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2 DSTV launches news show
BenefitsCorner
3Attendancezonechanges
Workerscompensation
4 DonationsupplementsbuildingtradesprogramatSamuell
5 MLKoratoricalcompetitionwinner
Communicator March 2009 | www.dallasisd.org | i | 2 | 6 AnewsletterforemployeesoftheDallasISD
M iChael Davis, a senior at l.G. Pinkston high school, plays varsity bas-ketball and is good with his hands. he always thought
that hed study something having to do with sports when he went to college.
his thinking changed dramatically once he chose an elective offered through the high schools recently redesigned ca-reer pathways. When he began attending sabrina Whites architectural graphics classpart of the schools architecture and construction pathwayDavis discovered his love for shaping geometric forms and measurements into structures.
its not a subject thats for everyone, but if you like to draw and create, this is some-thing for you, he said. in the graphics class, students learn geometry, proportions, and other math concepts as well as the proper-ties of materials used in construction.
Pinkston is one of six high schools that were redesigned last year to establish career pathways that would make education not only more rigorous but also relevant to the students professional aspirations. The idea is that if students are more interested in
what they are studying and develop stronger relationships with their teachers and profes-sional mentors, they are more likely to stay in school and do better academically.
Davis and other seniors at Pinkston are glad that principal Norma villegas decided against limiting the career pathways to ninth grade and instead opened up the career exploration opportunities to students in all grades through elective courses.
villegas wanted all her students to see and be inspired by the change that the school was undergoing and to get a taste of these professions, so she introduced all new electives for the higher grades, based on the health, law, and architecture and con-struction pathways.
its a very good idea, said este-fana alcantar, also a senior, who plans to study biology but is enjoying the graphics class. a lot has changed [at Pinkston] since last year.
These changes involve more than the career pathways. The community got together and painted walls dif-ferent colors, erasing the gloom and starkness that used to characterize the west Dallas high school, villegas
said. Now, the school is bright and inviting and student work is proudly displayed on the walls outside and inside the classrooms.
it was stark, dry, and institutional, she said. if you build a prison, youll have pris-oners. We have a school.
The physical changes in the learning environment support additional changes villegas has made in the academic arena to
Career pathways, academic rigor breathe new life into Pinkston High School
continued on page 5
Estefana Alcantar helps Archie Thomas with his drawing to scale in an elective class at L.G. Pinkston High School.

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Dallas ISD Communicator March 2009 | www.dallasisd.org | i | 2 | 6
Benefits
CornerWe all can use extra money when we retire. an excellent way to supplement your retirement income is to allow Dallas isD to fund
your staff and Teacher attendance Reward plan account. Teach-ers can earn up to $1,000 a year. all other employees can earn up to $400 a year.
You are automatically enrolled in the sTaR plan if you are an eligible district employee who is an active, contributing member of the Teacher Retirement system of Texas, contributes to the dis-tricts 457(b) s.M.a.R.T. or 403(b) tax sheltered annuity plans, and meets the attendance criteria.
Contributions to the plan are made by the district as matching contributions based on what you contribute to your retirement savings and on your attendance. You must be employed on aug. 31 of each year and have no more than five absences in order to receive that years district contributions.
Dallas isD will contribute the following amounts to employee sTaR plan accounts:
No. of Days Missed
Percent Matched by
District
Maximum Contribution for Teachers
Maximum Contribution
for Other Employees
5 50% $500 $200
2 75% $700 $300
1 100% $1,000 $400
When you earn the STAR award, you contribute to student success.
Attendance reward program helps employees save for retirement
Dallas Schools Television launches news show
a new two- to three-minute news show, News Beat, hosted by Dallas isD students airs every two weeks on cable Channel 98 and is available on the district Web site.
We started this show because there is so much information about whats going on in the district, and School Zone Dallas only happens six times a year, said Cathy Reaves, director Dallas schools Television.
News Beat airs more frequently, so more news and events can be high-lighted more often for dis-trict staff, students, and the community. eventu-
ally, the show could become weekly, Reaves said. a student anchor reports the news, and a calendar of upcoming events and a
section recognizing the accomplishments of students and employees are included in each newscast.
DsTv plans to produce the show in spanish and hopes to have local spanish-language public affairs shows carry it, Reaves said.
News Beat airs on cable Channel 98 Monday through Friday at 9 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m. To watch online, go to www.dallasisd.org/dstv/newsbeat.
Laura Cardona, senior at W.H. Adamson High School, hosts an episode of the new Dallas ISD program, News Beat.

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Board approves attendance zone changes for 20092010 school year
The Board of Trustees has approved attendance zone changes and grade reconfigurations for sev-eral schools beginning in the 20092010 school year.
B.F. Darrell Math, Science, and Technology Vanguard will close at the end of this school year so that the building can be reconfigured for the districts first all-male academy. students who now attend the school will attend either John Neely Bryan, W.W. Bushman, elisha M. Pease, J.P starks, Robert l. Thorn-ton, or Whitney Young Jr. elementary schools, depending on where they live. These elementary zone changes will result in minor second-ary zone changes among Oliver Wendell holmes, Maynard h. Jack-son, Boude storey, and sarah Zumwalt middle schools and Franklin D. Roosevelt, a. Maceo smith, and south Oak Cliff high schools.
in addition, William lipscomb elementary school will be recon-figured from a prekindergarten through fourth-grade school to a pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade school.
To equalize building utilization next year, students living within the K.B. Polk Center for the Academically Talented and Gifted or Sudie L. Williams Elementary School zones will attend sixth- through eighth-grade at Edward H. Cary Middle School instead of Benjamin Franklin Middle School. These students also will attend grades nine through 12 at Thomas Jefferson high school instead of hillcrest high school.
any student currently enrolled in Franklin Middle school whose zone is changed to Cary Mid-dle school may choose to remain at Franklin until the student completes eighth grade. however, for grades nine though 12, the student will attend Jefferson high school. any incoming student must attend Cary Middle school.
any student currently enrolled in hillcrest high school whose zone has changed to Jefferson high school may choose to remain at hillcrest until the student completes 12th grade. any in-coming student must attend Jefferson high school.
To find the attendance zone for your neighborhood, go to www.dallasisd.org/inside_disd/depts/demo/FindSchools.cfm.
New program helps employees find doctors who accept Workers Compensation patientsThe district is implementing a new Workers Compensation program to help employees find quality, efficient, and effective care for on-the-job injuries. The new program does not change the benefits that injured employees are entitled to under the Texas Workers Com-pensation act.
In the past, some employees have had difficulty finding medical providers who accept Workers Compensation patients. To make the process easier for employees, the district has joined with other Texas government agencies to build a panel of available medical providers who do accept Workers Compensation patients.
The provider panel includes a selection of primary care providers from which employees must choose as well as a list of specialists that an employee may be referred to if necessary. if an injured employee is not satisfied with the care or level of service they are receiving from a provider, a second medical provider from the panel may be selected.
While injured employees must select a treating provider from the panel, many of the providers used by injured employees in the past are included in the panel.
in case of an emergency, employees always should call 911 or go to the nearest appropriate medical care facility. if not an emergency, employees are to report the injury to their supervisor as soon as possible. Newly injured employees will choose their treating physicians from the panel. employees who were injured prior to March 1, 2009, will be phased into the program over the next several months.
For additional information, contact the Risk Management Department at (214) 932-5273.

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Community donation supplements construction program at W.W. Samuell High School
E DWaRD s. BROMBeRG had a pas-sion for woodworking. The

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