Yearly Archives: 2014

Local subcontractors urged to bid for Delmar construction work

The second bid package for the construction of the new Delmar-Tusa Athletic Complex will include underground and structural concrete site work and will be open for subcontractors to bid on by the end of March. 

“If you meet our pre-qualifications, your references come back great, and you’ve done similar projects to this magnitude, all of these factors will go into consideration when making our selection of subcontractors,” said DivisionOne Construction President Todd Hamby during a meet and greet Thursday at HISD with the firm that was selected as Delmar’s Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR). “We want to hire companies that will make this project a success.”

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Austin HS girls soccer team advances to playoffs

Austin High School’s Lady Mustangs Soccer Team has won the 44-4A district championship.

The team moves on to the first round of the playoffs, where they will take on Pearland’s Dawson High School on March 25.

Seven of the players are seniors who have played together for their entire high school careers. They’ve been to the playoffs each year and always moved up in the standings.

Notice of destruction of special education records

Attention Parents/Guardians, Former Students, Eligible (Adult) Students:

Special Education records which have been collected by the Houston Independent School District (HISD) related to the identification, evaluation, educational placement, or the provision of Special Education in the district, must be maintained under state and federal laws for a period of five years after Special Education services have ended for the student. This requirement has changed from seven years to five years based on the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and HISD’s updated records retention schedule. Special Education services end when the student no longer is eligible for services, graduates, completes his or her educational program at age 22, or moves from the district.

This notification is to inform parents/guardians and former students of HISD’s intent to destroy the Special Education records of students who are no longer receiving Special Education services as of the end of the 2005–2006 through the 2007–2008 school year. These records will be destroyed in accordance with state law unless the parent/guardian or eligible (adult) student notifies the school district otherwise.

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Plan Your Path Tip No. 1: It’s never too early to communicate with colleges

Grady students show off their letters to colleges and universities.

How are you Planning Your Path – or guiding your children or students along their way to higher education and careers? We’re anxious to share your activities with others, as HISD moves into implementing the exciting changes brought by House Bill 5. Here’s the first in our series.

Grady Middle School eighth-graders have taken the first step on the path to college and career readiness. In their English class, the students wrote letters to a favorite college or university to request information regarding programs the schools offer in fields that interest them.

“Even though these students have not yet started high school, it is not too soon for them to start thinking about what they’ll be doing after high school,” said Grady Middle School’s eighth-grade IB Language A instructor Dorothy Leahy.

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Parents of eighth-graders to get preview of high school under HB 5

Community meetings begin Monday; high school counselors and registrars will be on hand to answer questions about new graduation requirements 

What is an “endorsement”? How can my child be eligible for Top 10 percent admissions to college? What does my child do to “supersize” his or her diploma to be more attractive to colleges and employers? Parents of current eighth-graders – who will be the first to graduate under revised state requirements – will face an array of new choices and decisions at the start of the 2014-2015 school year.

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HISD Food Services celebrates National Nutrition Month

HISD’s Food Services Department is celebrating National Nutrition Month throughout March. National Nutrition Month is a nutrition and education information campaign celebrated annually in March by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The campaign focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right,” is this year’s theme which encourages individuals to develop life-long healthy eating habits by finding the right balance of delicious AND healthy foods.

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Three schools eliminated from HISD closure, consolidation proposal

The Houston Independent School District Board of Trustees will review proposals to close Jones High School and Dodson Elementary School during the March 13 board meeting. Three of the five schools – Nathaniel Q. Henderson Elementary School, Port Houston Elementary School, and Fleming Middle School – originally proposed for closure have been removed from consideration by Board President Juliet Stipeche. This authority is provided to the president through board policy.

“I respect our board president’s request to remove these schools from consideration,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said. “I also appreciate her input, the input of all trustees, and the community-at-large in this process.”

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HISD celebrates highly effective teachers with breakfast, district recognition

A group of 27 highly effective teachers from campuses across HISD gathered at district headquarters Wednesday morning for a celebratory breakfast, a photo shoot, and tributes from district leadership.

“We know that nothing is more important than providing our students with great teachers,” said Dr. Rodney Watson, chief human resources officer. “And I can also tell you that teaching is the most difficult job I’ve ever had. I wish we could have brought all of our district’s top teachers together today, because they all deserve to be recognized for their tremendous work.”

HISD Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones agreed. “I have such deep respect for the hard work our teachers do every day. The hard and heavy lifting in our district truly takes place in the classrooms.”

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