Author Archives: HISD Communications

Board of Trustees hears update on positive developments in Achieve 180 program 

As the district prepares to wrap up the first half of the school year, Achieve 180 leadership had nothing but positive results to share on the program’s first semester to Board of Trustees on Monday.

Achieve 180 Area Superintendent Felicia Adams provided an update that focused on how the program’s pillars have yielded immediate outcomes within the first half of the school year.

The six guiding pillars within Achieve 180 program provide the strategic framework for the transformational work being done at campuses.

The pillars focus on leadership excellence, teaching excellence, school design, social and emotional learning support, and family and community empowerment.  Continue reading →

Seniors invited to audition as emcee for Public Education Matters benefit dinner

One lucky HISD senior will have the chance to show off their emcee skills and win a college scholarship at the HISD Foundation’s 2019 Public Education Matters Benefit Dinner.

The winning student will host the event on Tuesday, March 5, and will earn a $2,500 college scholarship. This year’s master of ceremonies will host a crowd of over 1,500 at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Downtown Houston. Attendees will be a who’s who of the city, including elected officials, notable community members and business leaders.

“We are excited to include one of the district’s own students in the evening’s events,” said HISD Chief Development Officer Ann Best Scott. “I can’t think of anyone better to serve as emcee than a student who directly benefits from public education.”  Continue reading →

HISD canceling after-school activities due to inclement weather forecast 

Due to impending inclement weather and the potential for hazardous road conditions, the Houston Independent School District is canceling all after-school activities for Friday, Dec. 7.

Additionally, all varsity basketball games scheduled for tonight are being rescheduled for Saturday, December 8. The revised schedule for Saturday games, including times and locations, is:

GIRLS/BOYS HOME VISITORS LOCATION TIME
Girls Wheatley HS Scarborough HS Barnett 10 a.m.
Girls Yates HS Furr HS Barnett 11:30 a.m.
Boys Yates HS Worthing HS Barnett 1 p.m.
Boys Wisdom HS Austin HS Butler 1 p.m.
Boys Milby HS Sterling HS Butler 2:30 p.m.
Boys Lamar HS Westside HS Butler 4 p.m.
Girls Lamar HS Westbury HS Delmar 1 p.m.
Girls Westside HS Bellaire HS Delmar 2:30 p.m.
Boys Waltrip HS Madison HS Delmar 4 p.m.
Girls Kashmere HS North Forest HS Wilkins Pavilion 1 p.m.
Boys Furr HS North Forest HS Wilkins Pavilion 2:30 p.m.
Boys Washington HS Wheatley HS Wilkins Pavilion 4 p.m.
Girls Waltrip HS Wisdom HS TJ Engram 1 p.m.
Boys Northside HS Sharpstown HS TJ Engram 2:30 p.m.
Boys Mickey Leland Westbury HS TJ Engram 4 p.m.

Games originally scheduled for Saturday will be played at their planned times and locations. Any school activities rescheduled for Saturday will not begin until after 9 a.m.

For additional updates, please visit www.houstonisd.org and follow district updates on Twitter and Facebook: twitter.com/houstonisd and facebook.com/houstonisd.

Austin HS celebrates groundbreaking ceremony for new campus

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Austin High School students, staff, alumni, and community members gathered Tuesday to show their appreciation for the 81-year-old campus and celebrate the start of construction on their new school.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held just beyond the site where the current school is undergoing demolition and adjacent to where construction crews have started work on the foundation for the new school.
Continue reading →

Kinder HSPVA students get first look at new campus

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Excitement filled the air Wednesday at the new Kinder HSPVA as students toured the facility for the first time in advance of the school’s official opening day on Jan. 7.

Over winter break, the school will move out of its current campus in Montrose and into a new five-story building located at 790 Austin St. in downtown Houston near the city’s renowned arts and theater district.

“I think their mouths will be wide open,” HSPVA Principal Scott Allen predicted as he waited for the students to arrive. “They’ve seen photos, but that doesn’t do this building justice. They will feel so special that this state-of-the-art, one-of-a-kind facility was built just for them.” Continue reading →

HISD administrators begin 2019-2020 budget discussions  

The HISD Board of Trustees met Monday to hear the first report from district administrators on expectations for the 2019-2020 fiscal year budget.

District officials are projecting an initial $76 million deficit, due in large part to expected declining enrollment and a modest increase in property values – both of which cause the district’s recapture payment to increase.

According to Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan, any cuts to the budget to address the deficit will be done in a way that tries to minimize impact to instruction. That task is made harder given the cuts made to operational areas last year.   Continue reading →

HISD briefs elected officials ahead of 2019 Texas legislative session  

Houston-area elected officials and their staff gathered at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center on Nov. 28 to receive an update from HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan and hear the district’s priorities for the upcoming legislative session in Austin.

Lathan highlighted major initiatives launched in HISD for the 2018-2019 school year and shared information about academic successes. Attendees also received a budget update from Chief Financial Officer Rene Barajas. District staff and trustees also were in attendance to meet with local, state, and federal elected officials.  Continue reading →

HISD’s Ascending to Men Project to host winter ball fundraiser 

HISD’s Ascending to Men Project (ATMP) will host its first winter ball, Journey to Brilliance in Manhood, on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at Minute Maid Park.

Under the umbrella of HISD’s Equity and Outreach Division, the Ascending to Men Project is a mentorship initiative that seeks to provide positive role models and advocates for students who need guidance and opportunities for educational, social, and professional growth to underserved young men of color in the district. The program has been in place since the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year, piloting in 28 campuses. Continue reading →

Winter reading program encourages students to read, earn prizes 

Winter break is the perfect time for students to catch up on their favorite books, hone their reading skills, and earn a free book from their local Houston Public Library.

HISD is encouraging students to join the Houston Public Library’s winter reading program for kids and teens. From Dec. 15 through Jan. 15, students are encouraged to read or be read to 20 minutes a day for 10 days.

Students can read anything they like. Books, comics, newspapers, magazine articles, blogs, web pages, listen to an audiobook or have someone read to aloud; all of these types of reading count. The Houston Public Library’s Readers’ Advisory staff can also create a personalized reading list.  Continue reading →

Organization identifies HISD as leader in dyslexia intervention  

HISD is leading the way on how dyslexia is identified and addressed at the district and school levels, according to a recent report released by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB).

In April 2018, SREB spent time with the HISD Dyslexia Program Support Services Office and asked them to share their experiences regarding changing dyslexia practices. According to the report, through leadership dyslexia training with Neuhaus Education Center (NEC) — a nonprofit organization devoted to evidence-based training and support for reading — at the district and school levels, HISD can readily determine if a student is dyslexic and then quickly provide early intervention.

“Houston ISD chose to work with Houston-based NEC to train regional and campus-based dyslexia specialists and interventionists,” the report states. “Some elementary schools in the district also work more directly with Neuhaus to try to prevent reading difficulties early by training classroom teachers to incorporate structured language teaching into their daily reading instruction.”  Continue reading →