Category Archives: STEM

HISD students visit Space Center Houston for National STEM Day

In observance of National STEM Day on Nov. 8, Space Center Houston welcomed more than 500 HISD students to speak with NASA astronaut Megan McArthur and engage in authentic science learning activities.

Students from Wesley Elementary School, Davila Elementary School, Deady Middle School, Booker T. Washington High School, and Milby High School were all in attendance.

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Northside HS students participate in program for promising Latino computer science scholars

Conexiones is a digital literacy and computer science program for students in Latino communities across the U.S. Now in its third year, the program is aimed at students ages 14 to 18 and offers classes on digital privacy and security, combatting cyberbullying, identifying misinformation, and more.

Conexiones was created by The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and is sponsored by T-Mobile. It’s designed to encourage and improve computer science literacy in Latino communities and empower young people to pursue careers in STEM.

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HISD educators participate in third annual NASA Teacher Externship

With a mission to bring new ideas and knowledge to the classroom, teachers from the Houston Independent School District participated in the third annual NASA-HISD Teacher Externship. On June 22 and 23, 14 teachers from HISD toured NASA facilities and completed professional development activities with NASA experts.

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Superintendent House visits future healthcare heroes at DeBakey HS

Tucked away on a side street in the shadow of the largest medical center in the world, DeBakey High School for Health Professions is the district’s medical magnet school, where students can learn more about the various career paths involved in the healthcare field, from the typical bedside options to the legislative branch.

Students like Cindy Choi, Paul Daniel, Caitlyn Davies, and David Dzul, all seniors, who gave Superintendent Millard House a tour of the school, which opened its $65 million, state-of-the-art, 194,000-square-foot building on the western edge of the Texas Medical Center in 2017.

 House was visiting the school on its second day of the 2021-2022 school year. As the ongoing global pandemic continues to make headlines, students at DeBakey are preparing to be the next generation of healthcare professionals.

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Wisdom HS calculator applications team headed to state for 4th year in a row

For the fourth consecutive year, the Wisdom High School math team is headed to state UIL competition.

The school’s UIL Calculator Applications team won the regional championship on Saturday at Fort Bend ISD’s Willowridge High School. With a team score of 581 points, they defeated runner-up Waller ISD by 22 points to advance to the state finals, which will be held on May 1.

The team includes sophomore Paul Oh, sophomore Bruno Santana, senior Wilmer Salgado and freshman Emir Genc. They are coached by Eridani Alcantar, Saul Cantu and JooHee Cho – under the direction of Principal Michelle Wagner.

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School Choice application deadline for Phase 2 is Feb. 26  

Parents who would still like to apply for a school choice program for the 2021-2022 school year have until Friday, Feb. 26 to do so. 

After all applications in Phase 1 have been offered, eligible Phase 2 students who meet a program’s qualifications will be considered in the order in which their application was submitted, should the program have space available. 

Any applications for students who live outside the HISD boundaries will not be considered until Phase 3, even if the application was submitted during Phase 2. 

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HISD to celebrate Computer Science Education Week

Program a drone. Track movements of an Amazon delivery robot. Animate greeting cards. These are just a few of the ways students can participate in Computer Science Education Week on Dec. 7-13.

Computer Science Education Week is an annual call to action to inspire K-12 students to learn computer science, advocate for equity in computer science education, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners in the field.

HISD’s Office of Career Readiness, along with DroneBlocks, Code Avengers, and Amazon Future Engineer-endorsed BootUp and CoderZ, have created computational thinking activities to inspire future computer science engineers.

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HISD students, teachers attend prestigious virtual STEM camp at Rice University

Nearly 20 HISD students and teachers were among a select group from around the state who were invited to attend the prestigious Tapia Say virtual STEM Camp at Rice University this summer. 

At the summer camp, which is sponsored by ExxonMobil, students experienced five days of online STEM experiences led by Rice professors and experienced facilitators, which focused on building problem solving and communications skills. Each camper was challenged to design their own heatsink, simulating the process through which heat is transferred away from the processor in a computer to keep the device from overheating.

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Ashford ES teacher wins Alliantgroup’s HISD Elementary Science Teacher grand prize

Ashford Elementary School fifth-grade Science Teacher Kirk Coppes has received the 2020 HISD Elementary Science Teacher Grand Prize Award from Alliantgroup.

Six finalists from across the district were nominated by HISD for the award based on their innovative teaching methods and ability to ignite the interest of students in the subject of science. The grand prize award announcement was made live on CW39’s “Morning Dose” on April 28.

Coppes, a veteran teacher in his 12th year in HISD and fourth year at Ashford ES, credited the support he receives both at work and home for the achievement.

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HISD educators use 3D printers to produce face shields for health care workers, first responders

Houston Independent School District STEM educators are joining the effort to help first responders and health care professionals by producing face shields to be used in the fight against COVID-19.

Using HISD’s 3D printers, a team of six district educators are producing at least 100 face shields per week in response to the shortage of personal protective equipment.

The collaborative effort, which began on April 8 and is known as H-Force, is led by Houston Community College (HCC) and includes HISD, San Jacinto College, the University of Houston at Sugar Land, the Fort Bend County Judge’s Office, TX/RX Labs, and Alief ISD.

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