Monthly Archives: November 2012

2012-2013 School Year Ushers in Year Two of STAAR

The 2012-2013 school year is the second year for the new state assessment known as STAAR, which requires high school students to take End of Course exams or EOCs rather than grade-based assessments under TAKS. Last year, only high school freshmen were required to take STAAR End of Course exams. This year, all ninth- and tenth-graders in the state of Texas will take STAAR EOCs.

Under STAAR, a student’s score on an EOC would normally count toward 15 percent of their final course grade. However, the Texas Education Agency has deferred implementation of the 15 percent grading requirement for the 2012-2013 school year.

Westside High School freshmen and their parents wanting more information on STAAR recently came out to a special campus workshop. The informational session was held to help parents understand how the new EOC exams could impact their child’s course grades and GPAs, as well as their ability to graduate.

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HISD Announces Scholarship Program with M.C. Williams Middle School and Texas Southern University

– The Houston Independent School District will announce a new scholarship program with Texas Southern University to benefit students at M.C. Williams Middle School.   For the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic school years, sixth-grade students at M.C. Williams will be awarded full tuition scholarships to TSU upon graduating from high school.   The students will be required to meet certain academic and attendance criteria to receive the scholarships.  During the announcement ceremony, each student will receive a TSU t-shirt and will make a commitment pledge to do their best to achieve academic excellence.  

   

Who:          HISD Board of Education Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones, HISD Chief Middle School officer Michael Cardona, M.C. Williams Principal Corey Seymour, Texas Southern University representatives, M.C. Williams sixth grade students, staff, and faculty.

                  

What:         Texas Southern University will announce a new initiative to reward M.C. Williams students who achieve academic excellence.  Upon successful completion of high school, TSU will award full tuition scholarships to M.C. Williams sixth grade students for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic school years.

 

When:        Friday, November 30, 2012: 10 a.m.

 

Where:       M.C. Williams Middle School   
                   6100 Knox

Learn how to do business with HISD

If you’re interested in doing business with the Houston Independent School District or would like some more information about the 2012 bond program, here’s your opportunity.

HISD’s Office of Business Assistance  is hosting 10 “How to do Business with the District” workshops in December.

Participants will learn about:

  • Responding to proposals
  • The current  M/WBE program
  • Details on the 2012 bond program

The workshops will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the following high schools. Please note the event at Sam Houston will run from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 5
Milby HS, 1601 Broadway

Thursday, Dec. 6
Scarborough HS, 4141 Costa Rica Road

Monday, Dec. 10
Sam Houston MSTC, 9400 Irvington Blvd.

Tuesday, Dec. 11
Sterling HS, 11625 Martindale Road

Wednesday, Dec. 12
High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, 4701 Dickson St.

 Thursday, Dec. 13
Lee HS, 6529 Beverly Hill St.

Monday, Dec. 17
Bellaire HS, 5100 Maple St.

Tuesday, Dec. 18
Sharpstown HS, 7504 Bissonnet St.

Wednesday, Dec. 19
Westbury HS, 11911 Chimney Rock Road

Thursday, Dec. 20
Washington HS, 119 East 39th St.

For more information, please contact the Office of Business Assistance at 713-556-7273.

Dogs of Character Return to HISD to Deliver Anti-Bullying Message to students

What:   Dogs of Character is an anti bullying presentation taught by rescued dogs in which each dog in the cast is a working assistant in the award winning character education program, The Healing Species.  Five dogs will be introduced to the River Oaks students during two school assemblies and will provide them with living examples of perseverance, courage, hope and forgiveness.

Who:    The Healing Species’ Dogs of Character 

When:  Friday, November 30, 8:00 a.m. and 9:00a.m.

Where: River Oaks Elementary, 2008 Kirby

$1.25M Grant Awarded for University of St. Thomas and HISD Special Education Partnership

A $1.25M grant recently was awarded to the University of St. Thomas for their Preparation of Special Education Leaders program, a partnership with the Houston Independent School District that over a 5-year grant period will award 80 Master of Education degrees with emphasis on Special Education leadership. Currently, 7.8 percent of the HISD school population receives special education services. Continue reading →

Want to network and learn? Check out these business outreach events

For M/WBEs or other suppliers who want to learn and network, there are host of opportunities across the city. Just click on the individual links to find out more about each event.

November

Wednesday, Nov. 28 – Houston ISD networking event: The Houston Independent School District is hosting a networking event for subcontractors interested in providing services to architecture and engineering companies, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Carnegie Vanguard High School, 1501 Taft Street.

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HISD Board President Television Show Takes an Up Close Look at HILZ Program

Who: The November/December 2012 edition of HISD Up Close hosted by HISD Board President Michael Lunceford gives viewers an inside look at the Houston Innovative Learning Zone academies at Jane Long and Scarborough High School, two of six HISD schools that have these new career and technical education programs on their campus. The show also features a tour of the district’s Las Americas Newcomers School, which has students from 32 countries who speak 29 different languages.   Continue reading →