Despite recent heavy rains, schools that still have open seats will be available to discuss options with parents at the annual School Choice Fair on Saturday, April 23. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th St.), and offers a glimpse of the many enrichment and highly focused programs still waiting for students after the magnet deadline.

Some Vanguard programs with available seats include Read to the Final Four finalist Carillo Elementary School, and De Zavala Elementary School. Also with seats available, Eastwood Academy offers classes that focus on college and career readiness.

Parents looking for programs that offer dual language or language immersion should look into the Arabic Immersion Magnet School, Wainright Elementary School, or Roosevelt Elementary School. And if STEM is a top priority, Blackshear Elementary School and Fondren Middle School might be an option.

Jones and Long Futures Academies offer students a chance to earn an associate’s degree while they work toward a high school diploma. The options are endless, and parents should take advantage of the opportunity to learn more.

Here’s a list of the schools currently scheduled to participate in the fair:

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The temperature and emotions were high as seven culinary teams chopped, sliced, sautéed and baked for top culinary honors at this year’s Houston Cooking Up Change competition. Students from four HISD high schools participated in the contest for a chance to represent the district at the national finals in Washington, D.C. Barbara Jordan High School juniors Lilian Morua and Rocio Morin won the competition that was held April 16 at the Art Institute of Houston.

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HISD will honor teachers and principals on Friday, May 20, at the district’s Educators of the Year banquet, and back by popular demand, will be the announcement of the “Fan Favorite.”

The districtwide elementary and secondary Teachers of the Year are determined using performance data and other criteria, but last year the Fan Favorite category was created so the HISD community could vote on social media for their favorite elementary and secondary teacher. Continue reading →

Houston Independent School District schools and offices will reopen at their regularly scheduled time on Wednesday, April 20.

HISD officials have been closely monitoring the weather forecast and have determined that classes will resume and all district administrative offices will reopen on Wednesday.

HISD schools and district offices were closed Monday and Tuesday due to the storms. The district’s designated inclement weather make-up days are Thursday, May 26 and Friday, May 27.

A few schools have experienced water damage and flooding as a result of the storm. Liberty High School is the only campus that is scheduled to be closed Wednesday due to storm damage. The district is still working to identify a temporary location for Liberty students and will notify students and parents directly.

For additional updates, please visit www.houstonisd.org, or call the HISD Inclement Weather Hotline at 713-267-1704. You can sign up for HISD text message alerts to receive updates on school weather conditions by texting YES to 68453.  You also can follow the district on Twitter and Facebook: twitter.com/houstonisd and facebook.com/houstonisd.