Author Archives: HISD Communications

Students at 22 high schools participated in second-annual HISD FAFSA Day

fafsa-promo

It’s not too late to apply for free financial aid from the federal government

HISD high schools across the district hosted HISD’s second-annual FAFSA Day on Thurs., Feb. 19. Administrators, staff, and volunteers were on hand at 22 area schools to assist students and their parents complete the application accurately and on time.

HISD partnered with Neighborhood Centers, which provided volunteers to help parents file their income tax returns. The family’s financial information is used to calculate the “Expected Family Contribution,” a key factor in the assessment of how much each family is expected to contribute and how much financial aid they will receive. Once students had their parents’ finalized tax information, they could get assistance with their FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application at the same location.

“I came here to do my taxes, so I would be able to file my FAFSA for college,” said Sharpstown senior Preston Seymore. “After I graduate, I’m going to HCC to get my fire and EMT training. This is a wonderful thing, and I recommend that every school have a group of people come out and help students like this.”

Undocumented students are also eligible to receive state aid, but they will need to fill out the TASFA (Texas Application for State Financial Aid), which was created for students who do not have a Social Security number and are not eligible for federal student aid. See Houston FAFSA, a communitywide effort to help high school seniors and their families, for more information.

“Completing the FAFSA is an important step in ensuring college enrollment among our students,” said David Johnston, director of the HISD College Readiness Team. “In fact, seniors who complete the FAFSA are 90 percent more likely to attend college than those who don’t.”

Once students have completed the FAFSA or TASFA application, the colleges they have applied to AND received acceptance letters from will begin to put together a financial aid package for them.

“Deadlines for financial aid vary from school to school, so unfortunately there’s not really a hard deadline,” said College Readiness Specialist Derick Hutchinson. “It really depends on the school the student is going to as to the deadline. But students should always apply for FAFSA before the priority deadline to ensure that it is processed in time for the start of the fall semester.”

For most colleges, the FAFSA priority deadline is March 15, 2015. Although students can apply anytime, grant funding is limited, and colleges cannot guarantee their financial aid award will be processed by the start of the fall semester.

There are thousands of college scholarships out there, but the U.S. government is by far the largest provider of student financial aid. FAFSA gives students access to $150 billion in grants, loans, and work-study funds.

For questions, please contact your high school campus or the HISD College Readiness Dept. at 713-556-7196. Be sure to visit the HISD FAFSA/TAFSA website here.

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsUzihI9Atw”]

Project Advisory Teams tour 4 innovative schools in D.C. area

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000A9Vodh7DYUY” g_name=”20150128-DC-Bond-Tours” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]

The concept of a 21st century school can be hard to imagine. But Project Advisory Team members from nine HISD schools have a clearer vision after a trip to our nation’s capital last week.

Continue reading →

HISD police testing new body cameras

An HISD police officer wears one of the body cameras being tested this month.

An HISD police officer wears one of the body cameras being tested this month.

More than two dozen HISD police officers are patrolling campuses across the district with small cameras clipped to their lapels as part of a pilot program designed to provide an additional tool in boosting student and school safety.

Twenty-five officers began testing the first cameras this month, wearing them while monitoring schools and responding to various incidents. The department aims to fully outfit the 210-officer department with cameras by the 2015-2016 school year. Continue reading →

Meet the new Board of Education president in HISD’s ‘Up Close’

[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPS8MWlAHRM” responsive=”no”]

Rhonda Skillern-Jones was elected the HISD Board of Education’s new president for 2015, and outgoing president Juliet Stipeche used her farewell episode of HISD’s Up Close program to give viewers an introduction to the board’s new leader. Continue reading →

Bellaire HS graduates nail perfect scores on AP macroeconomics exam

Bellaire HS grads Yuqing “Mike” Xiong, left, and Jinchen Zou

Bellaire HS grads Yuqing “Mike” Xiong, left, and Jinchen Zou

Two Bellaire HS graduates just learned that they made perfect scores on last May’s Advanced Placement (AP) macroeconomics exam. Yuqing “Mike” Xiong and Jinchen Zou graduated from Bellaire last spring and took the exam to earn college credit and be eligible for higher-level courses as university freshmen after completing Michael Clark’s economics course.

Jinchen and Yuqing’s are two of only 51 students worldwide to have made a perfect score on the exam in 2014, which was taken by 117,209 students last year. Jinchen now attends Yale University and Yuqing is going to the University of Texas.

Continue reading →

Former Durham ES teacher now back on campus as a reading mentor

RHR_AnnieMcReyn_300cIt’s been more than 40 years since Annie McReynolds first taught kindergarten in HISD’s Durham Elementary School, but the retired educator has been back in the classroom since 2014—and this time, it’s as a volunteer.

McReynolds, who celebrated her 80th birthday on Jan. 22, now serves as a reading mentor at the school she helped launch. She was one of the original faculty members when the campus opened back in 1968, and a photo of her registering a student on the first day of class that year (pictured) still hangs in the front office.

“I was only there about four years, because I had two more babies,” explained McReynolds, who later taught at private schools. “But my heart is in school teaching, and I’m still very healthy and active. If I don’t go to the mirror, I don’t know I’m 80.”

McReynolds said she offered to help out at Durham because “I could see what individual attention did for children.”

Volunteers are still needed, so if you’d like to be a mentor, please visit the Read Houston Read website.

Waltrip High School getting a modern makeover

Renovations at Waltrip High School are changing the look of the campus as glass installation recently got underway, which will replace aging windows and orange metal panels which date back to 1959 when the school was first built.

Bond Waltrip

A worker installs windows at Waltrip High School.

The change will give the campus a modern feel and be a welcomed by many stakeholders who have expressed a strong desire to see the orange panels go.

Continue reading →

HISD debuts website for Service Excellence initiative

service_excellenceHISD is celebrating its commitment to exceptional customer service with the launch of its new Service Excellence website, aimed to promote a service-focused environment across the district.

The website will serve as a landing page for the district’s initiative in creating a culture of service excellence by having all HISD employees work together to uphold the department’s service philosophy: Continue reading →

Sampling of America’s artistic past now on permanent display at HISD elementary school

Students and staff at Cunningham ES pose in front of an Art Everywhere billboard featuring Three Flags, by artists Jasper Johns.

Students and staff at Cunningham ES pose in front of an Art Everywhere billboard featuring Three Flags, by artists Jasper Johns.

A bit of America’s cultural history is now on permanent exhibit at Cunningham Elementary School. Donated by the Art Everywhere US program, the five giant (6’ by 12’) replicas of American masterpieces are part of a nationwide presentation celebrating the country’s artistic heritage. Students, faculty, staff, and community members were on hand for the ceremonial unveiling of the art reproductions on Jan. 23, 2015. Continue reading →