Community asked to spend at least 30 minutes a week reading to a child
HISD and the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation encouraged Houstonians to volunteer for the Read Houston Read literacy program in honor of ‘Giving Tuesday’ — a day specifically established to celebrate generosity and give back.
Kolter ES one of 51 campuses across the country to win in random drawing
Kolter Elementary School is the lucky school from Texas to win $10,000 worth of laptops for registering to participate in the Hour of Code, through which millions of students will spend at least one hour learning about computer science next week.
Challenging program lets students work in the field, earn college credit
The Futures Academy of Petroleum Engineering Technology at Furr High School is preparing students to pursue college degrees in fields such as engineering and business administration at four-year universities.
The academy was designed to train students to work as engineering technicians in the downstream and midstream petroleum industry. Students complete coursework in areas such as hydrocarbon safety, oil exploration and drilling and receive career training as part of a partnership with the Houston Community College and companies in engineering.
Schools across district to take part in ‘Hour of Code’ Dec. 8-14
At HISD’s Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan (BCMA), proficiency in computer science is not just encouraged, but expected. The school offers a computer programming course on building web applications as part of the curriculum and as an elective.
“Our goal is to offer this course to every student between grades six through eight,” said BCMA Principal Jyoti Malhan. “A coding class is critical for my students, and the most important reason I offered it is the need for our kids to learn coding and programming to be better prepared for the workforce.”
Fifth-graders use ‘Leader in Me’ principles to conduct annual ‘hot toy’ survey
Students at HISD’s Longfellow Elementary School have been polling their school-mates for the past 15 years to determine the hottest toys each holiday season, but this year, they took a slightly different approach.
Three other HISD students also earn perfect scores on college-readiness tests this year
From left, Zachary Kortum, Connor Burwell, Camille Potts, and Claudia Heymach
Zachary Kortum, a senior at the DeBakey HS for Health Professions, cemented his status as “college-ready” this year by bringing home perfect scores on both the ACT and the SAT.
“I was very excited and surprised to find out that I’d scored so well,” said Zachary. “My parents bought me two prep books, and I worked through those outside of school, but DeBakey did a lot to help me get ready for the tests, too. The great Advanced Placement classes I took really prepared me, and the school offered a practice SAT before the real test.”
Deadline to apply for next year’s Fund for Teacher grants is Thursday, Jan. 29
When Shana Steinhardt applied for a Fund for Teachers grant earlier this year, she did so for a very specific reason.
Garden Oaks Montessori teacher Shana Steinhardt milks a yak while on a trip to Mongolia this summer. The trip was underwritten by a grant from Fund for Teachers.
“After 15 years of teaching, I risked becoming stagnant,” said the Garden Oaks Montessori social studies teacher. So to expand her knowledge of Asian culture, history, and ecology, Steinhardt traveled to the steppes of Mongolia, where she met with six different herding families living a nomadic lifestyle.
HISD students learn the ‘five finger rule’ to ensure their selections aren’t too hard or too easy
HISD’s Literacy By 3 movement is now well underway, and teachers across the district are using fun and innovative methods to share critical concepts with students, such as the importance of choosing a “just-right” book to avoid frustration or lack of growth.
HISD students to compete at STEM Symposium and Education Rainbow Challenge Nov. 15
As part of HISD’s efforts to strengthen students’ skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), more than 1,500 students are expected to explore future career options in those areas at two weekend events — the HISD STEM Symposium and the Education Rainbow Challenge.
The robotics club at the newly-renamed Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men is hosting a VEX robotics tournament on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Space Center Houston (1601 NASA Parkway, 77058). Now in its third year, the Knights of Engineering Robotics Club at the all-boys academy is inviting families from throughout HISD to attend the tournament, which is expected to last most of the day.