24
Faculty & Staff Achievements
Plano ISD employees captured numerous awards and honors and served as leaders within their professional organizations during the
2012-13 school year. A few of their many accomplishments are featured here.
BE BRIGHT
|
BE BOLD
|
BELONG
Richard Matkin with 2013
Superintendent’s Service
Award winners Monica Pilcher,
Plano ISD Employee Childcare
Center II secretary; Neenu
Suri, Stinson Elementary
School special education
teacher assistant; Janet
Johnson, Plano West Senior
High School curriculum
secretary; and Ara Jackson,
Armstrong Middle School food
service manager.
2013 Superintendent’s Service Award Winners
Winners of the 2013 Superintendent’s Service Awards were announced at the 48th Annual Plano ISD Service & Retirement
Banquet held in April 2013 at Southfork Ranch. These outstanding employees were selected from among
60 fellow nominees for the annual award for going beyond the call of duty in performing their job
responsibilities and demonstrating outstanding loyalty to Plano ISD. Also honored at the annual
employee banquet were retiring employees and hundreds of staff members with 15, 20, 25, 30, 35
and 40 years of service to Plano schools.
PWSH Orchestra Director Named Finalist for First-Ever
GRAMMY Music Educator Award
Plano West Senior High School’s Jo Wallace-Abbie captured
finalist standing in the first-ever GRAMMY Music Educator
Award competition. Nominated by a current student, Ms.
Wallace-Abbie is one of only 10 music teachers from 24 cities
across 15 states to be announced as a finalist. The 55th Annual
GRAMMY Awards Music Educator nominations were open to current
United States music teachers. One winner will be recognized at the
2014 GRAMMY Awards event for his/her remarkable impact. “I love
seeing teenagers enjoy playing beautiful music,” said Ms. Wallace-Abbie. “I
believe in teaching the whole child. I try to make my class a haven for them and
get to know each student on a personal basis.”
2013 Texas Nurse of the Year Shares Her Gifts with Carlisle Elementary School Community
Judith Grace, RN, is a nurse’s nurse – a cheerleader for the school nursing profession. “We have
the best job in the world,” said the 2013 Texas Nurse of the Year who shares her passion daily
with the community of Carlisle Elementary School. Judie joined Plano ISD in 2007, serving five
years at Renner Middle School before joining the Carlisle team in 2012. “Once Judie arrived
in Plano ISD, she rose to a leadership role from the beginning,” said Megan Schuler, RN, BSN,
coordinator for district health services. “She quickly became known as the ‘go to’ person and
utilized her assessment skills, her previous experience and her knowledge base to affect the lives
of those she worked with – children and their families, staff and colleagues.”
Susan
Dantzler,
executive director
for elementary campus
services, topped the
awards list with 40
years of distinguished
service to Plano
schools.
25
Human Resources Executive Director Named State Personnel
Administrator of the Year
Plano ISD Executive Director and Chief Human Resources
Officer Tamira Griffin captured the Texas Association of Personnel
Administrators’ 2012-13 Dr. Mary Hopkins TASPA Administrator
of the Year Award. Ms. Griffin oversees functions such as employee
contracts, personnel records, pay, substitutes, benefits, school health,
workers’ compensation, occupational health, recruitment, employee
relations, HR legal issues, position inventory, HR administration and
supervision of reception areas at central office, Shiloh, and Cox
administration buildings.
Director Named Certified Education Technology Leader
Dan Armstrong, executive director of technology operations, is one
of 90 education professionals in the U.S. to achieve the Certified
Education Technology Leader (CETL)™ certification in 2013. The
Tamira Griffin (standing center) with colleagues Andrea Hoffman and
Jun Melvin (seated) and Welch Vizzo, Becky Wussow, Suzanne Drotman
certification is one way to ensure a deep understanding of all facets of
and John Burdett.
educational technology leadership. Dan’s entire 23-year technology
career has been dedicated to education technology and Plano ISD.
As executive director, he manages a department of 33 people who support the district’s technology infrastructure, applications,
TEAMS, business intelligence, Help Desk services, telecommunications and deployment services.
District Professional Development Initiatives
The district conducts learning activities for staff throughout the year. Nationally recognized experts with critical messages, such
as Eric Jensen and Marcia Tate, on brain-based instruction and Patrick Briggs on connecting and motivating students from all
backgrounds, challenge staff to integrate current research into their practice. Following are topics for professional development
offered by Plano ISD.
Cultural Competency – Attended by all employees to improve relationships with students, parents, the community and colleagues.
Mentor Program – All new teachers are paired with a mentor teacher at their campus.
ESL Certification – Elementary teachers are completing requirements for state English
as a Second Language (ESL) supplemental certification.
Gifted and Talented – Experience for teachers to complement existing curriculum
training.
Summer Learning – Optional multi-day professional development opportunity
attended by approximately 1,600 elementary faculty and staff in 2013.
Curriculum Design Projects – An
opportunity for secondary teachers to
perfect their instructional design skills.
Team Leader Academy –
Approximately 100 team leaders,
department chairs and future leaders
from each campus attend this annual
weeklong training.
Professional Learning Communities
– Teachers and campus administrators
collaborate to investigate, research and
develop action plans to address local
student needs.
PD 360° – Library of professional videos
focused on work of internationally
acclaimed experts and educators in
classrooms across the nation.
Plano ISD’s assessment and accountability department
hosted the 6th Annual Texas MAP Users’ Conference at
which 260 educators met at the district’s Sockwell Center
to learn about the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress)
test related to student success. Plano ISD employee hosts
at the Texas MAP Users’ Conference included Michael
Lindsey, Bowman Middle School teacher, and assessment and
accountability teammates Lydia Li, Jeannette Ginther, Dr.
Paul Dabbs, Sandi Youngblood, Jennifer Ruth and Dr. Dash
Weerasinghe, executive director.