Campus and central office leadership teams are gathering at Reliant Center for three days of professional development at the 2013 Houston ISD Summer Leadership Institute.
This year’s theme is “Becoming Great All Over … The Connection Between Rigorous and Consistent Instruction and School Safety,” and attendees took part in a number of breakout sessions designed to show how those concepts intersect.
Houston ISD Superintendent Dr. Terry Grier smiles after writing a message on a bus during the Summer Leadership Institute at Reliant Center, June 18, 2013.
During the first day of the HISD Summer Leadership Institute, Superintendent of Schools Terry Grier challenged principals to share what they can do every day to help their staff, their school, and their students to “become great all over.” Instead of writing their thoughts down on a piece of paper, however, the school leaders grabbed paint pens and “tagged” an HISD school bus parked in front of Reliant Hall.
“Great teachers, principals, and support staff is what it is all about,” said Dr. Grier, as he grabbed a black paint pen and inked his thoughts on the bus. “Our investment in human capital here at HISD is sincere and it is an extremely important piece of what we are ultimately trying to do, which is to make all our schools and students great.”
Government Fleet, a leading transportation industry magazine, has announced the top 100 fleets for 2013 and HISD is once again the only school district in the country to earn a spot on the list (not including Honorable Mentions).
2013 will mark the third consecutive year for HISD’s Transportation Services department to be on the list. In 2011, it ranked 57th in the nation among the best fleets in North America, and last year, it moved up five spots to number 52. This year, HISD broke into the top half of the list, with a ranking of number 47.
• To view the official agenda, click here.
The Houston ISD Board of Education will meet Thursday, June 20, 2013 to consider adopting a $1.62 billion budget that includes $20 million to tutor more students at struggling schools across the city while ensuring that HISD continues to offer the lowest tax rate among the two dozen school districts in Harris County.
To support the recruitment and staffing of the annexed North Forest ISD schools with the best employees available, an open transfer period is being made available to current HISD teachers, administrators, and other exempt employees who are interested in seeking a 2013–2014 school year position with one of the campuses located in the North Forest community.
School’s out for the summer, and that means no more pencils and no more books. But wait—there are books. For the second year in a row, Half Price Books has donated 5,000 books to students at the Wharton K–8 Academy so they can take part in the district’s Millionaire Club.
The Millionaire Club is a coordinated effort between HISD’s Library Services and Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment departments to keep kids reading over the summer break in order to combat the “summer slide,” or the loss of academic skills many students experience after three months of inactivity. If a student reads and records five books on a log, then they become a member of the club and are eligible for recognition and prizes when they return to school in the fall.
Approximately 100 students in the inaugural class of the Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan are spending part of their summer vacation becoming acclimated to their teachers and course load.
The sixth-grade students are taking classes in math, science, art, reading, and more among the summer school students at DeBakey High School, which is housing the Academy students until their facility is ready later this summer.
Scholarship offers for the Class of 2013 continue to pour in. As of this week, HISD’s most recent graduates had been offered $186 million in college scholarships – a new record for the district.
“We expect that number to increase even more over the next few months as students continue to receive word about different scholarships they have applied for,” said Alan Summers, Assistant Superintendent of College and Career Readiness.
The Houston Independent School District is hosting a series of public meetings to discuss the impending July 1 annexation of North Forest.
The Houston Independent School district has named new principals at three elementary schools. They are: