Monthly Archives: June 2015

Project teams work to preserve school history in designs for new schools

As HISD project teams are making plans to build or renovate 40 schools under the district’s current bond program, they also are giving careful consideration to items of historical or architectural significance that can be preserved and incorporated into the new designs.

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Hollingsworth Science Center project to benefit HISD students twice

Students hone their craftsmanship with new tools while updating a valuable district resource

Lee High School students—many of whom worked on the greenhouse project—pose with their trophies from the Texas SkillsUSA State Championships this year. Johnny Brooks’ millwork and cabinetry students routinely advance to the state level of the competition.

Lee High School students—many of whom worked on the greenhouse project—pose with their trophies from the Texas SkillsUSA State Championships this year. Johnny Brooks’ millwork and cabinetry students routinely advance to the state level of the competition.

More than two dozen students taking millwork and cabinetry classes at Lee High School got a chance to show off their newly acquired skills recently, thanks to a donation that came with a special request.

Grant Hollingsworth, the brother of the late Marcile Hollingsworth, for whom the district’s Hollingsworth Science Center was named, donated $5,000 to make renovations to the center’s greenhouse, with the stipulation that the work be performed by district students.

Lee students constructed 10 tall wooden plant beds and one wooden storage unit for use in the greenhouse using brand-new hand tools such as saws and sanders that were purchased with a portion of the money.

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Students’ graduation stories publicized in Times Square

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Three lucky HISD students got to see their names in lights on June 10, when hundreds of students from across the country were featured on a Times Square billboard in New York City.

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Great debaters continue their tradition of success

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Lanier Middle School students know that oratorical skill can be a powerful tool. The debate team from that campus attended the National Speech and Debate Association’s National Tournament for High School and Middle School Speech and Debate recently—and walked away with one of the top honors.

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DiscoverU providing HISD students with global education opportunities

Turning out global graduates is the mission of HISD, and Houston-based nonprofit organization DiscoverU is helping the district achieve that goal. Forty-four HISD students completed college and career preparatory programs worldwide during the 2014–2015 school year, and more than 200 more are taking advantage of programs this summer.

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HISD Board of Education approves 2015-2016 budget; raises for teachers, principals, staff

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education on Thursday adopted a 2015-2016 budget with significant salary increases designed to help the district hire and retain the most effective teachers and principals.

As part of the approved budget, teachers will get a minimum salary increase of 2 percent, with beginning teacher salaries jumping up to $51,500 — almost $5,000 more than they earned just two years ago. Certified bilingual teachers would earn an additional $4,000 annual stipend, more than triple the current stipend.

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HISD graduate reflects on the district resources that made the difference

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Meylin Ramirez just graduated with honors as a member of Reagan High School’s Class of 2015. But the journey behind that diploma is a testament to both her willpower and the strength of HISD’s support systems for students.

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Students win study abroad opportunities

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Two HISD high school juniors are well on their way to an education that straddles continents. On June 15, the Institute of International Education (IIE) bestowed Passport Awards on Luz De Leon of Davis High School and Karen Ortiz of Sharpstown International School. The Passport Awards were given to 13 students across the country in an effort to encourage these students to go abroad in college.

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HISD PD hosts School-Based Law Enforcement Summit series

About 200 law enforcement officials are now more equipped to address school safety and security
issues across Houston area schools, thanks to the 2015 Texas School-Based Law Enforcement Summit series held June 7-9 at Westside High School.

The event, hosted by Houston Independent School District Police Department, is a part of the Institute for Criminal Justice Studies program of the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University.

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