HISD has posted an online survey to gauge opinion on the possibility of adopting a new bus schedule that increases the average school’s class time by 19 minutes per day. Here is the link to the survey:
Implementing uniform schedules across the Houston Independent School District’s 279 campuses would free up $1.2 million while giving students extra time in the classroom, according to a budget-cutting option presented to the HISD Board of Education on Feb. 23.
HISD will be hosting a live STAAR forum (in English) for parents, students, and staff on Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 7 to 8 p.m. A panel of experts will answer questions from a studio audience and viewers at home.
Westside High School student Khadijah Ray promotes the Feb. 28 STAAR forum.
Viewers can watch it live on HISD-TV (Comcast, Ch. 18 and AT&T U-Verse, Ch. 99) or online at www.houstonisd.org/HISDTV. To submit questions, simply call 713-556-8901 or email STAAR@houstonisd.org.
You can also follow the forum and ask your questions via Twitter – follow @HoustonISD.
A similar forum will be held on March 6 for Spanish-speakers.
The show will air again at 10 p.m. on Feb. 28, and throughout the months of February and March on the following days and times:
To find out more about STAAR, click here or visit the HISD STAAR Q&A blog.
Every year, HISD employees, students and their families dress up in western attire for Go Texan Day, the citywide celebration announcing the return of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This year saw a splash of color and definitive Houston style during the annual festivities.
Click the photo below to see what aspiring cowboys and cowgirls wore at the Hattie Mae White Building , then send your Go Texan Day photos to us at hisdphotos@yahoo.com . Or check out the western gear on our Facebook page.
[slideshow]
Seniors from Bellaire, Westside, and The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts make the cut
Seven HISD seniors have been selected as U.S. Presidential Scholar candidates, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students.
Six of these candidates were identified for the academic component of the program based on having scored exceptionally well on the SAT or the ACT college entrance exams. These students are Alexandra Gibner, Weiting Ji, Daniel A. Yun, Amy W. Jiang, and Vincent P. Su from Bellaire High School, and Lenzi C. Daniel from Westside High School. Victor Lozano, a student at The High School for Performing and Visual Arts, is a Presidential Scholar in the Arts candidate.
Implementing uniform schedules across the Houston Independent School District’s 279 campuses would free up $1.2 million while giving the average student an extra 19 minutes in the classroom, according to a budget-cutting option presented to the HISD Board of Education today.
HISD is looking for more ways to reduce spending as the district seeks to address a projected $34 million deficit for the 2012-2013 school year. The loss in revenue is a result of last year’s decision by the Texas Legislature to reduce public education funding by $5.3 billion.
Streamlining HISD’s bell schedule was among many potential spending reduction options discussed during Thursday’s Board of Education meeting. Under this plan, every HISD school would have an instructional day that is 7 ½ hours long. This represents a 19-minute increase for the average HISD school, or a total of seven full days of extra instruction time over the course of the year.
Currently, HISD schools have about 20 different start and end times. Under the option presented today, schools would operate on the following bell schedule:
Superintendent Terry Grier addressed attendees at the American Association of School Administrators’ National Conference on Education at the George R. Brown Convention Center recently to tell them about HISD’s goal to ensure every child in the city is taught by a highly effective teacher. In partnership with The New Teacher Project, Dr. Grier said the Effective Teachers Initiative is producing promising results.
An article on the AASA website provides a recap:
“Quality should not be determined by zip code. Every child should have the same exposure to excellence,” he said. “Every child is entitled to have a quality teacher in every classroom.”
Grier reported that in 2009 the district leadership discovered nearly all teacher evaluations were the same, with only 3.4 percent rated “below proficient.” “But we had students performing below level — the data was not consistent,” said Grier. Continue reading
Hundreds of students, parents, staff and community members gathered at an official dedication ceremony for Almeda Elementary School’s new building. Among those in attendance were HISD Board of Education Trustee Larry Marshall, HISD School Improvement Officer Karla Loria and Texas State Representative Alma Allen, who recognized Principal Beverly Cage for her commitment to students and education.
“It’s very challenging to move an entire school community, and it’s our principals who are on the front lines,” said Allen, who also donated several books to the school library, including the children’s classic Curious George. “When you have a building with this much new and advanced technology in it, the children will be curious.”
Click here to learn more about new school construction and renovation projects, or visit hisdprojects.com.
Recruiting event designed to showcase the advantages of a career with HISD to external candidates
The Recruitment and Selection team from Human Resources held an interactive info session exclusively for experienced teachers from outside the district on Feb. 11. Placing an effective teacher in every classroom is part of HISD’s plan to transform the district – called the Strategic Direction.
Almost 120 participants attended the event, which included breakout sessions on certification requirements, district benefits, and the new Teacher Development and Appraisal System.
Attendees were also invited to participate in a panel discussion with HISD school improvement officers, principals, and current veteran teachers, after which they met one-on-one with principals and representatives from 44 different schools.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/31161260]Approximately 280 teachers from across the district have been collaborating with HISD’s Curriculum Department for the past several months to develop a high-powered, standards-based curriculum for all students in the Houston Independent School District.
They meet after school and on weekends, and educators involved in the Curriculum Writing Initiative report that their work has given them fresh insight into the necessity of focusing on standards.
“The curriculum-writing experience has opened my eyes to the importance of aligning our curriculum to the TEKS,” said Kolter Elementary School teacher Sharon Grimm. “This process will make me a better teacher and will ensure that all my students’ needs are met.”
Dr. Grier addressed attendees at the American Association of School Administrators’ National Conference on Education at the George R. Brown Convention Center to tell them about the Houston Independent School District’s Effective Teachers Initiative (ETI), a research-driven plan to ensure that every child in our city, regardless of where they live, is taught by a highly effective teacher. In partnership with The New Teacher Project, Dr. Grier said ETI is producing promising results and allowing our teachers to get the most out of their students.
Click here for the presentation.
