HISD is actively recruiting STEM teachers who are invested in preparing our students to compete in this 21st century economy. By 2018, Texas will have added over 750,000 new jobs in STEM fields. STEM teachers are critical to ensure that Houston’s students are qualified and skilled for these positions. We are currently accepting applications for the 2013-2014 school year. The next application deadline is April 22, 2013.
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Yearly Archives: 2013
HISD Early Child, Pre-K Programs Recognize ‘Week of the Young Child’
HISD schools that have early child and pre-school programs are recognizing The Week of the Young Child from April 14-20, 2013 with student projects, special events and parades. The annual celebration is sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.
At HISD’s Ninfa Laurenzo Early Childhood Center, students will be taking part in the school’s fourth annual Student Expo on Wednesday, April 17. Parents will have the opportunity to tour the hallways of the school to view classroom projects. Each classroom was responsible for researching and creating a group project on a different zoo animal.
“At Ninfa Laurenzo we lay the building blocks of learning for our children by going beyond the ABC’s and 123’s,” said Principal Maria Lopez-Rogina. “We also prepare them to apply what they have learned through classroom projects.”
Ninfa Laurenzo is one of seven HISD early childhood centers located throughout the city to serve the district’s youngest students. The others centers include Bellfort, Farias, Halpin, Mistral, Neff and The Martin Luther King Jr. Early Childhood Center.
“At MLK we play with a purpose,” said Principal Gabriella Coleman. “We are focused on making sure our students are provided with experiences that focus on building skills that will help them become better readers, better mathematicians and better scientists.”
Watch an example of how HISD’s Early Childhood Center work to educate children beginning at a young age in the video below.
[vimeo https://vimeo.com/28679938 width=”600px” height=”330px”]
In addition, many HISD elementary schools offer prekindergarten programs. For parents whose children do not meet the eligibility requirements to attend prekindergarten for free, HISD offers the program for a nominal tuition. For more information and a list of HISD schools that offer a prekindergarten program, click here.
HISD also offers parents zoned to 11 elementary school campuses the opportunity to participate in the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters program, also known as HIPPY. The HIPPY program is free and offers parents of three, four, and five-year-olds at home instruction on how to encourage and develop their child’s potential. Campuses that offer the HIPPY Program are:
• Brookline
• Coop
• DeChaumes
• De Zavala
• Farias
• Foster
• Garcia
• Garden Oaks
• JR Harris
• Lantrip
• Roosevelt
Sharpstown International One of 12 HISD Schools to Advance to State Odyssey of the Mind Competition
Students from 12 HISD schools will compete in the state Odyssey of the Mind competition on April 13.
For students at Sharpstown International School, the excitement of advancing past the regional competition is particularly meaningful as 2013 marks their second year of participation and back-to-back wins.
Board of Education Approves Two New Magnet Schools
New campuses will expand options for students seeking specialty schools with academically challenging courses
The HISD Board of Education on Thursday approved creating two new magnet schools that will offer a highly rigorous curriculum emphasizing science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The newly created Energy Institute High School and the Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan will now begin enrolling students for the upcoming 2013-2014 school year. The Energy Institute High School will begin with ninth-grade students and add a grade level each year to eventually serve students in grades 9-12. The Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan will open with a sixth-grade class and eventually serve students in grades 6-8. Earlier this year, the Houston Independent School District Board of Education authorized the district to apply for $12 million in federal magnet school funds for these two new magnets and six others (click here for more information).
Team HISD discusses partnerships with NAACP and HCC to promote literacy
Team HISD and members of the Houston Branch of the NAACP discuss HISD’s literacy initiative at B.K. Bruce Elementary School.
Representatives of the Houston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Houston Community College recently toured Lora B. Peck and B.K. Bruce elementary schools to discuss partnerships with the district to promote HISD’s literacy initiative.
Bruce Principal Trealla Epps and two teachers described how partnerships affect student achievement. The educators noted that the United Way of Greater Houston’s partnership with the school has motivated students about reading by pairing first-graders with volunteers who read to them and help them complete literacy exercises.
Board of Education to Consider Two New Magnet Schools
Proposed campuses would expand options for students seeking specialty schools with academically challenging courses
The HISD Board of Education will consider a proposal Thursday to create two new magnet schools that will offer a highly rigorous curriculum emphasizing science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
If approved, the proposed Energy Institute High School and the Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan would immediately begin enrolling students for the upcoming 2013-2014 school year. The Energy Institute High School would begin with a class of ninth-grade students and add a grade level each year to eventually serve students in grades 9-12. The Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan would open with a sixth-grade class and eventually serve students in grades 6-8. Continue reading
Seven HISD Seniors Awarded National Achievement Scholarships
Ten percent of Texas winners are from HISD
April 10, 2013 – Seven Houston Independent School District students have been named National Achievement Scholarship winners and will each receive a $2,500 scholarship for their undergraduate studies.
Each year the National Merit Scholarship Corporation awards scholarships to African-American students who have excelled in academics and have demonstrated the potential for academic success in college.
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Farias ECC Recognized as a Model for Behavior Management
Farias ECC students model the emotions represented by the “Feeling Buddies” they are holding. “Feeling Buddies” help children recognize and name the feelings they are experiencing, so that they can better deal with emotional upsets.
Dr. Becky Bailey, author of Conscious Discipline, came to the campus on March 22 to recognize Farias for being a model of the behavior modification program of the same name she developed. More than 150 educators from across North America (including a few from as far away as Mexico) also came to visit, to see the strategies described in the book in action.
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Board of Education to Consider 12 More Contracts for Work Related to 2012 Bond
Selected projects include 10 of the largest high schools slated for construction
Administrators are recommending that the HISD Board of Education authorize the district to negotiate design contracts with 12 firms on a dozen more 2012 bond projects, including 10 of the largest high schools. The projects represent about $750 million in bond dollars.
HISD Officials Share Insight on Passing 2012 Bond
Leo Bobadilla, HISD's chief operating officer, presents at the 2013 Council of Educational Facility Planners International Southern Region Conference in Austin on Friday about planning and passing a $1.89 billion bond referendum. Photo by Christina Burke
If any school districts are looking for some tips on how to plan and pass a bond referendum, HISD Chief Operating Officer Leo Bobadilla has some advice: Make the information engaging.
“We can’t tell people how to vote,” Bobadilla said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun communicating the information to voters so they can make informed choices.”