News Briefs

The Language, Literacy, and Social Studies (and friends) departments came together to provide a virtual conference for teachers and staff on October 24, 2020. In these unprecedented times, organizers said it was very meaningful to have a virtual conference available on a Saturday as an opportunity to hear from several noted experts about their research that is directly applicable to the challenges educators face every day. Organizers said participants benefited both from keynote speakers addressing the whole conference and from being able to choose from mini-sessions that were most interesting to them. Here is some of the feedback organizers received…

The Dallas ISD administration is reviewing the district’s construction management processes with an eye to improving efficiency and project oversight. The goal is to ensure the district’s approach to investing future capital outlays is as efficient as possible. One significant improvement under consideration is increasing the district’s capacity to supervise and direct projects.  This could include expanding contracts with program management firms. Currently, the Construction  Services department relies on several internal program managers and a relatively small team of external management firms for project oversight. Looking forward, plans call for adding expertise in that area and increasing the participation of…

The Transportation Referral Incentive Supplemental earning is designed to compensate Dallas ISD employees that refer external candidates to the Transportation Department for full-time driver positions. Eligibility for the incentive requires the candidate to notify Human Capital Management at the time of hire of any referral via the official referral form, and prior to their official start date as part of their on-boarding process. The newly hired driver must reach 45 drive days based on the 185-work day calendar for the driver referrer to qualify for the payment. The supplemental earning amount is $200.

Dallas ISD, Big Thought, Dallas Afterschool and Dallas Park and Recreation share early lessons from a six-year national study they are participating in called the Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative (PSELI). Dallas was selected to be one of six communities to be part of the initiative via a competitive nationwide review process. PSELI was launched in 2016 to gain knowledge about how to help children develop SEL skills. Evidence points to the importance of social and emotional skills – including teamwork, persistence, goal-setting and self-control – for success in school and careers. These skills are developed over time and through repeated experiences in…