Achieve180 initiative to support underserved and underperforming schools
[su_box title=”Teacher Transfer Fair on Saturday May 13″]Current HISD teachers who are rated as effective or highly effective are invited to attend an Achieve180 Teacher Transfer Fair on Saturday, May 13 at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center. Teachers who transfer to an Achieve180 campus in the primary and secondary cohort are eligible for a proposed $5,000 hiring/retention incentive. Register at houstonisd.org/A180registration[/su_box]
HISD is launching Achieve180 for the 2017-18 school year, a research-based action plan to support, strengthen, and empower underserved and underperforming HISD feeder pattern communities to increase student achievement. Best practices from successful school turnaround initiatives, including effective teachers, strong principal leadership, and an environment of high expectations for both students and staff, are incorporated into the plan.
Six guiding pillars will provide the strategic framework for the transformational work that will be done within and throughout targeted feeder patterns. The pillars include: leadership excellence, teaching excellence, instructional excellence, school design, social and emotional learning support, and family and community empowerment.
“If we provide a package of essential leadership, instructional, social and emotional, and community supports for our historically underserved and underperforming feeder patterns and school communities, then our schools will be equipped to accelerate preparation of our students to fulfill the qualities and characteristics of the HISD Global Graduate Profile,” said Superintendent Richard Carranza.
Carranza and district leadership presented the plan to the HISD Board of Education at a workshop on April 20. Click here to view the presentation.
Achieve180 will begin at selected schools during the 2017-18 school year within underserved and underperforming feeder patterns.
“We are ensuring that school leadership and teachers in these feeder pattern communities are not only up for this opportunity, but are incentivized for their efforts and commitment to the long-term work,” Carranza said. “The successful implementation of this initiative and the strategies it includes must rest upon the entire district. In the end, my sincere belief is that every campus will benefit as we scale the research-based, best practices of Achieve180 across our district.”
Schools served by the Achieve180 initiative include:
KASHMERE FEEDER PATTERN
Kashmere High School
Key Middle School
Cook Elementary School
Kashmere Gardens Elementary School
MADISON FEEDER PATTERN
Madison High School
Lawson Middle School
MILBY FEEDER PATTERN
Milby High School
Gallegos Elementary
NORTH FOREST FEEDER PATTERN
North Forest High School
Forest Brook Middle School
Hilliard Elementary School
WASHINGTON FEDEER PATTERN
Booker T. Washington High School
Highland Heights Elementary
Wesley Elementary
WHEATLEY FEEDER PATTERN
Wheatley High School
Bruce Elementary School
Dogan Elementary School
WORTHING FEEDER PATTERN
Worthing High School
Woodson K-8
Young Elementary School
Mading Elementary School
YATES FEEDER PATTERN
Yates High School
Cullen Middle School
Blackshear Elementary School
Additional schools served are: Bonham Elementary School, C. Martinez Elementary School, Edison Middle School, Foerster Elementary School, Gregory Lincoln K-8, Henry Middle School, Lewis Elementary School, and Westbury High School.
Dave & Buster’s is offering a free buffet meal and an unlimited video game power card to HISD police officers and their families in recognition of the restaurant’s first annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Day on May 2.
All three Dave & Buster’s locations are participating, and the perks are available to all Houston area police officers with a valid ID. read more…
Sign up for Blackboard trainings and open labs
Have you been asked to update your school or department’s website, but don’t know where to begin? Are you looking to learn some new tricks and take the design of your website to the next level? The Office of Communications is here to help.
Blackboard, also known as Schoolwires, is the content management system HISD uses to create and maintain its websites. Blackboard open labs are held regularly at Hattie Mae White and offer principals, administrators and school staff hands-on training with basic and advanced concepts. Trainees will also learn best practices in web design and get help with their website content. Now is a great time to evaluate your website and start preparing for a new school year. To register, visit HoustonISD.org/WebsiteHelp. If you have questions, email web@HoustonISD.org.
HISD names new general manager of strategic marketing and communications for Nutrition Services
Sheleah Reed
Sheleah D. Reed will join the Houston Independent School District Business Operations team as General Manager of Strategic Marketing and Communications supporting the district’s school nutrition program. She starts May 1.
Reed will work directly with newly hired Officer of Nutrition Services Betti Wiggins to rebrand the district’s approach to scratch-cooking, while also increasing the capacity of HISD’s state-of-the-art cooking, storage, and distribution facility.
Additionally, Reed’s team will help raise the profile of HISD’s Nutrition Services through strategic communications, increased internal communications, public relations campaigns, and new marketing initiatives and partnerships.
A former press secretary for HISD, Reed is returning to the district after serving as communications officer for the Spring Independent School District. A native Houstonian, Reed has more than 15 years of varied communications experience, including stints at Prairie View A&M University, the Princeton Review, and Texas Southern University.
Reed holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Prairie View A&M University and a master’s degree in advertising and public relations from Texas Christian University. She currently is a candidate for Accreditation in Public Relations.
Bring a friend to April 27 meeting and receive a chance to win
Join the HISD Manager Resource Group for the last meeting of the school year and hear from keynote speaker William T. Harris, President and CEO of Space Center Houston. Harris has more than 30 years in nonprofit leadership including senior positions at museums and universities, where he led numerous multi-million-dollar fundraising campaigns, principal and major gifts, marketing, communications, government relations and strategy development.
Click here to register for the April 27 meeting held from 3:00 – 5:30 p.m. at the United Way of Houston, 50 Waugh Drive, 77077.
To increase membership in the MRG, managers are encouraged to bring a friend. The manager who brings the most first-time attendees to the April meeting will receive a private Organizational Development course for their department, tailored to the needs of their team.
For more information contact onboarding@houstonisd.org.
ALL TEACHERS
- Electronic contracts for 2017-18 school year: For the 2017-18 school year, employment contracts will be processed electronically instead of on paper. On May 12, all teachers will receive an email to log into OneSource Employee Self Service, click a link, and choose to either accept or reject their employment contract. Teachers will only have two weeks to accept or reject their contract before the end of their duty schedule. On May 26, 2017, at midnight, the contract link will no longer be available.
- Interested in teaching summer school?: If you have not yet been selected and you are interested in working during summer school, log into OneSource to indicate your interest. Go to Employee Self Service, Personal Profile, Communications, Summer School Opt-In Interest. Please note that this is not an assignment, just an indication that you are interested in working summer school. Interested teachers must still complete the Summer School Application.
- Thinking about retirement? Spring typically marks the time of year when many teachers make retirement decisions, and the district is hosting a reception May 11 to celebrate the many people whose careers have served HISD students, in some cases for decades. The process to retire usually begins by contacting both the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and working with the district’s Retirement Storefront located in the M.C. Williams Annex Building at 6100 Knox Street. Click here for more details.
- Help your campus win an outdoor classroom: Join the HISD Energy & Sustainability Department in making a world of difference as it hosts Earth Month 2017. HISD schools taking the Earth Month Pledge can earn points for participating in select environmentally friendly activities throughout the month of April. The school that racks up the most points by April 28, 2017, wins a free outdoor classroom sponsored by Volunteer Houston and Points of Light. Click here for more information.
READ OF THE WEEK
Adriannette Garcia, Employee of the Month for April, is an executive administrative assistant for the Office of School Leadership at the Ryan Professional Development Center.
Throughout her five years with the district, Garcia has cultivated relationships and skills across many different departments in HISD, and that accumulation of knowledge and experience has helped her become a standout employee in a department that’s grown from four to more than 40 employees.
Garcia takes pride in the fact that her position in Leadership Development can have a positive effect in the classroom. read more…
HISD is planning a special reception to honor all of its retiring employees for their service to the district on May 11 at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center.
Spring typically marks the time of year when many teachers and staff make retirement decisions, and the district hopes the reception will help celebrate those many people whose careers have served HISD students, in some cases for decades.
“We are truly grateful for the years of dedication and hard work from our retiring employees and we want to let them know how much they are appreciated,” said Gloria Cavazos, chief of Human Resources. “This reception is a small way to show our gratitude and offer well wishes as they embark on a new chapter in their lives.”
For the 2016-2017 school year, the district’s Human Resources department has received notification forms from nearly 300 employees who have retired or are planning to retire at the end of the year. The process to retire usually begins by contacting both the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and working with the district’s Retirement Storefront located in the M.C. Williams Annex Building at 6100 Knox Street.
Besides helping employees fill out the appropriate paperwork, the Retirement Storefront hosts seminars and provides counseling sessions to help employees navigate the decision-making process and answer questions.
The employee must then submit a Resignation/Retirement form to Human Resources.
“We urge teachers and anyone else who is thinking about retiring, to reach out now to the Storefront and get the information they will need on everything from pension and health care benefits to future employment,” said Tammy Young, manager of Employee Support Services. “Retiring is a big life decision and it’s important to consider all the options.”
For employees who have already decided to retire, the next step should be easy. The district is sending out invitations to the retirement reception and simply asking that those who wish to attend RSVP at events@houstonisd.org.
“We hope all of our retiring team members will join us so we can celebrate and honor them,” Cavazos said.
Join the HISD Energy & Sustainability Department in making a world of difference as it hosts Earth Month 2017.
HISD schools taking the Earth Month Pledge can earn points for participating in select environmentally friendly activities throughout the month of April. The school that racks up the most points by April 28, 2017, wins a free outdoor classroom sponsored by Volunteer Houston and Points of Light.
The annual contest aims to raise awareness about the environmental impact of HISD campuses and promote sustainable behaviors and actions that can reduce carbon footprints. The winner will be announced online at the end of the month. The outdoor classroom will be built onsite at the winning school in May.
For more information about Earth Month 2017 and to see a list of approved activities, go online to http://www.houstonisd.org/earthmonth or email sustainability@houstonisd.org.
Don’t forget to tweet photos and videos documenting your participation in Earth Month 2017 with the hashtag #HISDGoGreen.
ALL TEACHERS
Love my School Day: April 11 is National Love My School Day. Use #LoveMySchoolDay and #HISD on social media to share why you love your campus. Encourage students to do the same.
End of Year Tads Rating: Per board policy, all teachers hired before February 6, 2017, that are appraised in the TADS system, should be preparing for End-of-Year TADS conference. As we approach closing out the 2016-2017 year of TADS, start reflecting on and gathering artifacts of your growth and excellence. Once a teacher has received their final TADS ratings during the End-of Year conference, a teacher may request a second appraisal review of specific instructional practice or professionalism criteria. The Second-Appraisal request must be submitted in writing, within 10 business days of receiving the final ratings. The final deadline to submit a Second-Appraisal request is May 5, 2017. For more information, please contact TADS@houstonisd.org.
Open Transfer Period begins April 10: HISD’s annual Open Transfer Period will begin on Monday, April 10, and end at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 12. During this period, eligible teachers and nurses are free to transfer between HISD campuses to fill open positions for the 2017–2018 school year. Please visit the Careers page on the HISD website to view 2017–2018 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 14, 2017. If you have additional questions, please contact Human Resources at 713-556-7406 or hiring@houstonisd.org.
Interested in Becoming a School Leader? HISD is seeking aspiring leaders to participate in the School Leadership Academy (SLA), a year-long program designed to identify, train, and support instructional leaders to meet the district’s need for effective school leaders. Applicants must have the recommendation and support of their principal. Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:
- The applicant must have three years of successful teaching experience in the HISD.
- The applicant must hold a Standard Principal Certificate, Probationary Principal Certificate, or have the ability to acquire the certificate by the end of the cohort year.
- The applicant must not have had an application for the Assistant Principal Pipeline rejected within 12 months of submitting an application for the SLA Cohort.
The application and all supporting documentation must be submitted by Friday, May 5, 2017. Click here for the application and more information. If you have any questions, please contact Reginald Fisher at reginald.fisher@houstonisd.org or 713-696-0633.
Information sessions are scheduled for the following dates:
- April 25, 2017 Ryan PDC Room PL1 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
- April 26, 2017 Ryan PDC Room PL1 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
- April 28, 2017 Ryan PDC Room PL1 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
PRE-K TEACHERS
Week of the Young Child: To celebrate the 2017 Week of the Young Child (April 24-28), the Early Childhood Department has created a newsletter that includes a series of five interactive mini lessons aligned to Frog Street Theme 9. This newsletter is intended to share ideas for celebrating the WOYC in the classroom that are fun and engaging as well as incorporate a variety of literacy and math skills. Teachers can view and print out the newsletter here or can view and print it out from the Early Childhood course on the HUB. Teachers should allow themselves time to plan and gather the materials necessary to complete each lesson.
ELEMENTARY TEACHERS
Literacy by 3 Resource Guide: In an effort to continue to support Literacy by 3 best practices, the Elementary Curriculum and Development Department has developed a list of suggested resources aligned to the 135-minute HISD Literacy Block. This is not an exhaustive list of approved vendors. However, it includes many high-quality, district-approved and aligned resources for the 2016-2017 school year. Suggested resources can be found by clicking here.
DEAL OF THE WEEK:
Goodwill Houston is now offering teachers a 30% discount Monday thru Friday from 3 p.m. to close. Goodwill Houston is also partnering with local schools to help them fundraise. If a school or organization in a school hosts a donation drive, Goodwill will give to the school $50 for every bin of donated items received.
READ OF THE WEEK:
