Author Archives: HISD Communications

Support staff honored at appreciation luncheons across district  

Superintendent Carranza stops by Transportation luncheon 

It’s the season of thanksgiving, and the aroma of hickory smoke wasn’t the only thing that filled the air at the Northwest Motor Pool facility at their fall luncheon on Nov. 16.

Thanks to Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby, Transportation employees were treated to lunch and given a heartfelt thanks for their hard work in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

Over the last two weeks, “thank you” luncheons have been held across the district for members of Team HISD who work in Facilities Services, Construction Services, Nutrition Services, the Police Department, and Transportation.

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HISD Board of Education approves revised turnaround plan for Kashmere High School

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education approved a revised turnaround plan for Kashmere High School during a special meeting on Thursday.

This is the eighth consecutive year for Kashmere High School to be deemed as “improvement required” — one of the designations used by the TEA to determine whether schools are meeting state standards. As a result, the district is required to submit to the state a plan detailing how it will improve student achievement at the school.

HISD submitted an initial turnaround plan on Oct. 19, but it was rejected last week by Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, who asked the district to resubmit the plan with a more detailed description of the budget, staffing, and financial resources required to implement the turnaround. Continue reading →

New special education parent liaisons providing support for families

Office of Special Education Services Parent Liaison Marina Garcia (left), parent Rachel Wilson, and liaisons Benjamin Jules and Wilson Renteria.

National Parental Involvement Day is Nov. 16

When you ask Wilson Renteria to explain what it’s like to assist the families of students with special needs at HISD, he can’t help but get a little emotional.

“It’s almost an indescribable emotion to explain what it feels like to help our HISD families,” Renteria said. “To be able to serve our parents in what feels like an impossible way has been extremely rewarding.”

Renteria and two other colleagues, Marina Garcia and Benjamin Jules, serve as Office of Special Education Services Parent Liaisons, a new position that was added for the 2017-2018 school year. The liaisons provide personalized campus- and community-based services to HISD’s special needs students and their parents. Continue reading →

Fifth Ward community celebrates opening of new Mickey Leland College Prep campus

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Deep blue skies, crisp cool air, and the smooth sounds of the Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men Jazz Band set the stage Tuesday for the grand opening celebration for the school’s new $44 million facility.

More than 100 community members joined students and staff in the school courtyard, where they heard the Leland Men’s Choir kick off the event by singing “I’m Building Me a Home.”

“We just built a home here in the Fifth Ward,” Principal Dameion Crook said after the performance. “It’s a special place in a very special neighborhood, and it was well worth the wait.” Continue reading →

Special Olympics Field Days kick off; volunteers still needed 

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HISD kicked off its fifth annual Special Olympics Field Days on Tuesday at Joe Kelly Butler Fieldhouse, held in partnership with Special Olympics Texas.

The three-day event gives students with intellectual and developmental disabilities a chance to showcase their athletic skills by taking part in fun athletic contests. The friendly competition includes basketball, tennis, soccer, and track and field for all ages, as well as flag football for high-schoolers.

Elementary students got their Special Olympics Field Day on Tuesday. Middle-school students will have their events on Wednesday, while high school students will participate on Thursday. Opening ceremonies begin daily at 9 a.m. with the Parade of Athletes, Torch Pass, and the Declaration of Games Open.

Volunteers are still needed over the next two days to help with setup and breakdown, athletic events, escorting students around the facility, serving lunches, and other tasks. Volunteers will be provided with on-site instruction and modeling for their specific assignment so they are prepared to work with the students, who range from elementary to high school age.

To register to volunteer for the one or more of the events, click here.

Academic calendar for 2018-19 school year available online now 

The academic calendar for the 2018-2019 school year, which was approved by the Board of Education this month, is now available online.

The calendar was drafted with input from a committee made up of principals, union representatives, and departments across the district, as well as the District Advisory Committee.

The first day of school for students will be Aug. 27, and the final day of classes for students will be May 31.

The academic calendar gives students and staff a full week off during Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, the Fall Holiday is set for Monday, Sept. 10, a date that coincides with the first day of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana.

View the calendar in English and Spanish here.

15 Days of Code offers opportunity for daily interactive coding experiences 

HISD Advanced Academics is providing a fun way to participate in Computer Science Education Week in December with the 15 Days of Code, made up of interactive calendars that allow students to engage in a new coding experience every day.

The activities on these three calendars  for elementary, middle, and high school include lessons such as designing a web pages with HTML, creating a virtual pet, developing interactive art, and even teaching a robot to make crepes.

HISD’s 15 Days of Code coincides with Computer Science Education Week, which is Dec. 4-10. During this week, students and the greater HISD community are encouraged to join the worldwide movement and try one hour of coding as an introduction to computer science. Through this “Hour of Code,” students are challenged to think critically and solve problems as they learn the basics of computer programming.  Continue reading →

Parent Guides offer detailed look at what children are learning in each grade level

Parents can now get a detailed look at what their child is learning in each grade level throughout the school year through the district’s new Parent Guides, which are aimed at empowering parents to become more involved in their child’s education.

The guides give parents important information about what their child should know and be able to do at each grade level and include activities that parents can do at home to further their child’s learning. They cover academics, social and emotional learning, parent empowerment, college and career readiness, important dates, and tools for success.

For elementary, there will be four guides total for the year – one for each nine-week period: first nine weeks, second nine weeks, third nine weeks, and fourth nine weeks. For middle and high school, there will be 2 guides total for the year – one for each semester: fall and spring. The guides are available for download at HoustonISD.org/ParentGuides.

Achieve 180 schools using new resource for student interventions

Universal screener allows teachers to identify struggling students and provide targeted plan of action

All HISD schools are using a new resource to ensure students who need interventions in reading and/or math receive the support they need.

The resource, called a universal screener, allows teachers to measure the current skillset of a student using a brief assessment that is conducted three times per school year. The data gathered from those assessments allows teachers to identify students who need interventions, plan a course of action to target their academic needs, and monitor their progress throughout the school year.

“By using the universal screener and the immediate data it provided, we were able to start interventions week one, we didn’t have to wait,” said Lysette Cooper, principal of Cook Elementary. Cook is one of 45 schools that is part of Achieve 180, a research-based action plan to support the district’s most historically underserved and academically challenged schools. Continue reading →