HISD Board of Education Member Rhonda Skillern-Jones has partnered with the Family and Community Engagement and Linked Learning Departments to host the District II Family Learning Academy on emerging career opportunities.
The free event will take place from 9 a.m. until noon on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, at Washington High School (119 East 39th Street, 77018), and will connect families with resources to help parents engage in their children’s education.
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On Wednesday, Feb. 17, Kashmere High School celebrated the opening of HISD’s second ProUnitas, Inc., center with the unveiling of the Kashmere Success Center. The center, which was created, supported and financed by 40 different non-profit, for-profit, community, and municipal groups, is dedicated to empowering the Kashmere community by providing much-needed services to students and their families.
“This came about because there was a need in the community and the school,” said District II Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones. “It does take a village to beat the effects of poverty, which a lot of the kids in this community face. So our village has stepped up and decided to come to the aid of our children.”
Created by former Kashmere teacher Adeeb Barqawi with the help of Skillern-Jones, ProUnitas was designed to provide essential goods and services that were seen to be lacking in the community. The center features a counseling room with trained counselors, a food pantry, a clothing drop, health services, and a workforce and college-readiness development center.
“At the end of the day, what I want you to keep in mind is that this is the product of a community coming together,” said Barqawi. “It’s not that we’re saying change is going to happen in a day. But we’re definitely moving in the right direction.”
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Westbury High School held its second bond community meeting on Thursday evening to give an update on plans for a new addition and renovations to the campus under the district’s 2012 bond program.
The Houston Independent School District named its top campus leaders on Thursday during surprise visits made to the winning schools — Bush Elementary School and Lanier Middle School.
Bush Principal Theresa Rose was named HISD’s Elementary Principal of the Year, and Lanier Principal Felicia Adams was selected as HISD’s Secondary Principal of the Year.
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Rose and Adams were among 15 elementary and 21 secondary principals vying for the distinction of HISD Principal of the Year. They learned of the award during surprise visits made on Feb. 18 to their respective campuses by HISD Deputy Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer Ken Huewitt.
“I am so proud of our principals and thrilled to have the chance to recognize them for all their hard work and dedication,” Huewitt said. “Effective principals are absolutely critical to ensuring the success of both students and teachers.”
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The library at Sam Houston Math, Science & Technology Center was overflowing with college financial aid information on Tuesday, Feb. 16, during HISD’s first-ever FAFSA Roadshow. Created jointly by three district departments — College Readiness, EMERGE, and College Access — the roadshow will travel to all HISD high schools to promote education and provide assistance in applying for scholarships, grants, and other types of financial aid.
“The purpose of today is to assist students in completing their TASFA or FAFSA, which is required in order for them to have some type of funding to pay for college,” said College Access Coordinator Kimberly Williams-Dooley. “Our students are doing a great job. We were very intentional about making sure our students had their documents in order.”
More than 1,000 HISD middle and high school students, as well as educators and parents, are expected to attend a free STEM-education conference presented by Microsoft at Chávez High School (8501 Howard, 77017) on Saturday, Feb. 27.
Microsoft YouthSpark is a global initiative designed to impact more than 300 million young people across the country through increased access to technology education and job-skills training.
School construction is progressing at a record pace in HISD, and if you’ve spent any time driving in district neighborhoods recently, you have probably spotted one or more of our schools under construction.
With fifteen projects currently in the construction phase, that’s more active construction than at any other time in the district’s history. Many of these projects are well into vertical construction, and visible progress can be seen almost daily.
Check out these latest photos taken the second week of February.
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As the district moves forward with implementation of the $1.89 billion bond program, which was approved by Houston voters in 2012, the bond team expects to have signed construction contracts on an additional six schools by the end of the first quarter of 2016, and nearly all the remaining projects will be bid by the end of 2016.
Phase 1 of the Worthing project will be complete by summer. Schools on track to open in time for the start of the 2016-2017 school year include Condit Elementary, Mark White Elementary, North Houston Early College High School, South Early College High School, Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion Magnet School, and (non-bond) North Forest Early Childhood Center.
The bond program, which will rebuild or renovate 40 schools, including 29 high schools, also includes improvements to district-wide athletics facilities, middle school restroom renovations and significant technology upgrades. HISD is also building some non-bond funded schools: North Forest High School, North Forest Early Childhood Center and the Energy Institute High School.
More information on HISD Building Programs
These students from Condit ES were two of the more than 1,000 that attended HISD’s Winter UIL Meet.
HISD has been offering students the chance to compete in University Interscholastic League (UIL) activities for years, but the district recently hit an attendance milestone, when more than 1,000 elementary school students participated in a single UIL competition.
The UIL A+ Academics Winter District Meet, which took place at Davis High School, had students from more than 40 schools competing, making it the most-attended UIL A+ Academics Meet in district history.
The Houston Independent School District Board of Education voted unanimously on Wednesday to end its contract with Ray & Associates, the search firm hired to find a replacement for outgoing Superintendent Terry Grier.
Board President Manuel Rodriguez said the decision to separate was mutual and determined to be in the best interest of both the district and the search firm.
The board followed the decision with a vote to begin talks with HYA & Associates, a national consulting firm based in Illinois. HYA & Associates was one of four companies interviewed by the board in November after responding to a request for proposals the previous month.
Once hired, that firm will be tasked with helping trustees conduct a survey and hold community meetings to gather input on the superintendent candidate profile. The firm will then use that profile to recruit candidates.
Dr. Grier is currently in his seventh year as HISD superintendent. He plans to step down at the end of February.
For more information on the superintendent search process, visit www.houstonisd.org/supesearch.
The Houston Independent School District Board of Education on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, unanimously voted to name Deputy Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer Ken Huewitt as interim superintendent of the state’s largest school district.
Huewitt was tapped to serve as the interim leader of HISD while trustees search for a permanent replacement for outgoing Superintendent Terry Grier, who is stepping down at the end of this month after almost seven years with the district. Continue reading
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