11/3

DISD Board Briefing

11/15

DCS Board Meeting

11/17

DISD Board Meeting

10/21-25/16

NEA-DALLAS CLOSED
Thanksgiving Break

NEA Auto & Home Insurance Program

Brandon Watson (512) 520-7248
bwatson@calcas.com

NEA-Dallas

SMALL ENOUGH TO
KNOW YOU,
BIG ENOUGH TO SERVE
YOU.

6500 Greenville Avenue, Suite 520

www.NEA.org

www.NEADALLAS.com

Lobby Day is March 13, 2017

12/1

DISD Board Briefing

Monday Friday
8:30 am 5:00 pm

12/3

Winter Toy Drive Celebration

[Closed Saturday, Sunday & all DISD holidays]

TSTA Help Center 1-877-ASK-TSTA

12/15

DISD Board Meeting

12/23-1/6

NEA-DALLAS CLOSED
Winter Break

Dallas ISD policy can be searched online.

o
Go to www.dallasisd.org.
o
Click on the tab Board of Trustees.
o
Click the link Board Policy & Procedures.
o
Scroll down to find & click the following
link:
http://pol.tasb.org/Home/Index/361.
o
Search by policy name, keyword, or by
advanced search.
2. There is an app to keep up with Dallas
ISD news!
Get access to news, cafeteria menus, school bus
routes, and messages from schools using your
Apple or Android smart phones app from School
Way. The FREE APP offers information in
English and Spanish. Parents also can access
their students information and grades on the
Parent Portal through the app.

NEA-Dallas

Angela Davis
Mary D. Smith
Delna Bryan
Sheila Walker
Vivian Bryant
Peggy Rodgers-

IN THIS ISSUE

Dallas, Texas 75206

1.

President
Vice President
VP of Teacher Affairs
VP of DISD ESPs
Secretary
Treasurer
Pickron

NEWSLETTER
NOVEMBER 2016

www.TSTA.org

Malinda McKee
Staley
TSTA Staff
(214) 923-2768 cell
malindam@tsta.org
officemanager@logixonline.com

NEA-Dallas Board of Directors

Raya
Office Manager
(214) 821-2061

neadallas1

TSTA Help Center

1-877-ASK-TSTA
www.TSTA.org

Page 1
Winter Toy Drive Celebration
Page 1
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Page 2
NEA-Dallas Board of Directors Election
Page 2
Lincoln students among first to early vote in Presidential Election
Page 3
Districts of Innovation
Page 3
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
See some important dates and times for upcoming events for the current month.
Page 4
NEA-Dallas is heading to the state capital to let our legislators know
that we have specific concerns that are important to us this session.
For All Dallas ISD and Dallas County Schools employees, this is
your chance to learn more about issues that will be affecting you for
the next 2 years: You will also have the opportunity to meet with
your legislators as a voting constituent to discuss important issues
such school finance, payroll deduction and school transportation.

Winter Toy Drive

Celebration
Saturday, December 3, 2016
2:00 pm 5:00 pm

This is your opportunity to HELP make a difference in public

education.
Lobby Day March 13, 2017

Reserve your seat by filling out a commitment form and attach a

$25.00 check or money order and return it to NEA-Dallas

NEA-Dallas Office
6500 Greenville Avenue, Suite 520

Dallas, TX 75206
Your ticket to this event will be one new, unwrapped childrens toy
per person!

A Message from the President

By Angela Davis

During this month of Thanksgiving I have been

reflecting on the things I
am
most grateful for.
Primarily among them is
our
talented group of
members. Thank you
for the work you do to
make our organization
great. It is especially
fitting to thank members
of NEA-Dallas for their tremendous commitment to our shared mission
of ensuring that we have Great Public Schools for every child in Dallas
and that quality public schools are the foundation of Dallas future.
Without your commitment, creativity, and high standards, we would not
be the thriving organization we are.
For the second year, I had the opportunity to participate in the Principal
for a Day project. Principal for a Day is a project of the Dallas
Independent School District that brings community leaders into schools
across the district. The program is designed to:

increase awareness and understanding among individuals

in the private sector of the strengths and challenges of
schools in Dallas ISD

demonstrate the private sector's

commitment to ensuring a quality
public education for all students, and

form ongoing partnerships between

individuals/businesses and Dallas
ISD.
This year, I was the principal at John Neely
Bryan Elementary under the leadership of Ms. Tonya Anderson. On the
day of my visit, I
spent time with the
principal, faculty,
and students
sharing ideas and
learning about the
school's day-to-day
operations. My day
consisted of doing the morning announcements, attending fifth grade
PLCs, observing classrooms, lunch duty and reading to
Kindergarteners.
This month we will celebrate American Education Week, November
14th 18th. American Education week presents all Americans with a
wonderful opportunity to celebrate public education and honor
individuals who are making a difference in ensuring that every child
receives a quality education.
I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving week with your loved
ones.

NEA ESP Conference is coming to Dallas!

The 2017 NEA Education Support Professionals Conference will be
March 10-12 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. It's the premier professional
development opportunity for education support professionals across the

nation. The goal of this conference is to enhance the skills and

knowledge of ESP members to positively impact student achievement,
build community relations, organize members, advocate for educators,
build stronger locals, and help our members do their jobs better. The
conference
offers
more
than
50
different hands-on
workshops over the
course of four days.
Pre-conference
workshop
opportunities are offered in topics ranging from social justice,
membership recruitment techniques and leadership development to

communication skills training, membership empowerment, and creating

strategic alliances with other labor organizations. Special preconference workshops specifically targeted for emerging and advanced
Association leaders are also offered.

NEA-Dallas Board Candidates

Presidential Candidates
Delna Bryan
David Griffin
John Luster
Executive Vice President Candidates

Sheila Walker

Mary Denise Smith

Vice President for DCS ESP Affairs

Lonnie Richardson

Dale Kaiser

Cassandra Fletcher

Elected by Acclamation

Vivian Bryant
Secretary

Peggy Rodgers-Pickron
Treasurer

Carmen Behrend
VP of DISD ESP Affairs

Hope Lee
VP of Teachers Affairs

You should receive your ballot by this week at your home address.
They must be postmarked by 4:00 pm on December 2, 2016.

Districts of Innovation Where the Law May Not Apply

A district must have at least an acceptable rating in order to pursue
innovation district designation. (About 95 percent of Texas districts are rated
acceptable or higher.) The process can begin with either a petition signed by
a majority of the district-level committee or a resolution adopted by the
board of trustees. After a school board votes to begin the innovation district
process, it must hold a public hearing to consider whether the district should
pursue innovation status. If the school board chooses to move forward, a
separate committee will be appointed by the board to develop a plan for the
restructured district.
This committee must present a comprehensive educational program for the
district, and must identify provisions of the Education Code that are deemed
to inhibit the districts ability to implement the program. These are the
provisions from which the district will be exempt.
The plan must be made available to the public for 30 days, after which the
district-level committee must hold a public meeting and vote on the plan. A
simple majority vote by the district-level committee is required; final approval
by the school board requires a two-thirds majority vote. The plan is in effect
for up to five years.
Districts of innovation can exempt themselves from some of the most
important provisions of the Education Code, including nearly all teacher
rights and benefits.
In general, a district of innovation can exempt itself from any provision of the
Education Code that does not apply to charter schools. (Commissioner of
education rules include a handful of additional restrictions primarily intended
to clarify the law, such as specifying that districts cannot exempt themselves
from school finance provisions.)
Among the laws from which a district cannot be exempt are some related to
district governance, school finance, health and safety, curriculum and
graduation requirements, bilingual and special education,
accountability/testing, criminal history checks, participation in TRS, and
provision of health insurance coverage.
Among the many provisions innovation districts can exempt themselves
from:

State personal leave days

State minimum salary schedule

Teacher contract rights

Duty-free lunch and conference periods

Teacher certification requirements

Minimum attendance for class credit

Teacher appraisals

A teachers right to remove disruptive students

Class-size limits

Uniform school start date

Required minutes of instruction

Teacher authority over grading

Restrictions on class interruption

Parent and student rights, including transfer rights, and the right
to parent notice of unsatisfactory grades
The law does not address whether implementation of the changes and
exemptions must be district-wide. The process and the innovation
designation are district-based, not campus-based, but some districts may
consider applying the changes only to certain campuses.
At least one district has chosen to grant itself a broad exemption from all
possible statutes, though a two-thirds majority vote by the school board
would still be required for specific exemptions. Other districts have specified
the laws from which they will be exempt in their educational plan.
This new option for school districts makes it crucial that local leaders pay
close attention to what school boards are doing and get involved. Serving on
the district-level committee or the committee that develops the educational
plan is the best way to be at the table and represent the views of the
districts teachers.

Lincoln, Carter Students Among First to Early Vote in

Presidential Election

Early voting began on Oct. 24 and, already, some Dallas ISD students
haven taken to the polls as a first-time voter.
Students from Lincoln High School and Communications/Humanities
Magnet received a standing ovation from poll workers as they cast their
ballots at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center.

First-time voters from Lincoln High School with Dallas ISD Trustee
Bernadette Nutall, pose for a picture outside of the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Community Center, one of the early voting locations.
In September and October, a number of women groups from the Lincoln
community registered students who would be eligible to vote in time for the
November election.
Sheila Walker, community liaison at Lincoln, carried out an idea she has
long hoped for.
I not only wanted to make sure they were registered, but I have always had
a vision to take students to poll on the school bus, said Walker.
In all, nearly 30 students were bussed to the community center that sits in
the heart of Dallas Fair Park. Dallas ISD Trustee Bernadette Nutall and
Principal Johnna Weaver were among the few who accompanied Lincolns
first-time voters, and cast their ballots too.
At Carter High School, nearly 20 students in a social studies class closed
out their school week by heading to an early polling site. This time, students
walked across to their polling place to Friendship West Baptist Church.
Fred Davis, principal at Carter knew other factors play into voting and did
not want that to be a deterrent for his eligible students to vote.

We knew transportation would be an issue and that some students would

not be able to go to a polling site, so were glad this is available to use this
year where we can just walk across the street, Davis sad. It cuts out some
of those issues of transportation, that gives people a reason not to vote.