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The Education Service Center, Region 20 has recognized a second SAISD teacher for excellence this school year. Luz Perez of Edison HS has been selected the center’s LOTE - Languages Other Than English, Teacher of the Year. “Mrs. Perez is a very passionate teacher who always puts her students and their success first,” said Principal Charles Muñoz. Perez, who is entering her ninth year in education, teaches Spanish III, dual-credit Spanish III and Advanced Placement Spanish language and Spanish literature, and also heads Edison’s Department of Spanish. “I am truly honored to have received this recognition,” Perez said. “It is an even greater honor to be placed in such distinguished ranks as those of the past honorees.” The 2016-17 school year was the fifth

consecutive year that Perez led her students to a 100-percent passing rate in both AP Spanish literature and culture and Spanish language and culture. She was inspired to be an educator by her mother, who taught kindergarten in Mexico.

Criteria to be considered for LOTE Teacher of the Year include:teaching excellence, including effective teaching strategies; willingness to devote time and energy to activities which result in improved instruction; and respect of administrators, co-workers, parents and students. LOTE honorees in all award categories will be recognized during a Nov. 3 luncheon celebration. Perez holds a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, both from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Earlier this year, she was one of three outstanding educators chosen as an SAISD Distinguished Teacher of

the Year, including Lamar ES 4th-grade teacher Andrea Lucas, who was the education service center’s choice for the 2018 Texas Teacher of the Year.

Vol. 18 • No. 4Oct. 12, 2017

Edison HS educator named LOTE Teacher of the Year

An information session will be held soon for two positions created as part of the District’s goals to provide all students with the best learning experiences possible and to achieve at higher levels. Interested educators are invited to find out details on Master Teachers and Implementation Specialists to be hired for the 2018-19 school year. Both roles call for experienced educators with proven track records of increasing student achievement. Master Teacher qualities include embracing innovation and a desire to continuously improve their own instructional practice. Implementation Specialists provide on-site coaching and

job-embedded professional development for teachers. Qualifications include two years of successful teaching experience for Master Teachers and between two and five years, depending on the specific role

and requirements, for Implementation Specialists. For more information click here or email:TalentManagement@saisd.net

SAISD seeking Master Teachers and Implementation Specialists

Luz Perez (standing) reviews lessons on the impact of poverty on educational outcomes for children with her AP Spanish language and culture students.

Master Teacher & Implementation Specialist Information Session

Oct. 25 (Wed) - 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Highlands HS3118 Elgin Ave.

Refreshments will be servedRSVP by Oct. 22 (Sun)

To RSVP, click hereOr call

210-554-2240

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Honorees took the spotlight on Oct. 3 for the INSPIRE Awards, where they were recognized for making a significant difference. This seventh-annual event was sponsored by the SAISD Foundation to recognize outstanding alumni and innovative educators.

Award category, recipients and the schools (as applicable) they represent are:

1) Leadership, Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier, Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s president emerita and a former White House education advisor - Jefferson HS. With her is Orlando Vera, her alma mater's principal. 2) Excellence, Roy Barrera Sr., prominent local attorney and former Texas secretary of state - Fox Tech HS. With him is Jennifer Benavides, his alma mater's principal.

3) Service, Jim Lehrer, journalist, novelist and former national news anchor - Jefferson HS. With him is Orlando Vera, his alma mater's principal. 4) Friend of SAISD - CPS Energy. Accepting on its behalf is CPS Energy representative Carolyn Shellman. With her is INSPIRE Awards master of ceremonies and KSAT-TV anchor Ursula Pari. 5) Innovation - Rhodes MS. Accepting on behalf of their school (l to r) are teachers Bill Davis, Jennifer Boone, Kandi Williams, Marie Epstein and Principal Moises Ortiz. 6) Innovation - Lamar ES. Accepting on behalf of their school (far left and right) are Assistant Principal Analee Smith and Principal Brian Sparks. With them is Trustee Steve Lecholop,

whose District 1 represents Lamar. During the week of the INSPIRE Awards ceremony, honored alumni also visited students at their alma maters. Nominations are open for the 2018 INSPIRE Awards honorees, and expected to be chosen in December. For more information on the INSPIRE Awards, visit: www.saisdfoundation.com.

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SAISD Foundation presents seventh-annual INSPIRE Awards

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District continues to earn awards for budget and financial information SAISD once again is

receiving accolades for its quality of budgeting, financial reporting and online financial transparency.

The District's Financial Services Department was recognized at the Oct. 9 School Board meeting for its most recent honors. These include the:

• Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, presented by the Government Finance

Officers Association, for the 29th- consecutive year.• Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting, presented by the Association of School Business Officials, for the 37th-consecutive year.

• Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, presented by the Government Finance Officers Association, for the 12th-consecutive year.

• Meritorious Budget Award, presented by the Association of School Business Officials, for the 37th-consecutive year.

Larry A. Garza is SAISD's associate superintendent, CFO, financial services & business operations. Dottie Carreon is planning & budget director. Rena Valdez is financial accounting director. Jill Cook is general accounting manager.

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Six of the Teach Plus participants (l to r) are Dana Wrann, Dora Leija, Monica White, Nathaniel Du Pont, Christopher Green and Sarah Perez.

Seven District teachers comprise an inaugural group of Lone Star State educators chosen for a fellowship designed to support teacher leaders in transforming the educational system to best serve high-needs students. They also represent the highest number from any other Texas school district to be part of the state’s first cohort of Teach Plus participants. In all, 30 outstanding educators have been selected Texas Teaching Policy Fellows for Teach Plus, a national non-profit that puts teachers at the center of improvement at all levels of the education system. Since 2007, Teach Plus has grown from 16 to a network of more than 22,000 solutions-oriented teachers nationwide. SAISD’s participants were recognized at the Oct. 9 School Board meeting. Their schools and names are: Advanced Learning Academy at Fox Tech, Nathaniel DuPont; Rhodes MS, Christopher Green; Cotton ES, Dana Wrann; Japhet ES, Amy Hestilow; Riverside Park ES, Sarah Perez; and Carroll ECEC, Dora Leija and Monica White.

Burbank HSLanier HS Brackenridge HSJefferson HSHighlands HS

Hitting the high notes at the annual SAISD Marching Band Showcase were secondary-level school musicians throughout the District, including five earning first-division ratings. Band members shown accepting their school’s trophy (l to r) represent Lanier, Highlands, Burbank, Jefferson and Brackenridge. Each fall, the showcase features performances from high school and middle school bands Districtwide. It also helps bands prepare for the University Interscholastic League’s event, which will be Saturday, Oct. 21. For more photos click here.

SAISD tops in Teach Plus Texans

District 7 Trustee Ed Garza (from left) congratulates Longfellow Principal Dr. Aurora Terry, social studies teacher Adrian Reyna and Assistant Principal Robert Hernandez on the campus being designated a “No Place for Hate” school. They were recognized at the Oct. 9 School Board meeting.

Respect rules here! Representatives from the Anti-Defamation League and State Rep. Diana Arevalo will be among those commending efforts to ensure that everyone feels safe and valued at Longfellow MS during an Oct. 13 pep rally. Highlighting the event will be the presentation of a banner proclaiming the school’s No Place for Hate designation, which was earned for 2016-17. Festivities also will include performances by the school’s choir, mariachi group and dance team. To earn the designation, Longfellow created a student-led No Place for Hate Coalition made up of students and staff to coordinate related activities including everyone signing the league’s Resolution of Respect. They also completed three major campuswide projects to help students learn lessons including the positive effects of diversity, as well as the negative effects of gossip and bullying.

The best of the bands

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San Antonio Independent School District141 Lavaca St.San Antonio, TX 78210phone: 554-2250 Page 4

Board of TrusteesPatti Radle, PresidentArthur V. Valdez, Vice PresidentDebra Guerrero, SecretaryEd Garza, TrusteeJames Howard, TrusteeSteve Lecholop, TrusteeChristina Martinez, Trustee

Superintendent Pedro Martinez

Produced by The Communications Departmentinsider is the intellectual property of SAISD. Content may be reproduced upon permission and with proper attribution.

The San Antonio Independent School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Registration is underway for this month’s EPIC Saturday. Featured speaker will be author Pam Allyn, whose topic will be literacy. This EPIC Saturday will be 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 28. Please make note of the location change. It will be held at Highlands HS, 3118 Elgin Ave. There will be room for up to 600 teachers. For registration and other information, click here.

Plan now for the next EPIC Saturday!

Coloring contest on the menu for National School Lunch Week Students at elementaries throughout SAISD are using artistic expression to work up an appetite come lunchtime, all in celebration of the delicious, nutritious meals served them. In observance of National School Lunch Week, Oct. 9-13, the District’s Child Nutrition Services Department is hosting a coloring contest as part of its efforts to promote, educate and get students excited about what they eat in school. Pages being colored for the contest were provided by the School Nutrition Association. “National School Lunch Week is a

great opportunity to highlight not only the healthy meals that are served daily, but also to give thanks to the cafeteria staff who prepare them each day,” said Dr. Jennifer Sides, assistant director of quality assurance. “I also think that the theme of ‘School Lunch: Recipes for Success’ highlights the important relationship between nutrition and academic performance.” This school year, meals dished up in SAISD campus cafeterias are being taken to the next level through revamped recipes and new menu items.

E-books and iPads ignite student interest in reading Starting with elementaries, students at 30 SAISD campuses are embarking on a literary excursion this fall through an online program providing them access to an extensive e-book collection. School librarians launched the initiative with the Power Challenge last month through LightSail, a digital

adaptive literacy platform, to determine student reading levels in order to match them with a customized collection of e-books read on iPads. For 18 days, librarians were able to track the average minutes each student read, and a trio of schools whose students logged the highest number were

treated to pizza parties. Certificates also were presented to the top readers. As an added distinction, SAISD’s top-place campus, Barkley-Ruiz, also claims the number five spot this week among 292 national LightSail elementary school participants.

Sharon China, Neal ES food services manager, oversees some of her school’s students who are participating in SAISD’s coloring contest.

Top-reader Rudy Perez with: (l to r) Analisa Spicer, school librarian; Margarita Sifuentes assistant principal; Jennifer Shafer, SAISD Library Media Services coordinator; and Conner Petersen, LightSail representative.

Top-reader Imari Tsatenawa with: (l to r)Nyree Cavazos, school librarian; and Connor Petersen, LightSail representative.

Barkley-Ruiz ES - first place M.L. King Academy - second place Highland Park ES - third place

Top-reader Sonny Ramirez with (l to r) Gideon Stein, LightSail representative and Jennifer Shafer, SAISD Library Media Services coordinator.

Courtesy photo