HISD’s Office of the Controller has won the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting award for the 40th consecutive year.
The district received the award for the exemplary quality of its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). The certificate is considered the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting. Continue reading
Attending a dual-language school has really paid off for one group of third-graders at Twain Elementary School.
Francisco Martinez’s Spanish immersion class at Twain has been named a national winner in the DreamBox Learning Math Challenge, a competition that requires students in grades K–8 to solve various math problems in Spanish. Continue reading
Students at Pugh Elementary School celebrated the joy of reading on May 18 with representatives from Books Between Kids, members of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s Trailblazers Committee, and the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation.
Despite decreasing state funds, district continues to emphasize competitive salaries for teachers and principals as well as increased bilingual stipends
Under the state’s current funding structure, the Houston Independent School District could lose $46.4 million in state funds for the 2015-2016 school year because of rising property values throughout the city.
In the next few months, some of HISD’s brightest young scholars will be visiting the nation’s top colleges and universities as part of the EMERGE program’s summer college tours. The EMERGE program was designed to help low-income, first-generation minority students get into top-notch colleges. Last year, EMERGE helped launch 99 scholars from 24 high schools to colleges and universities such as Stanford, Harvard, and MIT. Five were accepted to Yale University, while three chose to attend Tufts. This summer, students will get to participate in discussions, tour the campuses, and check out dorm rooms and cafeterias as part of the following EMERGE tours:
Graduating EMERGE scholars have been awarded more than $20 million in scholarships and financial aid this past year, with the majority of students receiving individual financial packages totaling upwards of $40,000 per year.
Nearly 200 graduating seniors from HISD — many wearing college T-shirts — signed certificates of intent to attend various colleges on May 21, while their proud parents cheered them on. Pennants, pompoms, and other college paraphernalia at each table marked the students’ school preferences during the third annual Academic Signing Day event, which took place at the Region 4 Service Center.
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Four college-bound ambassadors from each HISD high school were recognized during the event for their academic excellence, school and community involvement, and ability to overcome personal obstacles. Many of the students will be the first in their families to attend college. Continue reading
The Houston Area Association of Bilingual Education (HAABE) announced its selections for the 2015 Bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) Teachers of the Year on May 9 at its annual banquet, and the Houston Independent School District swept one entire category by winning ESL Teacher of the Year distinctions at both the elementary and secondary levels.
Osias Mendoza
Osias Mendoza, who teaches at Love Elementary School, was honored as the HAABE Elementary ESL Teacher of the Year. He knows the struggle of learning in a second language and navigating a new culture first-hand, because he came to Houston from the Philippines as a young man.
Tanya Thompson
Tanya Thompson, who teaches at The Rice School, was honored at the HAABE Secondary ESL Teacher of the Year. She has taught for 31 years, most of which have been in the area of ESL, and she is known for her commitment to creating a classroom in which all students are valued and challenged.
“These awards demonstrate the high quality of HISD’s teachers and the success of its bilingual/ESL programming,” said Assistant Superintendent of Multilingual Programs Gracie Guerrero. “I am very proud of both of them.”
Houston Independent School District Superintendent Terry Grier was honored Thursday as a “Champion of Children” during the 16th annual Beat the Odds Awards Luncheon hosted by the Children’s Defense Fund-Texas. Grier was honored Thursday for his outstanding leadership and service to children and families in the community.
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The award is the result of a partnership between the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) and AASA, the School Superintendents’ Association. Together, they promote the importance of good health in ensuring that children learn, develop, and succeed in school, and work to enroll families in Medicaid and the the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Continue reading
HISD’s Talent Acquisition team, in partnership with Clear Channel, has three billboards targeted toward helping recruit teachers to the district.
Anyone who’s ever been stuck in Houston traffic has probably caught themselves reading the billboards that line our city’s freeways.
HISD’s Talent Acquisition department is now taking advantage of this captive audience with three new billboards posted around town which will help with teacher recruitment. The billboards direct people to a new website www.TeachHISD.org, which features personal video testimonials for a variety of teacher candidate types.
“Our HISD recruitment team works diligently to source top teaching talent for our classrooms throughout the hiring season,” said Patra Brannon, general manager of Talent Acquisition. “These billboards and new website will only broaden the audience for our recruitment efforts and allow future candidates to connect with those employees who have chosen to work in our great district.”
L-R are School Nurses of the Year for 2015: Cynthia Tanner (Walnut Bend ES), Evelyn Skinner (Osborne ES), and Majorie Robinson-Vaval (Worthing HS).
HISD’s Health and Medical Services department recognized almost two dozen campus and district healthcare workers on May 15, during a districtwide tribute to “Excellence in Nursing.”
Among those honored were the district’s Nurses of the Year for 2015: Worthing High School’s Majorie Robinson-Vaval at the secondary level — and, in a first for the district, both Evelyn Skinner from Osborne and Cynthia Tanner from Walnut Bend, who tied for the top prize at the elementary level.