Author Archives: HISD Communications

Volunteers help students fight the ‘Summer Slide’

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Music and reading merged Tuesday at Benbrook Elementary School in northwest Houston as volunteers from Target, the Houston Symphony and PricewaterhouseCoopers helped students take part in the 2016 Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation Summer Reading Challenge Camps.

The camps, with the support of the Houston Area Urban League, aim to prevent the ‘Summer Slide,’ when students lose some of the academic gains made the previous school year. Activities include music lessons and exercises that combine math, science, reading and critical thinking.

Camps were also held at Kashmere Gardens and Atherton, and next week students at Highland Heights will participate.

Special Education conference focuses on creating positive culture for students  

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During her keynote speech Tuesday at HISD’s Special Education Conference, Kelly Brown told the story of a woman named Araminta Ross. As a child, she had been beaten, causing life-long pain and dizziness, and she had no formal education.

Brown, an assistant professor at Prairie View A&M University, went on to explain that Ross didn’t let her circumstances define or limit her. She eventually changed her name to Harriet Tubman and went on to be an extraordinary figure in American history.  Continue reading →

Become a paid home instructor for our HIPPY program 

The 2016-2017 school year is around the corner, and HISD’s Family and Community Engagement department is hiring parent tutors for their Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program.

HIPPY parent tutors work on a part-time basis requiring a commitment of 30 hours a week. The position pays $10 an hour, plus benefits and provides training and ongoing support. Working with HISD as a HIPPY home instructors can provide you with other benefits such as:  Continue reading →

Bond program features district-wide technology upgrades

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You’ve probably heard about HISD’s $1.89 billion bond program to rebuild or renovate 40 schools across the district. But did you know that $100 million of that funding has been earmarked to upgrade technology infrastructure at all HISD schools?

Once complete, the enhanced digital framework will provide expanded internet access throughout each campus, allowing for the delivery of more robust online instructional resources to classrooms and mobile devices.

“Each school has tablets and laptops available for use in the classroom, meaning that as many as 30 devices are in use in close proximity,” said Lenny Schad, HISD’s Chief Technology Information Officer. “Expanding the district’s Wi-Fi capability at all campuses will allow us to provide sufficient access for a large number of devices and also will support our mobile learning initiative in a cost-effective way.” Continue reading →

Longtime HISD baseball coach retires after 35 years

Bellaire High School Baseball Head Coach Rocky Manuel announced this week that he will retire after 35 years coaching baseball at HISD.

Rockys RetirementNicks Announcemnt

Principal Michael McDonough, Coach Nick Ozuna, Coach Rocky Manuel

Manuel led the Bellaire baseball team for 25 years. The team went to the state championship tournament three times, while winning the state championship in 1994 and 1999. In 1999, USA Today named Manuel as National Coach of the Year and the Bellaire team was recognized as national champions. Under Manuel’s leadership, over 200 Bellaire baseball players graduated and moved on to play Division I baseball at colleges and universities throughout the country. Seven of those former players continued on to play professionally at the major league level.

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HISD Transportation seeking top-notch drivers, attendants to join its team

HISD Transportation Department is rolling out its latest recruitment campaign, seeking out the best school bus drivers and attendants to join its nationally recognized team for the upcoming school year.

The department has been hard at work this summer searching for candidates to join its staff of 1,200 employees responsible for safely ferrying about 34,000 students to and from school each day.

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PowerUp initiative receives national curriculum award 

Cross-functional collaboration at HISD honored by Council of the Great City Schools

powerUp award (2)Various departments and members of Team HISD were recently recognized by the Council of the Great City Schools for their collaboration on PowerUp—the district’s initiative to digitally transform teaching and learning.

HISD was presented with the Making Strides Together Curriculum Award for Excellence in Urban Education at a luncheon July 10, at the Council’s Academic, Information Technology and Research Conference held in Palm Beach, Florida.

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HISD Police Department hosts public forum as part of national re-accreditation process

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The Houston Independent School District Police Department and a team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies hosted a public meeting this week as part of the department’s re-accreditation process.

The meeting provided community members the opportunity to voice comments about the department’s compliance with applicable standards or other significant issues. It was attended by about 15 people, most of whom were HISD Police employees. Only two attendees spoke, and both noted how hard the department had worked to become reaccredited. Continue reading →

HISD teacher writes and performs in original play at Manhattan theater  

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Crystal Rae is known to her second-grade students at Kelso Elementary as Ms. Rae, but to the theater world, she is just Crystal. Her new play, “Lamariya,” is having its world premiere at Jewel Box Theatre, part of the Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York City from July 19 to 24, 2016. She is the first Houstonian to have a play produced there.

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Students from private school in China welcomed at two HISD elementary schools 

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Fifth- and sixth-graders from the Dalian Mingxing School in China were welcomed to two HISD schools on Monday, where students interacted in classrooms and shared their educational experiences.

At Dogan and Elmore elementary schools, students participated in various activities together, including yoga, dance, and computer exercises.

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