Yearly Archives: 2014

HISD team tours green school designed to be a learning tool for students

A group of HISD parents, architects, teachers and administrators toured a Houston-area green school on Tuesday – complete with an eco-pond, windmill and daylight in every classroom.

A common area on the second floor of Gloria Marshall Elementary School utilizes reclaimed wood. (Photo courtesy of SHW Group)

Members of the Project Advisory Team (PAT) for Parker and Relief elementaries toured Gloria Marshall Elementary School in Spring to get ideas for the redesign of Parker and the design of Relief, which will be a brand-new school built under the district’s 2012 bond program. Such tours are being held for all the Project Advisory Teams to help bond campuses visualize the possibilities for their schools.

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Webinars show teachers how to lead eco-friendly campus projects

The National Wildlife Federation is hosting two upcoming webinars for high school science teachers and club sponsors who want to help their schools “go green.”

The first webinar, titled “An Introduction to Eco-Schools USA,” is scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, and will offer resources to motivate students to lead environmental service projects on their campus or in their community. On Feb. 5, the second webinar, “An Innovative Approach to STEM Education,” will engage science classes and clubs in service learning to launch a program that will help students make the school more energy efficient. Continue reading →

Board of Education approves mascot policy update

Mascots at affected schools will be respectfully retired, replaced during the 2014-2015 school year

On Thursday, the Houston Independent School District Board of Education voted 7-0 with one abstention and one member absent to approve the second reading of a policy update to prohibit the use of any race or ethnic group as a mascot or nickname.

This policy update affects four schools — Lamar High School Redskins, Westbury High School Rebels, Hamilton Middle School Indians and Welch Middle School Warriors.

During the 2014-2015 school year, each school will be required to select a new mascot and respectfully retire its existing mascot. HISD administration will work closely with the affected schools to help them retire their mascots with respect and dignity, taking into consideration the history and tradition surrounding them.

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District reviewing literacy plan in the new year

HISD will be reviewing and modifying the district’s literacy plan known as CLASS over the next several months and evaluating individual school programs for effectiveness.

“It really comes down to coherence at the district level,” said Chief Academic Officer Dan Gohl. “In math, there are very few programs and there is a great deal of coherence, so when a child moves from one school to another, they can quickly adapt. This is not true of our literacy programs.”

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Student laptop distribution underway as part of PowerUp initiative

Almost 19,000 HISD students are receiving laptops this month as part of the district’s one-to-one initiative that will eventually give every high school student a computer. The initiative – PowerUp – will not only give students 24-hour access to a laptop and a variety of software but to digital-age instruction that will transform teaching and learning both inside and outside the classroom.

“PowerUp is not about the device,” said Superintendent Terry Grier. “This is about creating anytime-anywhere learning for our students so they can have the world at their fingertips. We want to make sure they learn skills that complement technology so they won’t be replaced by technology.”

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Jordan HS dominates at 17th annual Hair Battle Royale

Jordan High School’s 17th annual citywide hairstyling competition took place on Jan. 13, and many of the prizes were claimed by students from the host school’s own cosmetology program.

The team of Maribel Covarrubias, Alexus McGee, Tamela Phylow, Angelica Punkett, and Arlett Sanders earned first place in the fantasy category with an elaborately braided design that resembled the curving horns of a ram. Jordan students also swept the rest of the fantasy category, with memorable designs such as the second-place entry, which paired a bright red-and-blue wig topped by a hair net of bright yellow cord, with a dress shaped like a hairstyling-themed carousel in the same vibrant colors.

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Board of Education to vote on policy update banning offensive mascots

Board of Education swears in HISD’s new District IX trustee

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education is expected to vote Thursday during its regular monthly meeting on the second reading of a policy update that would prohibit offensive or culturally insensitive school mascots.
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Parents urged to talk with their teens about PSAT/NMSQT scores

Last October, thousands of HISD freshmen, sophomores, and juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT college-readiness test, and campus staff began distributing the results this month.

Parents are strongly encouraged to discuss these scores with their children, as they can not only help gauge a student’s readiness for college but also identify good candidates for Advanced Placement (AP) classes next semester and, in some cases, determine a student’s eligibility for scholarships.

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Want preschool instruction for free at your home? Sign up now for HIPPY!

If you are the parent of a young child who is not currently enrolled in preschool, then you’re in luck.

HISD’s Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is currently accepting applications, and families who are zoned to attend any of more than four dozen elementary schools are eligible to participate.

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Don’t miss the MLK Jr. Oratory Competition finals on Jan. 17

If you’ve never seen the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition sponsored by Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in Houston, you’re in for a treat.

Every year since 1996, fourth- and fifth-graders from two dozen HISD schools have competed in this annual contest, which challenges students to write and present a short original speech on a subject related to the slain civil rights leader. The topic this year is, “If Dr. King were speaking at a March on Washington today, what would he say?”

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