Yearly Archives: 2017

Yao Ming visits Hilliard ES, donates $100K to mayor’s hurricane fund 

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G00007JwPOGiZXw8″ g_name=”20170926-Yao-Ming-visits-Hilliard-Elementary” 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” ]

Basketball star Yao Ming toured the flooded Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 26 to show his support for HISD students suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Hilliard is among the “top 10” HISD schools damaged by the storm, and it will be months before students will be able to return.

Ming joined Hilliard Principal Edrick Moultry and HISD officials at the school, which took on four feet of water from nearby Halls Bayou. Also on the tour were HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza, Board President Wanda Adams, and Trustees Rhonda Skillern-Jones, Diana Dávila, Anna Eastman, and Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca.

Continue reading →

Superintendent participates in live town hall discussion on DACA at UH-Downtown

Superintendent Richard Carranza participated in a live town hall meeting at UH Downtown on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, assuring those in attendance that HISD schools are a safe place for all students – regardless of their immigration status.

The meeting, sponsored by ABC13 and Univision 45, was a non-partisan conversation on Monday night between students and five local panelists about the program and the impact of DACA’s suspension to the city and its residents.

Carranza said there is an estimated 1,500 seniors in HISD who are DACA students, but there may be more since the data is not tracked. He added that the district is providing resources and counseling to those students, many of whom have college and career aspirations. Carranza also reassured students that the district is also busy advocating at the state and national level on the issue.

“I want to reiterate … as a school district, we will not allow students to be pulled from our schools,” Carranza said. “Over my dead body will a student be taken out of our school district because of an immigration raid.”

DACA recipients whose status is set to expire in the next six months will lose their protection from deportation and their work permit this year under the plan to start phasing out the program – unless they reapply for a two-year renewal by Oct. 5.

The Department of Homeland Security will no longer consider new applications for legal status and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it was rejecting all new DACA requests and employment authorization document (EAD) applications received after the Sept. 5 memo.

ABC13 and Univision 45 moderated the event, which also included United We Dream’s Oscar Hernandez, Baker Ripley managing attorney Jill Campbell, St. Frances Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance program director Zenobia Lai, and Dawn McCarty from UHD’s social work department. Questions from UHD students were submitted anonymously and read by their peers.

HISD to host Dream Summit for students on Dec. 9

Superintendent Carranza issues special message on DACA repeal

 

 

High schools celebrate arrival of Literacy Empowered resources  

All campuses receiving classroom libraries and other materials to support high school expansion of literacy initiative

Schools across HISD are celebrating the arrival of nearly 300,000 new books and other reading materials as part of the launch of Literacy Empowered, the high school expansion of the district’s comprehensive literacy initiative.

As part of Literacy Empowered, all high school English language arts and social studies teachers are receiving classroom libraries and each high school campus is receiving grade-level book club libraries (9-12) across an enormous variety of text types, themes, genres, and reading levels.

On Friday, Sept. 22, members of the Raider cheerleading squad and school ambassador program helped their teachers unpack the Literacy Empowered resources at Sterling High School. Principal Justin Fuentes thanked his students and staff and also thanked the district for the centralized support, resources, and tools to grow secondary students on his campus as readers, writers, listeners, speakers, and thinkers.  Continue reading →

Books Between Kids delivers thousands of books to HISD schools in wake of Harvey

In the days after Hurricane Harvey moved through the Houston area, Books Between Kids opened its warehouse to hundreds of volunteers and received donations of thousands of children’s books to replenish schools impacted by the storm.

In partnership with HISD, the organization last week delivered more than 4,000 children’s books to Robinson and Mitchell elementary schools, both recently relocated due to extensive damage directly related to floodwaters from the hurricane.

In the coming days, Books Between Kids will continue its support, delivering 15,000 children’s books to relocated campuses across the school district, including Braeburn, Scarborough and Hilliard elementary schools. Continue reading →

HISD to host Dream Summit for students on Dec. 9

Event to help students apply for college, financial aid

[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/245445928″ width=”640″ height=”480″]

The HISD Office of College and Career Readiness and Multilingual Programs departments will be hosting the third-annual Dream Summit to assist students with the college application and financial aid processes on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, 4400 W. 18th St., Houston 77092.

High school students and their families are encouraged to attend the free event. Students should contact their campus college-access coordinator, counselor, or college-success adviser regarding transportation. Five seniors will have a chance to win $500 scholarships for college.

The event aims to help HISD DREAMers, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients, visa holders, permanent residents, refugees, and asylum grantees, along with their families. Students will have the opportunity to speak with district representatives who will help them learn more about financial aid requirements and guide them through the application process.   Continue reading →

Houston MSTC students learn about voter registration, importance of being involved in voting process  

Houston MSTC seniors on Monday filed into the school library, past patriotic banners and toward tables dotted with voter registration forms.

As part of their government classes, the students were learning about the importance of registering to vote and how the voting process works. They also were the main audience for a news conference in which Mi Familia Vota (MFV) – joined by HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza, Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, and state Sen. Sylvia Garcia – announced the state’s High School Voter Registration Initiative.

“At HISD, we strive not only to send our graduates out into the world prepared for success in college or careers,” Carranza said. “We also strive to send them out to be good citizens who understand their civic responsibility and participate in the process that every single one of us must participate in, which is voting.”

Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day, and through the High School Voter Registration Initiative, more than 140 Texas superintendents have pledged to ensure that their high school principals serve as deputy voter registrars at their respective campuses. In addition, the secretary of state said his office is looking at high schools first as polling locations to give students ample opportunity to vote.

“When you’re well-educated and involved, that is the best way to help serve your community,” Pablos said.

Houston MSTC senior Jacqueline Cano, who turns 18 on Tuesday, said she is excited to register to vote and cast her ballot in the Nov. 7 election.

“My family is Hispanic, and I’ve seen what it’s cost my family not to vote and not making our voice heard,” Cano said. “For me, it’s important to show that we have a voice.”

Carlos Duarte, the Mi Familia Vota Texas director, said the statewide effort register voters is critical to increasing participation in elections.

“Texas’ voter turnout in the 2016 presidential election was only 46.45 percent of the voting age population,” Duarte said. “Voting is the great equalizer in our democracy, and it is important that we instill the culture of voting among our youths.”

Americans can register to vote online at NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org. Supporters can also follow National Voter Registration Day activities through social media on Sept. 26 by searching #NationalVoterRegistrationDay.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G000090mMRYz5np4″ g_name=”20170925-Sam-Houston-voter-registration-press-conference” 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” ]

First day of school for some HISD students means reporting to a new school 

The streets in the neighborhood in northeast Houston just north of Halls Bayou were lined with furniture, drywall, and carpeting, a sure sign that their houses had flooded during Hurricane Harvey.

Joseph and Karina Mayorga had just finished remodeling their two-story house when the water came. Although they had only about a foot of water in their house, it was enough to destroy their living room furniture, appliances, new red-oak kitchen cabinets, and original hardwood floors dating to 1951.

Continue reading →

Lauren Mailhiot named new principal of DeAnda Elementary

Lauren Mailhiot has been appointed principal of James DeAnda Elementary School. Mailhiot previously served as assistant principal at DeAnda Elementary, and prior to that she was the dean of instruction. She began her career in 2009 with Teach For America, teaching fifth grade at Pat Neff Elementary. Mailhiot graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications from University of Michigan and a master’s degree in education from University of Houston.

Askew ES construction nearly halfway complete

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000py9MObYe.wA” g_name=”20170919-Askew-ES” 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” ]

Construction at Askew Elementary School is almost halfway done, with roofing, interior steel framing, and door and window frames all complete in the new building.

Additionally, the installation of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems are well underway, with crews expected to begin testing the equipment towards the end of this year, project officials said.

“Things are just coming along great,” Askew Principal Ebony Cumby said. “It’s cool to have the building being built next door, so the kids and community get to see the daily progress.”

Continue reading →

HISD teachers can apply for ‘Harvey Relief’ grant 

Applications are due Friday, Sept. 29 

In response to the devastating damage left behind by Hurricane Harvey on HISD schools and across the city, philanthropists and corporations locally and nationally have come together to create a Harvey Relief Fund that is managed by the HISD Foundation. Funds raised will go directly to support HISD teachers to eliminate as much financial burden as possible in replacing damaged classroom resources so instructional time can be maximized.

Teachers are encouraged to submit an application for funding to cover the costs of replacing classroom supplies, technology, and other resources that were lost as a direct result of Hurricane Harvey. Applications will be accepted Friday, Sept. 22, through Friday, Sept. 29. 

Each applicant may be awarded up to $1,500. Partial or full grants may be awarded based on need, volume of applications, and available funds. Due to limited funds and the urgent needs of HISD teachers and students, all applications will be reviewed and awarded the week of Oct. 2, 2017.    Continue reading →