
Theory of Action Newsletter
February 2023
Welcome, Dallas ISD Principals!
Welcome back to the Theory of Action newsletter. We are excited to continue sharing with you the latest updates on supports and autonomies, as well as all other aspects of the Theory of Action.
We appreciate your feedback! Please share your thoughts and ideas via this feedback form. If you're interested in having information added to an upcoming newsletter, please submit a request here.
Mental Health Services
The mission of the Mental Health Services (MHS) department is to support students' academic success through a variety of services focused on emotional, behavioral and physical wellbeing. Through wrap-around services, the alcohol and drug prevention program, and partnerships with local health clinics, MHS strives to meet the holistic needs of students and their families.
For more information about the range of services available, click here.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH - Campus Story Quilts Event
The Racial Equity Office is excited to announce the Black History Month Campus Story Quilt event happening February 1-28, 2023! Campuses will be creating, designing and displaying a collection of student and staff personal stories weaved together.
For participating HPC campuses the REO is offering a field trip to The Latino Art Project featuring an African American exhibit.
For details to participate, see the flier. Contact Tommy Van Sickle at tvansickle@dallasisd.org for more information.
Staff (FTE) Conversions
Autonomy Update: Staffing Conversion
For campuses that qualify under the Theory of Action for position conversions, the campus principal will submit the TOA Spring Budget Campus Conversion Request which includes the campus name, the job code and title of the position requesting to convert and the job code and title of the position the campus is wanting as well as the explanation for the conversion.
As a district, our goal is to maintain class sizes that are within the established parameters and guidelines. Therefore, conversions of 6000 teachers will not be allowed to be converted.
The media specialist position is a position that is eligible to convert unless you are a Project Read campus. Project Read campuses must maintain a media specialist.
Dallas College Registration Ready Drive
Senior graduation is quickly approaching, and as students start preparing for their next step toward graduation, we are committed to ensuring a smooth transition to postsecondary success. To increase college enrollment rates, Dallas ISD is continuing its partnership with Dallas College to provide a “Registration Ready Drive” from April 24, 2023 - May 5, 2023, at every high school within the district. This event is a come-and-go event scheduled during the time block you select for your campus. We are asking each principal to select one day, one block of time, and a campus contact on or before Tuesday, February 28, 2023, using this link: Registration Ready Drive: Date & Time Selection.
This event will provide students the opportunity to turn in required enrollment documentation, register for classes, and receive 1-on-1 assistance from a Dallas College representative without leaving their high school campus. Given these Registration Ready benefits, please ensure seniors take full advantage of the opportunity to take the FREE TSIA2, if they are not TSI met, at their high school campus to remove enrollment barriers. This assessment will be administered a second time in the spring: April 3, 2023 - April 7, 2023.
For more information about the Registration Ready drive, please email Dr. Denise Patton at depatton@dallasisd.org.
*Note: This event requires registration. The student flyer with the registration link will be sent via email as a follow-up.
Early Hiring for the 2023-2024 School Year
Human Capital Management is excited to announce early hiring will be approved for the 2023 spring hiring season. To meet the District’s needs of finding and securing highly qualified teachers, Dallas ISD will allow campus principals and recruiters to recommend teachers for hire in TMS when filling for projected vacancies under the 2023-2024 school year.
This early hiring approach will also help improve our talent acquisition strategies by mitigating the District’s challenges behind a nationwide teacher shortage and increased competition. Application data and historical performance trends have proved that the strongest candidates are hired early in the spring, specifically in March, April, and May. As principals begin to plan for new teacher projection(s), we highly encourage them to offer early commitments to top talented candidates as a milestone to be fully staffed.
All Principals will have the opportunity to extend at least two early teacher offers, and those in HPC/ACE schools will have the option to utilize up to four early teacher offers.
For more information, read the full memo here.
Quarter 4 Curriculum Training
The Teaching and Learning core content departments will provide professional learning on the Quarter 4 curriculum to build the capacity of campus teachers and support the implementation of shared instructional goals for student achievement. This virtual training will take place via Zoom on February 28, 2023.
During the training teachers will engage in a just-in-time review of the Quarter 4 Instructional Planning Calendars and explore various intervention strategies. The training times for each grade band are listed below.
Elementary: 4:00-5:30 pm *Middle: 4:30-6:00 pm *High: 5:00-6:30 pm
*Principals, please note the ending time of training.
Zoom meeting links can be accessed on the Professional & Digital Learning website at dallasisd.org/pdl. If you have additional questions, please contact Jennifer Sallee at jesallee@dallasisd.org or Felicia Gray at fgray@dallasisd.org.
The following expectations should be considered when participating in this virtual learning opportunity.
General Expectations:
Log into Zoom with your district EAD credentials.
Complete the Google sign-in sheet and feedback for your session.
Supplemental Pay Requirements:
Campus professional instructional staff are eligible to receive supplemental pay. This does not include campus administrators or paraprofessional employees (i.e. Teacher Assistants).
All attendees must use the bio-clock or web-clock to clock-in and clock-out of the session. Failure to clock-in and clock-out will result in non-payment.
An Extra Duty Addendum form must be completed and returned to the presenting department.
Annual Cybersecurity Training 2022-2023
About Us
Email: theoryofaction@dallasisd.org
Website: dallasisd.org/TheoryofAction
Phone: 9729253700