Monthly Archives: July 2014

Plan for new Milby HS discussed during final community meeting

Parents, students, and community members reviewed plans at a fourth and final community meeting on Tuesday night to preserve, modernize, and break ground on the new Milby High School.

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HISD Transportation strengthens safety commitment through training programs

The HISD Transportation department renewed its commitment to student safety recently by recertifying their training and staff development team through a comprehensive training program offered by the Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI). The training program focuses on prevention strategies and helps build confidence in team members to handle challenging situations.

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HISD headquarters to be closed on July 3

Houston ISD’s central office, the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, will be closed on Thursday, July 3, in observance of Independence Day. The closure is a result of the district’s condensed workweeks in June and July.

Some schools will hold summer school courses on Thursday. Please check with your child’s school to determine its schedule. No classes will be held on Friday.

Free breakfasts and lunches have been offered at more than 200 schools this summer. Some locations will be open on Thursday. To find a location near you, as well as its schedule, please visit http://www.houstonisd.org/summermeals.

Camp M.I. Way kicks off this year with the dedication of Phinny’s Field

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T.H. Rogers student Phineas Armstrong was recognized recently in a somewhat unconventional manner: a baseball diamond was named in his honor—but next year, it might actually be in a different location.

The dedication of “Phinny’s Field” took place on the campus of T.H. Rogers last month during Camp M.I. Way, which provides students with multiple impairments with daily opportunities to practice their communication skills. And though that campus has consistently hosted the event every summer for the past decade, if the camp ever moves, the name will travel along with it to wherever it may be held in the future. Continue reading →

Summer program gives rising sixth-graders a taste of middle school life

Incoming sixth-grader Taylor, 10, believes it’s important to protect the bee population, and she thinks she knows ways to do so. “Planting flowers will help attract bees so they can make more honey,” she said as she put marigold seeds into a small decorated pot.

This was only one of the many lessons she and several other soon-to-be sixth-graders learned during their two weeks in the Summer Bridge program, made possible by the federally-funded Race to the Top grant the district received, at Holland Middle School.

Students planted flowers as one way to help improve the bee population, discussing the reasons bees were threatened, and ways they could help save them. It was all part of a day’s work that integrated the mini-ecology lesson into other areas such as mathematics, reading, improving critical thinking skills, leading discussions, and other subjects. Continue reading →

HISD names key leaders

Houlihan and Hardman take over human resources, school support

Dr. Andrew Houlihan comments during the opening day of the Houston ISD Summer Leadership Institute at Reliant Center, June 17, 2014. (Houston ISD/Dave Einsel)

Dr. Andrew Houlihan

HISD recently announced two major appointments  to its leadership team. Dr. Andrew Houlihan will move into the role of chief human resources officer, a position that was vacated when Dr. Rodney Watson was named superintendent of Spring ISD. Chief High Schools Officer Dr. Shonda Huery Hardman will step into Houlihan’s current position of chief school support officer. The appointments go into effect immediately. Continue reading →

Combat the ‘summer slide’ with Think Through Math’s free online competition

Parents looking for another way to combat the dreaded “summer slide” need look no further. Think Through Math (TTM) is offering its “Texas Math—Everybody’s Doing It!” (.pdf) competition for the second year in a row.

Students in grades 3–8 can sharpen their math skills this summer by participating in the free online contest through Aug. 8—and if enough do so, HISD will retain its title as the top district in Texas. The district first took the crown in last year’s competition, with almost three times as many points as the second-place finisher.

Participating students can also win individual prizes. Each day, three will be chosen at random to receive a “Daily Dive” award—an Amazon e-gift card for passing at least two math lessons. Continue reading →

Dynamic keynote speaker praises HISD for its focus on literacy

Dr. Susan Szachowicz knows a thing or two about turning around troubled schools. The retired educator was still a teacher at her alma mater, Brockton High School, in 1999, when the campus was dubbed a “cesspool” by local media as one of the worst-performing schools in Massachusetts.

“Our failure rate was 75 percent in math and 44 percent in English language arts,” said the lifelong Brockton resident. “There was a real culture of low expectations.”

But by maintaining a relentless focus on literacy for the past 15 years, teachers and administrators have completely transformed the campus into a place of “high standards, high expectations, and no excuses.” It is now referred to as “a jewel of the city,” and is routinely cited as a prime example of a successful turnaround school. Continue reading →