May 24, 2023 edition

Share appreciation and gratitude for a fellow CIS employee. Giving a shout out is a great way to recognize an individual or group for their extra effort and talent, and to contribute to a culture of appreciation, community, and kindness.

Employee Excellence Nominee Spotlight: Crystal Jones

“Through my experience and being new with CIS; Crystal has helped me in so many ways. She has shown me what my role actually is and she listens whenever I have questions or concerns. I was starting to get overwhelmed and she pulled me to the side and just talked with me and ensured I was taking care of myself. I wished everyone had a "Crystal" on their team.” 

Employee Excellence Nominee Spotlight: Julia Smith

“Julia will seek and find a way to make a dream a reality for her students and school community. Julia will reach out to her local community church to support in a crunch. find a way hire a Mariachi Band for a school fair, or a donation for a spring garden, Julia finds a way to make it happen. On a recent trip to central office, Julia saw a young man having car trouble and offered to help. He needed to get to a job interview but was nervous and unsure about the opportunity. She assisted both in his nervousness and jumping his car battery. After many attempts she offered to pay for the young man's Uber. We don't know what happened to the young man, but I'm glad he had a chance to speak with Julia about his reservations, and Julia was still on time to her workshop unfazed. In such a short time your impact has been felt at ABS and on the Lockhart/Elgin team. You do it all, leading with kind heart. You expect excellence daily and make it all look so effortless.”

Nominate someone for Employee Excellence. Click here for the form and here to learn about employee recognition & appreciation at CIS of Central Texas. 



The deadline to nominate is May 26^th and excellence awards will be announced at our August All-Staff.

We strongly encourage staff to sign up on Auzmor to get the zoom link, but we have share the link freely too to give opportunity to staff to join the day of if they can.

The Auzmor Event is link:

https://ciscentraltexas.learn.auzmor.com/user/events/6272/detail

The Zoom Link info:

Time: Jun 12, 2023 02:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/91441158075?pwd=WG5LczdXNjg2YU5kMUo2b3hsemJuZz09

Meeting ID: 914 4115 8075

Passcode: n42qQ1

New CIS Central Office and Training Center Office Hours

Learn about where we are with the new building project and see renderings and floor plans.

May 25th 2:00-3:00 p.m.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85304316577?pwd=OGcwKyswamhLSFlRMUlpcDZ6UDR6Zz09

Meeting ID: 853 0431 6577

Passcode: k5hx9E

2023 Voluntary Resignation Notice Incentive Program

Communities In Schools is in the business of serving kids. To ensure CIS of Central Texas has sufficient time to properly hire, train and place professionals on sites to provide continuity of services to kids at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, CIS is offering a one-time incentive to eligible campus and community-based employees who submit notice of their voluntary resignation during the period of May 22 through June 2, 2023. 

Click here for a brief overview of the program. And here is the full agreement with information about the voluntary program including eligibility requirements and timelines. Dian scheduled two Zoom Info/Q&A sessions to answer questions about the program including why CIS is offering this program and everything you’d want to know about eligibility, timelines and implementation.

Tuesday, May 23, 8:30am – 9:15am

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81845864919?pwd=VnBkYXZXdTQrOGtjdTJ1aWdZRlVHZz09

Friday, May 26, 8:30am – 9:15am

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85252186606?pwd=dkxqaXRTeW9lOVBWelZ1VU0ya2Ewdz09

Sign Up for a Checkout Meeting

Sign-ups are open for Checkout Meetings in June and July; if you are a direct service staff on the Campus Based Services team, please sign up for this required touchpoint about student data before you depart for summer break.

PMD Support & Resources

• Come to Office Hours on Fridays from 2:00-3:00pm
• Join the Performance Measures Team Channel for previously shared guidance, resources, and real time FAQs
• Email [email protected] to request support or CIS-NAV changes

Mental Health and Wellness Department



The National School Social Work Census is the first of its kind and will provide invaluable information about the current state of the profession across the United States. By participating, you will be helping to shape the future of the profession and inform the development of policy and practice. SSWAA encourages all School Social Workers across the US to take part in this survey and help create a more accurate picture of the profession. Your participation will help shape the future of School Social Work and make sure that School Social Workers are represented.

Our May Member Recognition Event is coming up on Friday, May 26^th at the Asian American Resource Center, located at 8401 Cameron Rd, Austin, TX 78754. Program Managers and other CIS staff are welcome to Join us for lunch from 11:30-12:30 and stay to celebrate and appreciate our AmeriCorps Members. Members will also be sharing about their Service-Learning Projects through a gallery walk.

College and Career Success Department

Click here to find a list of scholarships that are currently available to Seniors! This link will be updated throughout the school year as more scholarships become available. If you and your Senior would like some support completing any scholarship application, please reach out to Jami Herrera with the College and Career Success Department at [email protected]

Click to download the application!

https://www.summerfandrive.org/need-heat-relief

Two free events in celebration of Great Outdoors Month!

Representation in the Outdoors: Where Are We Now and What’s Next?

Kick off Great Outdoors Month with Explore Austin at Patagonia! Refreshments will be followed by an hour-long panel discussion on diversity and inclusion in the outdoors. Our panelists will share their experiences and insights on how to make the outdoors more welcoming and accessible to all across racial, ethnic, gender, socioeconomic and physical-ability barriers, part of the Explore Austin mission.

This event also features a chance to win exciting Patagonia and Explore Austin swag with 100% of donations going to Explore Austin. Here's how to enter the raffle*:

• Go here to donate to Explore Austin ($5/raffle ticket - buy as many as you'd like!)
• Show us your donation confirmation at the event in exchange for your raffle tickets
• Winners will be announced at the conclusion of the evening.

Must be present at the event to win.

Event Details:

Tuesday, June 6 | 6:30-8:00 pm

Patagonia, 316 Congress Ave | Austin, TX 78701

Free & Open to the Public

Moderated by: David Buggs, MBA | Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Panelists:

Josie Gutierrez | San Antonio Regional Coordinator, Latino Outdoors

Thurman Hogan | Operations Manager, Black Outside

Ariel Marlowe | Community Founder, Bottom Bracket Boys

Tanya Walker | Founder, Black Women Who

Nature as Our Teacher: Youth Benefits of Outdoor Education

June 8 is National Get Outdoors Day! Celebrate with a kid-friendly program hosted by Explore Austin at Huston-Tillotson University.

Refreshments and interactive activities from Keep Austin Beautiful will be followed by a 45-minute panel discussion on the benefits of the outdoors on youth development, with a focus on how time in nature helps us be healthier, more creative, more empathetic, and more apt to engage in the world and with each other.

Event Details:

Thursday, June 8 | 5:00-7:00 pm

Huston-Tillotson University – King-Seabrook Chapel, 900 Chicon St | Austin, TX 78702

Free & Open to the Public

Panelists:

Demekia Biscoe, PhD | Director of Education, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Christine Norton, PhD, LCSW | Professor, Texas State University School of Social Work & Research Scientist, Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Center

The winner of the Apple drawing for a Target gift card is

Lindsey Knowles !

AmeriCorps member Itai Almor reads their new kids book Sasha & the City of Whispers aloud to Smart Kids elementary schoolers. Reach out to Itai if you want to snag a copy!

Cook PM Jenn Esparza and AmeriCorps Member Dana Mondragon getting ready to lead K-5^th grade students in Cook’s field day “Relaxation Station”. Students were encouraged to take a break, get some water, and/or participate in yoga led by CIS. 

Cook ES PM Jenn Esparza and a student doing the “rainbow” pose. 

Overton Elementary End of year celebration with the AmeriCorps team, we got some Birria tacos! (Current AmC: Braden Rosen) and (Past AmC: Savannah Flores). 

Team Elgin - Lockhart joined forces to enjoy Casa del Miel for the day. Not pictured but missed, Julia Smith ABS, Raymond Mclain LHS, Perla Huerta and Nathan R AMC

Communities In Schools of Central Texas surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.