Monthly Archives: June 2015

Westside HS wins national ‘Cooking Up Change’ competition

Westside HS students Jalien Noel, Jose Acosta, and Briseida Salas hoist the trophy in victory with Chef Reggie Martin and Ray Danilowicz

Westside HS students Jalien Noel, Jose Acosta, and Briseida Salas hoist the trophy in victory with Chef Reggie Martin and Ray Danilowicz

When the heat was turned up, the Westside High School’s Culinary Arts Program team stayed cool under pressure, taking home first place at the Cooking Up Change National Finals on Monday in Washington, D.C.

Students Jose Acosta, Jalien Noel, and Briseida Salas, working under the direction of Westside Chef Reggie Martin, wowed the judges with a menu that highlighted different flavors from the Bayou City: cowboy Cajun chicken lollipop, twisted Texas cabbage and collard greens, and a pineapple tart.

Continue reading →

HISD budget plan includes raises for teachers, principals and staff; no tax rate increase

Salary increases that will help the Houston Independent School District hire and retain effective principals, teachers and district staff remain a top priority for administrators as they continue to develop a budget for the 2015-2016 school year.

Under the proposed budget, teachers would get a minimum salary increase of 2 percent, with beginning teacher salaries jumping up to $50,500 — almost $4,000 more than they earned just two years ago. Certified bilingual teachers would earn an additional $4,000 annual stipend, a significant increase over the current $1,250 stipend.

Continue reading →

‘HUB Camp’ introduces educators to new teaching and learning resource

Online platform to go live districtwide at all K-12 schools this fall

Summer camp may be traditionally for students, but during the first two weeks of June, nearly 1,000 HISD elementary teachers and campus instructional technologists attended “HUB Camp” to receive training and learn more about the district’s online teaching and learning platform, known as the PowerUp:HUB, or “HUB” for short. During the 2015–2016 school year, the HUB will be transitioning from the pilot phase at 48 schools to full districtwide implementation at all 283 HISD schools. The implementation is part of the district’s larger efforts to digitally transform instruction and integrate technology into content development and classroom instructional practices.

[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/130157138″ width=”500″ height=”280″ responsive=”no”]

Continue reading →

New bookmobile taking HISD’s literacy message on the road

Librarians Alice Hedstrom (Almeda ES), Cheryl Hensley (MacGregor ES), and Jo Ann Reed (Scroggins ES) and Library Specialist Gloria Dennis get ready to take the bookmobile on the road. Photo courtesy Muses3, LLC.

Librarians Alice Hedstrom (Almeda ES), Cheryl Hensley (MacGregor ES), and Jo Ann Reed (Scroggins ES) and Library Specialist Gloria Dennis get ready to take the bookmobile on the road. Photo courtesy Muses3 LLC.

Children living on the far north and south sides of Houston have a new reading resource this summer—and it will be coming to them.

HISD’s brand-new bookmobile will be visiting city parks in the North Forest and Sunnyside communities on alternating Fridays to provide children with a chance to pick out their own reading materials without having to visit a library.

Continue reading →

Service Excellence Employees of the Month for June honored

Five HISD employees were recognized as June’s Employee of the month for Service Excellence at Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center on Tuesday morning during a special breakfast with Chief Operating Officer Leo Bobadilla. Continue reading →

Nutrition Services partners with high-school transition coaches to build students’ job skills

Waltrip High School students work at Garden Oaks Montessori with their transition coach and the Garden Oaks cafeteria team lead.

Waltrip High School students work at Garden Oaks Montessori with their transition coach and the Garden Oaks cafeteria team lead.

Through HISD’s Community Based Vocational Instruction (CBVI) program, high-school students can go into local businesses for a couple hours a day, a few of times a week, to develop their workplace skills through on-the-job training.

For the first time this year, HISD’s Nutrition Services department is one of the partnering organizations, and it is working with two or three students from each of five high schools: Lee, Madison, Scarborough, Sharpstown, and Waltrip. Participating students learn about the food service industry by working in school cafeterias, performing tasks such as washing dishes or serving fruit.

Continue reading →

Grady MS student named myON’s fourth ‘Reader Leader’

Apurba Roy Photo courtesy Muses3, LLC.

Apurba Roy Photo courtesy Muses3, LLC.

Apurba Roy, who just finished the seventh grade at Grady Middle School, has been named the fourth “Reader Leader” by myON for logging the most time spent reading on that website during a particular month.

Roy read for an astonishing 219 hours and 34 minutes in myON in May. As a part of her prize, Roy received a laptop (with computer case) from Muses3, LLC, the representative of myON in southeast Texas. She was formally recognized during a special ceremony held on her campus June 4.

Continue reading →

Teacher job fair scheduled for June 18

Must be a pool-approved candidate to attend

Although the 2015–2016 school year doesn’t start for more than two months, HISD campuses are busy putting the finishing touches on their faculty selections for next year.

There are still openings at all levels, and candidate pool-approved teachers are invited to attend a district job fair on Thursday, June 18, 2015. Continue reading →

Free SAT prep course now being offered by Khan Academy

Partnership with College Board to help students prepare for redesigned SAT

The College Board and Khan Academy have teamed up to provide free Scholarship Aptitude Test (SAT) preparation for all students beginning this month.

The SAT is a globally recognized college admission exam that demonstrates a student’s knowledge of reading, writing, and math. Most students take the SAT during their junior or senior year of high school, and many colleges use the test to make admission decisions.

HISD also offers a free online SAT coaching course for grades 9 through 11 called “PREP ME,” which is available here.

Continue reading →

Council of Great City Schools honors CIO Lenny Schad

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000QeSUOVCIoMQ” g_name=”20150609-LennySchad” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]

HISD Chief Information Officer Lenny Schad was recognized by the Council of Great City Schools on June 3 with the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt award. The award was created to honor excellent CIO’s.

Continue reading →