Yearly Archives: 2012

HISD Board of Education Approves Revisions to Ethics Policies

The Houston ISD Board of Education on Thursday gave preliminary unanimous approval to a stricter set of ethics policies designed to help prevent the appearance of conflicts of interest.

At the board’s request, the firm of Whitley Penn, L.L.P. conducted an independent review of existing HISD policies and best practices related to the purchasing and bid-evaluation process.  The ethics policy revisions were drafted according to the firm’s recommendations.

The revised policies are intended to strengthen existing guidelines by requiring elected board members to further disclose potential conflicts of interest, and avoid the appearance of conflicts. The new policies also describe potential repercussions for when violations occur.  The revised policy better defines the board responsibilities and allowable contacts with vendors or organizations with which HISD is considering entering into a business or contractual relationship. Vendors will also have to provide conflict of interest disclosure statements and may be disbarred from doing business with the district for two years if trustees fail to disclose conflicts of interest.  

 The Board of Education also took action on other items on Thursday.

  • Modifications to the ASPIRE award for teachers and campus-based staff members, including school leaders, were approved for the 2012-2013 school year.   The changes include increasing the maximum award amounts for teachers, principals, and assistant principals and increasing rigor in the requirements.   The changes also simplify and streamline the technical language regarding the awards.  The changes refine the eligibility requirements for receiving an award and align criteria for the award with the teacher appraisal and development system that is now in its second year.          
  • Trustees approved a revised plan for reconciling with about 3,500 employees on 12-month work schedules who were paid in advance for work they have not done since the year 2000.  These employees, very few of whom are teachers, historically have been asked to repay the district for advance pay upon leaving the district.  The repayments have come in the form of unused leave time and/or cash. Trustees decided that during the reconciliation period, the amount of time that employees owe the district will be cut in half.  Employees will now be able to reimburse the district for those days using future earned leave time through the 2013-2014 school year, or through payroll deductions through 2014-2015.   

HISD Students among Semifinalists for National Merit Scholarship

Fifty-six seniors from six different HISD high schools are among the semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarship program.  These students will have the opportunity to compete for more than 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring.

“The National Merit Scholarship Program has a long tradition of excellence,” said HISD Superintendent Terry Grier. “We are extremely proud of these students being recognized nationally for their academic achievements.  Their accomplishments are a testament to their dedication and hard work.”

To be considered for this scholarship program, about 1.5 million high school juniors took the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship qualifying test. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, about 16,000 students, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

To become a finalist, the semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. 

The selected semifinalist students are from the following HISD high schools: Bellaire High School, Carnegie Vanguard High School, DeBakey High School for Health Professions, the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Lamar High School, and Westside High School.

 The 2013 National Merit Scholarship Winners will be announced starting in April 2013. 

National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

Bellaire High School                                

  • Andrew M. Alter                                                         
  • Zara Khan       
  • Lindsey D. Alter                                                         
  • Joseph C. Lau
  • Halla Bearden                                                             
  • Kirby J. Ledvina
  • Christina M. Breitbeil  
  • Benjamin Liu
  • Kevin Chen                                                              
  •  Jacqueline H. Luo                                                             
  • Blaine A. Cole                                                           
  • Aaron J. Mao
  • Andrei V. Didenko                                                     
  • Helen S. Mazella
  • Xinghua Dou                                                              
  • Alexander L. Mo          
  • Molly G. Dyer                                                           
  • Adarsh Nednur
  • Peter O. Elmers                                                          
  • Willis Nguy
  • Katherine Fang                                                            
  • Amanda K. Pevehouse
  • Alexander Franshaw                                                   
  • Holly S. Reichert                                                                
  • Garland R. Gay                                                           
  • Diana T. Ruan
  • Anneliese M. Gest                                                       
  • Yulan L. Shih
  • Sarah K. Godwin                                                        
  • Jun Ling Tao                   
  • Carrie X. Jiang                                                              
  • Edward D. Yun
  • Vivek Kantamani                                                                                                                                 

                           Carnegie Vanguard High School

  •  Kiera M. Brown
  • William J. Larsen
  • Sam M. Dietrich
  • Jonathan E. Vincent
  • Daniel Dreyfuss

                                    

                       DeBakey High School for Health Professions

  • Shannon E. Ahmed
  •  Tariq A. Patanam
  • Mohammad F. Bilal                                                  
  • Tiffany Pham
  • Anchit R. Khanna                                                  
  • Smruti Rath
  • Jeremiah M. Lee                                                     
  • Kristen L. Thompson
  • Nathalie C. Meremikwu                                 
  • Serene R. Yu

                    High School for the Performing and Visual Arts

  • Josef M. Lamel                     
  • Palmer L. Mills
  • Auburn H. Lee                                              
  • Jyron Walls
  • Amy Mattox

Lamar High School

  • Ashley Alcantara                                                        
  • Angela Chang                    

Westside High School

  • Konstantinos K. Varvarezos   

 

 

HISD Board of Education to Consider Revisions to Board Ethics Policies

The Houston ISD Board of Education will consider revisions to the board ethics policies on Thursday, September 13.  At the board’s request, the firm of Whitley Penn, L.L.P. conducted an independent review of existing HISD policies and best practices related to procurement and will present its recommendations to the board during the meeting.

The recommendations are intended to strengthen existing policies by requiring board members to further disclose potential conflicts of interest, and avoid the appearance of conflicts. The proposal also describes potential repercussions for when the policy is violated.  The revised policy would better define the board responsibilities and allowable contacts with vendors or organizations with which HISD is considering entering into a business or contractual relationship. Vendors would also have to provide conflict of interest disclosure statements and may be disbarred from doing business with the district for two years if trustees fail to disclose conflicts of interest.  

 Another item on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting:

 Modifications to the ASPIRE award for teachers and campus-based staff members, including school leaders, for the 2012-2013 school year.   The recommendations include increasing the maximum award amounts for teachers, principals, and assistant principals and increasing rigor in the requirements.   It would also include simplifying and streamlining the language regarding the awards.  The changes would refine the eligibility for receiving an award and would align criteria for the award with the teacher appraisal and development system that is now in its second year.            

 The board’s regular monthly meeting begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 13, 2012 in the board auditorium of the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 West 18th St., 77092).

 

The board is scheduled to receive status updates on a number of projects and vote on several programs, contracts, and grants. For a full copy of the Board meeting agenda, click here.  The board meeting will be carried live on HISD’s website and on the HISD Channel, which can be found on Comcast Channel 18 or AT&T Channel 99.

HISD Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

On Sept. 12, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of the 16,000 high school seniors who qualify for semifinalist status in the annual National Merit Scholarship Program, based on their performance as juniors in the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

 Fifty-six of those students are from HISD schools. Broken down by campus, they are from:

  •  Bellaire HS—33
  • Carnegie Vanguard HS—5
  • DeBakey HS—10
  • High School for the Performing and Visual Arts—5
  • Lamar HS—2
  • Westside HS—1

 The semifinalists, who are the highest-scoring entrants from each state, represent less than one percent of all U.S. seniors. About 90 percent of them are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half of those will subsequently win a National Merit Scholarship.

Community Conversations Scheduled for Houston Schools Bond Proposition

The Houston Independent School District has scheduled 10 Community Conversations for the public to learn more about the district’s proposal to modernize outdated high school buildings and build new schools to meet students’ needs across the city.

The bond proposition is primarily focused on 28 of the district’s high schools but also significantly impacts 10 other school buildings. More details about the proposition can be found on the 2012 Houston Schools Bond website (click here). The measure goes before voters on Nov. 6.  Early voting begins Oct. 22.

All informational meetings will take place from 6 to 8 p.m., and will include a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. The dates and locations are:

  • Monday, Sept. 24 – Booker T. Washington High School (119 E. 39th Street) and Bellaire High School (5100 Maple, Bellaire)
  • Thursday, Sept. 27 – Davis High School (1101 Quitman) and Dowling Middle School (14000 Stancliff)
  • Monday, Oct. 1 – Lee High School (6529 Beverly Hill) and Milby High School (1601 Broadway)
  • Tuesday, Oct. 2 – Sharpstown High School (7504 Bissonnet) and Yates High School (3703 Sampson)
  • Thursday, Oct. 4 – Austin High School (1700 Dumble) and Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th Street). The Hattie Mae White session will be broadcast live on HISD TV, Comcast cable channel 18, and AT&T Uverse channel 99.

Questions about the proposition may also be submitted via email to bondinfo@houstonisd.org.

The proposal seeks voter approval of a $1.89 billion plan to address the most serious facility needs in 38 schools. The proposal would:

Provide new campuses for 20 high schools

  • Austin
  • Bellaire
  • Davis
  • DeBakey
  • Eastwood
  • Furr
  • High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
  • Jordan
  • Lamar
  • Lee
  • Madison
  • Milby
  • North Early College
  • Sam Houston
  • Sharpstown
  • South Early College
  • Sterling
  • Washington
  • Worthing
  • Yates

Partially replace 4 high schools

  • Waltrip
  • Young Men’s College Prep Academy
  • Westbury
  • Young Women’s College Prep Academy

 

Renovate 4 high schools

  • Jones
  • Kashmere
  • Scarborough
  • Sharpstown International

 

Convert 5 elementary schools into K-8 campuses

  • Garden Oaks Montessori
  • Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion School at Gordon
  • Pilgrim Academy
  • Wharton Dual Language School
  • Wilson Montessori

 

Build 3 new elementary school campuses

  • Askew
  • Parker
  • Relief school on the west side

 

 

Replace/complete 2 new middle school campuses

  • Grady (new addition to complete new campus)
  • Dowling (new campus)

 

In addition, the proposed measure would include funds that would improve conditions for students in all HISD schools. Those proposals include:

  • $100 million for district-wide technology improvements
  • $44.7 million to replace regional field houses and improve athletic facilities
  • $35 million to renovate middle school restrooms
  • $17.3 million for district-wide safety and security improvements

The Board of Education has also agreed to rebuild two schools – Condit Elementary and High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice – either through the sale of surplus district property, or by using any potential savings from other bond projects.

If approved by voters, design work of the new schools would begin in early 2013 and the first construction projects would start in 2014.

While including millions of dollars in recommended projects that would benefit students at all 279 schools in the district, the proposed bond package focuses heavily — $1.36 billion — on the city’s high schools. HISD’s most recent bond programs approved by voters in 1998, 2002 and 2007 primarily addressed needs at the elementary school level.  The average age of HISD secondary schools now stands at 50 years, compared to 39 years for the district’s primary schools. 

Many of Houston’s high school buildings were designed to meet the needs of students more than half a century ago and are no longer able to accommodate the best instructional approaches for helping today’s students meet rising academic expectations, according to independent school facilities experts who recently assessed HISD schools.

Modern schools feature design elements that are shown to positively impact student achievement. Some of these elements include:

  • Greater classroom configuration flexibility to help teachers differentiate their approaches to meet the needs of each child
  • Classroom designs that encourage collaborative learning
  • Improved access to technology
  • Infrastructure for the latest career and technical education programs
  • Lab spaces that offer hands-on science learning

Historic neighborhood schools

and prestigious schools of choice to be replaced

 

The Houston Schools Bond Proposition would completely rebuild some of Houston’s most historic neighborhood high schools across the city.  The proposal also includes new campuses for some of HISD’s prestigious specialty schools, including the nationally renowned High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, DeBakey High School for Health Professions, and Eastwood Academy.  All three schools made this year’s Children at Risk list of the Houston region’s Top 10 high schools.

The new HSPVA would be built downtown near Houston’s vaunted Theater District on land that HISD already owns at 1300 Capitol. HISD is working on an agreement that would allow the district to build DeBakey on property within the Texas Medical Center.

Exteriors of architecturally important schools to remain

The bond proposal recognizes the importance of protecting the character of some of HISD’s historic neighborhood high schools. Some new schools would maintain their existing building structures while their interiors are transformed. These schools include Austin, Davis, Lamar, and Milby.

Some of the schools recommended for major construction work are among those that had renovations under the 2007 bond program.  In many of those cases, the previously completed work will be incorporated into the new building design.

Even with the many projects included in the bond proposal, HISD schools still have many additional facility needs that remain unaddressed.  Those needs will be identified as HISD moves forward with developing a comprehensive long-range capital improvement plan.

Property tax implications

 

Because of the district’s strong fiscal management practices, HISD has been able to maintain the lowest property tax rate of the 20-plus school districts in Harris County. In addition, HISD is among the few districts in Texas that offer an optional 20 percent homestead exemption on top of the standard $15,000 exemption that other school districts offer. 

If an election is called, and voters approve the bond package, HISD would likely adopt a property tax rate increase in the future.  This tax rate increase would have no impact on the homesteads of HISD residents age 65 and older, because their tax rates are frozen.

HISD anticipates gradually phasing in a tax rate increase that in 2017 would reach a maximum of 4.85 cents per $100 of taxable value. For the owner of the average HISD home with a market value of $198,936, this would mean a monthly cost of $5.83, or $70 per year, five years from now.  Under this estimate, the property tax rate would increase by 1 penny in 2014, another penny in 2016, and 2.85 cents in 2017.

School construction and renovation work approved by HISD voters in 2007 is nearing completion under budget.  HISD has opened 20 new or replacement schools under that bond program, and the final 3 new schools are under construction.  More than 130 HISD campuses have undergone renovations so far.  Click here for more detailed information about the work completed under the 2007 bond program.

Over 600 Volunteers Participate in HISD’s Grads Within Reach Walk

Hundreds of volunteers spent Saturday morning knocking on more than 1,300 doors across the city encouraging students who have not returned to school this academic year to re-enroll.   The outreach effort was part of the ninth annual Grads Within Reach Walk, which led to 45 HISD students deciding to return to school immediately and many more promising to give school another try.

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier kicked off the walk at Austin High School by motivating dozens of volunteers and administrators.  “We know the factors that drive these students to make the difficult decision of dropping out of school vary,” Dr. Grier said. “That’s why we’re here today — to let them know about the programs HISD offers to help them graduate.  But more importantly we want them to know HISD cares about them and wants to help them get back in school.”

Dr. Grier later led the volunteers as they knocked on the homes of various students at Austin High School.  HISD Board of Education Trustee Juliet Stipeche and Austin High School Principal Jorge Arredondo were among those volunteers encouraging students to re-enroll.

“I’m excited we have the opportunity to reach out to these students to help them get their diploma,” Stipeche said.  “We want them to know HISD is going to do whatever it can to help them succeed.”  Principal Arredondo said he is invested in this effort, and it’s his privilege to be involved with the Grads Within Reach Walk.  “We know this community. We are from this community, and we deeply understand its challenges,” he said.  “We also realize as adults who work with the youth of Houston, we are very often these students’ last best chance.”

Among their successful visits was Imelda, 18, who only needs credit for one course to graduate and says she is now going to re-enroll.  “My dad has been encouraging me to finish high school,” said Imelda. “I do want to complete my course work so I can get my diploma, especially since I’m only one credit shy of graduation.”

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Two HISD Schools Win 2012 National Blue Ribbon Award

Two HISD schools were named today as 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools by U.S Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan.  East Early College High School and Project Chrysalis Middle School are among only 269 schools nationwide and 18 in Texas that achieved the honor this year.

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Award honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students’ levels of achievement. 

East Early College High School and Project Chrysalis Middle School were both recognized as “Exemplary Performing” schools.  

“Our nation has no greater responsibility than helping all children realize their full potential,” Duncan said. “Schools honored with the National Blue Ribbon Schools award are committed to accelerating student achievement and preparing students for success in college and careers.  Their work reflects the conviction that every child has promise and that education is the surest pathway to a strong, secure future.”

The Department of Education will honor all of the schools at a recognition ceremony on Nov. 12-13 in Washington, D.C.

Bonner Elementary students send thanks to troops, first responders

As the nation prepares to mark the 11th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, students at Bonner Elementary are honoring first responders and the men and women serving in our armed forces.

Students in first through fifth grade decorated brown paper bags that will be filled with candy then sent to members of the military, veterans, and first responders. The students also wrote letters thanking the men and women for their service to our country.

Bonner Elementary is one of several schools across the U.S. participating in Operation Goody Bag’s “Commit to Color” project which hopes to send 50,000 decorated goody bags and thank you notes to our troops and first responders.

Teachers and staff at Bonner are also donating money to organize a breakfast for the firefighters at Station 29 for their service to the school.

Director of Literacy Recognized with National Award

HISD’s Director of Literacy Carol Bedard has been honored along with two of her colleagues by the National Council of Teachers of English.

Dr. Bedard, who serves as an associate professor at the University of Houston Downtown in the Department of Urban Education, shared the role of co-editor on a prize-winning article with fellow faculty members Kim Pinkerton and Leigh Van Horn.

The article, entitled “English in Texas,” won first place in the Affiliate Journal Awards.

You can read the full story here.

Two HISD Educators Named ‘Champions of Change’ by White House

Two HISD educators are being honored at the White House on Friday, Aug. 31, as “Champions of Change” for their efforts to improve the lives of Hispanic youths.

Teacher Development Specialist Ben Hernandez and Austin High School teacher Armando Orduña were nominated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which also handpicked them to be members of that organization’s inaugural Teacher Advisory Council earlier this year.

“I don’t even know how to feel yet,” said Hernandez. “I was just excited that they had created this award to honor the hard work and the success that teachers experience. (HISD is) very progressive and aggressive, so I think in a lot of ways, it can turn national eyes on us to see what we’re doing right.”

You can watch a live feed of the awards ceremony on the White House’s website (www.whitehouse.gov/live) starting at 12:30 CDT.  Members of the media are also welcome to visit Austin High School (1700 Dumble) where fellow staff members and students will be watching the live ceremony.