Tag Archives: Oak Forest ES

HISD honors student winners of 2022 holiday greeting card competition

The holiday season kicked off in earnest as student artists and district leaders gathered at HISD’s Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center on Monday, Nov. 14, to celebrate the 2022 HISD holiday greeting card competition winners.

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Andrew Casler named new principal of Oak Forest Elementary School

Andrew Casler has been named the new principal of Oak Forest Elementary School. Casler joins Oak Forest after serving at Pilgrim Academy for the past eleven years. During his time at Pilgrim Academy, Casler served the community as a technology teacher, physical education teacher, dean of students, and most recently as the elementary assistant principal. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Houston and earned his master’s degree in Educational Leadership at the University of Houston as a member of the University of Houston- HISD Turnaround Leadership Cohort.

HISD schools win National Blue Ribbon Award

U.S. Department of Education recognizes Lovett, Oak Forest elementaries

Lovett and Oak Forest elementary schools in the Houston Independent School District received a 2016 National Blue Ribbon Schools Award on Wednesday from the U.S Department of Education. The schools are among just 329 schools nationwide and 26 public schools in Texas to receive the honor.

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Award honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students either achieve very high learning standards or are making notable improvements in closing the achievement gap, especially among disadvantaged and minority students. The award affirms the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging content. Continue reading

Share your thoughts on a new superintendent: Take a survey and attend an upcoming meeting

The HISD Board of Education is searching for a new superintendent, and trustees want input from community members about the qualities and traits they would like to see in the next district leader.

The board has hired Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates to assist in the superintendent search process. The Illinois-based firm is conducting a survey (which you can find here) and helping trustees host a series of community meetings in March to gather input from various district stakeholders. Feedback obtained from those meetings will be used by trustees to finalize their superintendent profile and begin searching for candidates.

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Two HISD elementary schools nominated for prestigious national Blue Ribbon School award

Two Houston Independent School District elementary schools have been nominated for the U.S. Department of Education’s prestigious national 2016 Blue Ribbon School designation.

National Blue Ribbons are awarded annually to high-performing schools to validate the hard work of students and educators. Lovett and Oak Forest elementary schools are among 26 public schools in Texas to be nominated for the recognition. Continue reading

Oak Forest ES named ‘Rainforest Hero’ for protecting Sumatran wildlife

The island of Sumatra may be half a world away, but that didn’t stop Oak Forest Elementary School students from caring about its wildlife.

Children in the school’s kindergarten classes raised more than $2,170 before school let out last year and donated it to the Rainforest Trust after learning how man’s activities can threaten the natural world. And for that, the organization named the campus a “Rainforest Hero.”

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Twenty-nine HISD schools awarded by TEA for top performance in 2014-2015

Campuses receive every distinction designation available from the state.

Twenty-nine schools from across the Houston Independent School District earned the maximum number of distinction designations from the state for their top performance throughout the 2014-2015 school year.

The campuses – 17 elementary schools, six middle schools and six high schools – earned every distinction designation awarded by the Texas Education Agency. Schools are eligible for distinctions if they are rated as having “Met Standard” — the highest rating under the state accountability system — and meet various other performance standards.

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April Williams named new principal of Oak Forest Elementary School

April Williams has been named the new principal of Oak Forest Elementary School. She previously served as an assistant principal at Lanier Middle School. Williams began her 12-year career with HISD as a fifth-grade teacher at Law Elementary School, and has served as a classroom teacher at both Peck Elementary and Ryan Middle School. She also held the role of high school graduation coach. While at both Peck and Ryan, she received the Classroom Teacher of the Year and the English as a Second Language Teacher of the Year awards.

Williams received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Houston and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Lamar University. She received her doctorate of education in professional leadership from the University of Houston.

DeBakey tops Children at Risk’s list of best Houston high schools for sixth straight year

Reagan HS, Pilgrim Academy, and 20 other campuses also rated ‘Gold Ribbon’ schools

Children at Risk released its annual list of the top schools in the greater Houston area on April 27, and for the sixth consecutive year, HISD’s DeBakey High School for Health Professions was listed as number one.

Four other HISD high schools were included in the top ten: Carnegie Vanguard High School (#2), the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (#4), Eastwood Academy (#7), and North Houston Early College High School (#10).

T.H. Rogers, which serves students in grades Pre-K through 8, has held steady in the number one position among the top middle schools in Houston since 2011, and ranked first at the elementary level since 2012. Other HISD schools in the top 20 were: Wharton K-8 (#5), Pin Oak (#7), Lanier (#8), and Briarmeadow Charter (#15) at the middle-school level; and West University (#2), River Oaks (#3), Horn Academy (#6), Bush (#13), Condit (#14), Oak Forest (#17), and Roberts (#19) at the elementary level.

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