Author Archives: HISD Communications

New Futuro Awards HISD Students with Scholarships, iPad

Thousands of Houston students and their families left the New Futuro college prep fair in October equipped with all the tools and resources necessary to get into college and beyond. But three lucky HISD students left with more, including thousands of dollars in scholarships.

New Futuro’s biggest prizes, a $4,500 and a $2,500 college scholarship, went to Alejandro Reyes from Hartman Middle School and Jennifer Hernandez from Debakey High School. 

“I’m really grateful for this scholarship,” said Hernandez, an aspiring clinical psychologist who plans to attend St. Edward’s University. “College is expensive and any amount is helpful, especially if it helps relieve the burden my parents will face when I attend the university.”  Continue reading →

HISD Honors Parents at Parental Involvement Day Celebration

The Houston Independent School District will honor parents during its Parental Involvement Day Celebration on Friday, November 16.  The celebration will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Delmar-Tusa Athletic complex (2020 Mangum).

The annual event will recognize parents for the role they play in supporting their children’s educational and personal growth.  It will also offer parents innovative strategies they can use to help their children learn.
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KUHF episode features engineering program at Booker T. Washington

Dr. Nghia Le, an engineering teacher at Booker T. Washington High School, and his students were featured on Engines of Our Ingenuity, a regular segment from the University of Houston College of Engineering. Click here to listen to the episode, which aired today on KUHF.

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Bejeweled playgrounds to celebrate SPARK Week

A playground made out of rhinestones and a schoolhouse trimmed with pearls were among the sparkly sights as students at about 40 HISD schools created collages made out of pieces of jewelry for an art show benefiting the SPARK School Park Program.  The nonprofit group helps schools develop their playgrounds into community parks, and has transformed 110 playgrounds at HISD schools alone since 1983.

Click here to view pictures of SPARK Week 2012 artwork and park dedications.

Broken bracelets and tangled necklaces used to create the collages were donated by locally owned accessory chain Charming Charlie. The art was auctioned off at a reception Monday night, and raised a total of $4,000 for the organization to continue developing community parks around the city. SPARK often incorporates art from teachers and local artists celebrating community culture and heritage into park landscaping.

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HISD Elementary Schools Celebrating Thanksgiving with a Special Lunch

HISD elementary schools will get to celebrate Thanksgiving a week early on Thursday, November 15 with a specially prepared lunch.  Food Services is serving up traditional Thanksgiving favorites to students and their families. Students have invited their families to come enjoy the holiday meal with them in their school’s cafeteria.

Reporters are invited to attend and cover the special event beginning at 10:45 a.m. at Peck Elementary School, 5001 Martin Luther King Blvd, 77021.The special lunch will include homemade turkey and dressing w/gravy, seasoned green beans, steamed corn and diced pears.

Each year’s Thanksgiving lunch is such a success with thousands of family members attending, and this year an even larger turnout is expected. Serving Thanksgiving lunch is one of the highlights of the year for Food Services. It is the perfect opportunity for students, their families, their friends, teachers and school staff to experience the fellowship of the season and it provides the perfect setting for kicking off a festive holiday season.

2012 bond program will include phones for classrooms

The Houston Independent School District will roll out telephones for every permanent classroom in the district under the 2012 bond program, which includes $100 million for technology upgrades across all campuses.

The bond, which was approved by voters on Nov. 6, will fund voice-over-internet phones, as well as make improvements to wireless access. Continue reading →

Featured in HISD’s Revamped eNews: Joe Tusa Reflects on Stadium Honor

The following story appeared in Friday eNews – HISD’s weekly  e-newsletter. Click here to subscribe and you’ll receive a roundup of the week’s top headlines, plus personal stories like this one and other interactive features.

In this week’s I am HISD, which features HISD graduates and HISD employees, former HISD Athletic Director and Reagan High School alumnus Joe Tusa talks about his 37 years with the district. On November 3, HISD officially renamed the district’s Northside sports complex the Delmar-Tusa Athletic Complex in honor of Tusa, who is HISD’s longest serving athletic director. Continue reading →

Want to network and learn? Check out these outreach events for M/WBEs

For M/WBEs who want to learn and network, there are host of opportunities across the city. Just click on the individual links to find out more about each event.

November

Tuesday, Nov. 13 – Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance Town Hall 2013: The town hall meeting, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., will provide an overview of the 2013 Strategic Vision and an interactive feedback session. The sessions will focus on strategic partnerships and community involvement, fit-for-purpose programs, and events and strategic geographic growth. Continue reading →

HISD holds networking event for architecture and engineering community

The Houston Independent School District is hosting a networking event for subcontractors interested in providing services to architecture and engineering companies, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., on Nov. 28 at Carnegie Vanguard High School.

The gathering will give participants the opportunity to discuss their qualifications should they seek to do business with the district as part of its 2012 bond program.

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HISD seeking suppliers as diverse as the Houston community

The 2012 bond will create thousands of jobs over the next six to eight years as the Houston Independent School District embarks on a $1.89 billion program to repair or replace 38 schools, improve middle school restrooms and provide district-wide upgrades in technology, security, and athletic facilities. Continue reading →