Monthly Archives: November 2013

PowerUp Curriculum To Empower Teachers To Use Technology

As HISD prepares to distribute laptops to nearly 17,000 high school students this coming January, the district’s Curriculum Department is preparing an expanded and enhanced set of planning documents to assist teachers at the 11 campuses in PowerUp. PowerUp is the district’s one-to-one initiative that will eventually provide all students a laptop.

“PowerUp is about more than just giving kids computers that they can use in the classroom and at home,” said HISD Secondary Curriculum Director Mike Dorsey. “This is about changing the culture of teaching and learning at HISD by digitizing the classroom and by giving our teachers and students the tools they need.”

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HISD Board of Education Election Results

Incumbent Trustees Anna Eastman and Harvin Moore will keep their seats on the Houston Independent School District Board of Education after beating their challengers, according to final, but unofficial results of Tuesday’s election.

Former City Councilwoman Wanda Adams also won a seat on the HISD Board of Education, beating out two opponents to fill the District IX spot being vacated by departing Trustee Larry Marshall. Trustees Greg Meyers and Michael Lunceford were unopposed in their re-election bids.

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Math Students Tally Up a Victory for HISD in ‘Think Through Math’ Contest

Six of the top ten students in the Think Through Math summer competition came to a reception held in their honor on Nov. 5. From L–R are: Saide Christoffel, Jésus Mendez, Patrick Han, Alexander Chin, Aldo Ortega, and Drayton Gober.

Ten students’ passion for solving math problems over their summer vacation has helped bring HISD first-place honors and bragging rights as the top district in its division of Think Through Math’s (TTM) “2013 Texas Math—Everybody’s Doing It!” competition.

The contest lasted from June 10 until Aug. 9, and districts from all over the state participated by having students complete math lessons to earn points.

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Furniture Expo Sets Stage for 21st Century Learning Spaces

Sitting down at flexible tables with swivel chairs and tablet compartments, students, teachers and parents moved quickly from one piece of furniture to the next to see which ones were the most comfortable and collaborative.

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More than 70 people tested out furniture on display Tuesday at Houston ISD’s first furniture expo showcasing 21st century learning environments. The event allowed Project Advisory Teams (PATs) to explore different learning spaces and provide feedback to help guide the design for the new schools being built and renovated under the district’s 2012 bond program.

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EMERGE Students See Significant Gains in SAT Scores

Although HISD will not receive SAT results from the College Board until later this year, individual seniors who retook the SAT in October after attending the EMERGE SAT Boot Camp in July are getting their scores and seeing significant improvement – more than 300 out of 2,400 possible points in some cases.

“We are very pleased with the results,” said Assistant Superintendent for College Readiness Richard Cruz, who launched EMERGE in 2011 and continues to oversee it. “We are about to expand the program from 100 to 300 students.” EMERGE is a districtwide initiative aimed at getting high-achieving HISD students in underserved communities into Ivy League and other Tier 1 schools.

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HISD’s Terry Grier Chosen as Texas’ Nominee for National Superintendent of the Year

Dr. Terry Grier

Dr. Terry Grier, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, will represent Texas in the American Association of School Administrators’ (AASA) National Superintendent of the Year Program.

Under Grier’s leadership, Houston ISD was awarded the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education, an award that recognizes gains in student achievement and comes with $550,000 in college scholarships for its high school seniors. Houston is the only district in the country to receive the award twice, winning the inaugural Broad Prize in 2002. The district was one of four national finalists in 2012.

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School Choice Open House Kicks Off Magnet Awareness Week

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/78556430/ w=320&h=205]

HISD conducted its annual School Choice Open House on Nov. 2, and thousands of parents and their children attended the event at Northwest Mall to learn more about their options for the coming fall.

Parent Andradie Walker came to the fair with her seven-year-old daughter, who currently attends Benbrook Elementary School. “She really likes to learn, and she’s interested in music, dance, and art,” she said, “so I’m looking to expand her learning experience.” Walker said that she is also very interested in Whidby Elementary, which has a health science magnet program.

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Photos: T.H. Rogers School Celebrates Diwali

T.H. Rogers School celebrated Diwali (also known as the Hindu “Festival of Lights”) on Nov. 1.

T.H. Rogers is a diverse school that serves children from more than 65 countries, and all students participate in the annual festival, which featured a cultural dance program, traditional foods, and Mehendi (temporary henna tattoo designs applied to the hands). The grand finale was the Bollywood-style dance performance by teachers and staff.

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Harvard ES Makes Video to Celebrate Author’s Visit

Students and staff at Harvard Elementary School put together an energetic video to celebrate Katherine Applegate, author of the 2013 Newbery Medal winner The One and Only Ivan, visiting the school on Oct. 29. Applegate read from her award-winning book and discussed it with students. Her visit is the highlight of the school’s annual “One Book, One School” project, which strives to create a sense of community among all Harvard students through the shared experience of reading a work of literature.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/78169939 width=”600px” height=”330px”]

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Seven Students and One Coach Recognized by Positive Coaching Alliance

Lamar HS student Lyndsey Lafitte (center) with her parents

Seven students from six HISD high schools were honored recently as finalists in the Positive Coaching Alliance of Houston’s “Triple-Impact Competitor” scholarship program.

Five of those students — Leticia Adamut (Furr HS), Rafael Ameloza (Jones HS), Henry Ho (Lee HS), Lyndsey Lafitte (Lamar HS), and Rachel Smith (Bellaire HS) — walked away with $2,000 each after being named winners, while two Leslies — Leslie Cundiff from Bellaire HS and Leslie Pompa from East Early College HS — took home $500 as finalists.

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