Monthly Archives: January 2014

Classes resume Wednesday but remember it’s early dismissal

HISD students were back in class on Wednesday, Jan. 29 as scheduled.

Parents, please also remember that Wednesday is a previously scheduled early dismissal day, with schools releasing 2.5 hours earlier than usual.

Because of an officiating scheduling problem, all middle school basketball games scheduled for Wednesday were postponed to Thursday.

For additional updates, please visit www.houstonisd.org, call the HISD Inclement Weather Hotline at 713-267-1704, or follow the district on Twitter and Facebook: twitter.com/houstonisd (handle: @houstonisd) and facebook.com/houstonisd.

Many concerned parents and students are already asking about how lost instructional time will be made up, and if students will be required to attend class on April 18 (HISD’s Spring Holiday) or May 26 (Memorial Day). These days are scheduled holidays, but also the district’s designated make-up days for the current school year.

To learn more about make-up days, click here.

All HISD schools and offices closed due to inclement weather

Classes expected to resume Wednesday

The Houston Independent School District has canceled all classes tomorrow — Tuesday, Jan. 28 — as a result of the potential for inclement weather and related dangerous road conditions.

HISD officials have been closely monitoring the weather for the past 24 hours and have determined that icy road conditions in some parts of the Houston area may make for dangerous driving. As a result, all HISD schools and district administrative offices are closed for the day on Tuesday. All afternoon activities and athletic events are also canceled. Parents, students and staff are being notified by phone.

Classes are scheduled to resume as usual on Wednesday, Jan. 29. However, we are continuing to monitor weather conditions and will notify parents if that changes.

For additional updates, please visit www.houstonisd.org, call the HISD Inclement Weather Hotline at 713-267-1704, or follow the district on Twitter and Facebook: twitter.com/houstonisd (handle: @houstonisd) and facebook.com/houstonisd.

 

UPDATED: Your make-up day questions answered

The district’s 2013-2014 academic calendar adopted by the HISD Board of Education, designates the Spring Holiday (April 18, 2014) and Memorial Day (May 26, 2014) as makeup days. To make up the days lost due to wintry weather on Friday, January 24, and Tuesday, January 28, HISD schools will now be open April 18 and May 26 for students, faculty and support staff.

Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions:

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HISD students, staff join national school choice celebration at Union Station

Clifton MS sixth-grader Victoria Lopez and her mom got to know HISD School Support Officer Lupita Hinojosa, left, at Saturday’s National School Choice Week kick-off event.

HISD students and staff were among the thousands who attended the National School Choice Week kick-off at Houston’s Union Station Saturday, Jan. 25. The celebration brought together Democrats and Republicans, home-schoolers, public school districts, charters, and even a few virtual learners around a common cause: school choice.

Superintendent Terry Grier, introduced by KIPP Co-founder Mike Feinberg, pointed out to a sea of yellow scarves and signs advocating school choice. Nearly 70,000 students in HISD are exercising their right to choose the school that meets their unique needs. Contingents from Elrod,Garden Oaks, Parker, Poe Red, and Roberts elementary schools; Clifton, Fleming, Johnston and Revere middle schools; and Chavez, Challenge Early College and South Early College high schools were there.

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Get HISD weather plans here and @HoustonISD on Twitter

HISD families and employees are urged to stay connected through social media – such as @HoustonISD on Twitter – to check whether another round of wintry weather forcecast for the Houston area will impact schools, district facilities, and afterschool activities on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for all of southeast Texas from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday. The forecast shows the potential for precipitation, including snow and freezing rain, that could lead to dangerous driving conditions.

The wintry weather is expected to arrive just a few days after freezing rain and icy conditions forced HISD and school districts across the area to cancel school last Friday.

Please continue to follow this website, your school’s websites or our Twitter account @HoustonISD and Facebook page at Houston Independent School District for the very latest information about HISD’s plans. We’ll also call parents and update the Inclement Weather Hotline, which you can reach at 713-267-1704, if the district cancels classes.

All HISD schools and offices closed due to inclement weather

Classes to resume on Monday

UPDATE: 1/24 @ 1:04 p.m.: 

With dangerous road conditions still present across the Houston area, HISD has decided to cancel all districtwide athletic and academic events scheduled this afternoon and this evening, including the wrestling and debate tournaments. Also canceled are all soccer and basketball games. For information on the status of school-based events, please contact the individual school for updates. Currently, all athletic and academic events scheduled for Saturday are anticipated to take place. The debate tournament, however, will be rescheduled to a later date.

 

The Houston Independent School District has canceled all classes today — Friday, Jan. 24 — as a result of this morning’s inclement weather and the related potential for dangerous road conditions.

HISD officials have been closely monitoring the weather for the past 48 hours and have determined that icy road conditions in some parts of the Houston area may make for dangerous driving. As a result, all HISD schools and district administrative offices are closed for the day. Parents, students and staff are being notified by phone.

With temperatures forecast to rise throughout Friday and into the weekend, no schedule changes are expected for district athletic events on Friday afternoon or evening. No interruption to academic events scheduled for Saturday is anticipated.

Classes will resume as usual on Monday, Jan. 27.

HISD will make up the day on either April 18 or Memorial Day (May 26).

For additional updates, please visit www.houstonisd.org, call the HISD Inclement Weather Hotline at 713-267-1704, or follow the district on Twitter and Facebook: twitter.com/houstonisd (handle: @houstonisd) and facebook.com/houstonisd.

Contractor event offers opportunity to network on Worthing HS building project

More than 70 subcontractors were encouraged to bid now for construction work for a new building addition at Worthing High School during a meet and greet Wednesday with the school’s construction managers.

“The people here today are very interested in the 2012 bond,” said HISD supplier diversity specialist Vanessa McGinnis. “We’re giving local subcontractors and minority- and women-owned businesses an opportunity to talk one-on-one with the construction manager at risk for this project, so they can learn how their business and services may be used for this project.”

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Students share their vision of the Bayou City in ‘Eye on Houston’ exhibit

This photo, taken by Bellaire High School student Maggie Dib and entitled “Limitless,” is one of dozens captured by students from three HISD campuses that will be in the Eye on Houston display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, through April 20. (Image courtesy MFAH)

For almost two decades, students at HISD’s Jack Yates High School have been chronicling the rhythm of life in Houston’s historic Third Ward.

Under the leadership of photography teacher Ray Carrington III, teens learned the basics of photography, film development, and print-making, then used their developing artistic eye to record interesting images of their neighborhood.

The photographs were displayed each year in an exhibit called “Eye on Third Ward” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston—and now, that program has expanded to include the work of students from two other campuses: Bellaire and Chávez high schools.

Now known as “Eye on Houston,” the exhibit opened on Jan. 11 in the museum’s Audrey Jones Beck Building (5601 Main St.). It will stay there through April 20.

Decisions, decisions: School Choice Week celebrates variety

Kolter ES students are excited about School Choice Week!

The fourth annual National School Choice Week (NSCW) kicks off its Whistle-Stop Tour across the nation in Houston at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at Union Station at Minute Maid Park, 501 Crawford St. The event provides an opportunity to learn more about HISD’s School Choice program and the portfolio of educational programs offered by the district’s many magnet and vanguard, International Baccalaureate, Montessori, and early college high schools, Futures academies, and charter schools. Despite the December deadline for first-round consideration for magnet applications, there are still many openings in great schools across the district.

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