Monthly Archives: May 2016

Refugee flourishes at Westbury HS, will graduate with full scholarship to study physical therapy

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Editor’s Note: This week, thousands of HISD seniors will receive their diplomas during graduation ceremonies across the district. Many of our students have overcome challenging circumstances during their educational journeys. We are sharing a few of their stories this week.

Ludreche Bouanga was 11 years old when he moved to Houston with his family from Gabon, a country bisected by the equator on the Atlantic coast of Africa.

The young refugee spoke no English and knew little about American culture when he started as a middle-school student in HISD. Seven years later, the 18-year-old is graduating from Westbury High School with a scholarship to attend Allen Community College in Kansas, where he plans to study physical therapy and run track and cross country.

“I didn’t think it was possible,” he said. “But I met some people who helped me along the way.”

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Nutrition Services honors cafeteria employees at End of the Year Awards 

Nutrition Services school cafeteria staff on Tuesday were honored at the department’s End of the Year Awards gala. The ceremony, held at Wheatley High School, recognized school cafeterias and individuals at elementary, middle, and high schools.

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The Rusk School to become middle school with health and medical focus

For young students with an interest in a health or medical career, there is a new magnet middle-school program in HISD.

Beginning with the upcoming school year, The Rusk School will transform from PK–8 into a middle school with a medical focus.

“We are very excited about the big changes coming to Rusk,” said Principal Daniel De León. “The new middle school will be modeled after the highly successful Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan. We have room for up to 250 students in sixth grade, and we want parents to begin applying now.”

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North Houston Early College HS opens doors early for visit from graduating seniors

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Having spent six years in a temporary campus, Principal Angela Lundy-Jackson couldn’t stop smiling as she showed off the new North Houston Early College High School, one of 40 schools being rebuilt or renovated under HISD’s 2012 bond program.

“Everyone is just giddy,” she said. “It’s been a tremendous learning process but now I see the reward.”

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Tanglewood MS celebrates new building and a new name

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Tanglewood Middle School community members on Monday evening marked two significant milestones in the history of the Galleria-area school: the dedication of their new building addition, and the renaming of their campus from Grady to Tanglewood.

“We’re excited to have the entire building finished. We’ve been in T-buildings a really long time,” said Principal Gretchen Kaspar-Hoffman. “It has a collegiate feel to it. I think our kids stand a little taller and listen a little better in this environment.”

The $14.8 million addition, which opened to students in February, is the first project to be completed under the Houston Independent School District’s 2012 Bond Program. It expands student capacity at the school from 580 to 850, and completes the multi-phase master plan for the campus, which began with funds from the 2007 Bond Program. The new wing features 24 classrooms, six science labs, six learning commons, and three administrative suites.

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With full scholarship in hand, Davis HS senior is first in her family to go to college

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Editor’s Note: This week, thousands of HISD seniors will receive their diplomas during graduation ceremonies across the district. Many of our students have overcome challenging circumstances during their educational journeys. We are sharing a few of their stories this week.

Odallis Almendarez is the first in her family to go to college. She has been awarded a full scholarship to Dickinson College in Carlisle, which is located in southeastern Pennsylvania. She plans to study political science.

Almendarez was an English Language Learner when she began school.

“It was really challenging, but it didn’t stop me from working hard and always striving to be in the top 10 percent of my class,” she said. “I wanted to make my parents proud and be a role model to my little sister, who is 12.”

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HISD Police Department reminds parents, students to have a safe graduation and end of school year 

With HISD graduation week upon us, the Houston Independent School District Police Department wants to remind students and parents to be safe during festivities.

“While this is a memorable and exciting time for many families, we want to remind everyone throughout HISD to plan for safe celebrations,” HISD Chief of Police Robert Mock said.

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District expands Pre-K options with new Early Childhood Center set to open in North Forest area 

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Families with preschoolers in the northeast area of Houston will have a new option for the upcoming school year, as HISD is set to add to its portfolio of Pre-K options with a new Early Childhood Center in the North Forest neighborhood, located on Mesa Drive just north of Tidwell.

The new Pre-K facility was specifically designed to enhance the educational experience of the district’s youngest learners, an effort that HISD has been building on over the years.

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‘Model student’ at North Forest HS blazing a trail for herself, her family

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Editor’s Note: This week, thousands of HISD seniors will receive their diplomas during graduation ceremonies across the district. Many of our students have overcome challenging circumstances during their educational journeys. We are sharing a few of their stories this week.

Jhebre Warren has dreams and aspirations bigger than Texas.

“I want to own a law firm,” she said. “Moving out of Texas is going to be a better experience for me and my family. Since I have the opportunity to go out, explore and excel, I’m going to do that.”

Before walking across the stage to receive her diploma, the class of 2016 salutatorian at North Forest High School is finalizing plans to attend Wesleyan University in Connecticut to study psychology in hopes of becoming a lawyer. As one of the top leaders in her school, Warren faced a number of personal challenges she says motivated her to excel and give back to others.

“My father passed away about two years ago, and that was my best friend, and my mother had an aneurysm about four years ago,” she said. “It’s actually seven of us at home and I’m the youngest. No one else has really been doing anything to keep the family in a stable position, so I just knew that it had to be me.”

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Alan Summers named new principal of Sam Houston MSTC

Alan Summers is joining Team HISD as the principal of the Sam Houston Math, Science & Technology Center. He comes to the district from Katy ISD, where he served as the Executive Director for Human Resources. Summers is a familiar face to HISD because he previously served the district as a teacher, grant writer, assistant principal, principal at Wainwright Elementary and Scarborough High School, and Assistant Superintendent of College and Career Readiness. He left the district in 2013, moving to Central Texas to enroll in the doctoral program at the University of Texas and to work in Round Rock ISD as the Director of School Support.

Summers has 23 years of experience in education, with nine of those years as a campus principal.