April 3, 2024

Elementary Teacher of the Month

Emily Little, reading specialist at Dillingham Elementary School, was the March Elementary Teacher of the Month. Little has a wealth of knowledge in the area of reading. She assists at-risk students and they have shown several success stories throughout the school year, making progress consistently. As the Dillingham RTI, or Response To Intervention, lead, Mrs. Little demonstrates leadership with students, colleagues, and community members in the school, district and community through effective communication and outreach.

Secondary Teacher of the Month

The March Secondary Teacher of the Month is Christopher Preskitt, lead teacher and science teacher at DAEP. Preskitt is always looking for ways to help students and meet them where they are at in the curriculum and in life. He works to help students understand science concepts at various levels, builds rapport with all, and has a great understanding of classroom management. At DAEP, he is the core of the program and provides a great example in leadership to his team. Preskitt is always looking for ways to improve the program.

Employee of the Month

Linnea Williams, instructional coach and digital learning specialist at Perrin Early Childhood Center, is the March Employee of the Month. Williams has long served the SISD early childhood community, first as a teacher at Fred Douglass, and then as a charter member of Perrin when the school opened three years ago. She has helped create a solid foundation for educators by designing curriculum elements, designing brochures for families about what to expect in school-family partnership, and leading new ways to engage with families and communities.

Volunteer of the Month

The March Volunteer of the Month is Donna Jones at Crutchfield Elementary School. Mrs. Jones brought her many years of nursing experience straight to Crutchfield students to educate and support them through an essential health awareness initiative project. Her commitment to raising awareness about strokes and the importance of recognizing stroke symptoms through the FAST acronym has been truly commendable. Her warm and nurturing presence, coupled with her unwavering dedication, has left a lasting impression on the Gifted & Talented class at Crutchfield.

All Sherman ISD students will participate in learning activities related to the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8. Eighth grade students, along with Sherman High School students in Astronomy, Environmental Science and Advanced Placement science classes will have the opportunity to view the eclipse outdoors with certified solar viewing classes, weather permitting, so long as they return a signed permission form. Students in other classes and grade levels will experience the eclipse through a live broadcast from NASA and will be involved in activities connecting this event to cross-curricular learning.

The professional exchange days this year are April 1 and April 29. To receive these days off, staff members must submit documentation for at least 12 hours of staff development, completed outside of the workday. Summer professional development, the annual required trainings, and school retreats can count toward these 12 hours. 

These exchange days do not apply to all positions. Please reach out to your supervisor or Human Resources at 903-891-6410 if you have questions.

If your summer plans include working or attending professional development, you have the opportunity to take advantage of free childcare for your children! Sherman ISD offers care for children who have completed kindergarten through fifth grade. The camp offers a variety of enriching activities to keep your child active, and free breakfast and lunch will be provided. Bearcat Day Camp is hosted at Neblett Elementary and runs 7 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. It starts May 28 and ends August 2. Staff members’ children do not need to attend Sherman ISD to participate and may attend on a daily or weekly basis as needed.

Automated emails will go out this month with instructions for renewing your contract for the 2024-25 school year. These messages will include a date by which you need to accept or decline. 

School-based staff whose contracts are not being renewed should have already been notified by their campus principal.

The transfer window to submit requests to another SISD campus is open in Frontline (TEAMS) Employee Service Center and will remain open through May 17. Please make sure you notify your supervisor/principal if you are requesting a transfer. Transfers are only approved based on the following:

1. Need - specifically student, campus, or program/department area need
2. Agreement between supervisors (both the sending and receiving campus)
3. Budget impact

Sherman ISD will be hosting the Bearcat Palooza learning conference July 16-18 at Sherman High School! There will be sessions covering topics related to PK-12, fine arts, PE, CTE, SPED, bilingual and more, and there will be chances to network with other area educators as Bearcat Palooza will be open to surrounding districts.

Graduation is a major milestone for students and their families, and Sherman High School and Jefferson Learning Center offer the opportunity for SISD employees who have a graduating senior in the Class of 2024 to present their child’s diploma during graduation on May 24.

To participate, please complete this form by May 13 and wait for a confirmation email from Suzi Richardson. Only one employee parent or legal guardian will be permitted to participate due to the lack of space on the staging area. You are also requested to attend a graduation practice on May 24 at 9:30 a.m., and please bring your ID badge to the practice.

The graduation ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. on May 24.

The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming School Board election is tomorrow, April 4. You can register to vote or update your voter registration information at votetexas.gov.

Early voting begins April 22 and ends April 30, and Election Day is on Saturday, May 4. Places 1 and 2 on the Sherman ISD Board of Trustees will be on the ballot along with other local races. Grayson College also has a $456.5 million bond election that would provide new facilities and infrastructure with no impact to the tax rate.

If you are planning to retire at the end of your current contract, please notify Human Resources as soon as possible and no later than April 5. You can contact Human Resources Specialist Alicia Lopez at alopez@shermanisd.net or (903) 891-6410 ext. 2025. 

Sherman ISD will be honoring all of this year’s retirees during a dinner on May 21. Save the date and look for more details coming soon! 

Did you know the district pays for a telehealth benefit for all benefit-eligible employees and their qualified dependents through Recuro Health? You can register for services using the app, going to their website or by calling 855-673-2876. Use your Social Security number as your member ID when setting your account up. There is no cost to have or use this benefit. The only cost to you will be prescriptions written by the physician. For more information, visit their website at recurohealth.com.

SISD Communications wants to share all the exciting things happening in our campus classrooms from cool lessons to community involvement, and we need your help!

Please fill out the form at www.shermanisd.net/story-submission and tell us about an upcoming lesson or activity that we could highlight with photos, videos, or social media posts. We know there is amazing learning happening on our campuses every day, and we want to capture it and share it with the community!

Ever wonder if you are using the correct district logo or colors? Whether you have the updated SISD letterhead or PowerPoint presentation?

To ensure the Sherman ISD brand is consistent across the district, the Communications Department has made a brand toolkit at www.shermanisd.net/internalresources available to Sherman ISD staff. Inside you’ll find updated campus and district logos, photos taken and used by the Communications team, document templates and more. Templates are also built-in inside Google Docs, Google Slides and Google Forms as well, so be sure to look for them in the template gallery when creating a new document! If you need to double check district colors, you can go to www.shermanisd.net/logos to find color information alongside some of our logos!

Spring on the Square

April 13, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Enjoy the warmer weather by visiting downtown Sherman!

Vendors and booths will be set up

Farmer's Market will be open

Texoma Earth Day Festival

April 20, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Sherman Municipal Ballroom

& Kidd Key Park

Taking recyclables!

Featuring Trashion Fashion, Vendors, and More!

Lions Club Car Show

April 27, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

903 Brewers, 1718 S. Elm Street

Proceeds benefit diabetic support in SISD

Sherman Parks & Recreation Swim Lessons

Offering swim lessons for all ages!

Sessions are morning, evening

Runs through June and July

Hosted at The Splash Family Aquatic Center