Five schools named inaugural ‘Blue Star’ Award finalists
Principals of the inaugural Blue Star Award finalist schools accept congratulatory certificates on April 8 from Chief Human Resources Officer Andrew Houlihan (far R). Pictured from L-R are: Claudia Chavez (Crockett ES), Gabrielle Coleman (King ECC), Rosa Hernandez (Burbank MS), Monique Lewis (Fondren MS), and Ramon Moss (CVHS).
A commitment to holding both students and staff members to a high performance standard has led to an exciting accolade for a select few HISD campuses. Five schools have been named finalists for the district’s inaugural Blue Star Award for Service Excellence, which is designed to recognize “stars of organizational effectiveness.”
The new award was created to honor schools that provide a high level of customer service; a friendly, professional environment; and a culture of positive expectations.
“Twenty-two schools were nominated,” said Chief Human Resources Officer Andrew Houlihan, “and each one was judged on a rubric of five specific areas.”
As a part of the evaluation, a team of volunteer judges made unannounced, structured visits to each nominated campus, in which they conducted walk-throughs of the facilities and interacted with staff members. They also made anonymous calls to each school to test the clerical staff’s response.
“Even to be nominated, schools had to have a strong focus on academic improvement,” added Dr. Houlihan. “They didn’t have to be the best performers, but they did have to show some evidence of increased achievement.”
The five finalists are:
- Burbank Middle School
- Carnegie Vanguard High School
- Crockett Elementary School
- Fondren Middle School
- King Early Childhood Center
The winner of the award will be announced during a special visit at the end of April. That campus will receive a banner to hang on the outside of the building, a $5,000 cash prize from Capital One, and enough free tickets to an Astros home game for every student and staff member to have one. The school will also be recognized during the game by announcers.
