The road that led to Westbury High School was long and arduous for a group of students and their families from India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The students shared stories about that journey recently at a reading at the Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center in Sharpstown.
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Demolition crews begin clearing condemned houses to make way for the new Washington High School, March 13, 2015. (Houston ISD/Dave Einsel)
Heavy equipment has arrived on site, and old houses are coming down as the recently acquired property in the Independence Heights neighborhood is cleared to become part of the new Booker T. Washington High School.
After months of preparation, including extensive asbestos abatement, several of the houses were brought down this week, and more are set to follow as part of the demolition phase of construction, which is expected to last four to six more weeks.
As part of HISD’s $1.89 billion bond program approved by voters in 2012, a new $51.7 million facility will be built for Washington HS. Nearly 16 acres of land adjacent to the school was acquired by the district as part of the plan to nearly double the size of the campus.
The new campus, which will accommodate up to 1,300 students, will showcase the school’s engineering program with 21st century technology and flexible learning spaces to support project-based learning and encourage collaboration.
More information on Booker T. Washington and other 2012 bond schools can be found here.
Satterfield & Pontikes this week held a pre-bid conference for sub-contractors interested in submitting proposals to work on building projects at Waltrip and Lee High Schools. The construction firm is the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) for the two schools and hosted the standing-room-only meeting to provide an opportunity for contractors to hear an overview of the projects and ask questions before submitting bids.
“We’re really pleased with the turnout,” said David Webb, Satterfield and Pontikes’ chief estimator. “We want to take as many bids as possible back to the district.”
The Houston Independent School District Board of Education on Thursday declined to consider proposals to reduce classroom overcrowding throughout the district by making adjustments to a handful of elementary school attendance boundaries.
Trustees had been set to review the proposals during the March board meeting. Board President Rhonda Skillern-Jones withdrew the agenda items Thursday afternoon with the support of her fellow board members. As a result, trustees could not discuss or vote on the proposals. Continue reading
Two HISD teachers got a big surprise this week, when they learned that they had been named finalists for H-E-B’s 2015 Excellence in Education Awards.
Michael Clark, who was named HISD’s own Secondary Teacher of the Year in 2011, was selected as a finalist in the Lifetime Achievement category at the secondary level, while Dr. Nghia Le, who was recognized by H-E-B in 2011 with the Rising Star Award, was chosen as a finalist in the Leadership category at the secondary level.
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Alfredo Castillo-Sosa
Photo courtesy Muses3, LLC.
Alfredo Castillo-Sosa, a sixth-grader at Pin Oak Middle School, has been named the very first “Reader Leader” by myON for logging the most time spent reading on that website during a particular month.
Alfredo read for eight hours and 15 minutes on myON in February. He also completed 55 books and took their accompanying quizzes.
As a part of his prize, Alfredo received an ASUS laptop (with computer case) from Muses3, LLC, the representative of myON in southeast Texas.
“This was a tight race,” noted Linda Bessmer, managing partner of Muses3. “Several elementary school students came very close to winning but, in the end, a secondary school student took the prize.”
Alfredo was formally recognized during a special ceremony held on his campus March 10.
A preliminary design concept shows the front of the new High School for Law and Justice.
In February, HISD completed the purchase of property near downtown at Scott and Coyle streets, which will become the campus for the new High School for Law and Justice.
The school’s new three-story building, part of the district’s $1.89 billion bond program, will combine a 21st century learning environment with unique features – including a courtroom, a crime scene investigations lab, an emergency communications center, and a law library.
Students at Yates High School are getting practical experience in the health services arena. The Health Science Program at Yates HS is in its first year, and the new Jack Yates Community Clinic opened at the beginning of March. Services provided in the Community Clinic include blood pressure screenings for faculty, staff and students, height and weight measurements, and patient education. Continue reading
Competing primarily against high schools throughout Texas, Lanier Middle School finished fourth overall in the Small Schools Division in the Texas State German Contest held Feb. 28 at Texas State University. Continue reading
Condit Elementary School received permitting this month from the City of Bellaire to proceed with the next phase of construction on the school’s new 88,000-square-foot facility.
As workers have fenced and cleared the site in recent months, the project team has worked to finalize utility easements and put together a parking plan.