Author Archives: HISD Communications

Support Houston’s school gardens at Saturday farmer’s market

Stock up on fresh produce, get seasonal recipes and learn about backyard gardening and composting – all while supporting local schools – at the Urban Harvest Kid-Run Farmer’s Market from 9:30-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 4, at Gregory-Lincoln Education Center.

Student gardeners from six HISD schools – Briargrove ES, Wilson Montessori PK-8, Gregory-Lincoln PK-8, Hogg MS, The Monarch School, and Westside HS – will be selling fresh vegetables and seeds and offering gardening and cooking demonstrations. All proceeds go back into the schools’ gardening programs.

There will also be family-friendly activities, including face-painting, crafts, and games.

Gregory-Lincoln Education Center is located at 1101 Taft St., Houston, TX 77019.

Power of Public: Giving every child the ‘Chance to Dance’

Ivan Gonzalez is dressed as his character for the 2016 production of “The Nutcracker” at the Wortham Center, performed by the Houston Ballet.

Editor’s Note: February 27 through March 3 is Texas Public Schools Week, and we are celebrating by sharing personal stories throughout HISD on how public education is helping students succeed. Tweet at us @HoustonISD and share how public education is positive force in you or your student’s life, using the hashtag #PowerofPublic.

“Don’t be nervous, Ivan. Just do your best.”

Ivan Gonzalez was about to perform in Houston Ballet’s 2016 production of “The Nutcracker” at the Wortham Center, and his father was there to calm his nerves.

The “Nutcracker” was not Ivan’s first stage production. In May 2015, the Wainwright Elementary student was selected to participate in Houston Ballet’s “Chance to Dance” program, a series of free ballet classes for first- and second-graders at schools that don’t have a dance program and where 75% or more of the students are economically disadvantaged.

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Mark White ES French immersion program touted in French-American magazine 

Since opening its doors last August as the first public French immersion program in Texas and one of just a few in the country, Mark White Elementary School has been warmly received.

The opening of the unique school, where students spend part of the day learning in French and part learning in English, is particularly welcome news to the French community and those who speak the language — sometimes referred to as Francophones.

Recently, the new school was featured in an article in France-Amerique, America’s largest French-language magazine and the only one to be published throughout the country. The article, which is written in both French and English, discusses the benefits of the school’s dual-language program and its impact on the Francophone community.

Read the France-Amerique article here.

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Power of Public: Giving every child a voice and a choice

For Alvin Gibson, right, and Deshaun James, left, Literacy in the Middle is giving them voice and choice — plus a little friendly competition. More than half a million books were distributed to HISD middle schools to stock classroom libraries. “Some of them I have read several times because I like them so much,” Alvin said.

Editor’s Note: February 27 through March 3 is Texas Public Schools Week, and we are celebrating by sharing personal stories throughout HISD on how public education is helping students succeed. Tweet at us @HoustonISD and share how public education is positive force in you or your student’s life, using the hashtag #PowerofPublic.

The friendship between Alvin Gibson and Deshaun James is based on constant competition. The two teens challenge each other in nearly everything, including basketball, girls, and something a little out of character for middle school boys. Ask them who has read more books, and the two shout out in unison, “I have!”

But it wasn’t always that way. Both Alvin and Deshaun struggled to read in elementary school, and both were diagnosed with dyslexia. Both were also held back a grade. “At one point, I wanted to give up. I thought I was stupid,” Alvin said. “But my teachers and my grandfather pushed me.”

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Waltrip HS hosts ‘Games Robots Play’ event 

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Over 300 students and teachers from 31 elementary, middle, and high schools gathered on Saturday to participate in Games Robots Play 2017 “Engineering is my Superpower” at Waltrip High School.

Sponsored by the Waltrip CTE department and Advanced Academics STEM Teacher Development team, each of the games focused on a different superhero and challenged students in engineering, programming, and critical-thinking skills.

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Power of Public: Teaching every child to crack the code of computer science

Jose Guevara recruited players from his girls soccer team to join his AP computer science principles class at Northside High. HISD will double the number of computer science-certified teachers over the next two academic years and expand advanced computer science courses to all 38 high schools by the end of this year.

Editor’s Note: February 27 through March 3 is Texas Public Schools Week, and we are celebrating by sharing personal stories throughout HISD on how public education is helping students succeed. Tweet at us @HoustonISD and share how public education is positive force in you or your student’s life, using the hashtag #PowerofPublic.

Here’s a tip for schools hoping to get more female representation in computer programming classes: Make sure your computer science teacher is also the girls soccer coach.

“I started talking to my students on the team about computer programming — and really I talk to everyone — so that definitely helped in recruiting girls to the class,” said Jose Guevara, who teaches AP computer science principles at Northside High.

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Graduation ceremony schedule announced for the Class of 2017

Hundreds of HISD students will walk across a stage in the spring to collect their diplomas as part of the district’s annual graduation ceremonies.

Most ceremonies will take place at various locations around the city (primarily the Barnett Fieldhouse, Butler Fieldhouse, Delmar Fieldhouse, NRG Arena/Stadium, Texas Southern University campus, and Wilkins Pavilion) between Friday, May 26, and Sunday, May 28.

However, a few will be taking place earlier (E-STEM, Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy, Victory Prep – North, and Victory Prep – South on Thursday, May 25) or later (Liberty HS on Sunday, June 4), so be sure to check the schedule for times and locations at HoustonISD.org/GraduationCalendar.

Power of Public: People who make a difference in every child’s life

Mother Rhonda Mayes, right, feels at ease putting her special-needs fifth-grader, LaDainian, on the bus with HISD driver Cynthia “C.C.” Cormier, left. HISD bus drivers safely transport more than 36,000 students to and from school every day, traveling more than 15,000,000 miles annually.

Editor’s Note: February 27 through March 3 is Texas Public Schools Week, and we are celebrating by sharing personal stories throughout HISD on how public education is helping students succeed. Tweet at us @HoustonISD and share how public education is positive force in you or your student’s life, using the hashtag #PowerofPublic.

Rhonda Mayes worries about her son LaDainian and the daily challenges facing the special-needs fifth-grader, who suffers from a disorder that often requires him to use a wheelchair and other medical, social, and emotional supports.

But when she puts LaDainian on the bus for the hourlong trip to Reynolds Elementary, Mayes can relax, knowing her son is under the watchful eye of HISD bus driver Cynthia  “C.C.” Cormier and her team.

“She’s been there since Day One,” said Mayes. “She’s got the mothering instinct, and she is just so protective of him.”

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Power of Public: Building a home library for every child

Last May, Amanda Cruz’s children, including kindergartner Jazlyn, were among 36,000 students at 59 HISD elementary schools and early childhood centers who went home with six books from Books Between Kids. The group hopes to reach even more children and families in 2017.

Editor’s Note: February 27 through March 3 is Texas Public Schools Week, and we are celebrating by sharing personal stories throughout HISD on how public education is helping students succeed. Tweet at us @HoustonISD and share how public education is positive force in you or your student’s life, using the hashtag #PowerofPublic.

Amanda Cruz wants what’s best for her kids, but often that comes with a price tag she can’t afford. Providing books for her three children had been a challenge, until one day in the third grade, her son, Alexander, brought home a packet of six books from Scroggins Elementary and proclaimed that they were his to keep.

“I didn’t believe him. I thought he took them from the school library,” said Cruz. “But they came with a note telling me that they were a gift so we could start a library for him in our home and keep him reading over the summer.”

Having books in the home and being read to as a child are two of the most important indicators of academic and lifetime success. Yet nearly two-thirds of low-income families do not own a single children’s book. Continue reading →

Power of Public: Letting every child know the options are limitless

Nataly Degollado was able to envision herself at a four-year college with the help of the college success team at Austin High. HISD has 32 college success advisers, who were put in place with matching funds from the Houston Endowment. The program has propelled the district’s college application rate from 59 percent to 79 percent, and the FAFSA application rate has grown by 10 percentage points.

Editor’s Note: February 27 through March 3 is Texas Public Schools Week, and we are celebrating by sharing personal stories throughout HISD on how public education is helping students succeed. Tweet at us @HoustonISD and share how public education is positive force in you or your student’s life, using the hashtag #PowerofPublic.

College Success Adviser Victoria Salinas holds court in the middle of a brightly painted classroom at Austin High, fielding inquiries about tax forms and deadlines as students with laptops occupy nearby couches. Others wander in with questions that could propel them to a very different future than the one they imagined for themselves.

One of those students was Nataly Degollado. Two years ago, the 18-year-old had a baby. She struggled to balance school and her daughter, but even on her hardest days, she never gave up.

“My mom would tell me, ‘You’re doing it for her,’ ” Nataly said.

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