Yearly Archives: 2014

Board of Education to consider school closures, graduation plan

Proposal would close Jones, Dodson; new graduation plan under HB 5 would include Algebra II requirement

The Houston Independent School District Board of Trustees will review proposals to close Jones High School and Dodson Elementary School, and vote on new policies associated with House Bill 5 during a board meeting planned for Thursday, March 13.
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Buster the Bus schools elementary kids on school bus safety

Elmore Elementary School second-graders bubbled with excitement as an animated mini school bus with a stop arm, flashing headlights, and big blinking eyes rolled into the auditorium.

Soon they were getting an important lesson on bus safety – thanks to HISD transportation team members and Buster the Bus, an interactive tool that is traveling around the district to teach children about being safe.

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Campus meetings put families in-the-know about upcoming changes in high school

Reagan, Washington HB 5 sessions show what’s in store for next year’s ninth-graders

High school is changing in a big way for next year’s ninth-grade students, and dozens of HISD families got a jump on finding out how at two community meetings Monday night at Reagan and Washington high schools.

The changes are coming as a result of state legislation known as House Bill 5 – and HISD has rebranded the process for its students and their families as “Plan Your Path.”

“Plan Your Path” is all about guiding students to “dream big,” explained Alejandro Morua, HISD’s general manager of Family and Community Engagement, by combining career awareness and selection with a rigorous academic curriculum from pre-K through graduation.

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Lemonade Day kickoff highlights youth entrepreneurship

Lemonade Day is more than just putting up an impromptu neighborhood stand – and Monday’s kickoff at HISD’s DeZavala Elementary School highlighted all the strategy and business skills that go into creating successful young entrepreneurs.

DeZavala students, along with Lemonade Day Founder Michael Holthouse, State Sen. Sylvia Garcia, HISD Chief Middle Schools Officer Michael Cardona, and Telemundo Houston News Anchor Martin Berlanga, kicked off the event, which started in Houston in 2007 and has since gone nationwide.

Lemonade Day, which is scheduled for May 4, is a free, hands-on learning program that teaches youth how to start, own and operate a lemonade stand. The young entrepreneurs benefit from a strategic 14-step process that walks them from a dream of owning and operating their own business to creating a business plan.

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Organizations team up to provide fresh produce to HISD students in ‘food desert’

Lantrip families benefit from Houston Food Bank, Texas Children’s Hospital, UT School of Public Health

Lantrip Elementary will have a long line outside their building Wednesday, full of students waiting to collect their fruit and vegetables. Yes, fruit and vegetables. A collaborative effort between the Houston Food Bank, Texas Children’s Hospital, and the University of Texas School of Public Health is providing students at several HISD schools access to fresh produce throughout the school year.

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Long Academy pharmacy technology students get white coats

Jane Long Academy held a white coat ceremony Friday for its pharmacy students.

The ceremony was held to induct ninth-graders into the School of Pharmacy Technology, which is part of the HISD’s Futures Academy, and to celebrate the achievements tenth-graders have made over the past year.

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When I Grow Up Expo brings industry experts and day of friendly competition to HISD

A SWAT truck, underwater robotics, construction materials, and sample rotating drill bits. Visitors saw that and more when attending the second annual When I Grow Up Expo. The hands-on, Career and Technical Education event held March 8 hosted more than 60 Houston-based companies from a variety of industries.

Energy, engineering, construction, cosmetology, retail and other high-growth businesses spent Saturday demonstrating how their industries operate and why theirs holds promise for future HISD graduates.

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Yates HS boys basketball team plays for state title

Yates High School’s boys basketball team will play for the district 3A state championship at 10 a.m. Saturday in Austin. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest Plus.

Yates will be playing the same team it played in the title game last year, Dallas’ Madison High School. Yates lost that game and is hoping to avenge that loss. The players’ sprits are high after beating Kennedale, which had been undefeated this season, in the state semifinals game on Thursday.

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This level of play is nothing new to Yates, who competed for the state championship in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. The program won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.

Texans star celebrates whopping food donation with West University ES

Students at West University Elementary School collected more food for the Souper Bowl of caring than any other school in the United States, and a Houston Texans star visited the campus on Friday to congratulate them.

Offensive tackle Duane Brown, along with some of the Houston Texans cheerleaders, celebrated the 30,908-pound donation with a pep rally.

The Souper Bowl of Caring’s goal is to mobilize youth to fight hunger and poverty in their communities. Houston has the largest campaign in the nation, and West University ES has led the effort for four consecutive years.

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