The Houston Independent School District will hold its annual State of the Schools luncheon, sponsored by Chevron, on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. The theme is Rebuild + Reimagine – highlighting how stakeholder support can help HISD rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and reimagine educational opportunities for Houston children.

The event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the fourth-floor ballroom of the Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel (1600 Lamar, 77010). Superintendent Richard Carranza will deliver the keynote address to nearly 1,500 members of Houston’s business, non-profit, and faith-based communities.

State of the Schools, hosted by the HISD Foundation, is an opportunity for business and civic leaders and other community partners to hear about district achievements and challenges from the past year and learn about district priorities, which include innovating teaching and learning in every classroom; uplifting historically underserved schools; bringing wraparound services to every community; and sparking young imaginations with the expansion of fine arts.

This year’s State of the Schools luncheon will benefit the Foundation’s Innovation Fund, which provides grants for teachers and schools to purchase equipment, supplies, and other items to enhance innovative teaching and learning in the classroom. Innovative projects completed by students from elementary, middle, and high schools across the district will be featured before the event in the “Innovation Zone” outside the fourth-floor ballroom.

In addition to Carranza’s keynote address, the event will feature various student performance and welcome remarks from 2018 Board of Education President Rhonda Skillern-Jones.

Those who are unable to attend but want to follow along may watch the address streamed live online at HoustonISD.org, Facebook.com/HoustonISD, and HoustonISD.org/LiveTV.

Follow us on Twitter — @HoustonISD and @HISDEspanol — to experience highlights from the event as they happen.