Answers to common questions regarding Renaissance 360
Due to Hurricane Harvey, the beginning-of-the-year assessment window for Renaissance 360, the district’s new universal screener, has been changed to September 20 – October 13.
A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document has been created with additional clarification and implementation information. Please note the updated beginning-of-the-year assessments required, which are posted below for each grade level and content area. Additional information and rationale is provided in the FAQ document.
| Early Literacy | Grades K-1 |
| Reading | Grades 2-12 |
| Mathematics | Grades 1-12 |
| Beginning-of-Year | September 20 – October 13 |
| Middle-of-Year | January 8-31 |
| End-of-Year | May 1-25 |
Employees can also access the Renaissance 360 Access Guide, which clarifies how to access the platform. Students should log in with their own unique Houston ISD network login ID and password. (Generic student login IDs will not work)
- Student Login IDs: Students should log in with their computer login IDs; these all begin with the letter S and are then followed by the student’s SIS assigned number (found on schedules and ID badges)
- Student passwords: Please note that all new student passwords are set to their date of birth in 8 digits. (e.g. 07252003 for a DOB of July 25, 2003 )
Should you encounter or need support, please refer to the following numbers:
| Login questions: | HISD IT Service Desk 713-892-SERV (7378) |
| Technical questions and issues: | Renaissance 1-800-338-4204 answers@renaissance.com |
| Process or other questions: | Jocelyn Mouton jmouton1@houstonisd.org 713-556-6317 |
ALL TEACHERS
Apply now for a Hurricane Harvey Teacher Grant: In response to the devastating damage left behind by Hurricane Harvey on HISD schools and across the city, both local and national philanthropists and corporations have come together to create a Harvey Relief Fund managed by the HISD Foundation. A portion of the $1.3 million funds raised so far will go directly to help HISD teachers eliminate as much financial burden as possible in replacing damaged classroom resources so instructional time can be maximized.
HISD teachers can submit an application online for funding to cover the costs of replacing classroom supplies, technology, and other resources that were lost as a direct result of Hurricane Harvey. Applications will be accepted through Friday, Sept 29, 2017. Click here to apply and to see details regarding eligibility, guidelines, and application components.
NEW! Reading and Math Universal Screener: All students in grades K-12 will be administered the Renaissance 360 Universal Screener. Because of Hurricane Harvey, the beginning-of-year (BOY) assessment window for the Universal Screener began Sept 20, 2017, and will end Oct. 13, 2017. Students in the grades below will take the following assessments.
| Early Literacy | Grades K-1 |
| Reading | Grades 2-12 |
| Mathematics | Grades 1-12 |
It’s Back! Chevron Fuel Your School: Chevron’s Fuel Your School program is returning to Harris County this October. HISD teachers can submit their requests NOW for classroom supplies at www.donorschoose.org/. The earlier you request, the better your chance of having it fulfilled. If your project is selected, supply boxes will arrive starting Nov. 1, 2017. Also, invite your family and friends to shop at Chevron and Texaco gas stations across Harris County. During the month of October, $1 will be donated when consumers purchase eight or more gallons of fuel at participating Chevron and Texaco stations in Harris County. The donation will help fund eligible classroom projects. Visit www.fuelyourschool.com to learn more.
Free Achieve 3000 login for K-12 students: In an effort to support student learning and achievement in the aftermath of Harvey, ACHIEVE 3000 is providing free logins for all HISD students in grades PreK-12. The online tool delivers daily differentiated instruction for nonfiction reading and writing that’s precisely tailored to each student’s Lexile reading level. Parents and students can access the tool at achieve3000.com/achievecaresfortexas. For a quick start guide, click here.
ELEMENTARY
K-5 STEM Academy begins Oct. 2: The HISD K-5 STEM Academy is composed of five sessions on a variety of STEM topics and targets teachers in grades K-5. The first session entitled “The Challenge is STEM” will be held on Monday, Oct. 2, from 4-5:30 p.m. at Red Elementary School. Participants will experience the Engineering Design Loop through a hands-on STEM Challenge. Content will include alignment of the challenge within the scope and sequence for each grade level, planning for instruction, and strategies to achieve student mastery. Register in One Source using course #742001.
Beginning of Year Reading Assessment Benchmark Running Record: As part of Literacy by 3, students in grades 1-5 will be administered a Beginning of Year (BOY) Benchmark Running Record Assessment. The BOY assessment window opens Sept 20, 2017, and ends Oct. 13, 2017. By administering the assessment in a one-to-one setting, teachers identify individual student reading behaviors, as well as instructional needs for all students in grades 1–5. The district provides an electronic data collection tool through OnTrack. The platform supports the review of benchmark running record data at the campus and district levels. Additional information on administering a benchmark running record and entering data using OnTrack is available at www.houstonisd.org/runningrecord.
DEAL OF THE WEEK: Free flu shots. Click here to check the date for your campus.
South Area Schools Office
Erwin Garcia has been selected as the new school support officer for the South Area Schools Office. Garcia has served as the principal of DeAnda Elementary School since 2014. He began his career as a bilingual teacher in Magnolia ISD and continued his teaching career at Ray Daily Elementary before serving as assistant principal at Sanchez Elementary. Garcia holds a bachelor’s degree in education from the Universidad Adventista de Colombia, a master’s in school administration from Lamar University, and a master’s in bilingual education from the University of Saint Thomas. Garcia is working on his doctorate in executive leadership at Houston Baptist University. Garcia started in his new role on September 21.
Northwest Area Schools Office
Connie Berger has been appointed as the new school support officer for the Northwest Area Schools Office. Berger grew up in Houston and attended schools in HISD, graduating from Reagan High School, now Heights High School. She has been an educator for more than 34 years, serving as a teacher, assistant principal, elementary principal, and high school principal. Berger has been an HISD principal since 1999 and was named Secondary Principal of the Year in 2012. As the principal of Heights High School for 11 years, she was responsible for dramatic growth and improvement, as the school evolved from an improvement-required campus to being named a Best of the Best High School by U.S News & World Report. Berger has a bachelor’s degree in history and psychology from the University of Houston and a master’s degree in education from Stephen F. Austin University. Berger started in her new role on September 18.
West Area Schools Office
Delesa O’Dell-Thomas has been promoted to school support officer for the West Area Schools Office. O’Dell-Thomas has been an educator for 26 years, 22 of which were with HISD. She began her teaching career in Orleans Parish School Board before joining HISD as a teacher at Henry Middle School. She was promoted to principal of M.C. Williams Middle School, and under her leadership, the school was rated recognized by the TEA. In 2011, she was instrumental in opening and serving as principal of HISD’s first all-girls STEM magnet school, Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy. O’Dell-Thomas was named one of Houston’s 30 Most Influential Women this year. She earned her undergraduate degree from Southern University of New Orleans, her master’s in school administration from Xavier University of Louisiana-New Orleans, and she is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Houston. O’Dell-Thomas starts in her new role on September 25.
North Area Schools Office
Stephen Linkous has been selected as school support office for the North Area Schools Office. Linkous has served as the principal of Hartman Middle School since 2014. Linkous began his teaching career in Colorado as a middle-school bilingual social studies teacher, an ESL teacher, and an administrator at the high school level. He was also the principal of Franklin and Kempner middle schools in Colorado. Linkous holds a B.A. in history from Park University and a master’s in educational administration from the University of Denver. He is currently participating in the ALAS Superintendents Leadership Academy, Class of 2018. Linkous starts in his new role on September 25.
Sessions available starting in October
Thinking about retiring in the near future or have some questions about your Teacher Retirement System (TRS) benefits? The HISD Retirement Storefront, located at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, will be hosting retirement seminars from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. on the following dates:
• Thursday October 19
• Tuesday November 14
• Tuesday December 12
All district employees are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about their TRS benefits. Employees can register for the seminars through OneSourceMe Learning by selecting course code #23003.
Questions may be directed to V. Janene English at 713-695-5561 or venglish@houstonisd.org
Fuel Your School Program expands to include storm assistance
Chevron’s Fuel Your School program is expanding to include assistance from Hurricane Harvey. HISD teachers are encouraged to submit classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org to help rebuild their classrooms and support student learning. Eligible classroom projects include needed supplies and education materials, student-led project initiatives or student life essentials, such as clothing, personal hygiene products and food. Chevron’s goal is to remove barriers to help students focus and succeed in school.
Please submit as soon as possible, as requests can reach capacity quickly. The earlier you request, the better chance of having it fulfilled. If your project is selected, supply boxes will arrive starting Nov. 1, 2017.
Also, invite your family and friends to shop at Chevron and Texaco gas stations across Harris County. During the month of October, $1 will be donated when consumers purchase eight or more gallons of fuel at participating local Chevron and Texaco stations in Harris County. The donation will help fund eligible classroom projects at https://www.donorschoose.org/
Visit http://www.fuelyourschool.com/ to learn more. For any questions, contact Annie Torres at asong@houstonisd.org or 713-556-7218.
Bus chaperones, greeters, and assistance needed for event
HISD staff members are encouraged to sign-up and volunteer at a districtwide Hurricane Harvey Parent Summit happening this Saturday, September 16 at the HISD Delmar Fieldhouse. The event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. was originally slated as a Special Education Parent Summit but the district has expanded it to included free lunch and breakfast, immunizations, and the distribution of school supplies, hygiene items, and other aid to those families affected by Harvey.
Thousands are expected at the free event and hundreds of volunteers are needed to assist with the distribution of lunch, breakfast, and donated items that have been coming in to HISD from all over the state and nation.
Volunteers are also needed to help with check-in, setup, cleanup, traffic, parking, and serve as greeters and bus chaperones.
Click here to sign up.
To enable campus-based staff to be present during the first week of school, newly hired campus staff who have been previously assigned to the September 12 New Employee Orientation should remain on campus and work with campus leadership to select from one of the following New Employee Orientation dates:
- September 19, 8:30 AM – 5 PM, registration begins at 8 AM
- September 26, 8:30 AM – 5 PM, registration begins at 8 AM
- October 3, 8:30 AM – 5 PM, registration begins at 8 AM (Please see section below regarding Benefits)
After conferring with their campus leadership, campus-based new hires may inform HR of their selected date by completing the following survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HISDneo2017.
New non-campus staff starting work on or before September 12 should still attend New Employee Orientation on September 12. All non-campus staff beginning work after September 12 should attend New Employee Orientation on the date assigned to them by their HR Assistant.
New Employees in the following groups do not attend the Districtwide New Employee Orientation: Associate Teachers, TRS Retirees, Teachers who have completed Teacher Appraisal and Development System (TADS) previously, Business Operations employees – Transportation, Nutrition Services, Construction & Facility Services. These employees are invited to differentiated New Employee Orientations specific to their roles.
Teacher Appraisal and Development System (TADS) training at New Employee Orientation
All teachers must complete the Teacher Appraisal and Development System (TADS) training, offered through New Employee Orientation, within their first 15 instructional days, if they have not previously completed TADS training. Teachers who have completed TADS training do not need to attend New Employee Orientation.
Benefits at New Employee Orientation
As a reminder, new or returning employees have until the first of the month following 30 days of employment to enroll in benefits with HISD. Example: New employees whose start dates were in August must enroll in benefits by September 30, to receive benefits for the remainder of the calendar year. If an employee does not enroll in benefits before this date, they will not be able to enroll in benefits for the calendar year, without a qualifying life changing event. More information may be found at http://hisdbenefits.org/.
About New Employee Orientation
During New Employee Orientation, new and rehired employees learn about HISD and receive information vital to their success as part of our team. Topics covered include benefits, risk management, IT training, psychological services, payroll, risk management, resource groups, professional development, human resources, appraisal training, and district policies, procedures, and governance.
All sessions take place at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W 18th St., Houston, TX 77092). New employees are scheduled to attend NEO by their Human Resources Assistants once they have cleared the hiring process. Additionally, NEO invitations are sent to new and rehired employees’ personal email addresses as they are cleared to begin employment and their profiles are completed in OneSource. For questions, please contact Onboarding@HoustonISD.org.
HISD implements rolling school start dates for 215,000 students, will move students from 9 most damaged schools to temporary locations
The Houston Independent School District is implementing rolling start dates for the first day of school based on the level of flooding damage at campuses, and students from the 9 schools most devastated by Hurricane Harvey will be relocated to temporary campuses.
“During Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the surrounding school districts took six months to open their schools,” said HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza. “Hurricane Harvey was just as destructive, and we’re attempting to open a much larger school district in two weeks. Because of that, not everyone is going to start on September 11.”
The rolling start dates will be Sept. 11, Sept. 18, and Sept. 25.
This page will be updated to include a database where parents can search for information on when their student’s first day of school will be. The database will be updated as those start dates are finalized.
After completing an assessment of 306 school and office buildings in an area spanning 312 square miles, HISD has found that 9 schools have substantial damages that will require students to attend classes at a nearby vacant school building or underutilized campuses that is still being determined. Below is a list of the 9 affected campuses:
- Askew Elementary:
- Burbank Middle
- Braeburn Elementary
- Hilliard Elementary
- Kolter Elementary
- Liberty High
- Mitchell Elementary
- Robinson Elementary
- Scarborough Elementary
“We are working hard to ensure that all of our students’ needs are met and that teaching and learning gets underway as quickly as possible at all campuses,” said HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza. “Our priority has been and will continue to be the safety of our children and staff. I want to thank the community for their patience and cooperation during this difficult time. Rest assured, HISD is strong, and we will get through this together.”
Community meetings will be held for parents to ask questions about the temporary locations, and dates, times and locations of those meetings will be shared with school communities as soon as possible. In addition, HISD Transportation will be working with campuses on establishing new bus routes for relocated students.
Carranza said the district looked at three factors to address the safety of students and staff: that the facilities safe, clean, and secured.
“Some campuses were fortunate to have limited damage, while others need so much work, they will not reopen this year,” said Carranza.
He said the district prioritized schools from least severe to most severe. The process included conducting a random sample test of air quality in schools where flooding occurred, a practice that will continue for the next year in order to detect any residual effects that could surface later.
Assistance for HISD families
Hurricane Harvey was an unprecedented disaster, and in its aftermath, HISD will make available at schools services to support the emotional needs of both students and staff when they return. The district is coordinating with other school districts across the region and country to provide assistance in this effort, as we know many of our own staff have been personally impacted by the storm.
HISD also knows that many families are dealing with financial hardships related to the storm, and we are providing additional assistance in the following ways:
- Free school meals: HISD has received approval from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Texas Department of Agriculture to serve breakfast and lunch meals for free to all students until Sept. 30, 2017 under the National School Lunch/Breakfast Program. The district will work with both entities to gain additional guidance related to covering the need for the remainder of the school year. The district also recently got approval to serve free dinner tp all students. HISD is still asking parents and guardians to complete and return the application. The National School Lunch/School Breakfast Program applications and surveys are available at https://mealapps.houstonisd.org. The information received in the forms helps the district to secure funding and track student data.
- Feeding the community: HISD is supporting relief efforts in communities across Houston by serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner free of charge at nine sites in the Houston area. The meals will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to all community members. Breakfast is served from 8 a.m.-9 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m.-noon, and dinner from 4 p.m.-5 p.m. (Those times are subject to change.) Meals will be offered at the following locations:
- Almeda Elementary – 14226 Almeda School Road, Houston, TX 77047
- Barbara Bush Elementary – 13800 Westerloch Dr., Houston TX 77077
- Carrillo Elementary – 960 S. Wayside Dr. Houston, TX 77023
- DeChaumes Elementary – 155 Cooper Road Houston, TX 77076
- Shadydale Elementary – 5905 Tidwell Road Houston, TX 77028
- Deady Middle School – 2500 Broadway St., Houston, TX 77012
- T.H. Rogers School – 5840 San Felipe St., Houston, TX 77057
- Elrod Elementary – 6323 Dumfries Dr., Houston, TX 77096
- Blackshear Elementary – 2900 Holman St., Houston, TX 77004
- Parent Summit: HISD Board of Education President Wanda Adams and the Special Education Board Ad Hoc Committee are inviting parents to a Parent Summit at Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, where experts from HISD and across the nation will be on hand for informational sessions to help parents support their child’s learning and provide resources for recovering from Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath, including access to meals and transportation, as well as donations of clothing and school supplies.
Parent Summit
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017
Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center
4400 West 18th St. Houston, TX 77092
Click here to register for the summit. - Donation distribution: Donations made to HISD for students and families will be distributed at various locations and times in the city through community groups and schools in the coming weeks. The first of these events is the distribution of thousands of free school uniforms to students at seven locations across the city from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8 and Saturday, Sept. 9. Students must be present to be fitted in order to receive clothing. (HISD has relaxed its school uniform policy until January 2018, but students may wear uniform clothing to school if they have purchased or received those items.) Click here for locations.
HISD will continue to provide updates in the aftermath of the storm, and you can read this employee FAQ for more information.
We also encourage employees to visit HoustonISD.org/Harvey for an updated list of resources and news. Follow us at Facebook.com/HoustonISD, and Twitter.com/TeamHISD for updates, and opt in for text message update by texting “YES” to 68453.
The district asks that during this time, HISD staff make sure all requests from national or local media are referred to HISD’s Media Relations team at 713-556-6393 or PressOffice@houstonisd.org.
Counselors on site at Hattie Mae to provide resources and counseling
The HISD Employee Assistance Program (EAP) will be at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center on Thursday, Sept. 7 and Friday Sept. 8 to offer assistance to employees and their families affected by Hurricane Harvey. The EAP will be able to provide resources, counseling services, and more. Darrell Rohling is the counselor onsite and will be available today until 5:00 p.m. in conference room 1E01 until 2:30 p.m., then he will move to conference room 3C13.
Tomorrow he will be in conference room 1E02 from 8:00 to 5:00 p.m. All services are confidential and free to HISD employees and their household members.
For additional resources available to assist HISD employees affected by Hurricane Harvey, click here.
All HISD campuses and administrative offices are closed effective Friday, Aug. 25 at 11 a.m.
Classes are scheduled to resume on Tuesday, Aug. 29. However, the district will continue to monitor developing weather conditions and will determine whether classes can safely resume on Tuesday. The district will make that decision by noon on Sunday, Aug. 27.
HISD Facilities Services will stage personnel and first responders throughout the night on Friday through Sunday to monitor potential building flooding at eight campuses: Kashmere, Northside, Heights, and Liberty high schools; Meyerland Middle School; and Elrod, Kate Bell, and Kolter elementaries. Lovett Elementary, Fondren Middle, Red Elementary and HISD’s McCarty complex also will be monitored
No campus is to be accessed by instructional staff without notification from the Chief School Officer, who will get the ALL-CLEAR from Business Operations.
Principals are instructed not to go and check on schools throughout the weekend.
For continuing updates, please monitor HoustonISD.org, call the HISD Inclement Weather Hotline at 713-556-9595, or sign up for text messaging by texting YES to 68453. You can also follow the district on Twitter.com/HoustonISD and Facebook.com/HoustonISD.
Remember that safety is first. Please be safe.
