One-Time Salary Payment

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD’s one-time salary payment will be paid in two disbursements:  December 2019 and June 2020. 

The December disbursement will be distributed on Thursday, December 19, 2019. The one-time salary payment will be processed through payroll and direct deposited to the banking information on the employee’s record.  If necessary, this payment will be prorated on the employee’s calendar/schedule.

Transfers for Children of District Employees

The deadline for full-time district employees to submit a new transfer request for their child is Monday, June 1, 2015. Full-time district employees who are eligible to receive benefits may transfer their child to most schools in the district. This includes students new to CFISD, and/or any student who will be new to a different campus (ex. Pre-K, kindergarten, sixth- and ninth-grade students). 

After June 1, transfer requests will only be accepted for NEW employees, or employees who were reassigned after the June 1 deadline. Transfer forms must be submitted within 10 business days of hire date, or employee’s notification of reassignment. 

Medical Insurance Eligibility

All full-time employees, regardless of number of hours worked, and all substitute, temporary, seasonal and part-time employees working 10 or more hours per week are eligible to enroll in the 2015-2016 TRS-ActiveCare Health Insurance plans during the upcoming open enrollment period. 

Substitutes, temporary, seasonal and part-time employees can enroll by submitting enrollment forms, available on the insurance department’s website, to the insurance office by the end of the open enrollment period. 

TRS retirees are prohibited from enrolling per TRS regulations.   

In Memory Of...

CFISD recently lost an employee. Please, join us in honoring him.

Raymond Navarro Jr.
Aug. 3, 1975 - March 11, 2015

Raymond Navarro Jr. was an English teacher at Cy Springs HS. He has worked with the district since Aug. 16, 2013.

A detailed obituary can be read online.

CFISD Bus Road-e-o

The annual Bus Road-e-o is scheduled for March 28 at the Eldridge Transportation Center. The event will begin at 7:30 and feature fun activities for the whole family. The CFISD community is invited to attend and enjoy free food, music, face-painting and more.

The highlight of the event will be the bus driving competitions. CFISD bus drivers will demonstrate their prowess behind the wheel and their knowledge of bus safety. The competition is judged by a group of volunteers composed of staff members, assistant directors and former drivers.

Additional information about this event can be found in a previous article on the the Employee Connection blog.  

TSPRA Conference

Members of the CFISD communication team are recognized at the TSPRA conference on Feb. 25, 2015, including (L-R, back) Mitzi Loera, Gary Durrenberger, Leslie Francis, Rosario Meehan, Stephanie Migl, Stephen Biller and (L-R, front) John Taylor, Kim Foster, Nicole Ray and Joel Weckerly.  

CFISD staff from the communication, community engagement and community programs departments attended the annual Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) conference in San Antonio Feb. 24-26. Conference attendees were able to participate in learning sessions covering a variety of topics directly impacting their field of work. Districts from across the state submit publications, photographs and video productions from the previous year to be judged by panels of experienced Texas public school employees. On the last night of the conference, an award ceremony is held recognizing submissions that were selected for awards.

Representatives from CFISD received a total of 28 awards during this year's ceremony. Gary Durrenberger, CFISD photographer, received his fourth Best in Class award for sports action photograph Missed It By That Much. For its work on the 2014 $1.2 billion Bond referendum, the entire communication team received a Crystal Award. The communication department was responsible for providing information to the community through print, internet and video during the months leading up to the Bond Election in May 2014.

Edit 3/24/15: The original post incorrectly had the number of awards at 24. This has been updated to the correct number.  

Chili Cookoff 2015

CFISD campuses kicked off the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo season in tasty fashion this month by hosting chili cook-off competitions. Many campuses got into the spirit by wearing western or chili-themed clothing. Teams prepared their special recipes and presented them for administrators and coworkers to sample. Celebrity judges, including Board members and CFISD administration, were on hand to help judge the competitions. Jeff LaCoke, Ault ES principal, can be seen in the photo at right tasting one of the entries at his campus.


Windfern HS

Windfern staff (L-R) Jennifer Gray, Debbie Huntsinger, Martha Strother and Wendy McAdow are the Hot Chili Cookers at Windfern's chili cookoff.

Teachers Jeremy Otey and Katie Sarzynski, celebrate winning the People's Choice award for their chili entry.

The Divalicious Divas (L-R, front) Carl Van Overdam, Tina Clinkenbeard, Jessica Nance, Karen Walters and (back) Monica James, LeiLani Natale and Kris Schrandt warn that their chili will "bring out the animal in you."

Lieder ES

Blanca Warner, bilingual aide, and Yarah Gonzalez-Hidalgo, teacher, show off their western garb at Lieder's chili cookoff.

Kathryn Gutierrez, campus secretary, celebrates the chili cookoff in style.

Lieder staff members (L-R) Karen Miller, Janet Weimann, Noreen Hughes and Christi Ferrell sample their coworkers' entries.  

Truitt MS

Dan Wilson and Nina Ortiz, assistant principals, are ready to try a bowl of chili from the Truitt cookoff.

The winning table decorations from Truitt feature a Sound the Alarm! theme. 

Jersey Village HS

(L-R) Stephanie Migl, CFISD director of communication; Martha Owens, H-E-B representative; and Ralph Funk, Jersey Village principal, take a break from their duties as event judges. 

Quantum Learning at Hairgrove ES

CFISD uses the Quantum Learning (QL) program as an aid in student and staff development. Hairgrove ES recently demonstrated the district’s exceptional use of the program to a team from G. H. Dawe School in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, including Principal Sue Carmichael and four members of her administrative team. Carmichael and her team requested the visit to observe and discuss the use of Quantum Learning strategies in the classroom and as a schoolwide initiative. Specifically, the purpose of the visit was to determine how the neuroscience of QL can also be used to improve character education for all students.

Following a brief overview and tour provided by the Hairgrove administrative team, the visitors spent the remainder of their time visiting with staff and students and observing QL in action. “I am most impressed by the matrix of expectations and how it is infused and aligned with other campus initiatives to focus on building character and empowering students to make good choices,” Carmichael said. 

With an emphasis on understanding how the brain works and how students learn best, QL works hand-in-hand with other initiatives a campus may already be implementing. For example, Hairgrove activities are organized around the Game On system. The school is divided into two teams that participate in friendly competitions in various areas to promote teamwork and a sense of community. Within Game On, Hairgrove implemented three complimentary initiatives: No Excuses University; Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS); and Quantum Learning.

The certified QL facilitator for Hairgrove is assistant principal Terry Bell. She provides staff development on QL strategies, as well as QL lessons to students. Bell worked with Hairgrove’s PBIS leadership team to use QL’s eight Learning Keys in creating systems the entire campus follows.

“Our staff embraces anything that helps our students succeed,” said Darynda Klein, Hairgrove ES principal. “The QL strategies not only support ways to make lessons more engaging, but also support student learning without a lot of extra time preparing additional materials.”

CFISD was recently recognized as a premier district by the Quantum Learning corporate office.