Author Archives: HISD Communications

Transportation Services to focus on recruiting efforts in new year

The Houston Independent School District’s Transportation Services department will spend the new year focusing on recruitment efforts as it works to hire 30 more drivers by March.  

The department will begin hosting monthly bus driver job fairs in February 2020 as part of continuing efforts to make sure all routes are fully staffed, and additional drivers are available to provide coverage when employees are absent. 

Transportation Services General Manager John Wilcots IV said three job fairs will be held each month — one on a Saturday and two on weekdays. The upcoming job fairs are expected to give the department a head start on staffing for the summer and the 2020-2021 school year.  

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HISD participating in Toys for Tots holiday toy drive

This holiday season, the Houston Independent School District once again is participating as a donation site for Toys for Tots, the Marine Corps’ premier community action program.  

Employees as well as the general public are encouraged to drop off new and unwrapped toys at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th St., 77092) to the Strategic Partnerships department (Level 1SE) by 4 p.m. on Dec. 18. 

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School Choice application deadline for Phase 2 is Feb. 28  

Parents who would still like to apply for a school choice program for the 2020-2021 school year have until Friday, Feb. 28 to do so. 

After all applications in Phase 1 have been offered, eligible Phase 2 students who meet a program’s qualifications will be considered in the order in which their application was submitted should the program have space available. 

Any applications for students who live outside the HISD boundaries will not be considered until Phase 3, even if the application was submitted during Phase 2. 

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HISD student recognized for taking swift action to help woman in distress

Baylor College of Medicine Biotech Academy at Rusk sixth-grader Joziah Crenshaw was honored at a surprise recognition ceremony on Tuesday after he took swift action when he saw a mother and child in a potentially dangerous situation. 

Joziah was honored with a Citizenship Award from HISD Police for alerting authorities after he saw a distressed mother across the street from his school who had inadvertently locked her baby in the car.   

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Reading teacher at Osborne ES named Teacher of the Month

Fourth-graders at Osborne Elementary School were in the middle of their reading inference lesson Tuesday morning when their teacher, Demetria Washington, learned from Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan she would be the district’s Sterling McCall Teacher of the Month for December.  

“She has been a phenomenal educator this year,” Principal Mikia Barnes said. “She has adapted quickly to the demands of meeting her students’ needs by engaging in after-school planning to learn the new reading standards.” 

The fourth-grade ELAR teacher is always striving to build her capacity, attending all North area trainings and learning to utilize FOCUS comprehension to close literacy gaps for her students.  

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Fondren MS students venture through space from the classroom

Project Explore students from Fondren Middle School ventured on an interactive 3D voyage through space on Friday with the Lunar Planetary Institute.  

The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), a research institute in Clear Lake that provides support services to NASA and the planetary science community, partnered with Best Buy’s Geek Squad Academy to host a free one-day STEAM camp for more than 50 HISD students. 

Geek Squad Academy provides an opportunity for middle school students to develop tech skills, build self-confidence, spark creativity, and discover how technology can benefit them in their educational pursuits and future careers.  

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Fifth annual Dream Summit draws record crowd as students take steps toward college

Nineteen years to the day that Dr. Jose Luis Zelaya was reunified with his family at the border, hundreds of students and their families watched in awe on Saturday as he achieved what was once thought to be an impossible dream.

A profound silence filled the Hattie Mae White boardroom as the HISD graduate and DREAMer, who migrated to the U.S. from Honduras at the age of 13 after an arduous 45-day journey, was hooded by his mother and father to solidify his doctorate in Urban Education from Texas A&M University.  

“My graduation is happening in this moment because of my support systems, because of the people that believed in me,” said Zelaya, who served as the keynote speaker for HISD’s fifth annual Dream Summit. “There will be times when you won’t have money to buy your next meal, but there will be people that believe in you so much, that out of nowhere they will help you.” 

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A special message from Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan

Let’s Connect initiative offers supports to students on a variety of issues

In HISD, we believe you cannot educate a child without taking care of the WHOLE child, and that includes promoting and offering supports for positive mental and physical health.

The Office of Student Support Services offers resources and helpful information on issues students are facing – including vaping, human trafficking, suicide prevention, and bullying prevention – through a program called Let’s Connect. The Let’s Connect initiative encourages students in HISD to reach out to a trusted adult on their campus, such as a teacher, social worker, nurse, counselor, principal, or librarian.

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Program for the deaf opens up a vibrant world of learning, opportunity


Yordana Bridger says her daughter Abbi, a deaf-education student at Wilson Montessori, has blossomed thanks to the
Region 4 Regional Day School Program for the Deaf housed at the campus.

Before the morning bell rings at HISD’s Wilson Montessori, Yordana Bridger places a red hearing aid into the right ear of her five-year-old daughter Abbi and sends her off for another day of learning.  

Communication is often key to learning, but for students like Abbi it can be just one of the many challenges they face at school. However, since enrolling at the age of 3 in the Region 4 Regional Day School Program for the Deaf (Region 4 RDSPD) housed at Wilson, Abbi has blossomed. 

“We’d be lost without this program,” Bridger said. “Because of all of the services offered to Abbi and our family, we are able to make her life better.” 

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Cullen MS students distribute free groceries to families in need

Cullen Middle School students made the holiday season a little brighter on Thursday for their community during the campus’ school market, where 150 families were provided with more than 2,000 pounds of free groceries.  

The School Market, which is a bi-weekly food distribution run entirely by student volunteers, provides food assistance to community members, as well as families of students from Cullen and nearby Foster, Lockhart and Peck elementary schools. The provisions are especially beneficial to parents in need during the holidays. 

“Here at our school a large percentage of our families live at or below the poverty line,” said Cullen Wraparound Specialist Nora Lemon, who oversees the entire operation. “This market provides the flexibility and sustainability they need to ensure their students are fed and eating healthy meals at home.” 

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