Monthly Archives: May 2016

HISD recognizes top volunteers for being “shining stars”

The Houston Independent School District honored its top volunteers today during the annual Volunteers in Public Schools Recognition Reception.

Each year, the Volunteers in Public Schools program — more commonly referred to as VIPS — enlists thousands of parents, community members, business professionals, and youth who are willing to dedicate their time to support HISD students. Volunteers help in classrooms, libraries, media centers, clinics and school offices, serving as tutors, mentors, teacher partners, speakers, security patrols, chaperones, interpreters, and even cafeteria monitors.

The theme of this year’s reception is “Volunteers are Shining Stars.” Volunteers were nominated for awards in four different categories. Winners were selected from 12 finalists. Continue reading →

HISD school lunch staff receive superhero status for dedication to serving students

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HISD Nutrition Services and students across the district honored their school lunch staff for School Lunch Hero Day on May 6, including special recognitions at 48 schools. Nutrition Services food service attendants, or “lunch ladies” as they are affectionately known, received poems and letters from students during various events throughout the week.

School Lunch Hero Day is celebrated nationwide to recognize school nutrition professionals and features The Lunch Lady – a crime-fighting character from the “Lunch Lady” graphic novels whose mission is to serve up justice while serving up lunch.

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HISD student to be honored as U.S. Presidential Scholar in Washington, D.C.

Student also one of 16 HISD students to win National Merit Scholarship

A Houston Independent School District high school student hopes to have the opportunity to meet President Barack Obama this summer after being selected as a U.S. Presidential Scholar.

Liana Wang

Liana Wang

Liana Wang of Bellaire High School is among only 160 high school seniors from across the country to be recognized in the 52nd class of U.S. Presidential Scholars for her leadership, academic accomplishments, and service to the community.

“I am pretty excited to be a part of an amazing group of scholars, and I’ve heard that sometimes presidential scholars get to meet the president,” Wang said. “I would love to intern at the White House and work in the state department one day to help contribute to the culture of an administration and its policy decisions.”

The U.S. Presidential Scholars will be recognized and presented with a Presidential Scholar Medallion during a special ceremony held June 19 in Washington, D.C. Continue reading →

Plans for new Barbara Jordan High School for Careers get positive feedback from community

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Students, staff and community members at Barbara Jordan High School for Careers received an update on the design and construction process for their new school during a community meeting Tuesday night.

Located in northeast Houston, Jordan is receiving $36.6 million for a new facility featuring labs to support its myriad of career training programs. Jordan currently is transitioning from a career magnet school to a regional Career Hub, allowing students to spend half their day at their home school and the other half at Jordan participating in high-demand, career curriculum.

The new facility will provide 600 to 800 students from area high schools with access to real-world experiences in a variety of professions, including auto/diesel, audiovisual, cosmetology, culinary arts, construction management, marketing, STEM (electronics), and welding.

“We want to make this the best career center that we can put forward,” Jordan High School Principal Ross McAlpine said. “With a lot of the input we’ve received from our CTE teachers, community members, business partners, and trips we’ve taken, I think we really have a good school.”

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Austin High School bond project update draws big crowd

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More than 300 students, staff and community members gathered at Austin High School on Tuesday to get an update on plans to rebuild the 80-year-old school and a first glimpse at what the new facility could look like.

Plans for the campus include modern, open spaces allowing for lots of daylight, better traffic flow in and around the campus, clusters of classrooms to allow for a neighborhood learning concept, and a new, defined entry off of Jefferson Street.

“This really is about our students. We’re providing them with a different type of learning environment,” HISD Design General Manager Dan Bankhead told the crowd, explaining that students no longer sit in rows doing worksheets. “What we find now is students work better when they learn from each other, when they’re collaborative.”
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Vocabulary victories at Chavez HS, Lanier MS highlight effective literacy strategies

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Chavez High School and Lanier Middle School won the top prizes in Vocabulary.com’s 2015-2016 national Vocabulary Bowl, a competition that is becoming just one example of effective strategies to increase literacy across the HISD’s secondary schools.

Chavez won for the second consecutive year with 344,043 words mastered, and Lanier won with 230,034 words. Chavez celebrated on Monday, May 9, with a trophy presentation, medals and certificates for the top 100 students, and inspirational speeches and congratulations from local media and nationally known figures. Lanier’s celebration was Friday, May 13, in the school gymnasium.

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Summer Reading Program an opportunity to hone literacy skills, spark imagination

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The Houston Independent School District is challenging students to use the power of reading combined with the power of their imagination to go on an unforgettable journey through the district’s Summer Reading Program.

HISD is teaming up with the Houston Public Library and myON, a digital library where students can access more than 5,000 free books, to launch the initiative, which challenges students to read a minimum of five books during the summer. The program also encourages parents and students to spend time reading aloud together — even if it’s just a few minutes each day.

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Vote in second round of ‘Fan Favorite’ Teacher of the Year 

Two winners to be announced at May 20 Educators of the Year banquet

Over the past two weeks, HISD staff, students, and alumni voted over 85,000 times for their “Fan Favorite” Teacher of the Year. Voters could choose from any of the campus-based Teacher of the Year nominees. The votes are now tallied and the top four elementary and secondary teachers are moving on to round two. The finalists are:  Continue reading →

Construction at new DeBakey HS quickly moving along

The Texas Medical Center will soon welcome its newest neighbor as construction on the new DeBakey High School for Health Professions moves forward at a steady pace.

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Part of the voter-approved 2012 Bond Program, DeBakey will receive a 198,000-square-foot, five-story facility located on the western side of the Medical Center complex.

The $64.5 million building will accommodate 900 to 1,000 students and feature state-of-the-art medical training equipment with teaching labs for dentistry, rehabilitation, and patient care. Mock hospital rooms and science labs intended to mimic real-world research labs also will be included in the new facility.

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