Colleagues,

In our latest edition of Inside FWISD, you will find information about:

• FWISD Closed Monday In Observance of MLK Holiday
• Stakeholder Survey Ends Friday
• Pre-registration for Fort Worth Technology Conference Closes Saturday
• Free School Supplies, Winter Gear Available at Buzz Back to School Winter Edition Event This Saturday
• Lowery Road ES First Grader Sworn In As Honorary Fort Worth Police Officer

• Fort Worth ISD Snapshot

And more stories and information about and for FWISD employees 

Don’t forget to view stories throughout the week on the Inside FWISD blog

The Fort Worth ISD  will host its second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Monday January 20. 

FWISD employees are invited to join the District’s Central Office Leadership, Board Trustees and community leaders for this day of service and community outreach.

Volunteers are needed to assemble 500 care packages, including hats, gloves, blankets, toiletries and nonperishable foods, beginning at 8 a.m. January 20 at the FWISD Warehouse, located at 4200 Lubbock Ave. At 11 a.m., employees will feed the homeless and distribute the assembled care packages at the I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM and VPA, located at 1900 I.M. Terrell Way in Fort Worth.

This year marks the second year for the District’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in which District employees volunteer a few hours to serve Fort Worth’s homeless community. The event is on a federal holiday, and all FWISD schools are closed in observance. The Day of Service is one of two hosted by FWISD throughout the school year. This spring, students will participate in service projects when the District observes its second annual student holiday, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Day on March 23.

To volunteer for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, register at www.fwisd.org/MLK. For more details, contact Mia Hall, Division of Equity and Excellence executive director at 817-814-2339 or by emailing mia.hall@fwisd.org.

-FWISD-

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Fort Worth ISD’s Professional Learning and Innovation Department is accepting presentation proposals for the 2020 ConnectED, an inaugural District conference for teachers designed by teachers.

District employees interested in presenting at the conference, which will be hosted twice next summer on June 8-12 and August 3-7, are encouraged to submit their proposals to http://bit.ly/proposalsConnectED no later than February 28, 2020. Fort Worth ISD Teachers are eligible to earn six FLEX credit hours for the 2020-2021 school year for presenting.

Conference strands include:

• Content Deepening/Pedagogy
• Equity and Access
• Intentional Integration of Technology Tools
• Social and Emotional Well Being
• Teacher Leadership
• Teaching Best Practices

Presenters are not required to present at both conferences in June and August or each day.

Professional learning presentations will be vetted ahead of the presentation for both content and professional learning delivery. Professional Learning and Innovation will serve as the clearinghouse and department awarding FLEX credit hours. The department will also provide presentation tips and tools for presenters who would like to enhance their presentation skills.

Organizers say the districtwide conference allows teachers to collaborate and learn from one another. ConnectED will be hosted simultaneously at three locations: the FWISD Professional Development Center, South Hills High School and the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Riley Center.

Multiple courses will be offered ranging from teacher self-care to the latest instructional strategies, according to organizers. Conference participants may earn up to 30 hours of FLEX credit.

Registration for the conference opens late in the spring semester.

For more details about submitting a proposal, email pli@fwisd.org and visit www.fwisd.org/pli for more conference details.

Dr. Lisa Langston, Fort Worth ISD Director of Athletics, will become the next National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association president.

Just a few days shy of the winter break, the NIAAA selected and announced Dr. Langston its president-elect at its 50th annual National Athletic Directors Conference in Maryland. Dr. Langston will start her one-year term as president this December and preside over the association’s 2021 annual conference in Denver, Colorado.

“I’m humbled by it,” Dr. Langston said. “It’s quite the honor that my colleagues believe in my leadership and the ability to have a vision for our over 12,000-plus organization.”

According to the association’s mission statement: “The NIAAA preserves, enhances and promotes education-based athletics through the professional development of interscholastic athletic administrators.”

As president-elect, Dr. Langston is responsible for preparing a synopsis of section meetings at the national conference to be presented at annual meetings, prepare section meeting agendas for conference, spring and summer gatherings, chairing a subcommittee developing board goals and handling duties in the absence of the president. Dr. Langston has served on the NIAAA board for two years, most recently serving as an at-large board member.

For 25 years, Dr. Langston has served as an athletic administrator and she’s been with the District nearly 30 years, serving the first five years as a head girls basketball coach and physical education/ health teacher before becoming an administrator. Last July, she was presented with NIAAA’s State Award of Merit, recognizing her meritorious dedication to High School and Middle School Athletics.

In 2018, Dr. Langston served on the University Interscholastic League Ad Hoc Committee on Reclassification and Realignment. Also, in the same year, she partnered with the InSide Out Initiative to establish the District’s Coaches Academy which brought together more than 300 coaches for two-days of professional development sessions focused on how coaches and athletic coordinators impact student-athletes. The academy has become an annual event.

Letters of recommendation written by state and local athletic leaders for Dr. Langston’s candidacy as president-elect described her as admirable, qualified “knowledgeable … and respected.”

Dr. Langston said that while being selected president-elect is a personal honor, the recognition models the message she shares with athletic coordinators and coaches in the Fort Worth ISD – don’t limit yourself. If she can do it, so can other FWISD athletic coaches and coordinators, she said.

“I’m not in this position without the District. It starts with the leadership here believing in my leadership,” Dr. Langston said. “Part of being in leadership is influencing and inspiring others.”

Fort Worth ISD employees are invited to join the District’s Central Office Leadership, Board Trustees and community leaders for a day of service and community outreach, for its second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

District employees are needed to assemble care packages, including hats, gloves, blankets, toiletries and nonperishable foods, beginning at 8 a.m. January 20 at the I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM and VPA. At 11 a.m., employees will feed the homeless and distribute the assembled care packages. I.M. Terrell Academy is located at 1900 I.M. Terrell Way in Fort Worth.

This year marks the second year for the District’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in which District employees volunteer a few hours to serve Fort Worth’s homeless community. The event is on a federal holiday, and all FWISD schools are closed in observance. The Day of Service is one of two hosted by FWISD throughout the school year. This spring, students will participate in service projects when the District observes its second annual student holiday, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Day on March 23.

To volunteer for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, register at www.fwisd.org/MLK. For more details, contact Mia Hall, Division of Equity and Excellence executive director at 817-814-2339 or by emailing mia.hall@fwisd.org.

Colleagues,

In our latest edition of Inside FWISD, you will find information about:

• Volunteers Needed for Day of Service January 20
• Be Prepared For Stormy Weather
• Fort Worth ISD Announces 2020 Commencement Ceremony Dates
• NIAAA Taps FWISD’s Dr. Lisa Langston As Its President-Elect
• Reported Flu Cases Increase In Tarrant County

• Fort Worth ISD Snapshot

And more stories and information about and for FWISD employees 

Half-price tickets to this weekend’s 2019 Stockyard Stampede wrestling competition are available for Fort Worth ISD employees, students and families.

The inaugural event rolls into the Fort Worth Convention Center, December 20-22, 2019 and will take place alongside the 2019 Senior National: U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifier. With the discount code “FWS50,” daily admittance is $10 per person (free for children under 5) and $15 for an all-session pass (including sessions all three days) for FWISD employees, students and families. A free USAW membership account must be set up when purchasing tickets.

See world-class USA Wrestling athletes compete for the chance at qualifying for Team USA and the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.  

To purchase tickets, visit  https://www.usawmembership.com/login.

Colleagues,

In our latest edition of Inside FWISD, you will find information about:

• Superintendent’s Holiday Message Features Wall of Fame Inductee
• FWISD Closed for Winter Break
• Stakeholder Survey Extended to January 17 Take It and Be Eligible For A Prize
• FWISD United Way Campaign Winners Announced
• PLI Accepts Proposals for ConnectED Conference
• FWISD Safe Schools Training Deadline Is December 31

• Fort Worth ISD Snapshot

And more stories and information about and for FWISD employees 

Don’t forget to view stories throughout the week on the Inside FWISD blog

Colleagues,

In our latest edition of Inside FWISD, you will find information about:

• Deadline Approaches for Gold Seal Application: Help Available from 8 a.m.- 5p.m. Friday
• FWISD Approves 2020-2021 School Calendars
• McLean’s Angela Groves-Price Selected As Space Foundation Liaison
• Grub Burger Bar Adds Dish Created at Trimble Tech To 2020 Menu
• FWISD Safe Schools Training Deadline Approaching

• Fort Worth ISD Snapshot

And more stories and information about and for FWISD employees 

Who: Heather Hedges/Paschal High School
        TTI, Inc. Chair for Teaching Excellence in Secondary Math

Paschal High School teacher Heather Hedges sees every day as an opportunity to find new ways to do her job better. Watch this short video and hear why Ms. Hedges says lifelong learning is crucial – for teachers, as well as students.

Stay tuned for more reflections from our 2019-2020 Academic Chairs for Teaching Excellence. We are sharing their one-minute remarks each day leading up to the winter break.