Monthly Archives: February 2015

Lamar HS grad makes a lasting impression on the visual art world

Lamar High School graduate and artist Marsha Dorsey Outlaw poses for a photograph at her installation "Vigango's Stoop", January 29, 2015. (Houston ISD/Dave Einsel)

Lamar High School graduate and artist Marsha Dorsey Outlaw poses for a photograph at her installation “Vigango’s Stoop”, January 29, 2015. (Houston ISD/Dave Einsel)

In this week’s edition of I am HISD, which features district students, graduates, employees, and other team members, we speak with Lamar High School graduate Marsha Dorsey-Outlaw about how she became a professional artist, what compels her to work with children, and where you can find her next district-related project.

You graduated from Lamar High School back in 1981. How old were you when you first realized you wanted to be an artist?

Art was always a good escape vehicle for me, but it wasn’t until after high school that I knew I could make a living at it. I spent one entire summer touring Western Europe through AIFS and bought art supplies all along the way. I did a lot of sketching and watercolors. At one point, I was in Salzburg and I was out of money, so I wrapped a shirt around my head and told some tourists I was from Tobago, and sold them two artworks. It was a major rush. Later, I was at the University of Houston working part-time as a travel agent, and on the side, I was hand-painting clothing and had a lot of commissions and consignments. I think that was the first time I remember knowing that the commerce side of art was possible.

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HISD Board of Education approves comprehensive, district-wide facilities assessment

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education on Thursday voted to set aside $4 million for a comprehensive facilities assessment designed to identify buildings in need of repair or improvement.

The assessment will provide HISD with a database of information about facilities across the district, including the condition of each facility, needed repairs and potential costs. The information contained in the database, which could be easily updated, would help district officials plan for future capital investments. Continue reading →

HISD to hold community meetings on plans for right-sizing school enrollments

District to provide details, gather feedback on various proposals under consideration

Six community meetings are being held to provide HISD parents with more information about a series of proposals designed to right-size classrooms at certain elementary schools beginning with the 2015–2016 school year. Meetings are scheduled for 6 – 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17, and Thursday, Feb. 19, at area schools. See below for a list of schools being affected and meeting locations. The district would like to gather feedback from parents before the Board of Education votes on the proposal in March.

For the current school year, HISD submitted nearly 1,500 class-size waivers to the Texas Education Agency, which requires no more than 22 students per classroom in all kindergarten through fourth-grade classes. District officials aim to cut that number in half next year and plan to continue to decrease the number incrementally through 2019.

Additional factors include housing development, shifting birth rates, and demographic changes in neighborhoods around the district.

Options under consideration range from readjusting attendance boundaries and program enhancements to limiting the number of students each school may accept from outside its own neighborhood. The district’s goal is to alleviate overcrowding while still maintaining the traditional demographic makeup of each affected school. The following meetings are planned:

6 – 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17

  • Briar Forest Community Meeting – Revere Middle School, 10502 Briar Forest, 77042
    Affected elementary schools: Ashford, Askew, Bush, Daily, Emerson, Shadowbriar, and Walnut Bend
  • Northwest Area Community Meeting – Waltrip High School, 1900 West 34th St., 77018
    Affected elementary schools: Crockett, Highland Heights, Love, Memorial, Sinclair, Smith, and Stevens
  • 288 Corridor Community Meeting – Attucks Middle School, 4330 Bellfort, 77051
    Affected elementary schools: Bastian, Kelso, and Young

6 – 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19

  • Medical Center Area Community Meeting – Pershing Middle School, 3838 Blue Bonnet Blvd., 77025
    Affected elementary schools: The Rice School, Roberts, Twain, and West University (*see note below)
  • Northline Area Community Meeting – Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center, 9400 Irvington Blvd, 77076
    Affected elementary schools: Burbank, Lyons, and Northline
  • Tinsley and Halpin Area Community Meeting – Tinsley Elementary School, 11035 Bob White Dr., 77096
    Affected elementary schools: Anderson, Halpin ECC, and Tinsley

District officials are also considering ways to improve internal practices such as the process to request class-size waivers, eliminating waivers for district charter schools, and limiting the number of transfer students that schools may accept from outside their attendance boundaries.

*Note to parents of students at The Rice School, Roberts, Twain, and West University: Attendance boundaries will not be changed for these schools.

For a list of Frequently Asked Questions, please click here (.pdf). (en Español)

For a list of proposed attendance boundary maps, please click here.

Building projects on display at State of the Schools

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Design renderings for schools in Groups 1 and 2 of the bond program, as well as other building projects, were on display at the 2015 State of the Schools luncheon, generating plenty of interest and conversation, as well as significant social media buzz.

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HISD Board of Education to consider comprehensive, district-wide facilities assessment

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education on Thursday will consider setting aside $4 million for a comprehensive facilities assessment designed to identify buildings in need of repair or improvement.

The assessment would provide HISD with a database of information about facilities across the district, including the condition of each facility, needed repairs and potential costs. The information contained in the database, which could be easily updated, would help district officials plan for future capital investments. Continue reading →

Music students showcased at State of the Schools 2015

Guests at HISD’s 2015 State of the Schools luncheon got a side order of entertainment with their meal. Westside High School’s Wind Ensemble of 35 students provided music throughout the program under the guiding hand of Conductor Joey Brunson, and students from 19 HISD elementary schools sang the national anthem.

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EMERGE fellow credits program with making his Stanford dream a reality

Felipe Guillén has been a student at Stanford University since last fall, but the Chávez High School graduate might not be at his “new home” at all if it weren’t for HISD’s EMERGE program.

“My dream became a reality because of those who believed in me,” said Guillén, who was this year’s featured student speaker at the State of the Schools luncheon on Feb. 11. “The EMERGE program changed my understanding of the world and opened my mind up to new things.”

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HISD’s Grier named ‘Champion’ by Children’s Defense Fund

Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier has been named a “Champion of Children” by the Children’s Defense Fund and will be honored at the organization’s Beat the Odds Awards Luncheon in Houston on May 21.

Grier and Dr. Charles D. Fraser, Jr., pediatric surgeon-in-chief at Texas Children’s Hospital, will be honored for their “outstanding leadership and service to children and families in our community” by CDF and its Texas Advisory Board.

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Table centerpieces put ‘a world of learning’ on display

Their subjects ranged from starry nights and galaxies to water lilies and sunflowers, but the one thing all the orbs had in common was their inspiration: a desire to show how HISD is putting a “global” spin on education for all of its 215,000 students.

Children from 28 different campuses decorated Styrofoam balls this year to serve as the table centerpieces at the State of the Schools luncheon, and participating students were eager to share their artistic visions with guests.

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