Author Archives: HISD Communications

HISD fathers encouraged to take kids to school on first day

An organization is dubbing the first day of school National Fathers Take Children to School Day.

The “Million Father March” movement is being organized by The Black Star Project, which is based in Chicago, to encourage fathers to take an active role in their children’s education. The Black Star Project is requesting employers to give men a few hours off of work, with pay, so they may take their child to school and participate in any activities for parents a school may have planned.

Many Houston ISD schools, including Jack Yates High School, are encouraging fathers of students to take part in the movement. Continue reading →

Volunteer for 2014 Grads Within Reach Walk Sept. 6

Help HISD get dropouts back in school by volunteering for the 2014 Grads Within Reach walk.

This year’s event will be held at 24 high schools from 8 a.m. to noon on Sat., Sept. 6, 2014. Volunteers will be placed in teams and fan out across the city, based on the school to which they are assigned, and visit the last known address of students who dropped out or didn’t show up for the first weeks of school. Continue reading →

Washington HS community gets update on plans leading up to construction of new school

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The new Booker T. Washington High School being built under the 2012 bond program will showcase the school’s engineering program through dynamic academic spaces that encourage collaboration and project-based learning.

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Transportation: What you need to know for the upcoming school year

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With the first day of school quickly approaching, HISD Transportation is ready for a safe and smooth start to the school year.

Before school starts, the department says all parents should receive a postcard in the mail and at least two telephone calls with their children’s bus route information.

A customer call center has also been set up to answer questions. Parents can call 713-613-3040 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. starting Monday, Aug. 18, for assistance with transportation-related issues. The call center will remain open for at least 30 days.

Continue reading →

Westbury HS band surprises Michael Strahan at Hall of Fame parade

Westbury High School’s band and dance team traveled to Canton, Ohio, last weekend to celebrate former student and athlete Michael Strahan’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and they had a special surprise for him.

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Strahan played for Westbury for one year, and attended and played at Texas Southern University before his 15-year career with the New York Giants. The last game he played was Super Bowl XLII, which the Giants won.

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Washington HS students take lift-off dreams to New Mexico for seventh straight year

After eight months of construction, five Booker T. Washington High School engineering students finally had a chance to try to launch the high-powered hybrid rocket they nicknamed The Golden Eagle Four. The students traveled to the White Sands Missile Range last week in New Mexico to launch the rocket, hoping to see it reach a height of 100,000 feet.

“Seeing our rocket on the launch pad was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen,” said Washington senior Michael Ortiz. “We worked so hard to get to that point. We started with calculations on paper to drawing a rocket to actually seeing the rocket on the launch pad.”

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New Middle College High School trains corps of leaders

When the new Middle College High School-Gulfton campus starts classes Aug. 25, it will already have a trained group of student leaders.

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About 40 seniors from the school learned confidence- and team-building skills last week at a five-day summer leadership camp held at Talento Bilingue de Houston. Continue reading →

Lanier MS holds debate camp for sixth graders

Incoming sixth graders at Lanier Middle School got a head start on picking up debate skills for the upcoming school year.

“These kids are going to be ready for competition before maybe some of the other sixth graders,” debate coach Franz Hill said. “We want them to develop confidence and learn the rudiments of putting together arguments and persuasive writing, and how to take initiative.”

Lanier’s debate team is consistently one of the top middle school teams in the nation. The school earned the Overall School of Excellence Award at the National Speech and Debate Association’s Middle School Tournament in June. Continue reading →

Verdict is unanimous: Legal internships provide solid evidence of nurturing attorneys

Even HISD’s own Assistant General Counsel Izzy Anderson is a product of the CIS program

Until this summer, Davis High School student Shantelle Martinez had never set foot in a real courtroom. Now, the rising senior is planning for a career in criminal justice—and all because of her experience in an eight-week legal internship program this summer coordinated by Communities in Schools (CIS), in partnership with the Houston Bar Association. Continue reading →

Don’t close that book just yet: Summer reading competition now has prizes

HISD’s summer reading program just got a lot more competitive.

The district’s corporate partner, myON, has announced that it will be extending students’ access to its online library through Aug. 31 and offering prizes to students who read the largest number of books and/or spend the most time reading there. HISD joined forces with the company earlier this year to expand students’ access to age-appropriate reading materials.

HISD students who place in one of the following four categories will receive a free mini home library from Capstone: Continue reading →