Author Archives: HISD Communications

Sam Houston MSTC holds first bond community meeting

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Stakeholders of Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center were briefed this week on initial design plans for the school’s new building.

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Chevron contributing up to $1M to public schools through Donors Choose

HISD teachers have been partnering with Donors Choose to support student learning since that organization first launched in 2000.

Now Chevron Products Company, a division of Chevron U.S.A. Inc., has offered to donate up to a million dollars through Donors Choose to fund eligible classroom projects at public schools in Harris County.

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Community Resource Guide links HISD schools and parents with resources they need most

Sometimes, HISD students and families have needs that go beyond classroom instruction. To help school principals, teachers, and staff meet those needs, the Family and Community Engagement (FACE) department has created the 2015 Community Resource Guide. The guide is designed for use by schools, parents, community organizations, and partners to locate the most requested resources and services in the Houston area.

This year’s guide features 454 resources and services entries on 36 different topics. Besides location and contact information, each entry includes information on ages and grades served, eligibility for participation, cost, a description of services provided, language availability, and whether the service can be provided onsite at a school. Just a few of the topics include: Continue reading →

HISD proposing changes designed to simplify magnet application process

School Choice tours to be held at campuses on Thursdays this fall.

The Houston Independent School District is aiming to simplify its magnet school application process by moving to a priority-based system that was unveiled Thursday to school trustees.

Under the new system, parents would be required to rank the schools to which they are applying. If students qualify for multiple schools, they would only be accepted to the one that was ranked highest on their application. Students, however, could remain on waitlists for any higher-ranked schools without immediate available space — as long as they were eligible and qualified to attend.

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For National Day of Service, consider volunteering in HISD

In 2009 the United States Congress officially recognized Sept. 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance, during which citizens are encouraged to donate time to charitable service and improving their community.

Thousands of volunteers across the nation will paint and refurbish homes, run food drives, spruce up schools, reclaim neighborhoods, and participate in other charitable activities.HISD has several opportunities for those who wish to focus volunteer efforts on the children of our city. Whether you are interested in supporting the area’s teachers, helping with after-school programs, or tackling the nation’s literacy problem, there are ways to get involved.

Here is a guide to volunteering in HISD: Continue reading →

State grant to expand reach of home visiting program for parents of preschoolers

HISD’s Family and Community Engagement (FACE) team has been awarded a $5,880,967 state grant that will help the district significantly expand the reach of its Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program.

The five-year Texas Home Visiting Program grant, a project of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, will provide funding for the district’s Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program to support an additional 500 families with children ages three to five. The grant will also support services for parents of newborns to three-year-olds via Collaborative for Children’s Parents as Teachers program and provide funding to support Adult Education classes offered by Houston Community College for parents who wish to further their education. Continue reading →

Students use artistic talents to raise money for blind Chinese orphans

When asked how they spent their summer months, many students answer that they went to the beach or a swimming pool, visited with relatives, or took a vacation.

But one student from Carnegie Vanguard High School was able to write a most unusual “what I did over my summer vacation” essay this fall after she spent a week and a half in June playing the piano to benefit needy Asian children.

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Senior Kerrigan Quenemoen, along with her partner, Kenneth Yu (who graduated this spring from Bellaire High School), were invited to do a series of charity concerts in China to raise money for blind Chinese orphans. Continue reading →