Four HISD students will travel free to Great Britain this summer, thanks to the British Foundation of Texas’s (BAFTX) Junior Achievers award. The students will travel for nearly two weeks learning about British culture.
Monthly Archives: March 2015
HISD hires new academic, human resources chiefs
March 31, 2015 — HISD Chief Human Resources Officer Andrew Houlihan has been selected as the district’s new Chief Academic Officer, replacing Dan Gohl, who is leaving at the end of the school year to take a similar position in Broward County, Florida.
Houlihan will assume his new role on April 20, as Gohl moves into the position of special assistant to the superintendent. The move will ensure a smooth transition and allow the district to maintain the momentum generated by Gohl’s successful implementation of digital curriculum, innovative teaching practices and global education initiatives.
Student Congress elects new leaders for coming school year
Carnegie Vanguard High School student Zaakir Tameez will soon be handing over his gavel to a new leader. The graduating senior, who cofounded HISD’s new Student Congress last year, will be yielding his position as speaker of the congress to Amy Fan, a junior at Bellaire High School, after graduation this spring.
An election for new Student Congress cabinet members took place on March 28 at the Gregory Lincoln Education Center, and the new officers will assume their duties as of May 28.
“It’s been my effort from day one to create something that would last well beyond me,” said Tameez. “Today was a giant step in that direction.”
Below is a list of the new leaders-elect (pictured, L-R, above):
- Demetron Dotson, advocacy chair, Austin HS, Class of 2017
- Jacob Castillo, finance chair, Austin HS, Class of 2016
- Kate Ham, chief of staff, HSPVA, Class of 2016
- Amy Fan, speaker of the congress, Bellaire HS, Class of 2016
- Anusha De, initiative chair, Bellaire HS, Class of 2017
- Jessica DeBoe, outreach chair, HSPVA, Class of 2017
- Michael Talanker, governance chair, Carnegie Vanguard HS, Class of 2016
“Our election is a testament to our motto: student-run, student-led,” said new Speaker of the Congress Amy Fan. “Now that we have a strong base of members and the foundation is set, we’re ready to accomplish even more. I’m really looking forward to next year.”
New signing day celebrates magnet acceptances
Districtwide celebration is also a chance to hand in paperwork
This year, students and families can celebrate their acceptance into a magnet program by participating in a Magnet Signing Day event at their campus of choice.
Magnet Signing Day events—which are scheduled at the school level and do not fall on any particular date—provide an opportunity for parents and students not only to celebrate, but to meet with school officials and confirm their child’s seat at the accepting school. Parents should bring a signed copy of their Magnet Entrance Agreement, proof of residence, and, if they have a child new to HISD entering Pre-K or kindergarten, proof of that child’s age, to the festivities.
Speech therapists make the case for careers with Team HISD
One of the best aspects of working for a school district is the opportunity to be part of a team—and that is particularly true for speech therapists.
“After salary considerations, the most critical thing speech therapists say they look for in a position is the chance to work in a supportive environment where they can collaborate with other professionals,” said Cheval Bryant, manager of Speech and Language Services. “In clinical settings, it’s often just one person in a room with a child. But in school settings, professionals aren’t in silos. They work closely with school psychologists, diagnosticians, and teachers to best serve students.”
And that’s precisely the message that Bryant and several other members of the Office of Special Education were out in force to share at the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s 59th annual convention in San Antonio earlier this month.
HAIS students travel halfway around the world to give back
For many students, spring break usually means vacation on the beach, a road trip across the country, or simply rest and relaxation at home. But students from the Houston Academy for International Studies spent their time away from school performing hands-on service learning projects in another country.
Twelve students and two teacher chaperones participated in the Rekha & Sudhir Puranik Foundation’s Impact India program. The program is based at the Puranik Foundation’s Vision International Learning Center, a rural English school that serves more than 80 impoverished primary and secondary students from villages around Pune, India.
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“Impact India is designed to teach students about India’s rich history and culture, and give them insight into how different cultures address social and political challenges,” said Rekha & Sudhir Puranik Foundation Executive Director Revati Puranik. “The school and the foundation are fully sustainable without electricity and running water, an ideal environment for students to participate in service-learning activities focused on alternative energy, agriculture, and education.”
‘Roses and Knights’ take first place in robotics tournament
Students from Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy and Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy won the National Society of Black Engineers’ inaugural National VEX Robotics Championship this past weekend in Anaheim, California.
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Fourth-graders visit Texas A&M and University of Texas at Austin
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It’s never too early to get students excited about college. Shadowbriar and Mading elementary schools took fourth-grade students on college visits recently. Close to 150 Shadowbriar students, teachers, and staff, as well as some alumni parents, traveled to Texas A&M University (TAMU), and 55 Mading students went to University of Texas at Austin (UT).
Teacher-produced STAAR videos motivate students for testing
Gallegos Elementary School and Wheatley High School teachers and staff created videos to get their students focused on doing their best work on this week’s STAAR tests.
Fourth- and fifth-grade Gallegos ES students saw the videos at a STAAR Pep Rally on Friday, March 27.
Up Close takes a look at district’s move online for state testing
HISD is making the move toward online assessments that help teachers better determine what students know so that they can personalize the learning experience.
HISD Board President Rhonda Skillern-Jones addresses the transition in this month’s edition of Up Close with Chief Academic Officer Dan Gohl, Formative Assessment Manager Betty Garcia-Hill, and Carol Mosteit, principal of the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. Continue reading