Author Archives: HISD Communications

Six more HISD students win National Merit College-Sponsored Scholarships

Six more Houston Independent School District students were selected this week to win National Merit scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities, bringing the total number of HISD winners up to 23 this year.

The students — Afton Widdershins from Bellaire High School; Ariel Hayes, David Lee, and Camille Potts from Carnegie Vanguard High School; and Sloan Lalinde-Barnes and Jessica Rollinson from DeBakey High School for Health Professions — received college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships from the College of Wooster, University of Houston, University of Southern California, Texas A&M University and Trinity University. Continue reading →

Class of 2015 beats previous year’s scholarship offers by $10 million

Several HISD schools saw significant increases in the amount of scholarship and financial aid offers their seniors received this year. Recent HAIS graduates Karina Barbosa (left) and Rynique Lucas received more than $1.7M between them.

Several HISD schools saw significant increases in the amount of scholarship and financial aid offers their seniors received this year. Recent HAIS graduates Karina Barbosa (left) and Rynique Lucas received more than $1.7M in scholarship and financial aid offers between them.

The numbers are in, and HISD’s Class of 2015 has received almost $265 million in scholarship and financial aid offers.

At $10 million more than the Class of 2014, Director of College Readiness David Johnston called the figure “a testament to the district’s college readiness efforts.” A handful of campuses have also seen significant increases in the amount of money their seniors have been offered from last year to this one.

College Success Manager Pamela Joyce Williams attributes Washington High School’s jump from about $2,360,000 in 2014 to more than $7,223,000 in 2015 to a year-long outreach campaign, in which she sent students and their parents regular progress reports and email reminders about deadlines through Naviance. Continue reading →

Nutrition Services helps feed Houston’s hungry

Audene Chung and Amanda Oceguera listen to HISD’s Student Congress Representatives request to help less fortunate Houstonians.

HISD’s Audene Chung and Amanda Oceguera listen to Student Congress representatives’ request to help less fortunate Houstonians.

When Houston ISD’s Student Congress visited the district’s Nutrition Services production facility recently, a new partnership to help feed the hungry in Houston was born.

In May, the Student Congress lobbied Nutrition Services to make food donations to Second Servings, an organization that collects and donates leftover food. While Nutrition Services is unable to donate school lunches, it did find a way to make donations through its catering kitchen operations, and the district recently signed a charter to donate leftover food. Continue reading →

Students enjoy hot dogs with a side of literacy at inaugural ‘Book-Nic’

Photos courtesy Ericka Hernandez at United Way Houston

Photos courtesy Ericka Hernandez at United Way Houston

Students attending HISD’s Sherman Elementary School celebrated summer with a hot dog and a book on July 2, as part of the United Way of Greater Houston’s annual “Day of Action.”

The United Way teamed up with Houston Public Media and the Wesley Community Center to host its inaugural “book-nic” (or book picnic) at the Sherman campus that day. This year, the theme was summer reading, and more than 300 families received a free book to take home. Students could also take part in interactive activities, such as the “make your own book” station, and Wesley Community Center staff members offered free grilled hotdogs and other typical picnic fare to visitors. In addition, the United Way set up its Tiny Library, a free lending library aimed at giving neighborhoods increased access to books. Continue reading →

Petroleum Academy students drill deeper into oil and gas career possibilities

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Students Alejandro Venegas and Shannon Rouhana, who completed their externships with Southwestern Energy, pose with Damien Friend, the company’s chief geologist, at the awards banquet.

The next generation of America’s oil and natural gas leaders took its first eager steps toward securing successful careers in the energy industry, when a group of 55 rising seniors and recent graduates from the Petroleum Academies at Milby, Westside, and Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy (YWCPA) participated in a two-week, job-shadowing opportunity at various Houston petroleum exploration, production, and service companies.

The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the Petroleum Equipment & Services Association (PESA) Student Externship Program began in the summer of 2010 to provide a one-of-a-kind experience for future engineering and geosciences students enrolled in the IPAA/PESA Petroleum Academies, and to date, 394 externs have participated.

Continue reading →

Seats still available in some magnet programs for 2015–2016 year

Parents who still haven’t decided where to send their children this fall are in luck, as several magnet programs still have space available for the coming school year.

Magnet schools offer students unique opportunities to develop specific career-oriented skills in particular fields, such as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), maritime, or fine arts. Campuses with either open spots or short waiting lists include Scarborough High School, Austin High School, Marshall Middle School, M.C. Williams Middle School, Gregory-Lincoln K-8, and Carrillo Elementary School, all of which were featured in a series of magnet spotlights last fall. Continue reading →

Former students volunteer at Summer School Program

They may have left their middle-school days behind them, but that doesn’t mean high-schoolers can’t still go back to mentor those who now occupy their old seats. That’s why former students of Johnston Middle School are currently serving as volunteers at the Summer School Program.

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Texas legislative session yields victories for public education

The Texas Legislature convened from January to June of 2015. More than 100 bills passed related to public education.

According to Government Relations Director Ashlea Graves, one of the biggest victories for HISD was the passage of Senate Bill 1004, which gives all school districts in Harris County the ability to work with the four community college systems operating inside its boundaries: Houston Community College, Lone Star, San Jacinto, and Lee.

Continue reading →

‘Caught in the Act’ spotlights two educators this month

Fourth episode features geography and world history teachers at Davis HS

Davis High School teachers John-Paul Cortez and Alan Browne were recently “Caught in the Act” (CIA) of delivering great instruction during their lessons on world history and geography, respectively. An HISD video crew, along with Secondary Curriculum and Development Officer Annie Wolfe, surprised the educators and their students, and captured the video below.

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EUPWCeuyKE “]

The “Caught in the Act” video campaign was started by HISD to recognize highly effective teachers who are delivering instruction that will lead to students becoming Global Graduates – young men and women who possess the skills necessary to ensure success in college and the ability to compete in today’s global workforce.  Continue reading →