Author Archives: HISD Communications

HISD announces 2020-21 academic year calendar

HISD will not move forward with a proposal to adopt the Year-Round Designation with the Texas Education Agency, which would have allowed for an amended 11-month academic calendar for the 2020-21 school year.

Due to the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and recent increase in cases, the district will keep the existing 2020-21 academic year calendar, which provides for a later start date, with the addition of 10 targeted remediation days or Academic Boot Camps for students who may have fallen behind academically due to COVID-19. The later start date provides the district the opportunity to monitor the pattern of COVID-19 cases and make necessary adjustments as it relates to in-person, virtual learning, or a combination of the two.

The district also wants to be responsive to feedback received regarding week-long intersessional breaks during the school year being a difficult option for many parents.

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HISD launches Virtual Student Leadership Program

In response to the unique challenges presented by COVID-19, the Houston Independent School District hired nearly 100 interns to tutor students remotely this summer.

HISD quickly pivoted its traditional Summer Student Leadership Program, in which students are hired for in-person internships in a variety of departments, to providing high-quality academic instruction virtually.

The district is committed to ensuring that students have access to competitive summer employment opportunities. This comes at a time when companies across the country are rescinding previously slated student job and internship offers. Despite the circumstances, HISD students can gain paid real-world work experience, develop their soft skills, and become more competitive applicants for colleges, scholarships, and jobs.

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Campus, district leaders share best practices at first-ever all virtual PLS 2020

Nearly 2,000 district and school-based employees gathered online for HISD’s first-ever all virtual Professional Learning Series (PLS), three days of professional development, team building, and preparation for the upcoming 2020-21 school year.

The theme of this year’s event, which took place June 15-17, was “Virtual Learning and Beyond: Bridging Gaps with Strong Systems.” A major focus of the series included preparing for a virtual school system, as well as management best practices and guidance for schools and teachers on how to support students engaged in online learning.

“We are embracing the virtual learning space across HISD, and PLS this summer is no exception,” Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said during the recorded general session. “It is our goal that our leaders rejuvenate, renew and reimagine the possibilities for the upcoming school year.”

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Senior celebrations poignant, bittersweet for Bellaire HS grad

When Bellaire High School Senior Madison Olds thinks back on the past three months, she does so with a sense of bittersweet nostalgia.

She thinks about the missed basketball, baseball, and soccer games where, as a cheerleader, she didn’t get to cheer her teams on to victory. She thinks about the missed trips to Chick-Fil-A for lunch with her friends.

She thinks about missing her senior luncheon, joining with her cap-and-gown-clad classmates for their senior class picture, and graduation practice — all part of an annual Senior Week that she had been looking forward to since she was a freshman.

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Middle College HS at HCC Fraga senior shows resilience on path to graduation

Before Mykayla Clark-Jolivet could begin her high school career at Middle College High School at HCC Fraga, her home was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. This was the first of many challenges she would face on her way to graduating.

Clark-Jolivet and her family left their mold-ruined house to live in a hotel for three months.

“I left a lot of memories behind,” Clark-Jolivet said. “I was constantly late to school because the hotel was across town.”

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Graduation marks end of remarkable journey for Yates HS student

As Jack Yates High School senior Ernest Russell sat on the school’s football field for the citywide senior celebration recently, it was far more than an event honoring his graduation from the historic school.

The celebration — marked by colorful Yates High School masks and chairs spaced at a proper social distance — represented the culmination of a trying journey that was marked by the loss of his father and homelessness.

“I don’t really have a word to describe it. But, if I had to come up with one, I’d say it was challenging,” Russell said.

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HISD honors Class of 2020 in virtual graduation ceremonies

The Houston Independent School held virtual graduation ceremonies on Sunday to celebrate the district’s 11,000-plus graduating seniors.

The virtual commencements were broadcast in partnership with Herff Jones and in collaboration with graduation technology partners StageClip and MarchingOrder. Each virtual ceremony included recorded messages from the superintendent and other district officials, as well as audio of each student’s name as their personalized slide was displayed.

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Summer meals close at Paige and Port Houston, re-open at Oates

Two curbside summer meals sites will be closed from June 15 to June 29, following a confirmed case of the COVID-19 virus.

Paige and Port Houston elementary schools will be deep-cleaned and sanitized during the temporary closure.

Impacted employees have been notified and are now in self-quarantine in accordance with public health guidelines. Health authorities do not believe families participating in the curbside summer meals program were exposed.

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