Teachers at eight HISD high schools are preparing their coursework for the upcoming year a bit differently than they have in the past. Campus teams from Chavez, Eastwood Academy, Furr, Lee, Milby, Reagan, Sterling, and Westside are refining plans to teach core subjects through project-based learning — a part of the district’s commitment to the Linked Learning approach. These campus teams shared their plans at the Linked Learning Summer Institute during June.
Continue reading
Yearly Archives: 2014
Hidden talents show determination, diversity of HISD’s bilingual instructors
What do a national judo champion and a member of an up-and-coming European band have in common? They’re both bilingual teachers in HISD!
The district has been hiring highly qualified bilingual teachers from Spain to fill critical shortage areas in HISD through a partnership with that country’s Ministry of Education since 1997—and Blanco “Miguel” Lopez (Law ES) and Juan Luis Alonso-Benito (Coop ES) are two of them. Continue reading
HISD Transportation to host job fair this weekend
The Houston Independent School District will be hosting a transportation job fair on Saturday, June 28. The fair will take place at the Northwest Transportation Facility (6351 Pinemont Drive, 77092) from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
HISD will be conducting in-person interviews for the following positions:
- School Bus Drivers ($15.40/hourly)
- Transportation Attendants ($9.76/hourly)
Plan to redraw HISD trustee districts will be subject for four hearings, starting July 1
The Houston Independent School District will launch a series of four community meetings next week to hear feedback about a draft plan to redraw trustee districts.
The first meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 1, at Shadydale Elementary School, 5905 Tidwell 77028.
With the annexation of North Forest ISD in 2013, 56,000 more people were added to HISD, necessitating the redrawing of all nine trustees’ areas to comply with federal election law mandating that population be distributed evenly throughout the entire school district.
Trustees voted at their last regular meeting to send a draft plan to the community. Three additional meetings will be held in July: Continue reading
Architects, engineers get tips on submitting bids for 2012 bond work as deadline approaches
More than 100 architects and engineers planning to bid for design work for schools listed in the remaining phases of the HISD 2012 bond program attended a pre-proposal conference this week. The deadline to submit bids for projects in Phase 3 and 4 is scheduled for 2 p.m. on July 8.
New era for HISD magnets as board votes for funding plan to increase equity, transparency
HISD trustees enacted a historic component of a steady, four-year reform of HISD’s magnet school programs last week, when they approved a new funding formula that increases equity and transparency. Continue reading
Linked Learning crafts new pathways for college and career
Educators from eight HISD high schools — Chavez, Eastwood Academy, Furr, Lee, Milby, Reagan, Sterling, and Westside — are spending their summer designing industry-themed programs of study intended to make learning exciting, challenging and relevant to real-world experiences. The program, known as Linked Learning, will help students build a strong foundation that leads to fulfilling and successful college and career experiences.
“It’s amazing. It’s awesome,” said Linked Learning superintendent Adam Stephens.
Linked Learning pathways differ from Texas House Bill 5’s mandated pathways. Continue reading
Video explores design, planning of new Lee High School
Design images of Lee High School, which will be rebuilt into a 21st century learning environment, are featured in a new HISD video that explores the planning and design of the campus.
[su_vimeo url=”https://http://vimeo.com/98663334″ responsive=”no”]
Ushering in the Digital Age: Personalization driving HISD’s
efforts to phase out textbooks
The ability to personalize the learning experience for students is a key component of HISD’s PowerUp initiative, and the district is helping teachers meet that goal with its ongoing conversion to digital learning resources.
Previously, HISD has spent its annual allotment for instructional materials on textbooks, but this spring, about a third of those funds went toward the purchase of either digital materials or resources with a digital component. These materials allow teachers to further differentiate—or tailor—their instruction to individual students. Continue reading
First-gen student gearing up for the road less traveled
Karen Banda
The route of a minority, low-income, first-generation student is filled with road-blocks and a mix of emotions: anxiety, fear, confusion, happiness, and sadness. I know because I am a first-gen student. I’m anxious to see what’s beyond my hometown; to see the things that I can accomplish. But I am also scared that I will not make it or that I will not do as well as I have these past few years in high school.
This fall, I will embark on the road less traveled by someone with my background – I will leave my home and family to achieve my “impossible dream.”
Continue reading