Inside FWISD May 12, 2022

In this edition:

Tell Us What You Are Looking for in FWISD’s Next Superintendent! | Dunbar Pyramid Community Meeting Set to Discuss 2021 Bond Updates | 2022-2023 Welcome Back Week Plans Announced | Canvas Learning Management System Update | Voters Elect FWISD District 1 Trustee; June18 Runoff Will Decide District 4 Representative | Charles Butt Foundation Selects Fort Worth ISD Leaders For Harvard Institutes: Cohort includes more than 85 school leaders from across Texas | Fort Worth ISD Announces 2022 District Teacher of the Year Winners | Kick-Start Summer Learning at These FWISD Professional Development Sessions | FWISD Hiring Fair Will Hire-on-the-Spot for Teacher, Assistant Teacher, and Operations Positions: New Teaching Hires are Eligible for Signing Bonuses! | Sign Up for the Eighth Annual YES! Conference | Celebrating FWISD’s Healthcare Heroes | FWISD Empowers Parents to Help Students Succeed: Offers Enrichment Classes Tailored to Parents' Needs | Longtime Partners Come Through Again | FWISD in the News | Photos of the Week | Videos of the Week | View more stories throughout the week on the Inside FWISD Blog

Tell Us What You Are Looking for in FWISD’s Next Superintendent!

The Fort Worth ISD Board of Education is eager to hear from you in our search for the next District superintendent.

Visit https://www.fwisd.org/supsearch to take a quick survey and learn how you can offer feedback on the search at one of 18 in-person and virtual community-engagement events slated May 16-20.

Dunbar Pyramid Community Meeting Set to Discuss 2021 Bond Updates

The Fort Worth ISD will hold a community meeting to share the latest updates regarding the 2021 Bond projects in the Dunbar High School Pyramid. The meeting will be held on Monday, May 16, at 6 p.m. at Dunbar High School. The informational session will be hosted by FWISD Board Vice-President and District 3 Trustee Quinton “Q” Phillips and FWISD Superintendent Kent P. Scribner.

Attendees will learn about new projects in the Dunbar pyramid, including a new replacement elementary school. Click here for a refresher on the 2021 Bond Proposition A that was approved by voters November 2, 2021.

There will also be an opportunity for the public to provide feedback and ask questions.

Share your ideas and questions about the 2021 Bond projects with the District through the Let’s Talk Platform. Visit www.fwisd.org/bond, click on Contact Us and leave a comment.

2022-2023 Welcome Back Week Plans Announced

Editor's Note: The following memorandum from Deputy Superintendent Karen Molinar reveals the Convocation 2022 survey results and FWISD's professional learning plans for its 2022-2023 Welcome Back Week.

Canvas Learning Management System Update

Editor's Note: The following memorandum from Educational Technology Director Shana Ellason provides an update about the District's implementation of the Canvas Learning Management System.

Voters Elect FWISD District 1 Trustee; June 18 Runoff Will Decide District 4 Representative

A new trustee will serve District 1 on the Fort Worth ISD Board of Education, and voters will have to wait a little longer to learn who will represent District 4.

Here are the May 7 election results:

• 55.68% of voters elected podiatrist Dr. Camille Rodriguez to succeed Jacinto Ramos Jr. – who recently announced his resignation -- in District 1, according to unofficial election results. Her opponent, police officer Aaron Garcia, received 44.32% of the votes.
• With no one earning the majority vote in District 4, the race is headed to a runoff June 18. The two candidates with the most votes, physician Dr. Brian J. Dixon (47.46%), and community liaison Wallace Bridges (37.10%), will advance to the runoff. The race’s third candidate, correctional officer Trischelle A. Strong, finished with 15.44% of the votes, according to unofficial election returns. District 4 has been vacant since the Nov. 5, 2021, passing of trustee Daphne Brookins.

The Board is slated to canvass the May 7 District 1 election results, call a District 4 runoff election, and swear in Dr. Rodriguez at a special meeting, May 17.

A total of 2,858 voters participated in the May 7 FWISD Board of Education elections.

Both District 1 and 4 are unexpired terms, and candidates elected to those seats will serve on the Board until the terms expire in 2025.

Charles Butt Foundation Selects Fort Worth ISD Leaders For Harvard Institutes

Cohort includes more than 85 school leaders from across Texas

Mrs. Nakita Brewer, Dr. Haley Jones, Mrs. Marie Vinson, and Dr. Dorene Benavidez are among the 85 school leaders from across Texas selected as the 2022 cohort of educators to attend summer institutes at the Principals’ Center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education sponsored by the Charles Butt Foundation, a non-profit pursuing a more equitable and prosperous future for all Texans through education and community partnerships

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this will be the first summer that the Charles Butt Foundation is able to send educators to participate in the Harvard program since the summer of 2019. Of the 85 educators, 45 were selected in 2020 but were not able to attend the program due to COVID restrictions. The other 40 educators represent the newest cohort selected in 2022.

Attendees, including individual principals as well as campus teams, will participate in one of two weeklong workshops on leadership development, coaching, or school turnaround led by Harvard faculty and other national and international experts. Each program is designed to inspire, challenge, and empower school leaders to bring lasting impact to their campuses and communities, the entire state of Texas, and beyond.

“We are excited about the opportunity to attend the Harvard Institute this summer. It is an honor to be one of the five school leadership teams to be selected to lead the work in school improvement.”

With these new cohorts, the Charles Butt Foundation will have paid for more than 1,400 educators to attend training at Harvard through the Raising School Leaders program, an initiative designed to develop stronger school leaders who will enhance the quality of education across Texas. The Charles Butt Foundation covers all expenses for the attendees including tuition, travel, hotel, and other discretionary costs for a total investment of more than $10 million since the program’s inception.

“Great teachers, along with strong school and district leaders, represent the most significant influencers of academic achievement and supportive culture,” said Tim Miller, Director of Leadership Development at the Charles Butt Foundation. “Our alumni often report that their Harvard experience is the best professional development they have ever experienced and that they return to their campuses energized, inspired, and empowered to make meaningful change that benefits all students.”

For every participant in the Harvard Institutes, the Charles Butt Foundation covers all expenses for the attendees including tuition, travel, and hotel – investing on average about $9,200 per attendee, for a total of about $1 million in sponsorships for 2019, and more than $9 million since the program’s inception.

Following the Harvard Institutes, attendees remain a part of the program’s statewide network of school leaders and are empowered to work together to create change at the campus and district levels. Alumni are sponsored to attend the organization’s annual leadership symposium and receive continuous support and professional development.

A list of all attendees from across Texas can be found here.

Fort Worth ISD Announces 2022 District Teacher of the Year Winners

Lishelle Covin, librarian at Waverly Park Elementary School, and Marcus Brookins, the band director at O.D. Wyatt High School are Fort Worth ISD’s 2022 Elementary and Secondary District Teachers of the Year.

The big announcement was made at an awards dinner on May 5, hosted by longtime partner Central Market, with WFAA News 8 Daybreak anchor and FWISD graduate Marc Istook as the emcee. Another highlight of the evening was the excellent music and showmanship of the Paschal High School jazz band.

The highly anticipated awards dinner, recognizing the best of the best in the District, was held at the Fort Worth Zoo.

Click here to hear from the winners and learn about the night’s other honorees.

View more photos from the event in the gallery below.

Kick-Start Summer Learning at These FWISD Professional Development Sessions

Are you ready for summer school? Get all the information you need to kick-start your Summer Learning at Fort Worth ISD’s in-person professional development sessions for staff beginning Saturday, May 14.

More than 500 teachers and campus administrators hired for summer school programming are strongly encouraged to participate in the following professional development sessions:

• Elementary Literacy Teachers, 8 a.m.-11:25 a.m. May 14
• Elementary Mathematics Teachers, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. May 21
• Elementary and Middle School Campus Administrators, 8 a.m.-noon May 24
• Middle School Literacy, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies Teachers, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. June 2
• High School Literacy, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies Teachers, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. June 7
• High School Campus Administrators, 8 a.m.-noon June 8

Teachers receive $21 an hour for their work after hours attending the training sessions. Educators who participate in the sessions are eligible for Texas State Board for Educator Certification credit hours.

Staffers unable to attend their designated session can get up to speed with The Summer Learning Hub resources on Google Drive. Summer Learning staff will receive an email with information on accessing the hub and registering via Eduphoria for their designated professional development sessions. A session agenda and instructor details are also included in the email.

Elementary and middle school students start summer school June 6, and high school begins June 13.

For more information, visit www.fwisd.org/summerlearning.

FWISD Hiring Fair Will Hire-on-the-Spot for Teacher, Assistant Teacher, and Operations Positions

New Teaching Hires are Eligible for Signing Bonuses!

How would you like to start your summer with a brand-new, rewarding teaching job or another Fort Worth ISD position? Come to the Fort Worth ISD Hiring Fair Thursday, May 12, from 4:30 to 7 p.m., where the District will be hiring great candidates “on the spot.” That “spot” is Wilkerson Greines Activity Center, 5201 Ca Roberson Blvd. in Fort Worth.

Click here to learn more about today’s hiring event.

Sign Up for the Eighth Annual YES! Conference

Registration is open for the eighth annual Yearly Enhancement Seminar (YES!) Conference.

Open to District secretarial, clerical, and administrative associates, the YES! Conference offers professional development training on payroll, budget, accounts payable, travel, and much more!

The all-day, in-person event returns Thursday, Aug. 4, at O.D. Wyatt High School. Register here today, and say yes to the conference sessions you want to attend. Registration remains open through July 21, 2022.

For additional YES! Conference information, contact Vanessa Crump at 817-814-2171.

Celebrating FWISD’s Healthcare Heroes

With cheers, celebratory music, and noisemakers, Fort Worth ISD school nurses and health assistants were honored as they cruised their cars through the District Administration Building parking lot, Wednesday, May 11.

District staff and telehealth service partner, Goodside Health, celebrated them with gift boxes and plenty of love with signs reading “We LOVE our Nurses” and “We LOVE our Health Assistants” prominently displayed on the FWISD Administration Building lawn. The drive-thru appreciation event coincided with National School Nurse Day.

“It makes me feel like all that I do for the students, especially the families, for Fort Worth ISD is really meaningful to the District,” said Victoria Omondi, school nurse at William James Middle School.

This recognition of the District’s 129 school nurses and 17 health assistants is just the beginning. On May 24, they will be recognized at the Board of Education regular meeting.

“We are excited to celebrate our School Nurses and Health Assistants who have worked tirelessly through another difficult year on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Justin Gaddis, Executive Director of Health Services and Well-Being. “The work completed through District Health Services, led by our fantastic team of School Nurses, is critical in removing health-related barriers to ensure that ALL students have equitable access to education within FWISD.”

Held during National Nurses Week, National School Nurse Day recognizes school nurses and puts a spotlight on the role they play in the educational setting, according to the National Association of School Nurses. The 2022 National School Nurse Day theme is “Bridging Healthcare and Education.”

View event photos below.

FWISD Empowers Parents to Help Students Succeed

Offers Enrichment Classes Tailored to Parents' Needs

Help spread the word! The Fort Worth ISD Parent Partnership department offers parents and caregivers valuable learning resources at no cost to help students thrive in school and their communities. With multiple programs and classes to choose from, there is something for every parenting style!

Here’s an excellent option for working parents. Parent Academy offers online and in-person classes based on parent needs identified by FWISD family engagement specialists. Classes are updated monthly and cover topics such as why attendance matters, literacy, technology, English as a Second Language (ESL), how to talk to children about abuse, safe sleep, positive discipline, and drowning prevention, among others.

“We want parents to know that we are here to support them with resources that help them become advocates for their students,” said Marta Plata, Executive Director for Parent Partnerships. “Our student-focused classes are designed to guide parents through the education system, including the importance of good attendance and its correlation to improved grades. But, we also offer topics on daily life matters affecting families.”

Many of the in-person and online classes are available in Spanish and are held at multiple District Pyramid locations to accommodate all FWISD parents. Click here for a list of May classes.

To measure the program’s effectiveness, the District has launched a new tracking data system. Using a QR code check-in process, Parent Partnerships can measure parent attendance and demographics and obtain valuable feedback to help the District plan future programs.

Additional programs currently available to FWISD parents include Raising Highly Capable Kids, Parents as Teachers, the Fort Worth After School Program, and All Pro Dads. All focus on equipping parents with the right tools and guidance to support their student’s well-being and literacy development at different grade levels.

Go ahead, and visit the Parent Partnerships webpage to learn more about all FWISD has to offer to help parents become the best champion for their students.

Longtime Partners Come Through Again

There have been a couple of kindnesses shown by partners within the last week that we want to make sure you know about:

• A generous donation from the Rainwater Charitable Foundation is covering parking costs for all FWISD graduation ceremonies slated May 31-June 4 at Dickies Arena, the District has announced. Learn more here.
• FWISD and JPS Health Network are offering free comprehensive sports physical exams to District students in grades 6-11, Saturday, May 21. Click here for additional details.