Monthly Archives: May 2014

Bellaire, Lamar envision 21st century design elements in new high schools

Project Advisory Teams for Bellaire and Lamar high schools focused on the best ways to organize spaces in new facilities while sharing input with architects designing 21st century learning environment for both campuses.

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Moving forward: Everything you should know about HISD promotion standards

It’s that time of year when parents and students may be concerned about whether they have met requirements to advance to the next grade, and HISD is making promotion standards – as well as a series of frequently asked questions – easily accessible to find answers.

In addition to appearing here, the standards can be located on each school website, in the Student Requirements section of this www.houstonisd.org website, and on the Plan Your Path web section that addresses overall education planning and requirements for graduation. The FAQs are available in the Student Requirements section and on the Plan Your Path area, by clicking the Questions bar.

Here are HISD promotion standards:

Grade Level Promotion Standards
1 and 2
  • Students must pass High Frequency Word Test – Recognizing and reading words that appear very often in written and spoken language.
  • State requirement of overall yearly average of 70 or above and local requirement of an average of 70 or above in reading, other language arts, mathematics, and science or social studies.
  • Students must have sufficient attendance*
3, 4 and 5
  • Students must pass STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness) in reading and math.
  • State requirement of overall yearly average of 70 or above and local requirement of an average of 70 or above in reading, other language arts, mathematics, and science or social studies.
  • Students must have sufficient attendance*
6, 7 and 8
  • Students must pass STAAR in reading and math.
  • State requirement of overall yearly average of 70 or above and a local requirement of an average of 70 or above in three of the four core courses: Language arts (average of reading and English), mathematics, science, and social studies.
  • Students must have sufficient attendance*
9 – 12
  • Students are promoted based on their total accumulated course credits prior to the beginning of the next school year.
  • Individual course credit is earned through a passing grade of 70% or above and sufficient attendance*

*Sufficient attendance: A student’s total number of unexcused absences cannot exceed 10% of class meetings.

Students explore drug-resistant bacteria at Rice U.’s ‘Shamoo Lab’

Post-doc student Dr. Troy Hammerstrom explains the drug-resistance work the Shamoo Lab is doing to students from the Jane Long Academy.

With more infectious agents becoming immune to standard antibiotics, the study of how bacteria develop resistance to various drugs is becoming more critical than ever.

That’s one reason why more than 100 students from four HISD high schools got an up-close and personal look at almost a dozen different STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math)-related career fields last month, thanks to the Rice Empower program’s second annual STEM expo.

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30 seniors share $550,000 in Broad Prize scholarships

Thirty Houston ISD seniors will have help paying for college, thanks to $550,000 worth of scholarships the district received when it won The Broad Prize for Urban Education in 2013.

Seniors throughout the district were encouraged to apply for the two- and four-year scholarships. Winning students who enroll in a four-year college will receive $20,000 scholarships that will be paid out over four years ($5,000 per year), and students who enroll in a two-year college or technical program will receive $5,000 scholarships paid out over two years ($2,500 per year).

The following students were awarded scholarships from The Broad Foundation:

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Books Between Kids seeks volunteers ASAP for book distribution parties

It’s not every day that one-time volunteers get assigned the best job in the house, but that’s exactly what will happen to philanthropists who sign up to help Books Between Kids later this month.

Between May 16 and 23, that organization will be hosting the celebrations that volunteers wait for eagerly all year—the book distributions at which thousands of HISD students get to pick out free books to take home forever. Four of the 32 participating campuses this year lack the volunteer corps necessary to adequately staff these exciting events—and now, they’re asking HISD for help.

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Cool To Be Smart event is bigger and better than ever

Eligible HISD high school students will have the opportunity to win iPads, Google Chromebooks, gift cards and more – including a car — at the annual Cool To Be Smart event hosted by the district’s College Readiness department.

As in past years, eligible seniors will be in the running to win a new car—a 2013 Ford Fiesta Sedan Special Edition, valued at $17,735. New this year, eligible sophomores and juniors will be invited and can participate in games to win prizes.

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Wharton K-8 Dual Language Academy wins award for academic excellence in Spanish

Wharton K-8 Dual Language Academy has won the Embassy of Spain’s elementary award for Academic Excellence in Spanish.

“I am extraordinarily proud of the work that our faculty and staff have put into creating our outstanding dual language school,” Wharton Principal Jennifer Day said.

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HISD recognizes 2014’s top volunteers for ‘helping us grow’

This year’s honorees serve Bellaire, Jones, and four Montessori schools

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Each year, thousands of parents, businesses, and community partners support public education by volunteering their time on HISD campuses or engaging in other activities that contribute to the growth of the district. And every spring, HISD selects the top volunteers from among their ranks. Continue reading →