Tag Archives: Houston Academy for International Studies

HISD high schools ranked among the best by U.S. News & World Report

Two HISD high schools are among the top 100 in America, and 11 are in the top 100 in Texas. The annual rankings were released this week by U.S. News & World Report.

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Mayor’s Youth Council names 14 HISD students to 2021-2022 term

Fourteen HISD students were named to Mayor Sylvester Turner’s 2021-2022 Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC).

In total, 17 students from the Houston area were selected out of more than 100 applicants after an application and interview process conducted by a selection committee. Students will learn about city government, share issues of concern with city officials, and gain civic leadership skills through community service activities. 

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10 HISD schools make U.S. News best Texas high school rankings

HISD had 10 schools–three in the top 10–make U.S. News & World Report’s Best High Schools in Texas rankings.

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Carnegie Vanguard ranked 10th best high school in nation

Carnegie Vanguard High School has been ranked as the 10th best high school in the country, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 Best High Schools rankings.

Three additional Houston Independent School District schools were ranked in the top 100 — DeBakey High School for Health Professions, which was ranked 29th, Eastwood Academy, which came in at the 50th spot, and Challenge Early College High School, which was ranked 78th. Continue reading

HISD Class of 2015 receives record-breaking scholarship and financial aid offers

The Houston Independent School District’s Class of 2015 has received almost $265 million in scholarship and financial aid offers, a record-breaking amount that surpasses last year’s total by $10 million.

Nearly all HISD high schools — 82 percent — saw increases in scholarship offers at the campus level, with the biggest boost at Scarborough High School, where scholarship offers jumped by nearly 1,000 percent, increasing from less than $200,000 last year to almost $2 million this year.

Record increases also were seen at Mount Carmel Academy, the Houston Academy for International Studies and Worthing and Booker T. Washington high schools. Continue reading

Leland Kibbutzim internship to broaden HISD students’ perspective

Ten HISD students will be travelling to Israel this summer to experience life on a kibbutz. Every summer since 1980, the Mickey Leland Kibbutzim Internship Foundation has sent high school juniors who live or go to school in the 18th Congressional District to Israel for a month.

Amber Wright and Tenaya Oliveras (Yates HS); Malcolm Edmonson (Worthing HS); Branaun Galentine (Wheatley HS); Genereux Nkundimana (Davis HS); Nahome Mekonnen (Leland College Prep Academy); David Valdes (Houston Academy for International Studies); Lizette Lerma and Pamela Banner (Carnegie Vanguard HS); and Jazzmin Sanchez (Reagan HS) will all travel to Israel June 6–July 4.

The communal philosophy of caring for one another appealed to the late congressman. Following Leland’s vision, interns learn about life in a collective community and the diverse culture of the region, as well as work, travel and live in Israel. The program is organized, coordinated, and funded by The Mickey Leland Kibbutzim Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston.

AVID program supports low-income students’ quest for college

The desks in seventh-grade teacher Zachary Cummings’ AVID classroom at Hamilton Middle School are arranged so that students can work in groups. Collaboration is one of the five hallmarks of AVID, along with reading, writing, inquiry, and organization.

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Cummings’ students recently quizzed each other on Cornell notes they took on a PowerPoint presentation about the history of Apple Inc. Cornell notes are just one example of college-level study techniques students learn in AVID, a global nonprofit organization directed at students who are capable of completing a college-preparatory path if they receive the proper support. The focus is on low-income students whose families don’t traditionally attend college.

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Students investigate juvenile crime scene for geographic information systems presentation

Students at the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice collected data and created maps during an investigation of juvenile crimes committed in the Houston metropolitan area for a presentation at Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day in the City of Houston.

Students from HSLECJ and Houston Academy for International Studies in addition to Lee, Waltrip, and Wheatley high schools participated in the grassroots effort on Nov. 21 at Texas Southern University to learn about geography and the uses of GIS in society. HSLECJ students were the only group to make a GIS presentation at the event. Continue reading

HAIS recognized as 2014 National Blue Ribbon School

The Houston Academy for International Studies has been named a 2014 National Blue Ribbon Exemplary High Performing School.

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National Blue Ribbons are awarded annually to schools to validate the hard work of students and educators. To be recognized as an exemplary high performing school, a school must have its students test in the top 15 percent in the state in both reading and math, have subgroups test in the top 40 percent in the state or have a graduation rate in the top 15 percent in the state. Continue reading