September 13, 2023 edition

Shout Outs

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.  

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

Finance Department Update

Finance is preparing to close Fiscal Year 2023, What does this mean? It means that all transactions related to FY23 must be recorded by Friday, September 15.

All August DIVVY transactions must be completed and approved by end of day Friday, September 15th

Any invoices related to FY23 must be submitted to [email protected] by Friday September 15^th

Reimbursements to [email protected] by Friday September 15^th.

Thank you to all who have already completed their transactions.

Having transactions recorded in a timely manner helps assure that CISCT will have a clean audit.

Best practice for mileage reimbursements:

When submitting mileage to supervisor for approval, include in the email subject line your name and mileage month example “C Brown September mileage”. Also, name your saved mileage worksheet the same way. Example “CBrown_September_Mileage_Reimbursement”.

Supervisors when submitting your approval to [email protected] copy the staff member.

This will help the finance dept. to process your requests.

Thank you in advance.

NEW RESOURCE - Apollo Walkthrough Videos

• We have put together short videos of Apollo functions based on topics covered in Apollo 101 and 102 training. Please use these videos, paired with the Apollo FAQ doc and the Apollo manual, to reinforce the topics we covered in training over the last few weeks. The videos are linked through the Apollo FAQ doc as well. 

Delay in Support This Week

• Our team is working extra hard to get all the EOY assessment data into CIS-NAV so that we can meet a hard deadline for TEA at the end of this week. It may take us a little longer than typical to respond to support tickets. We will be reviewing our support tickets each day and responding to critical issues as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

PMD Supports Available

• PMD Office Hours are Mondays 3-4pm and Fridays 8-9am via Teams.
• Email [email protected] if you need support, have questions, or have a feature request/suggestion.
• Apollo FAQs is a new document that contains answers to commonly asked questions. PMD will update this on a weekly basis.

CISCT Job Openings



Click here for a list of available positions!

MH & W Department Updates

Field instructors and Task supervisors: Here is a great series of presentations to help support your supervision of interns.

September 7, 12 – 1p

“Fostering Interprofessional Engagement and Communication with Students” with Professors

Joan Assef and Saran Sloan

Register here

October 4, 12 – 1p

“Supporting Structured and Robust Internships” with Professors Mary Beer and Robin Smith

Register here



November 6, 12 – 1p

“Self-Sustaining/Resiliency/Supporting Student Work/Life Balance” with Dr. Eboni Calbow and Anita Guajardo

Register here

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Click the link for some information and resources related to this important issue.

Suicide Prevention Quarterly Newsletter (PDF)

Campus Visits 2023-24

Campus Visit Hosts Needed 2023-24

CISCT hosts four Campus Visits during the school year to provide an immersive experience by connecting prospective and key stakeholders with the CIS mission through first-hand accounts of students, CIS staff, and administrators. Stakeholders include donors, advocates, and volunteers. The Campus Visit is NOT a fundraiser. 

This year we are introducing the opportunity for Program Managers to nominate themselves or Program Directors to nominate their Program Managers to host a Campus Visit. Click the link below to learn more about Campus Visit criteria, see the dates selected for 2023-24, and nominate a Program Manager.

“Our Campus Visit was exciting! I was a bit nervous at first. But the Development Team was always available for my questions and made it easier with their planning guidelines. And my students had a blast as panelists and greeters. Having lunch delivered to them on campus was a bonus!”-- Emelda Hinojosa Hays CISD

Campus Visit Host Nominations

Strong Voices Fall Cohort Starts soon.. Sign up in Auzmor.

Impact Austin has a program called Girls Giving Grants (G3) where girls in grades 8-12 can come together to research causes in their community and make a collective grant to a youth serving non-profit. There is a membership fee, but they are looking to diversify their G3 group and have scholarships available for students that cannot afford the fee. Bimonthly Sunday meetings at Bertha Sadler Means. Click here to learn more

Central Texas Dyslexia Conference 2023—Hosted by Austin ISD

Virtual: October 6-20, 2023

The ninth annual dyslexia conference brings together researchers, parents, dyslexia therapists, teachers, related service providers, advocates, and other professionals to build understanding and application of improved support and services for students with dyslexia.

This year’s conference will be virtual, on demand, and as always FREE for educators, families, and professionals starting Friday October 6, 2023.

Featured Presentations by:

• Jessica R. Toste, PhD, Associate Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
• Google
• Austin ISD Dyslexia Services
• Austin ISD Assistive Technology 
• Austin ISD Special Education 

Contacts

General Conference Information:

Suzann P. Vera, M.S. Ed., LDT, SLDS, CALT-QI

[email protected]

Click here to learn about registration

Congrats this weeks Winner of a Chipotle gift card is Mahira Jiwani!

Program Manager Gabbie Vargas at Martin Middle School's Back to School Night!

SmartKids hosted kick off events at Booker T. Washington, Bouldin Oaks, Meadowbrook, and Santa Rita last week. Regular after school programming begins this week!

CIS Program Manager Maria Balleza speaking with parents at a recent "Coffee with the Principal at Cook ES". 

“The new and complete AmeriCorps team during Member Orientation Service Training (MOST)!”

PM Nadia Bastien at Dobie Middle School's Back to School Night. CIS had a photo booth/ info session table to connect with families and students. Dobie Teachers and Principal also enjoyed the photo booth.

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