Category Archives: District VIII – Diana Dávila

HISD recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month 

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The Houston Independent School District is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs Sept. 15- Oct. 15, to recognize the contributions made by people of Hispanic and Latin American descent and their heritage and culture.

HISD includes 22 schools that recognize the contributions of Hispanic civic and community leaders, who range from educators and civil servants to local restaurateurs, newscasters, Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, and even Nobel Prize-winners.

Hispanic Heritage Month begins on Sept. 15 because that is the anniversary of the independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The month also encompasses the independence days for Mexico (Sept. 16) and Chile (Sept. 18), as well as Columbus Day (Sept. 12), also known as Dia de la Raza.

Hispanic Heritage Month started as a week in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson, but President Ronald Reagan extended it to a month in 1988.

SCHOOLS: We would like to retweet photos of your Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations. Please include @HoustonISD in your Tweets, along with the hashtag #HispanicHeritageMonth. 

HISD Board of Education to vote on extended days for schools with delayed start

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Sept. 14 2017 – In its first regular meeting since Hurricane Harvey, the Houston Independent School District Board of Education Trustees will consider a proposal to make up instructional time lost because of the storm.  The Texas Education Agency approved waivers that exempt students from making up the first nine days the storm took away.  However, students at the 12 schools that suffered the most significant damage will have to make up any lost time beyond those days.

Here’s how the proposed plan works:  Students at the four schools scheduled to start on September 18 would be in school for 25 additional minutes every day.  Students at the eight schools scheduled to start on September 25 would go for an extra 55 minutes.  That extended school day would be effective from their first day of school until the end of the first semester in December. Continue reading →

Furr HS begins new school year in new facility

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After the storm, Furr High School students were more than ready to start the new school year, but they were especially excited Monday morning to begin their first day of classes in their new building.

“It feels like High School Musical,” joked junior Jose Padron about the colorful new building. “I really like it. I think people won’t skip school as much.”

The three-story, $56 million facility was designed to enhance the school’s science, technology, engineering, and arts programs. It includes flexible, brightly colored learning areas with moveable furniture and sliding glass doors to make the rooms easily adjustable and accommodate changing needs of students and staff. Continue reading →

Hilliard Elementary among schools that suffered ‘extensive’ damage in Hurricane Harvey

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Fifty-three campuses have “major” damage, 22 have “extensive” damage; assessment of campuses continues

The floors of Hilliard Elementary School, where Hurricane Harvey floodwaters at one point reached 4 feet high, were still slick and littered with wet debris on Saturday, with water pooling in the hallways, cafetorium and classrooms. Flooring schoolwide will need to be torn out, walls removed 4 feet from the floor, and surfaces dried with humidifiers and covered in anti-microbial disinfectant.

The extent of devastation at the northeast Houston campus places it in the “top 10” of schools damaged by the storm. Continue reading →

HISD to open nine schools for 2017-2018 school year

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Nine schools across the Houston Independent School District will formally open their doors to all students for the first time on Monday — the first day of the 2017-2018 school year.

New schools set to open this school year include Furr, Milby and Wisdom high schools, as well as Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men and DeBakey High School for Health Professions. DeBakey technically opened to summer school students in May, but Monday marks the start of its first fall semester in the new building.

Another four schools — Kashmere and Waltrip high schools, Sharpstown International School, and Codwell Elementary — underwent major renovations. Continue reading →

Milby HS celebrates the old and the new at grand opening ceremony

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“It’s a great day to be a Milby Buffalo!” exclaimed HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza as hundreds of attendees cheered with pride and excitement at Milby High School’s highly anticipated grand opening celebration Thursday.

Current and former Milby Buffs filled the new school as the Milby Marching Thunder Band and Charlie’s Angels pumped up the crowd at HISD’s largest ribbon-cutting ceremony to date. Shiny gold and blue decorations adorned the large learning commons area, which showcases a combination of new construction alongside the historical front façade of the school.

Continue reading →

Get an up close and personal look at district construction progress

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High School for Law and Justice

Want an up close and personal look at the construction underway at 2012 Bond schools throughout the district? It’s now just a couple of clicks away. Follow the progress from the comfort of your own home thanks to cameras that have been installed at several bond schools.

The cameras, which are mounted on a pole or roof of a taller adjacent building, capture an image once every 15 minutes — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Go online and view individual images or check out a time-lapse video and watch as the building comes together. The views also can be zoomed into and panned for more detail. Continue reading →

Officers challenged to ‘make a difference’ at HISD Police awards luncheon

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HISD Police Chief Robert Mock encouraged his officers to get to know and build relationships with students, as he addressed the group at the department’s 20th Annual Awards Luncheon on Friday.

“You have the ability get to know these students and intervene in their lives,” Mock said. “I challenge each one of you to choose to make a difference.”

HISD police officers, personnel, and family members gathered at Brady’s Landing restaurant for the event, which celebrates the achievements, contributions, and outstanding customer service provided by the department during the academic school year. Continue reading →

Eastwood Academy to open new CTE building by year’s end

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Students returning to Eastwood Academy this fall will see plenty of construction activity around the campus as crews work to finish the first addition — known as the blue wing — in time for a December move-in.

“We were hoping that the entire project would be finished by December, but we understand things can change for a variety of reasons,” Eastwood Academy Principal Brandi Lira said. “I see progress every day and will be happy to move into the blue wing in a few months.”

The project has seen delays due largely to unforeseen conditions, including the discovery of a large in-ground swimming pool, which had been filled with dirt and camouflaged with ground cover. Workers also found underground utility lines and storage spaces that were not documented on city site maps. Continue reading →

High School for Law and Justice construction makes steady progress

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Driving along the Gulf Freeway near the University of Houston, it’s not hard to spot the new High School for Law and Justice, which rises three stories tall and is now about 60 percent complete.

“I love seeing the progress,” said HSLJ Principal Carol Mosteit. “This is going to be a beautiful building that will enhance our law and justice curriculum and provide a wonderful learning environment for students.” Continue reading →