Three-hour sessions provide teachers with strategies and classroom observations
Are you looking for ways to create a strong culture in your classroom? HISD’s Office of Professional Development is offering a series of hands-on, interactive training sessions for new and veteran teachers called “Creating a Climate of Success.” The three-hour sessions provide teachers with evidence-based strategies for communicating clear expectations and boundaries that promote positive relationship building within their classroom and their campus. Sessions include an opportunity to observe a teacher who facilitates strong classroom culture approaches. The first session entitled, “Boundaries for Success” is available on two dates, Nov. 17 and 19 from 8:30-11:30 am or 12:30-3:30 pm. Observations are conducted from 11:30 am-12:30 pm. Register for e-TRAIN #PD1073 (workshop) and e-TRAIN #PD1107 (observation).
Also, check out these other upcoming training opportunities:
- All middle and high school teachers are encouraged to sign up for the “2015 Transformation Institute” hosted by the Office of Secondary Curriculum and Development on Saturday, Dec.5, at Lamar High School. Teachers who attend the all day-training will receive a $100 stipend and can choose from a series of sessions related to differentiation, personalization, and individualization. Click here for more information and for a list of eTRAIN numbers.
- The Elementary Curriculum and Development Office will offer several upcoming “Saturday Summits” for literacy, math and science, and social studies. PK through fifth grade teachers are invited to attend. Click here for more information.
How to request use of a Youtube video for instructional purposes
The district’s web filtering solution configured on student-issued PowerUp devices blocks student access both at school, and at home, to a number of social media, gaming, streaming video, and other websites which are denied by district policy. All other access to the Internet on the district network follows the same policies for web filtering. Teachers needing use of blocked websites for instructional purposes can request a review of the website by following the below instructions. read more…
Veteran HISD educator has created a culture of caring on her campus
Houston ISD superintendent Dr. Terry Grier presents the Excellence in Leadership Award to Furr High School principal Dr. Bertie Simmons during the Professional Learning Series, Nov. 4, 2015.
Furr HS principal Bertie Simmons was named the third winner of the district’s Excellence in Leadership Award for her focus on student success both in and out of the classroom, and the culture of caring she has created on her campus. Superintendent Terry Grier recognized Dr. Simmons at the November principal’s meeting.
Simmons has led Furr for 15 years, and she broke ground on a new facility on Oct. 29. Furr’s Green Institute is also being recognized this week as a community partner for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Abraham Lincoln Honor Award for Diversity, Inclusion, and Outreach.
Video highlights partnership between school nurse and principal
Pugh Elementary School has a 100 percent immunization rate thanks to the persistence of school nurse Jean Kanik and the support of Principal Claudia Romano. Kanik starts with the Pre-K students, reaching out to parents by phone and letter to encourage them to have their children inoculated early. Kanik provides support and awareness regarding state law which requires campuses to review student immunization records every 30 days. You can see more of their best practices in the video below.
[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/144533518″] read more…
Want to be stronger at implementing classroom management approaches, differentiating instruction or utilizing student performance data?
You will be able to enhance your skills in these areas and more at the New Teacher Saturday Learning. Participants can choose between more than eight workshop topics including; tight transitioning, A4E, TADS Talk, and implementing the Daily Five Routine. A $50 stipend and breakfast will be provided. The next New Teacher Saturday Learning is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7. Register in e-TRAIN using course number TT3352.
After raising a little more than $278,000 in three weeks, HISD has decided to extend the Combined Charities Campaign another five days in order to reach the new goal of $300,000 in total donations.
The new deadline to contribute is Friday, Nov. 6.
“We’ve topped $300,000 each of the previous two years, and I have no doubt we can match that number again,” said Combined Charities Campaign Coordinator Tanya Mackey. “The last few days generated a tremendous amount of donations, so we want to capitalize on that momentum and allow Team HISD to give if they haven’t already.”
The Combined Charities Campaign is an annual fundraising event where Team HISD employees can contribute to a variety of local, state, and national organizations that champion causes such as education, protecting the environment, and helping the less fortunate.
To see a full list of federations and to make a donation, click here.
We asked, and you delivered.
During the three-week Combined Charities Campaign, Team HISD has raised more than $214,000 for various local, state, and national charitable organizations. And with the “Game On” theme, it’s created some friendly competition between campuses and departments to see who can top the weekly leaderboard. The last day to donate is Friday, Oct. 30.
“Team HISD’s giving nature never ceases to amaze me,” said Strategic Partnerships’ Tanya Mackey. “The money we raise is so important for our Combined Charities partners, and they truly appreciate our donations each year.” read more…
The Houston Independent School District on Monday received a Proud Partner Award from Mayor Annise Parker, honoring the murals of Israeli expatriate Anat Ronen, who has work featured at nearly a dozen HISD schools.
The 31st annual Mayor’s Proud Partner Awards — hosted by Keep Houston Beautiful — recognized outstanding work by local organizations and individuals who work to create, enhance, and maintain the landscape of Houston through environmental and beautification projects.
Get the full story here.
Congratulations also go out this week to:
- The district’s Academic Parent Teacher Teams are showing they are effective at boosting parent involvement with their children’s education. Read more here.
- Students at Booker T. Washington High School earned a top award for successfully launching a rocket at a prestigious STEM event at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Read more here.
- Erin Krafft at Revere Middle School was featured in a blog post by “Teach Like a Champion” author Doug Lemov, who recognized her effective instructional practices. Read more here.
| If you know someone who should be featured in Accolades, please email us at info@houstonisd.org and tell us why. |
Project to provide seamless integration between HR, Payroll, and Finance & Logistics
Members of team HISD who use SAP and PeopleSoft will soon be able to log into one system that is designed to be more efficient, easier to use, and will provide more functionality in their day-to-day work.
Various departments are collaborating on a large scale, districtwide initiative that will not only improve and upgrade SAP functionality but will merge the district’s payroll and HR functions from PeopleSoft to SAP. The go-live date for the project is July 2016.
[su_youtube url=”www.youtube.com/watch?v=31bg5fcTk24″] read more…
Teachers getting more in base pay, bonus amounts decreasing
The HISD Board of Education recently voted to continue the district’s ASPIRE Award program, which rewards eligible teachers whose students show academic growth, but there have been a few changes to the incentive funding structure.
The maximum award amounts for the 2015–2016 school year have decreased because the Board of Education shifted money from the ASPIRE Awards to pay for higher teacher salaries. The starting salary for a first-year teacher has risen from $46,805 two years ago to $51,500 for the 2015–2016 school year— a 10 percent jump. Similarly, veteran teachers have also received increases in their salaries.
The new maximum award for teachers in Group 1, which are core teachers in grades 3–11 with EVAAS, is $5,442. All other groups saw a similar decrease (by about 45 percent) in the maximum award.
Another change to the ASPIRE Award program is that HISD will no longer use Norm Referenced Testing (Iowa/Logramos) to measure student achievement, which means one group of teachers will move from Group 1 to Group 3.
Additional information about these changes will be distributed to ASPIRE-eligible teachers in the coming months.The 2015–2016 ASPIRE Awards will be distributed in January 2017.
