• Upcoming Events & Holidays
• Election 2022 Information
• Open Enrollment Now Available
• TIA Update
  
• HR reps to Visit Campuses with Front Porch Initiative
• PfISD Partners with UT Austin for UTeach
  
• Staff Flu Clinics
  
• Campus Safety Protocols
• Pfuture Ready: Learn.Play.Plan.
• PfISD Professional Learning Needs Assessment SY 22-23
  
• Staff Shout Outs
• CTE Corner
• Fine Arts Update
• Athletics Update

October

* National Principals Month

* National Bullying Prevention Month

Oct. 10-14 - National School Lunch Week

Oct. 11 - Deadline to Register to Vote

Oct. 14 - Student Holiday/Conferences

Oct. 19 - Pfuture Ready CTE Family Event

Oct. 20 - Board of Trustees Regular Meeting

Wondering what your child's campus will receive from the proposed Bond Package? Visit the Bond webpage for a breakdown of Bond projects by campus.

Early Voting Starts Oct. 24

Early voting begins on Oct. 24 and runs through Nov. 4. The polls are open Monday-Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sundays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Please visit the districts election website to view polling locations near you!

Pro Tip! Lines are significantly shorter during Early Voting than on Election Day!

For more information about the 3 Elections held by PfISD in November (ACE, VATRE, and Bond), please visit www.pfisd.net/election2022.

State law prevents school districts from using public funds or resources to advocate for or against school district elections. District resources include an employee’s paid time, a Board member’s time in their official capacity, as well as district facilities, equipment, and supplies.

Please view the document below for a few helpful tips on what you can and can’t say, and can and can’t do, during a PfISD election.

The Open Enrollment site is now open through October 31, 2022. After October 31 the site will close and you will NO LONGER be able to enroll for 2023 benefits.

Open enrollment is your opportunity to add, drop or make changes to your benefits. Changes will be effective January 1, 2023. Visit www.pfisdbenefits.com for more information on the benefit offerings. You can enroll online or by calling 877-282-0808 and a representative will enroll for you. The PfISD Benefits Department is available to answer questions during enrollment by the following methods:

• Phone 512-594-0026
• Email benefits@pfisd.net
• At your campus during the HR Front Porch initiative in October

HOW TO ENROLL

Employees will self-enroll online or by phone (877-282-0808).

If you are waiving medical coverage, you are still required to log on and decline coverage

To enroll, simply follow these steps:

• Follow this link: ENROLL IN BENEFITS 2023 To review PfISD’s benefits, click on www.pfisdbenefits.com.
• Under Employee ID or SSN, enter your employee ID with three zeros before the number – example 000801001 or Social Security Number with no dashes. Do not use an e in front of your ID number.
• Under Personal ID Number (PIN), enter the last 4 digits of you Social Security Number and the last 2 digits of your birth year.
• Follow the steps displayed on the site and click “Next” to move on to the next section.
• Once you have completed all your elections on your benefits, you will be taken to a “Review/Sign Forms” screen. Click “Sign Form” after you have reviewed all of the forms to confirm all of your elections.
  
  

Please review your options and costs carefully. You can go back in to the enrollment system as many times as you like to view or make changes until the end of the enrollment period. Once the enrollment period has ended, your choices will be final until the next enrollment period (with the exception of a qualifying life event). Contact the Benefits Department if you have questions.

Did you know?

House Bill 3 (HB 3) was passed by the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019. It was a sweeping piece of legislation that aimed to address and increase teacher pay in Texas. One of the provisions of HB 3 was the establishment of the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA). The Teacher Incentive Allotment was created to recognize effective teachers on three different levels: Recognized, Exemplary, and Master. TIA allotment funds help Texas school systems reward, retain and recruit highly effective teachers. PfISD began exploring TIA in the 2020-2021 school year. You can learn more about our District’s progress with TIA below.

How does TIA work?

Teachers earn designations through two different routes. First, teachers with an active National Board Certification may automatically be designated as Recognized if they meet the eligibility requirements under the rules defined by TEA. Second, districts may designate their effective teachers when they are approved for a local teacher designation system. The approval process is multi-step and includes the submission of a system application to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and then a data validation process through Texas Tech University.

PfISD spent two years designing a local designation system that was approved by TEA for 10 pilot campuses to begin their data capture in the 2021-2022 school year. Additionally, the District submitted an expansion application to include all campuses in TIA beginning in the 2022-2023 school year. The first cohort of 10 pilot schools is a part of TIA Cohort D. Any new campuses participating in TIA through the expansion program for the current school year (2022-2023) are a part of TIA Cohort E.

You can learn more about our District’s TIA journey by reviewing the information in this staff presentation.

So, how did our pilot schools (Cohort D) do in TIA?

We had 215 total eligible teachers in the pilot (Cohort D). Of those, 97 teachers are being submitted from our District to TEA for a Local Designation as follows:

• Master = 57

• Exemplary = 34

• Recognized = 6

Our next steps are to notify Cohort D teachers of their local designation status. To be clear and transparent, our submission of the 97 local designations does not automatically guarantee that the TEA and Texas Tech will certify their designation status. Texas Tech will take some time to run validation and reliability checks. If they agree with our local designations, they will notify us in late spring of 2023 of the final teacher designations. The final Teacher Designation decision lies with Texas Tech and must be honored. If approved, the designated teachers will receive their initial payment in September 2023.

Our Accountability & Compliance Department did a lot of work to ensure that preliminary checks were in place and that our data and local designation system showed strength in the correlation of teacher observations and student growth (the two main requirements for a designation system). Additionally, our TIA Sub-Committees did an excellent job planning for key components of TIA, including student growth & optional components, TIA calculations & designations, and observations & calibration. Shout-out to them!

You can take a look at our District’s Calculation Scorecard to learn more about the specific local designation components.

What are the District’s next steps and how can I learn more?

This SY 2022-2023, our TIA sub-committees will be fast at work adding two new groups to our TIA-eligible categories (interventionists and special education teachers). Additionally, we intend to communicate with all PfISD staff on an ongoing basis regarding final designations for Cohort D, changes and updates to TIA from the state or our local system, and any updates needed for Cohort E.

Stay tuned, as updates to our TIA website will be communicated in the coming weeks so you can have a one-stop hub for all things TIA.

Thank you for all your work with our PfISD students! We appreciate you so much!

* Please note that some sessions have changed since last week.

Our Human Resources Team is very excited to have the opportunity to visit with staff members in October through our Front Porch Initiative. Please mark your calendar with the date HR will visit your campus! HR representatives will be available to answer your general HR and Benefits questions.

Hello educational associates, guest educators, and others! Do you have a degree in science, mathematics, or computer science? Are you ready to become a teacher. Consider a university-based program like UTeach facilitated by the University of Texas at Austin. Find out more information and register to attend an October 2022 virtual information session by clicking HERE

Please see the attached list of dates and times and sign up for a time to get your Flu shot.

Reminders from H-E-B:

• Please double check the reminder email you receive the day prior to our event for your exact arrival time for your appointment.
  • (Some appointments may vary by a few minutes to aid in social distancing).
• Please bring your insurance card and photo ID ( they will accept cash or check at time of service if you do not have insurance , the cost will be $48
• Remember to wear a short sleeve shirt

• Please come at your allotted time to help with social distancing
• Please wear a mask or face covering for your entire visit.
• We will conduct a touchless-thermometer temperature check prior to vaccine administration
• You must have a temp of 100.4 or less at the time of service

*In order to open the Google Document below, you must be signed in to Google with your district email account.

Pflugerville ISD utilizes the Standard Response Protocols created by the I Love You Guys Foundation. The SRP is action-based, flexible, and easy to learn. It rationally organizes tactics for response to weather events, fires, accidents, intruders and other threats to personal safety.

The benefits of SRP become quickly apparent. By standardizing the vocabulary, all stakeholders can understand the response and status of the event.

For students, this provides continuity of expectations and actions throughout their educational career. For teachers, this becomes a simpler process to train and drill. For communities, it leverages the growing adoption of the protocols from residents of all ages. For first responders, the common vocabulary and protocols establish a greater predictability that persists through the duration of an incident.

Over the next few weeks we will share the 5 Standard Response Protocols utilized by PfISD.

LOCKDOWN

Lockdown is called when there is a threat or hazard inside the school building. From parental custody disputes to intruders to an active shooter, Lockdown uses classroom security to protect students and staff from threat.

Public Address
The public address for Lockdown is: “Lockdown! Locks, Lights, Out of Sight!” and is repeated twice each time the public address is performed. In the event of Lockdown Drills, the announcement is preceded with the phrase "This is a Drill."

Actions
The Lockdown Protocol demands locking individual classroom doors or other access points, moving room occupants out of line of sight of the corridor windows and having room occupants maintain silence.

There is no call to action to lock the building outside access points. Rather, the protocol advises to leave the perimeter as is. The reasoning is simple - sending staff to lock outside doors exposes them to unnecessary risk and inhibits first responder’s entry into the building.

Teachers and student training reinforces the practice on not opening the classroom door, once in Lockdown. Rather, no indication of occupancy should be revealed until first responders open the door.

Responsibility
The classroom teacher is responsible for implementing Lockdown. The teacher should lock all classroom access points and facilitate moving occupants out of sight. Silent or whispered roll should be taken to determine if attendance has changed since the beginning of class.

Reporter
Lockdown is typically reported by students or staff to the school operator. The operator then invokes the public address and informs administration. It may also be reported to the school operator by local emergency dispatch.

Preparation
Teachers and students should be trained to not open the classroom door until a first responder or school administrator unlocks it. Students, staff and teachers should be advised that a Lockdown may persist for several hours and during an incident, silence is essential.

Drills
Lockdown drills should be performed a minimum of once per year. If possible one of these drills should be performed with local law enforcement personnel participation.

Contingencies
Students and staff who are outside of classrooms during a Lockdown may be faced with the need to get out of sight without the benefit of an empty or open classroom. In this situation, students and staff must be trained to hide or even Evacuate themselves away from the building.

If during a Lockdown an additional hazard manifests inside the school - i.e.: fire, flood, hazmat, then situational decisions must be made. Evacuation to an unplanned location may be required.

Examples of Lockdown Conditions
The following are simply some examples of when a school or emergency dispatch might call for a Lockout.

• Dangerous animal within school building
• Intruder
• Active shooter / Angry or violent parent or student

Join us at Hendrickson High School on Wednesday, Oct.19 from 6-8pm to learn more about all CTE Programs of Study offered in PfISD! This is a FREE event for all ages; we encourage families to come engage in hands-on activities for kids, explore our offerings, hear from experts in postsecondary education, workforce, and career and training programs, and even talk to local training providers and employers! There will be FREE takeaways and lots of fun! The majority of the activities will be led by our amazing high school CTE students across the district. Want to attend? Help us get a headcount and fill out this RSVP form so we can make sure we have enough supplies to go around! See you there!

Click here to access the Survey Monkey Professional Learning Needs Assessment

The purpose of this survey is to increase the responsiveness of the PfISD Professional Learning by assessing current professional learning needs of Pflugerville ISD. The Survey will close on Friday, Oct. 21.

This needs assessment will take approximately 7 - 10 minutes to complete. This survey is anonymous and completely voluntary; your name will not be recorded or linked with your responses.

This survey will contain several sections; one section will target feedback on Summer professional learning; one section will target feedback on professional learning that takes place during the School Year.

The findings from this assessment will be used to inform and enhance district professional learning to meet your interests and needs.

Should you have any questions, please contact Bridgit.Shorter@pfisd.net, Professional Learning Coordinator, Curriculum & Innovation

We love our PfISD staff members and we know our parents do too! We want to provide an opportunity for our parents to publicly recognize and thank our staff members who serve our students, staff and the community. We have created a Google Form to provide information directly to us to share with our staff as a whole and let you see the difference you are making in a student's life every single day. Please click here for the Google Form.

These Shout Outs will be included in upcoming issues of the Parent and Staff Newsletters. If Shout Out directly reference a student, we will not include the parent name so to protect the child's anonymity. If you are recognized in an anonymous Shout Out and want to learn the parent's name, please contact Tamra Spence at tamra.spence@pfisd.net.

THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING PFISD STAFF MEMBERS FOR EVERYTHING THEY DO FO OUR STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY!

Rebecca Ancira of Murchison ES (via Emily A.): Mrs. Ancira is a ray of sunshine to anyone who crosses her path! Always smiling, welcoming & nurturing her students, and overflowing with enthusiasm. With 23 years experience (all at our school), we are incredibly blessed to have her teaching our kids. Her positive energy is incredibly inspiring. We love you, Mrs. Ancira!

Julie Schwarz of Pegasus (via Jessica M.): Julie has gone above and beyond in the last month to work with my family, my child, and my child's Pegasus teacher to help us find solutions to some of his classroom struggles. She is kind, patient, and always responsive. This has been a tough month for our family and for our child's teacher and Julie has worked tirelessly to help support all of us so that we can help get things back on track not only for my child, but for his teachers and his classmates. Thank you Julie!

Ms Russel of Library (via Anonymous): Thank you for allowing my students to go in the library before school and during lunch and making it a safe and welcoming space for them

PACE teachers and support staff (via Sara.): Thank you to ALL the staff and leadership at PACE. Thank you for helping to turn around my teens education! It is without doubt your support of myself and my teen, that has helped to get off to an impressive start! I am excited to see their accomplishments!

Omar Medina of Caldwell ES (via Maria O.): Que es un excelente maestro y es muy dedicado en su trabajo, se esmera por enseñar, no hay palabras para describir lo agradecida que estoy por su paciencia, mil gracias.

Ms. Millar and Ms. Wilkerson of Rowe Lane ES (via Anonymous): We have had quite a number of difficult family events happen lately which has been presenting itself in my child's school behavior. Ms. Millar and Ms. Wilkerson have gone above and beyond to love on my child and develop an action plan to help her. What they don't know is that they have become the village I've needed to raise her when my village fell apart and I couldn't do it without them. I'm so incredibly grateful for them loving on my girl when she needs love the most. Having the peace in knowing that she is in the best hands with them has filled my mama heart in ways I could never express.

Todd Walker of Mott ES (via Lauren K): My son absolutely loves Mr. Walker’s class! In just a few short months, my son has progressed in reading, math and even handwriting. Mr. Walker is very positive, and my son is always excited about going to school. He’s become confident when reading aloud. Thank you, Mr. Walker, for all you are doing for the kids!

Amy Gunter of Mott ES (via Lauren K.): I want to shout out Mrs. Gunter, who works very hard to communicate about what is going on in the classroom and within the school. This information is invaluable as the parent of a kinder student! My son just loves Mrs. Gunter and loves going to school, and we are excited to see how much he’s learning each day. Thank you, Mrs. Gunter!

Erica D’Amato of Mott ES (via Lauren K.): I would like to thank Ms. Erica for all the work she does at Mott EDP. She makes it fun for the children and is great about communicating with parents. The program is always up to something new and fun, like adopting a pet fish. My kids love EDP. Thank you for all that you do!

Hernan Guevara of Riojas ES (via Sylvia B.): I would like to recognize Mr. Guevara for always being kind and engaging with his students. My daughter comes home everyday and talks about how much fun she had in class. I could not be more thankful that she has been blessed with such a wonderful teacher!

Ms. Melissa Malone of Pflugerville ES (via Zenaida P.): My student is new to Ms. Malone and PFISD this year. He is already showing major progress having been in her class only a few weeks. His demeanor has drastically changed and it's all due to a strong teacher. I have to give her kudos due to the fact that my son was able to come home and sign into his Skyward account and show me his grades all on his own!! This has never happened where he was at previously. Showing students responsibility and taking initiative to keep track of their grades. Thank you Ms. Malone!!!

Mr. Zachary Sauter-Pike of Mott ES (via Daniel D.): Mr. Pike has been an invaluable resource in understanding student needs while applying knowledge of school processes and requirements to teaching. His ability to assess those needs against school requirements enables a seamless and consistent communication with parents which has led to my confidence in his ability to teach required materials without our child ever having to consider the thought of being left out or behind in development. Our child returns home every day with excitement from learned material. With the resources available, we can communicate with our child about the school day and follow progress in near real-time. He takes consistent and accurate notes, informs us of upcoming events, and explains everything in a transparent manner. Our child sees school as a fun learning event which makes parenting a student much easier. Our child is eager to go to school which makes home preparation and reading an effortless project. We are grateful for his efforts and commitment to students.

Christie Crouch of Brookhollow ES (via Tom H.): Mrs. Crouch has been so warm and welcoming since school started. She went out of her way to make sure our kiddo was ok when their bus was late in the drop off. She is also very attentive to whatever concerns we have and always makes sure to let us know that she is always available to talk should the need arise. We can tell that our kiddo is very happy to be in her class. She is very gifted at creating an open, warm and positive learning environment. Thank you Mrs. Crouch!

Ms. Burgess of Case Manager (via Lolita S.): Connects with the students and listening to parents concerns. Overall wonderful soul inside.

Janie Rodriguez of Highland Park ES (via Anonymous): Mrs. Rodriguez is such an amazing teacher. You can truly tell that she loves her students and they love her. We are truly blessed to have her in our lives.

Mrs. Robertson of Highland Park ES (via Felicia K.): I'm very pleased with the progress my child has made with Mrs. Robertson in her reading, writing and math. Mrs. Robertson works hard to meet the individual growth needs of the students and is very organized. She is a wonderful, kind and effective teacher. Thanks for all you do!

Tania Gallegos of Windermere ES (via Karissa S.): Ms. Gallegos is a wonderful teacher in the Pegasus class. She is so patient and understanding and most of all cares so much for our kids. My grandson is excelling in her class and has made lots of progress with her guidance. Thank you for all you do and mentoring your team in your caring style.

Krystal McMahan of Pflugerville MS (via Julie M.): I have a 7th grader… the 2nd child .. so if you know you know. This amazing Woman has had incredible patience and I believe loves my girl. I know how tough it has to be to be a Teacher especially after the Pandemic and these kiddos getting used to freedom and hundreds of other kids…. She’s a winner!! She’s appreciated and loved by me by far!! She has been REAL with my kiddo and this child turned around the last 2 days! 2 in a row is huge right now as we take it day by day. Thank you Coach Mc!! By the way… she not only teaches Texas History, she coaches AND.. she’s pregnant!! Thank you times a million! ❤️❤️❤️

Kim Quarles of Spring Hill ES (via Trina B.): Mrs. Quarles has helped my daughter read better, and learn techniques to help with her dyslexia. She is very supportive and encouraging and my daughter loves to read now. She always looks forward to going to Mrs. Quarles classroom to learn.

Drop-off team of Carpenter ES (via Cindy S.): Thank you Coach, teachers, staff & students who help with drop off and traffic. Everyone is always smiling and efficient, helping start our mornings with the right mindset. Your daily efforts do not go unnoticed!

Mrs. Jennifer Coleman of Carpenter ES (via Cindy S.): Mrs. Coleman is not only an amazing librarian but a wonderful GT teacher. My kid gets genuinely excited for library or flex days, even over summer break Mrs Coleman found a way to reach and inspire the kiddos to read. Thank you!!!

Culinary Arts students at Connally High School enjoyed a very busy week last week. On Wednesday, 55 students attended the Culinary Arts Career Conference sponsored by the Texas Food & Wine Alliance, held at the Palmer Events Center in downtown Austin. This one-day conference gives Texas high school Culinary Arts students the opportunity to learn and gain inspiration through direct connection with Culinary professionals from a broad spectrum of career paths in the food & beverage industry. Max Frisbie, the Culinary Director for Mill Scale Metalworks, is featured in the photo during a demo regarding smoking meats.

On Thursday, a select group of Culinary students catered the district CTE Industry Leadership Council luncheon for 100+ business, industry & postsecondary partners, and had the opportunity to connect with leaders in the community, including the National Director of High School Admissions for Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. The students earned great hands-on experience through this Work-based Learning experience, while also representing their program and showing off their skills to community partners.

Band

Congrats to the Connally High School and Pflugerville High School marching bands who both made finals at the Lost Pines Marching Contest! CHS placed 8th in finals, and PHS placed 3rd in finals.

Way to go Weiss High School and Hendrickson High School marching bands for great performances at the Texas Marching Classic! Weiss placed 17th overall. Hendrickson made finals and placed 7th overall.

All four of our high school marching bands earned a Division I at the UIL Region Marching competition! Best of luck to each of them as they move on to their Area Marching competitions. Connally, Hendrickson, and Pflugerville bands will compete with the other 5A schools at The Pfield on October 22nd, and Weiss will compete with the other 6A schools at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio on October 29th.

Theatre

Dessau Middle School had their first Thespian induction ceremony this past Friday. Great things are happening in their theatre program!

Visual Arts

The Hendrickson High School art club did an amazing job at the Round Rock Chalk Walk last Friday and Saturday. Congrats on taking 3rd place in the high school division for the “Sky - Is it a Moon or a Sun” design!

Volleyball: District Play Standings

• 5A Hendrickson HS: 8-1 (Currently 2nd Place)
• 6A Weiss HS: 6-2 (Currently 2nd Place)
• 5A Pflugerville HS: 4-5 (Currently 4th Place)
• 5A Connally HS: 3-6 (Currently 5th Place)

Football: WHS dominated Copperas Cove for their Homecoming game last week.

CONGRATS to Ms. Angela Matysek from WHS for being recognized for her commitment and service to our students and our athletic community. THSCA and CFP Extra Yard for Teachers Recognition Program will recognize her at Friday’s game.

Fun Fact: Last Thursday was National Coaches Day!!! I want to personally say THANK YOU to all the PfISD Coaches who work so hard for our student athletes, I appreciate you so much!!!

Cross Country: Its District TIME!!! HHS, CHS, PHS will run Oct. 14 in Pflugerville. GOOD LUCK to ALL the Runners!!!

Team Tennis Playoffs: GOOD LUCK to all our teams!!!

Middle School Athletics:

Cross Country

Girls District Champion: Kelly Lane (25 pts), 2nd Place: Cele (31 pts.), 3rd Place: Park Crest (82 pts.) Boys District Champion: Kelly Lane (36 pts.), 2nd Place: Cele (41 pts.), 3rd Place: Park Crest (117 pts.) Girls Champion: Morgan Nelson (9:57/KLMS) Boys Champion: Dean Larsen (8:36/CMS)

PfISD “Sonic/A+ Credit Union Coach of the Month”

Chris Daley of CHS (Head CC Coach): “Exceptional in the Academic realm and growing a program”

PfISD JV Coach of the Month

Coach Elliott of Park Crest