Author Archives: HISD Communications

Light It Up Blue to raise autism awareness on April 2

April is Autism Awareness Month, and in recognition of World Autism Awareness Day, communities across the globe are being asked to “Light It Up Blue” on April 2.

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People will be lighting up their homes, schools, offices, and iconic landmarks with the color blue, and HISD will observe the month in different ways across the district, including adding blue accents to the cafeteria of the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (HMWESC) and even changing up the appearance of the main district website.

There are endless ways for individuals to participate—you can swap out a blue light bulb on your front porch, get folks to wear something blue at work, or turn your Facebook profile picture blue to show support.

This is our chance to shine a light on autism, so please join us.

The Office of Special Education will also be hosting an autism parent support meeting on Wednesday, April 22, 2015, at the HMWESC (4400 W. 18th, 77092) from 9–10 a.m.

Former HISD trustee now serving children as a classroom teacher

In this week’s edition of I am HISD, which features district students, graduates, employees, and other team members, Harvard Elementary School third-grade teacher (and former District I Board of Education member) Karla Cisneros talks about how she went from the classroom to the boardroom and back again, the greatest gifts of her experience as a trustee, and if she’d ever consider running for that office again.

You represented District I on HISD’s Board of Education for five years in the early aughts, even serving as its president one year. Now you’re teaching third-graders at one of our elementary schools. How did that transition come about?

Karla Cisneros with her students at Harvard ES

Karla Cisneros with her students at Harvard ES

Well, I was not a certified teacher before. I was just sort of a mom who got pulled in. They hired me at Travis Elementary to be a part-time science teacher, and one thing just led to another. After I left the board, I was going to work with my husband, but I realized I wanted to be back in education at kind of a grass-roots level, so I went back to school and got certified.

And I really, really, really like being a teacher. The best part of all is the kids, but then, that’s always the best part. I knew when my own children grew up and moved on that I was going to hate being an empty nester, but so much of teaching is not just about teaching. It’s about helping usher children through their lives, not just the curriculum.

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HISD hires new academic, human resources chiefs

March 31, 2015 — HISD Chief Human Resources Officer Andrew Houlihan has been selected as the district’s new Chief Academic Officer, replacing Dan Gohl, who is leaving at the end of the school year to take a similar position in Broward County, Florida.

Houlihan will assume his new role on April 20, as Gohl moves into the position of special assistant to the superintendent. The move will ensure a smooth transition and allow the district to maintain the momentum generated by Gohl’s successful implementation of digital curriculum, innovative teaching practices and global education initiatives.

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Student Congress elects new leaders for coming school year

StudCong_Cabinet2015_440x230Carnegie Vanguard High School student Zaakir Tameez will soon be handing over his gavel to a new leader. The graduating senior, who cofounded HISD’s new Student Congress last year, will be yielding his position as speaker of the congress to Amy Fan, a junior at Bellaire High School, after graduation this spring.

An election for new Student Congress cabinet members took place on March 28 at the Gregory Lincoln Education Center, and the new officers will assume their duties as of May 28.

“It’s been my effort from day one to create something that would last well beyond me,” said Tameez. “Today was a giant step in that direction.”

Below is a list of the new leaders-elect (pictured, L-R, above):

  • Demetron Dotson, advocacy chair, Austin HS, Class of 2017
  • Jacob Castillo, finance chair, Austin HS, Class of 2016
  • Kate Ham, chief of staff, HSPVA, Class of 2016
  • Amy Fan, speaker of the congress, Bellaire HS, Class of 2016
  • Anusha De, initiative chair, Bellaire HS, Class of 2017
  • Jessica DeBoe, outreach chair, HSPVA, Class of 2017
  • Michael Talanker, governance chair, Carnegie Vanguard HS, Class of 2016

“Our election is a testament to our motto: student-run, student-led,” said new Speaker of the Congress Amy Fan. “Now that we have a strong base of members and the foundation is set, we’re ready to accomplish even more. I’m really looking forward to next year.”

 

Up Close takes a look at district’s move online for state testing

HISD is making the move toward online assessments that help teachers better determine what students know so that they can personalize the learning experience.

HISD Board President Rhonda Skillern-Jones addresses the transition in this month’s edition of Up Close with Chief Academic Officer Dan Gohl, Formative Assessment Manager Betty Garcia-Hill, and Carol Mosteit, principal of the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. Continue reading →

Four students win national recognition for their writing talent

Four students from HISD schools have been recognized at the national level this spring through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Bellaire High School’s Liana Wang and Carnegie Vanguard High School’s Victoria Songyang won Gold Key Awards, while Bellaire High’s Christina Tan and Gabriel CyPacht from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts won Silver Key Awards.

Only 39 students in Harris County earned awards at the national level of this competition, which is sponsored regionally by the Harris County Department of Education. To see a full list of winners, please click here.

The Gold Key winners will be honored at a ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City in June.

Yates HS communications students begin massive video archiving project

Students in the magnet communications program at Yates High School recently launched a massive archiving project that will one day result in the digitization of more than 30 years of video footage.

Phase one entails the ingestion of hundreds of video tapes from the Yates magnet program dating back to 1980, containing footage of the school and its history, events, faculty, and students.

The ultimate goal of the project is to produce a digital archive on Blu-Ray discs that can be displayed at the school’s new facility and will be ready in time for the 40th anniversary of the School of Communications in 2018.

Yates’ new chapter of the Student Television Network is using the latest in digital content acquisition technology to ingest the legacy analog video into an updated iMac system. Students involved are acquiring skills that can be used in the media archiving industry, film and television non-linear video editing, and metadata management, which is an introduction to meta-tagging and understanding aggregate data for social media careers.

Sanchez ES advances in NCUST award process

Sanchez Elementary has moved to the next level of competition in the 2015 National Center for Urban School Transformation’s (NCUST) National Excellence in Education Award. The school has now been named a Silver level winner for 2015, and is in contention to receive the Gold award later this year.

Among the thousands of urban schools in the nation, Sanchez won the honor by demonstrating exceptional academic results through achievement test scores and other indicators of academic accomplishment for every demographic group. After naming the finalists, NCUST sent executive coaches all over the country to visit schools, meet with principals, and observe lessons before determining the silver and bronze award winners.

Gold Level prize winners will be announced at the 2015 National Excellence in Urban Education Symposium in Dallas on May 21.

Reagan HS broadcast explores personal side of immigration reform

Students in Michael Shea’s magnet audio/visual classes have been producing their own TV show since the spring of 2014, but one recent episode tackled an issue that is both timely and personal for many Reagan High School students: immigration reform.

Reagan’s student population is more than 80 percent Hispanic, and a number of pupils have parents, siblings, or other family members who are in the country illegally. Six different students—four boys and two girls—agreed to appear on camera in a segment that aired on March 13, 2015, to discuss how America’s current immigration policies have affected them and their families.  Continue reading →