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Plan Your Career With Our Free Services
 When planning your future career, you want to find an occupation that will pay well and have plenty of job openings. But it’s just as important to discover which career fits your interests, personality and talents, according to Mike Henderson, director, Career Services, El Centro College.
Fortunately, every DCCCD college offers free career services that can help you explore and narrow down your career options, prepare for the job search process and find a job related to your career interests.
Let’s take a closer look at the services available ...
[VIEW THE FULL STORY]
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Get Your DCCCD Money Card
 Starting next month, DCCCD will launch a new system for processing and distributing refunds and disbursements (such as financial aid funds) to students. With the help of Higher One, a financial services vendor, you’ll have more options for getting your money, and you’ll get it faster.
As a credit student, you’ll receive a MasterCard-branded card – the DCCCD Money Card – in the mail. The card will give you access to Higher One’s Web site. There, you’ll choose the method you prefer for receiving your money. You’ll have three options:
- Deposit to a free Higher One checking account. The DCCCD Money Card then becomes a debit card for your account. Before choosing this option, visit http://www.DCCCDMoneyCard.com so you can learn how the card works, understand its benefits and find out how to avoid paying any fees. (With this option, you’ll get your money within one business day.)
- ACH deposit to another checking account of your choice (With this option, you’ll get your money within two to three business days.)
- Paper check mailed to your home (With this option, you’ll get your money in five to seven business days.)
To make sure you get your money, here’s what you need to do:
- Verify that DCCCD has your correct address through https://eConnect.dcccd.edu/moneycard and set up an activation word (login required). If the address listed is not correct, you’ll need to visit the Registrar’s Office at your primary college, which will require a photo ID and address verification documents. Check with your registrar to find out exactly what is required.
- When your DCCCD Money Card arrives in the mail, use your card to log in to and select your refund/disbursement preference at http://www.DCCCDMoneyCard.com. (Even if you don’t think you’ll need it, you must identify your refund/disbursement preference as soon as you receive the card in the mail. The reason: Any money that DCCCD owes you will be paid through your selected refund/disbursement preference. This includes financial aid disbursements, refunds, grants and any other payments you may be owed.)
- Keep your DCCCD Money Card and password safe, private and secure.
Have questions? Contact your college’s Admissions/Registrar’s Office, Business Office or Financial Aid Office.
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New Buildings Open — More Coming Soon!
 If you’re a little tired of dealing with construction dust on campus, that’s understandable. For the past couple of years, construction has been taking place at almost every DCCCD location, thanks to the multimillion-dollar bond package approved by Dallas County voters in 2004.
But your patience is starting to pay off. Over the last few months, several bond program projects have been completed, including two new community campuses and new, state-of-the-art classroom facilities. And there’s much more to come!
In fact, when the bond program concludes, DCCCD’s total square footage of classroom space will increase by about one-third – from about 3 million square feet to more than 4 million square feet, according to Steve Park, executive director of the Bond Program Management Team, responsible for 28 district construction projects. (The district’s Facilities group, led by architect Clyde Porter, has managed three additional bond program projects.)
Here’s a summary of the construction projects that have been completed to date and those that are on the horizon ...
[VIEW THE FULL STORY]
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Make a Difference in Children’s Lives
 Do you love working with children and seeing their faces light up when they learn? Would you like to make a real difference in the world? Do you want to train or retrain for a rewarding career in a field with plenty of job openings?
Teachers and other education-related personnel are in such high demand that there is a drastic shortage of qualified workers. DCCCD offers a number of education-related programs, degrees and certificates that can prepare you to fill that need.
The Educational Personnel program, offered at Richland College, can train you to enter the workforce directly as a teacher assistant. It also is a university transfer program that provides the first two years of a four-year teacher certification degree in early childhood through fourth grade (EC-4) education.
If you’re looking for something a little different, check out DCCCD’s other education-related programs. Options are available at all seven DCCCD colleges. You’re sure to find one that’s a good fit for your career goals, whether you pursue the Associate of Arts in Teaching degree or one of our emphasis degrees, the Alternative Certification for Teachers program or the Child Development program.
Get started in Educational Personnel or another education-related program today!
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Student Success Story: Tyrell White
 Special education teacher Tyrell White really understands the challenges his students face — and knows how much they can potentially achieve.
“I was in special education classes until fifth grade because of my own learning disabilities,” he says.
Despite the challenges he faced as a child, Tyrell went on to earn an associate degree in Educational Personnel from El Centro College. (Note: Educational Personnel is no longer offered at El Centro but is available at Richland College.) He continued his education at the University of North Texas’ Dallas campus, earning a bachelor’s degree. Today, he teaches full time and is also pursuing a graduate degree at SMU.
“What I get out of teaching is the satisfaction of seeing kids glow when they begin thinking critically,” Tyrell says. “I want to give them the knowledge that they can rise above their limitations.
“My time at El Centro was about small classes and forming lasting relationships with faculty members who really helped me and who still help and assist me,” he says. “The Educational Personnel program was very individualized and prepared me for the classroom in a very real and honest way. Teaching is not utopia, and your education should prepare you for all aspects of the job, even for when the kids are misbehaving.”
Could you be the next success story?
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How Was Your Spring Break?
 We hope it was wonderful and that you’ve come back to school rested and ready to learn again. Maybe you worked over Spring Break, or caught up on sleep … or maybe you did something a little more unusual, like taking an interesting trip or doing volunteer work.
If you did something a little off the beaten path, we’d love to hear about it. Tell us about your Spring Break adventures, and we just might feature them in an upcoming eNews article. (Just keep it family-friendly, please — no tales of “DCCCD Gone Wild.”)
Send your stories to April Ellis at aellis@dcccd.edu, and include your full name and a phone number where we can reach you in case we need more info.
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