Work Hours

For the 2020-2021 school year, the school district incorporated 15 additional minutes at the start of the school day and 15 minutes at the end of the school day. The original reason for this change was to alot time for COVID-19 screenings and other safety measures necessary as we navigated the pandemic. In speaking with school leaders as well as teachers, there is merit in continuing to maintain those same hours. Some teachers in the Teacher Leadership Council meeting spoke in favor of continuing the additional time at the start and end of the school day to provide an opportunity to work with kids with learning gaps. Another teacher said teachers already arrive early and stay later each day to support students and complete other work outside of the regular school day; so the time difference was not even noticeable for them. The plan at this moment for the 2021-2022 school year is to continue with the added 15 minutes to start the work day and additional 15 minutes at the end of the day. 

Safety Protocols

It’s apparent that safety protocols for the 2021-2022 school year will look different. The school district is currently reviewing proposed changes based on the increased number of people who are receiving the COVID vaccination, recommendations by health officials and executive orders initiated by the state’s governor. At this point, we plan to return to face-to-face instruction but also offer a virtual option for a select number of 11th and 12th grade students at Duncanville HIgh School as part of a Virtual Instruction Program (VIP). Those students will need to apply and show that they are able to excel in a virtual learning environment. Teachers for those students’ classes will have to provide instruction simultaneously in virtual and in-person settings.  

Many of the same safety protocols will be in place. Although masks and face coverings will not be required based on the executive order recently issued by the governor, we will strongly encourage the use of face coverings by staff, students and others who come on school property. Health screenings will not be required each day but may be incorporated periodically as needed. Hand sanitizing stations, handheld misters, desk shields, face shields and other personal protective equipment will still be provided to staff and students.

Compensation is regularly a topic of discussion, especially at this time of the school year as budget planning is occurring and teachers are looking at available employee opportunities. Anytime compensation is mentioned, it’s important to note that Duncanville ISD is not on a step schedule, which provides incremental increases each year. Duncanville ISD staff receive pay increases only when the board of trustees approves raises. In some cases that’s a benefit because pay can increase quicker through board decisions than scheduled increases. Over the past six years, the board provided pay increases four times - 2019/2020, 2017/2018, 2016/2017 and 2015/2016. In the two years where raises were not provided, one-time payments were provided to all staff. When there has been an opportunity in the budget to make a difference with pay adjustments, that has been done and will continue to be a goal.

The budget planning process for 2021-2022 is currently underway and compensation is big part of that discussion. The board of trustees is considering this topic and expected to make a decision by the end of June. Pay has a big impact on our teachers remaining in the school district and attracting teachers to our district. We’ll continue to work to stay competitive and reward our teachers who have committed to Duncanville ISD. 

The school district is looking at opportunities that could provide alternate pay options taking into account additional factors. We have submitted interest in Cohort D of the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA). TIA allows school districts to create compensation plans for teachers based on teacher effectiveness and student equity.

Our current model is a set stipend for 7 of 8 and 8 of 8 teachers.  In some districts, teachers teach 7 of 8 class periods as the standard for the school day with one period off for planning. Each district handles the extra periods differently based on the model they use. As we continue to have compensation studies, we will add this as an item to research.

Information has been shared with campus leaders regarding the process for collecting all loaner technology devices that have been provided to students. The timeline is to complete this collection shortly after school ends so the devices can be cleaned, reset and redistributed back to the campuses. You can expect to hear more about this in the coming days as details of the on-campus process and device drop-off locations are publicized. 

For Summer School, the plan is to utilize technology devices on-campus only and through cart-based distribution.

We are rebuilding the plan left by the previous Chief Technology Officer to account for the large number of devices purchased last year as a response to the pandemic. There is still a plan to have student one-to-one computing across the district within the next few years, but we are looking for ways to decrease this timeline at every opportunity. 

At this time, program research indicates that AVID is cost-prohibitive for the district. Currently, the Collegiate Academy and Duncanville HIgh School offer a comparative innovative course: Methodology for Academic and Personal Success (MAPS). In this course, students will explore the options available in high school, higher education, and the professional world in order to establish both immediate and long-range personal goals. After identifying their individual learning styles and abilities, students will build on these abilities by developing critical time-management, organization and study skills. The course focuses on self-understanding, decision-making, resiliency, attitude, character education, and leadership to help students maximize personal achievement.

The Duncanville ISD COVID-19 dashboard provides data on active cases, which is the most valuable detail for staff and families. Providing active cases also mirrors that information that TEA is interested in with their statewide data along with Dallas County Health and Human Services  Because the dashboard reports active cases, the numbers will change as new cases are reported and people who have been quarantined due to a positive COVID-19 case returns to work and is removed from the dashboard. The dashboard is updated each day, which means new cases are added and prior cases are removed as employees return to work. 

The employee screening process starts with a staff member receiving a lab-confirmed positive case of COVID-19 and reporting that to Human Resources. A Human Resources employee talks to that person to verify information and provide information about being on leave. If there are others who are possibly exposed, those individuals receive a notification with directions on how to proceed. The final step is that a campus-wide notification is sent by email. 

In addition to positive cases, there are employees who have been in "close contact" with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 and is required to quarantine as a precaution. In that case, they would not be an active case noted on the public COVID-19 dashboard on the website.

The information is being maintained in the same manner for students on the COVID-19 dashboard.