Author Archives: HISD Communications

Sterling HS valedictorian wins coveted Gates Millennium Scholarship

RobertChildress_250Robert Childress, a senior at Sterling High School, will be following his military dreams to Texas A&M University this fall at minimal cost to himself, after representatives of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced the winners of the Gates Millennium Scholarships for 2015.

Childress, who is the valedictorian at Sterling this year, was one of only 1,000 students chosen from more than 52,000 applicants nationwide—and the sole student selected from HISD.

The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) program was established in 1999 to promote academic excellence and to provide an opportunity for outstanding minority students with significant financial need to reach their highest potential.

Candidates for the GMS award must be citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States. Students must also meet the Federal Pell Grant eligibility criteria, have at least a 3.3 GPA (on a 4.0 scale), and have demonstrated leadership through community service or other extracurricular activities.

A full list of Gates Scholars from the Class of 2015 is available here (link to PDF is at the bottom of the article).

Annual Your Voice survey begins May 1

surveylinkMay 1 marks the kickoff of the annual Your Voice survey – Houston Independent School District’s largest customer satisfaction survey. Your Voice will allow more than 160,000 students, parents, instructional staff, and community members to give honest feedback about the district in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Parent and instructional staff surveys will be conducted May 1-30, 2015, and parents have the option of completing the printed survey or accessing it online. Student surveys are from May 11 until May 30, 2015. Continue reading →

HISD hosts third annual Special Olympics field days

Athletes come in all shapes and sizes, and that’s why the Houston Independent School District played host to the third annual Special Olympics field days April 29–May 1 at Barnett Stadium.

Field days give students with intellectual disabilities a chance to take part in fun and friendly athletic contests. The games kicked off on Wednesday morning with an opening ceremony that included a parade for athletes and the official passing of the torch. Continue reading →

Author inspires Furr HS students with tales from her journey as a writer

Native Houstonian Attica Locke discusses how she landed a job producing TV hit ‘Empire’

Native Houstonian Attica Locke discusses how she landed a job producing TV hit ‘Empire’

Attica Locke no longer lives in Houston, but the author and producer came to Furr High School on April 27 to share tales from her journey as a writer, and to explain how her latest novel came to be named after the near-eastside neighborhood where she spent time as a child.

“Pleasantville came to my attention when my father [Gene Locke] ran for mayor in 2009,” explained Locke. “When I learned about the history of the neighborhood, I fell in love.”

Locke, who writes and produces the hit Fox series, Empire, visited Furr High School (which serves the Pleasantville area) to encourage students to share their own stories with the world. “It matters to me that young people feel their stories matter and that they understand the importance of recording their stories—be it in a poem, a rap, a short story, or a script,” she said. “I want them to understand that they can make a career from a life as a writer.”

Continue reading →

Austin HS maritime program christens navigation simulator

AustinHS_BridgeSimul_400While navigating rough water is a tough job, actually learning the finer points of navigation is even tougher. Students at HISD’s Stephen F. Austin High School for Maritime Studies have a new tool that will make that learning process a little easier—and certainly more comprehensive. Students, faculty, staff, and members of HISD administration and Houston’s maritime industry christened the school’s very own navigation simulator on April 24. Continue reading →

Design charrette held for Askew, Wharton Dual Language, Young Women’s College Prep

Project Advisory Team (PAT) members for Askew Elementary, Wharton Dual Language Academy, and Young Women’s College Prep Academy (YWCPA) spent two days this week in an intensive workshop to put together preliminary design plans for their new facilities.

Continue reading →

Help determine the ‘Fan Favorite’ at HISD’s Celebration of Excellence

HISD will be hosting its annual Celebration of Excellence on Friday, May 15, and one of the announcements to be made that day is the district’s Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year.

Those honorees are determined at the district level using performance data and other criteria, but you can help select the 2015 Fan Favorite by choosing one of this year’s Teacher of the Year nominees—and using your social media know-how to build a network of supporters.

All campus-based Teachers of the Year are eligible for this award, which will be determined by who has the largest number of fans. Anyone can vote—including colleagues, parents, students, and former students.

Visit this link to make your selection during the first round of voting through Friday, May 8, and be sure to share your favorite on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media channels to get the word out. A second round of voting will take place through May 15 to determine the winner from among the finalists.

The Fan Favorite will be announced live and on social media during the Celebration of Excellence on May 15.

Thank an educator during Teacher Appreciation Week May 4–8

If you can balance your checkbook, make a grocery list, or even read this sentence, you have a teacher to thank.

Educators help prepare young people for the world of adulthood—and for more than 170 days each year, HISD teachers carry out that mission—by teaching them not only the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also how to approach difficult problems, how to think things through logically, and even how to persist in the face of adversity.

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://youtu.be/NYCyHl3tSAA”] Continue reading →

Steady encouragement, support lead to success for HISD students with autism

This week marks the end of Autism Awareness Month, so we asked some of our parents of students with autism about their families’ experiences with HISD, to find out what they felt contributed the most to their students’ successes.

Noah poses with a trophy he won in a robotics competition.

Noah poses with a trophy he won in a robotics competition.

Kristi Anders, the parent of a 12-year-old who is finishing up his last year in elementary school, says her son has flourished at two different campuses due to the inclusive environments created there by caring staff members.

“Noah’s teachers and principal at Garden Oaks Montessori were so accepting and supportive of him,” she said. “He has had to learn his limits and figure out what works for him and what doesn’t, but we bought him noise-reducing headphones and he learned to tell people when they were in his personal space. His teacher would also send him on errands or to get a drink of water when she could see he was getting frustrated. In the third grade, Noah’s friends voted him class president.”

Continue reading →

J.J. Watt Foundation giving HISD after-school athletic programs a boost

Coach Wilson (L) with J.J. Watt and members of the Fondren MS football team

Coach Wilson (L) with J.J. Watt and members of the Fondren MS football team

Eight members of the Fondren Middle School football team received a big surprise on April 18.

They got to meet one of their idols that day—legendary Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt—at a special celebration held in Houston by the charity he created. As previous beneficiaries of a grant from the Justin J. Watt Foundation, the students were invited to help accept a large donation from Papa John’s Pizza, one of its biggest supporters, at the event. They also got to visit with Watt personally and ask him a few questions.

Continue reading →