RISD School Times — September 6, 2018

RISD Digital Media
Sep 7, 2018 · 9 min read

Know Your 2018 STARS — Erik Archilla Each year, the RISD Excellence in Education Foundation selects up to ten district teachers as STARS Teachers of the Year. Help us celebrate our excellent educators in a district filled with them!

Erik Archilla, RHS

Click to meet 2018 RISD STARS Teacher of the Year Erik Archilla from Richardson High School.

I Know What To Do Day Today, Richardson ISD held its second “I Know What To Do” Day among students and staff at all 55 RISD campuses. The program, which was implemented last spring, is a safety initiative intended to guarantee that students and staff across all grade levels are informed on appropriate responses in any emergency situation. “It is very important that our students and staff feel safe every day in RISD,” said Dr. Jeannie Stone, RISD Superintendent. “‘I Know What to Do’ Day allows us to focus on our safety practices. We never want to take for granted that students and parents know how much emphasis we place on safety. Today allowed us to share this important message with them.” RISD has emergency procedures in place for district and campus-specific emergency operations plans covering a range of safety topics. Training takes place throughout each school year regarding management of various situations, and drills take place on campuses. Today’s reviews included five scenarios with students and staff, ensuring that everyone knows what to do within response protocols of Lockout, Lockdown, Evacuate, Shelter and Hold. Students and teachers reviewed scenarios and answered three essential questions: • What would you do during a ________________ if you were in the cafeteria? • What would you do during a ________________ if you were in the hallway? • What would you do during a ________________ if you were in the classroom? “These drills are practiced throughout the year but we wanted to set aside time, uniformly across the district, so parents, students and staff are all aware of what has been taught,” said La’Evening Woodard, RISD Director of Safety & Security. “We hope this encourages discussion at home, stemming from the day’s experience.”

This is an extension of work with RISD Security, RISD Student Services, local law enforcement, and national experts on Standard Response Protocols for safety practices at campuses. Student input from the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council is also considered for planning and communicating the events.

More than 42,000 RISD students and staff took part in the activities and learning. “I Know What To Do” Day is set to take place three more times this year — once in the fall and twice next spring. Parents are also encouraged to become familiar with the Parent Guide To Emergency Situations to know what to do (and what not to do) if a schoolwide emergency occurs at your child’s campus.

Destination Imagination Kick Off Destination Imagination’s 2018–19 season has officially begun! Children are invited to start a team in Destination Imagination today and become part of the world’s premier creativity, teamwork and problem-solving program. To date, Destination Imagination has engaged more than 3 million participants worldwide. From engineering to service learning to improvisation, this season’s new and unique Challenges are sure to stretch your imagination even further and take you on a journey of a lifetime — all while helping you learn and improve on your interpersonal and management skills, celebrate your creativity, persevere from imagination to innovation and, of course, have fun! Destination Imagination (DI) is an innovative organization that teaches creativity, teamwork and problem-solving. In DI, student teams participate in Challenges, exercises that socially and intellectually activate students by prompting them to use creativity and teamwork to solve problems. DI Team Challenges fall into seven categories: Technical; Scientific; Fine Arts; Improvisational; Engineering; Early Learning — Rising Stars! for early learners; and Project Outreach DI’s community service challenge.

On Monday, September 17 at 7 p.m. the Dal-Rich Region, which serves RISD schools, will host a DI interest session. This meeting is an introduction to the DI program. The meeting will be held at the Richardson Professional Development Center (701 W. Belt Line Road). For more information regarding team registration deadlines, tournament dates and how to start a team, email sgonterman@att.net or Jean.Cieszkowski@risd.org. For more information on Destination Imagination® check out idodi.org.

Lone Star Leaders Four RISD students participated in Education in Action’s 2018 Lone Star Leadership Academy. These young leaders were selected based on demonstrated academic success and leadership ability, educator recommendations, and involvement in school/community activities. As part of the academy, these elementary students developed leadership skills while learning about the great state of Texas, including hands-on learning and visits to notable and historically significant Texas sites.

Autumn S. & Jordyn D. — Dartmouth

Bus Drivers Wanted — CDL Training Opportunity
RISD is seeking applicants interested in working part- or full-time as an RISD bus driver. The district offers a training program to prepare driver trainees to successfully obtain a commercial driver’s license and necessary endorsements.

No previous commercial driving experience required. Informational meetings will be held on Monday, September 10 at 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. at the RISD Operations Center, 1123 Greenville Avenue.

Learn more about the training program & requirements

Reminders

Parent Question — What Are Early Release Days?

Early release days were added to RISD’s student academic calendar this year for the first time. Students will be released two hours early on Sept. 19, October 24, January 30 and April 3. After-school programs, bus schedules and other portions of the daily schedule will be adjusted by two hours on those days.

The days were added as a direct result of requests from RISD teachers through surveys and interviews, and will provide teachers with more dedicated time for instructional planning with their collaborative teams — known in RISD as Professional Learning Communities (or PLCs).

Teachers will be able to use the time to work with colleagues in either their grade level or subject area to plan lessons, discuss individual student performance, share ideas and best practices, and adjust teaching approaches with individual students as needed.

While this type of collaboration also occurs at other times throughout the year, teachers were clear that they could benefit from dedicated time built into the calendar for this purpose.

As with all school days, RISD’s after school programs will operate on the early release days, and parents who are interested in a quality after school care option can contact their school’s xPlore! coordinator or visit risd.org/xPlore.

Half-day programs, including Preschool Programs for Children with Disabilities (PPCD), Preschool Inclusion, and Pre-K, will begin the morning session at the normal start time and release at 10:00am. The afternoon session will begin at 11:00am and release at 1:00pm. Students receiving special education transportation will have their bus service altered to meet these times.

Parents with questions about early release day schedules should contact their school.

Calendar Change: November 6 Now a Student Holiday — Oct. 5 Student Holiday Unchanged
Due to security risks associated with RISD schools holding a normal school day while also serving as polling locations on the November 6, 2018 general election day, the district’s 2018–19 calendar is being changed so that Election Day is a student holiday/staff development day. With the change, RISD’s 2018–19 student academic calendar is still compliant with state requirements, and October 5 will remain a student holiday/staff development day as originally scheduled. The change is being made as a precaution due to the thousands of unregistered visitors who gain access to RISD schools that serve as voting locations on Election Day. Because staff members and some daytime care students will still be in schools on Nov. 6, RISD will continue to take additional safety precautions to isolate voting areas from the rest of the campus and monitor visitors.

A district child care option through the xPlore! program is available to families for November 6. Families interested in RISD’s xPlore! child care program on November 6 or other 2018–19 student holidays can learn more and sign up here.

See the updated 2018–19 RISD Student Academic Calendar

RISD Trustees Change Date of Tax Ratification Election
At their August 20 meeting, Richardson ISD trustees voted to place a 13-cent operating tax rate increase before voters for consideration on the November 6 general election day. The move formally completes the process that trustees began in July when they announced their intention to move the TRE election date from September 4, giving the community more time to understand the reasons for the requested rate increase and enabling more voters to participate.

If successful, operating funds from the TRE would be used to provide teachers and staff a 2.5% cost of living raise, hire additional special education teachers and safety & security staff, maintain current class sizes, and prevent operating budget cuts to current programs or services. A 13-cent tax rate increase would increase property taxes on an average market value RISD home ($288,794) by $305 a year, which is $25.45 a month.

The state of Texas continues to reduce its share of funding to RISD, with additional reductions of $41.8 million projected over the next five years. Voters in two-thirds of school districts in Dallas and Collin counties have approved TREs over the last decade, including many districts that RISD competes against for teachers and staff.

RISD is holding a series of public meetings to share information about the TRE with parents, staff and community members. Each of the one-hour meetings will include a detailed presentation and time for questions. Sept. 5 — Richardson YMCA — 7 p.m. Sept. 12 — Lake Highlands HS — “H” Auditorium — 7 p.m. Sept. 17 — Richardson HS — Library — 7 p.m. Sept. 25 — Pearce HS — Black Box Theater — 7 p.m. Oct. 3 — Berkner HS — Lecture Hall — 7 p.m. Oct. 13 — RISD Administration Building — 9 a.m.

For more information about the TRE, including answers to frequently asked questions, please visit risd.org/tre2018.

Learn more about the August 20 Board work session, including video

Have a Question About RISD?
We’re glad you asked!

From time to time, students, parents, residents or taxpayers have questions about information or issues related to RISD, but aren’t sure who to ask or where to go for information. We’re Glad You Asked is a feature on the RISD website that lets stakeholders ask questions about anything related to RISD, and you’ll receive an emailed response from the appropriate RISD staff member. Some questions & answers may be featured in district publications.

Simply visit risd.org/gladyouasked to use this feature.

400 S. Greenville Ave. | Richardson, TX 75081 US


Originally published at t.e2ma.net.

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