Are you a fourth-grade writing teacher getting your students ready for the STAAR Writing assessment? The Elementary Curriculum and Development Office invites you to attend a series of Wednesday afternoon sessions for a STAAR writing training at Ryan Professional Development Center on March 21 and March 28 from 4-6 p.m. Teachers may register in OneSource course number 976001. For more information on the training, click here.
SECONDARY
Guided Reading Training: Want to learn how to teach reading to struggling middle school or high school students to read and not sure where to start? Uncover the mystery of the reading process and guided reading as a method for growing your secondary students as readers. The two-part series will be offered on select Tuesdays in the month of March at Hattie Mae White ESC. To find dates and OneSource course numbers, click here. If you have any questions, contact Kerry McArthur at kmcarthu@houstonisd.org.
Dressing the Dream Extravaganza: Do you know a high school student needing help this prom season? Courtesy of Smahrt Girl Foundation, girls seeking a dress for a junior or senior prom have the opportunity to receive one at the fifth annual “Dressing the Dream Extravaganza” on Saturday, March 24 at Magpies and Peacocks (908 Live Oak St., Houston, 77004) from noon-4 p.m. Dresses will be distributed on a first come, first-served bases. In addition to the prom dress shopping, girls will also be able to receive free etiquette training, fashion and make-up tips, and learn about dating safety and responsibly. Students can register here. For more information on the event, click here.
AP World Languages Exam: Advanced Academics and World Languages encourages campuses to recruit actively for AP World Languages exams among heritage speakers of languages other than English, even if they are not currently enrolled in an AP course. Advanced Academics will pay all fees for heritage speakers challenging AP World Languages exams in May 2018. Campus officials may reach out to World Languages at 713-556-6856 should they seek assistance with identifying appropriate students for recruitment. Questions about exam ordering should be directed to Advanced Academics at 713-556-6954.
STAAR PD Offerings: To further support the work of schools and increase student achievement, the Office of Secondary Curriculum and Development will continue to offer teacher training opportunities to review STAAR-Release test data and plan for lessons that target student needs. The department has also compiled an updated list of instructional materials, strategies, and high-yield standards to support STAAR end-of-course (EOC) preparation. The document linked here lists both district-developed EOC course materials and other freely available online instructional materials for EOC-tested courses. For dates and OneSource course numbers, click here.
ALL TEACHERS
Important Staff Survey: It is extremely important that ALL HISD staff members click here to take a short survey by 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 6. Superintendent Carranza has been asked to provide the TEA with data on how the storm has impacted both students and staff homelessness over the past six months. The data will be used by the TEA in determining if HISD and our schools will be given a reprieve from the state accountability standards for the 2017-2018 school year.
Mental Health Awareness: The Department of Social and Emotional Learning will host mental health awareness, crisis intervention (course #422010), and youth mental health first-aid training (course #423001) for campus-based administrators, teachers, and staff. These trainings support HISD’s continued commitment to ensuring that the safety of our students and staff is our top priority. Click here for training dates and register in OneSource. For weekly tips and upcoming training schedules, click here.
Attendance Tip of the Week: With testing season quickly approaching, making contact with parents and guardians for missing students prior to testing day is crucial to student success. It’s important that campuses have a team that can quickly identify absent students for testing day. A few strategies your team could use include the following: checking parent/guardian contact information before test administration begins, confirming contact information in Chancery, or making contact with parent/guardian of absent students to inform them of testing day. You can also contact the Student Assistance Department (Attendance Office) at 713 556-7017 or click here for questions.
ELEMENTARY
Professional Development: The Elementary Curriculum and Development Office is pleased to offer a variety of professional learning opportunities for teachers during the month of March, including literacy training to support Literacy By 3. For more info, click the course list here.
National Read Aloud Month: Did you know March is Read Aloud Month? In celebration, the Elementary Curriculum and Development Office is encouraging teachers to utilize 15 minutes each day to engage with students using read aloud activities. Reading aloud for 15 minutes a day is critically important during a child’s earliest years of life, and the benefits of reading aloud through the elementary years has been shown to instill a love of reading. Teachers are encouraged to use this English and Spanish flyer as a resource to get parents and students engaged.
SECONDARY
Guided Reading Training: Want to learn how to teach reading to struggling middle school or high school students to read and not sure where to start? Uncover the mystery of the reading process and guided reading as a method for growing your secondary students as readers. The two-part series will be offered on select Tuesdays in the month of March at Hattie Mae White ESC. To find dates and OneSource course numbers, click here. If you have any questions, contact Kerry McArthur at kmcarthu@houstonisd.org.
History Day: Registration for HISD’s History Day is now open. As a reminder, the competition will take place on March 24 at Hattie Mae from 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. If interested in participating, essays, websites, and documentaries will need to be submitted by March 9 here. Exhibits and performances will be judged the day of the event (March 24) at Hattie Mae White.
Project Prom: Do you know a high school student needing help this prom season? Project Prom is an initiative created to meet the needs of at-risk students during prom season. Students who are eligible to attend their proms but unable to afford a gown, shoes, and accessories, or a tuxedo, shirt, and bowtie will be provided these items completely FREE of charge. For more information on how to get your high school students to participate, click here. Click here to donate to Project Prom.
Need cash? Now central office employees and visitors will have access to an ATM at Hattie Mae White.
The Smart Financial Credit Union ATM was delivered this week and now ready to use by employees and visitors.
“This is an easy way to provide some additional convenience to central office staff,” Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby said. “Our employees have been asking for this, and I’m happy we could deliver.”
The ATM is located near Hattie Mae’s on the first floor. It will dispense cash in $10 increments and provide account balances to users.
The service is free for Smart Financial Credit Union account holders, but a service charge will apply to accounts from other institutions.
Dear Team HISD:
As the Superintendent of Schools for HISD, I have been asked to provide the Texas Education Agency with data on how the storm has impacted both student and staff homelessness over the past six months.
This data will be used by the TEA in determining whether or not HISD and our schools will be given a reprieve from the state accountability standards for the 2017-2018 school year.
It is extremely important that ALL HISD staff members click here to take a short survey by 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 6. It will take you less than two minutes to answer three simple questions.
Even if you think you were not impacted by the storm, please complete the survey. The information you provide is extremely important to our district and our students.
Thanks for everything you do.
Sincerely,
Richard A. Carranza
HISD Superintendent
Dear Team HISD:
Today our Chief Financial Officer Rene Barajas and his team delivered budget update #2 to the Board of Education which included some positive news I want to share with all of you. As of today, HISD’s anticipated budget deficit for the 2018-2019 school year, based on budget assumptions, has been reduced from $208 million to $115 million.
There are a couple of factors that have led to this decrease. When HISD first began budgeting for the 2018-2019 school year, it was in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and the district’s financial team prepared an estimated deficit based on a worst-case scenario. This scenario included four major factors: a potential property tax value decrease, an anticipated enrollment decline, a recapture payment to the state, and the ongoing Local Optional Homestead Exemption (LOHE) lawsuit.
The district’s legal team feels confident that the state will prevail in the LOHE lawsuit, which means HISD will receive a reduction in its recapture payments because the TEA will recognize half of the local homestead exemption given to property owners. A decision in the lawsuit could come after a hearing this spring. TEA prevailing in court would reduce HISD’s recapture payment by $51 million.
In addition, under the Texas Education Code, the TEA commissioner has the authority to adjust a district’s property values. Based on the damage we sustained from Hurricane Harvey and the lasting impact of the storm on our staff and students, we anticipate the commissioner to adjust our property values, which also would reduce our recapture payment. The Governor, Lt. Governor, and other state leaders have publicly stated their support of this action. We are estimating a $42 million adjustment.
Click here for a one-pager that contains more information about the decrease in the district’s anticipated deficit for the coming school year. In addition, the HISD Board of Education favors a district budget performance review to be conducted by a firm that has previously worked with large school district budgets. An agenda item is anticipated for the April 2018 board meeting. If approved, an immediate audit would begin with a completion date set for the end of the year.
Please remember we are early in the budgeting process. I will continue to communicate with you as we navigate the budgeting process.
Thank you for your dedication and hard work for the students of HISD.
Sincerely,
Richard A. Carranza
HISD Superintendent
