Author Archives: HISD Communications

Futures Academy pharmacy students receive white coats, scrubs

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Nearly 200 HISD students in the Futures Academy of Pharmacy Technology at Jane Long Academy received white coats and scrubs during the program’s third-annual White Coat Ceremony Wednesday. Continue reading →

ReelEducation shows students that disabilities do not define their lives

ReelAbilities, the Houston Disabilities Film Festival, will be coming to the Bayou City Feb. 9–12, 2015, and all secondary teachers are invited to take advantage of it by scheduling free movie screenings on their campuses or at local movie theaters. Teachers can begin signing up for a screening on Jan. 15. Continue reading →

After-school programs get boost from new city grant

CASE Connections

HISD’s Chávez High School and Henry Middle School became two of the first local organizations to benefit from a new initiative recently, when they received grants for $15,000 and $5,000 from the City Connections program.

City Connections, a partnership between the City of Houston and the Center for Afterschool, Summer, and Expanded Learning (CASE) for Kids, is designed to help fight juvenile crime and promote child safety by providing much-needed funding for after-school programs. Continue reading →

Reagan students excited to receive laptops for school and home use

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All 2,234 students at Reagan High School received laptops on Monday, Jan. 12, as part of the district’s one-to-one plan to give all high school students a digital device to use for learning at school and at home. The one-to-one laptop program is a key component of HISD’s PowerUp initiative, which aims to digitally transform teaching and learning throughout the district.

Reagan is one of 14 HISD high schools distributing laptops to students during the month of January and early February. Others high schools include Davis, Lamar, Milby, Scarborough, South Early College, Waltrip, Westbury, Westside, Wheatley and Yates, as well as the Futures Academies at Jones, Jane Long Academy, and the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.  Continue reading →

Class of 2014 IB diploma candidates receive their degrees

LamarHS_CO2014_IBDipsMore than 100 members of HISD’s Class of 2014 took home their International Baccalaureate (IB) diplomas recently. Ninety-six graduates from Lamar High School (some of whom are pictured here) and 10 from Bellaire High School accepted their degrees during special ceremonies held on Jan. 5 and Dec. 17, respectively.

Since IB diplomas are not conferred until late summer, students are generally presented with them while at home, on break from university.

Lamar and Bellaire were the first two HISD high schools to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, which is composed of academically challenging and advanced curriculum. Lamar’s IB Diploma program is the largest in Texas and one of the top 10 IB Diploma programs in the United States. Reagan High School received its IB authorization for the Middle Years Programme in the fall of 2013. It is currently in the process of obtaining authorization to offer the IB Degree Program. The first students eligible to graduate from that campus with IB diplomas will be the Class of 2018.

Beijing educators tour HISD schools, observe classrooms

20150112_151757_resizedEducators from China’s Beijing School #20 began a two-day visit of HISD schools and the central office building on Jan. 12 to observe various classrooms, explore opportunities for collaboration, and discuss school management and curriculum.

The group toured Sharpstown International School on Jan. 12 and will visit the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center and Carnegie Vanguard High School on Jan. 13. The special guests participated in discussions with district board trustees, administrators, curriculum directors, and school support officers.

Elementary Literacy Summit prepares teachers to be literacy experts in classroom

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More than 800 pre-K through fifth-grade teachers attended HISD’s Elementary Literacy Summit on Saturday, Jan. 10 to participate in sessions on quality reading and writing instruction and hear presentations by national literacy experts. Continue reading →

HISD outlines district’s legislative priorities

capitolWith the 84th Texas State Legislature set to convene on Jan. 13 at the State Capitol in Austin, school finance is at the top of HISD’s legislative agenda.

The district will carry a strong position on equitable state funding that will increase state dollars for academics for pre-K through 12th grade, particularly at-risk and bilingual students, in addition to improvements in college readiness for all students and funding for full day pre-K.

HISD’s Governmental Relations team will attend the 140-day regular session, in which lawmakers will budget how state money is spent over the next two years beginning in September. The Texas Comptroller’s office recently announced that the state has $113 billion in revenue available to spend in 2016 and 2017.

Click here to read a list of HISD’s legislative priorities.