Yearly Archives: 2013

Principals selected, changes proposed for North Forest schools

As the State of Texas moves forward with its order to close North Forest ISD and annex the area into the Houston Independent School District, HISD is making plans to change the purpose of some NFISD buildings and selecting staff for NFISD schools.

In addition, the district plans to recommend attendance zones for the North Forest area to meet the needs of transferred students, and make modest changes to HISD school attendance zones for areas adjoining the North Forest boundary later this summer. Pursuant to the order issued by Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams, these changes will take effect on July 1, 2013.
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Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan decides school colors, mascot

This past Monday, the students, parents and staff of the new Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan decided their school colors and mascot.

But rather than simply tell you about it ourselves, we thought we’d ask the students to tell you themselves. Some of the students were at Space Center Houston on a field trip as part of the school’s inaugural summer camp to help students and teachers get acclimated prior to the start of the school year.

HISD Seeks Companies with Safety, Security, Quality Control Expertise to Work on Bond Program

Companies with expertise in safety, security, quality control and labor compliance have an opportunity to assist HISD with its 2012 bond program by submitting a proposal to do all or part of the work.

The district released an RFP on June 10 with a scope of work that covers everything from job site safety inspections to hazard controls and background checks for construction workers. In addition, the district is seeking to find a vendor that will ensure all contractors and subcontractors are paid the prevailing wage rate, as required by federal and state law.

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Education runs in family, student awarded for doing what’s right featured in June 13 Community eNews

Three members of one family are making a difference in Houston ISD children’s lives and one student is awarded for helping others and not bowing down to peer pressure. Those are just two stories featured in this week’s edition of Community eNews.

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Legislative Session brings changes to STAAR, district budget

On Monday, June 10, Governor Perry signed House Bill 5 into law. The bill dramatically revises the number of high school student assessments required for graduation as well as overall graduation plans in Texas.

“HISD students will now only be required to pass five end-of-course exams to earn a diploma rather than the 15 exams that were previously required,” said HISD Government Relations Director Veronica Garcia.

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Students edit their future in Apple-certified lab

Students edit videos in Reagan High School's Apple-certified lab

Reagan High School’s Apple Authorized Training Center is helping students who dream of working in television and film get closer to their goals.

The school offers video editing as a track in its technology magnet program.

“We determined that Apple’s Final Cut Pro was the freshest and most popular high-end video software on the market,” said Michael Shea, a teacher in Reagan’s Digital Media Center.

The school wanted students to be able to be certified in Final Cut Pro, so it embarked on a mission to become an Apple Authorized Training Center.

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E-STEM student caught doing good gets free Luby’s for a year

E-STEM Academy seventh-grader Jada Malveaux (fourth from L) was recently named the “Gold” award winner in Luby’s Achieving Character Together (ACT) program, earning her free Luby’s meals for a year. With her are (L to R): Luby's Marketing Field Specialist Tiffanie Gupton, E-STEM teacher Joshua Wiley, parents Sharon and Bartholomew Malveaux, and E-STEM Principal Argentina James.

E-STEM Academy seventh-grader Jada Malveaux (fourth from L) was recently named the “Gold” award winner in Luby’s Achieving Character Together (ACT) program, earning her free Luby’s meals for a year. With her are (L to R): Luby's Marketing Field Specialist Tiffanie Gupton, E-STEM teacher Joshua Wiley, parents Sharon and Bartholomew Malveaux, and E-STEM Principal Argentina James.

Making good decisions in one’s day-to-day life generally does not elicit public accolades or financial rewards, but for one HISD middle-school student, a willingness to help others and withstand peer pressure has brought her both the applause of her teacher and a prize package worth about $3,500.

Jada Malveaux, a seventh-grader at the E-STEM Academy, was one of dozens of students to be nominated throughout the 2012–2013 school year for recognition through Luby’s Inc.’s ACT Program (Achieving Character Together), which was introduced in September 2008 and designed to promote and reward outstanding character achievement in middle-schools students.

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2012 Bond Program Will Furnish Classrooms with Flexibility, Comfort

This isn’t the furniture you had in school: Those boring, gray standalone desks that hurt your backside after hours of sitting.

Imagine, instead, the kind of vibrant and comfy chairs you might find in an airport lounge or a bookstore. As the district rebuilds and renovates schools under the 2012 bond program, a key component will be modernizing the furniture and fixtures to reflect a 21st century classroom.

“Learning environments have changed in schools,” HISD’s Construction & Facility Services Logistics Manager Cheryl Hughes said. “They’ve become more collaborative, and our furniture and infrastructure must adapt to this change.”

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Hundreds volunteer at schools for Deloitte’s annual ‘Impact Day’

Class may be out for the summer, but three Houston ISD schools kept their doors open on Friday, June 7, 2013, as roughly 300 Deloitte employees poured in to beautify the campuses as part of the company’s annual ‘Impact Day’ service project. The Deloitte volunteers divided themselves between Wharton Elementary, Hamilton Middle, and Reagan High School and spent the day providing both aesthetic and functional improvements to the schools.

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Teachers’ pens hit paper as Summer Writing Institute begins

Instructor Edward Wilson uses a nursery rhyme to explain the basics of writing at the Summer Writing Institute. (Houston Independent School District)

Instructor Edward Wilson uses a nursery rhyme to explain the basics of writing at the Summer Writing Institute.

Even though classes for students ended last Thursday, some teachers were on the other side of the desk this week as they began work on their own lessons during Houston ISD’s Summer Writing Institute.

More than 230 educators began learning the ins-and-outs of writing, including assessment, instruction, development and theory in one of the four 12-day training sessions this summer. The Institute is the first of its kind for the district as it continues its effort to increase teacher development.

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