Author Archives: HISD Communications

PowerUp Pilot Schools Learning Best Practices

Nearly a century ago, famed educator John Dewey said, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” Dewey’s words of wisdom resonated among 150 HISD school leaders, central office staff members, and teachers as they gathered this month for a four-day retreat to officially launch and learn more about PowerUp, HISD’s groundbreaking initiative that will eventually give every high school student a laptop computer.

Principals and teachers involved in phase 1, or the pilot phase of PowerUp, along with members of curriculum, professional development, and instructional technology, met July 15-18 at Sharpstown High School to train with over a dozen educators from the Mooresville Graded School District located in Mooresville, N.C. MGSD has received national recognition for undertaking a digital technology initiative that provides every student in grades 4-12 with a computer to use at school and at home.

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Students Accelerate Learning During Summer Academic Camps

Rather than spending all their time biking, playing, or soaking up the sun, some HISD students are taking advantage of an opportunity to advance their education over the summer months.

In addition to the standard summer school offerings designed to help students catch up or pass the STAAR exam, many campuses offer enhanced education options, such as Advanced Placement assistance, accelerated math courses, college entrance exam preparation, STEM courses, or others to help kids get ahead.

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Board of Education to Consider Four More Contracts for 2012 Bond Work

Selected projects include construction manager at risk services for four high schools

Administrators are recommending that the HISD Board of Education authorize the district to negotiate contracts with three firms to provide construction manager at risk (CMAR) services on selected 2012 bond projects.

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Reagan HS and Hogg MS Celebrate IB Authorization

Reagan High School and Hogg Middle School are the two latest HISD campuses to receive official authorization to operate as International Baccalaureate World Schools. The announcement, which came on July 5, creates the first continuous IB feeder pattern in the historic Heights neighborhood. Students now can begin the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) at Harvard Elementary and then progress to Hogg Middle School and Reagan High School for the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP).

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Elementary children get jump start on STEM careers in SEEK summer camp

Students work on one of the projects at the SEEK program at Young Women's College Preparatory Academy

Students work on a project at the SEEK program at Young Women's College Preparatory Academy

About 300 elementary students from across the Houston area spent the last few weeks learning how to build renewable energy-based vehicles as part of a concerted effort to increase the number of minority engineers in the future.

The students were part of the Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) camp at the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy, which was organized by the National Society of Black Engineers, with support from Shell and the University of Houston.

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Waltrip HS Robotics Team Wins Awards in Summer Competitions

Joseph Townsend, Tyler Townsend (mentor), Jeremiah Miller, Joshua Benton, Brooke Welch, Amanda Edwards, Andrew Kain, Alyssa Murrell, NayJeah Pridgen, and Sean Russell.

Waltrip High School’s robotics team competed in two international events this summer and came home with three awards.

The team won the gROVer award at the International M.A.T.E. Underwater ROV Competition in Federal Way, Wash. That award is given to a team that demonstrates kindness, courtesy, professionalism, and assists other teams, providing technical and moral support. Team member Sean Russell received the engineering evaluation MVP award.

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Superintendent Praises First Class Breakfast for Improved Attendance

Superintendent of Schools Terry Grier recently told the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) about HISD’s First Class Breakfast Program, and how it is improving the district’s attendance rates.

“Kids that are not hungry, they behave better and there’s no question that they also learn at a higher level,” Grier said.

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Design Guidelines Ensure Quality for 2012 Bond Campuses

Atherton Elementary, seen in its early stages of construction, is scheduled to open for students in August.

All schools under HISD’s $1.89 billion 2012 bond program will be built with the same consistency and quality thanks to the district’s Construction and Design Guidelines, created to give architects and designers requirements for their work on bond campuses.

“It’s a guide for the architects to give them the minimum things we expect in the design of the buildings,” said Dan Bankhead, HISD’s General Manager of Facilities Design.

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