Wesley Elementary School Principal Thomas Cotter proudly showed Superintendent Millard House around the school’s Parent Center, where families in need can come to get uniforms, school supplies, food, and even computer access.
The center is supported by HISD Wraparound Services, which provides HISD students the non-academic supports—like access to mental and physical health professionals, food, and housing—necessary for them to be successful in school.
Continue readingThe familiar hoots and hollers of classmates returning to campus on the first day of school were replaced by “oohs” and “aahs” as students entered the new Bellaire High School for the first time on Monday.
Eleventh-grader Carter Sasser said everyone gathered at school early to meet up with friends and get their first glimpse of the new building.
“This place is impressive, especially the new pool and gym and the new lockers,” Sasser said. “The stairs are commons areas we didn’t have in the old building.”
Standing under a clear and sunny sky, excited students and their hopeful parents lined up to enter the bustling hallways of Benbrook Elementary School on Monday, the first day of the 2021-2022 school year.
“I can’t wait to see my classroom,” said one student to her classmate, both shouldering new backpacks as they waited in line to have their temperatures checked and sanitized their hands.
Continue readingFirst impressions are always hard, but Jamaica took the first day of school in stride.
The hypoallergenic Bernedoodle — a special breed that has Bernese Mountain Dog and Poodle parents — welcomed Wesley Elementary School students back to school with her tail wagging and a paw-sitive attitude.
The pup recently joined HISD Police as the department’s first-ever comfort dog, working on campuses across the district to help combat stress and anxiety in students and build trust between police, students, and the community.
As Superintendent Millard House arrived at Wharton Dual Language Academy, he walked toward two young students tasked with welcoming the chief educator and holding open glass double doors leading to the main hallway.
Clad in masks and blue school shirts, the second graders peered quizzically at their special visitor.
“Are you guys doing OK?” House asked, as he approached the pair and asked about their names and grades. “You know, it makes my day when I get to see you all.”
As part of KHOU’s “Education Station” adoption program, the news station presented Shadowbriar Elementary principal Mark Samuel with a check for $11,000 during a surprise ceremony Wednesday morning.
On the second day of school at Stevenson Middle School in south Houston, as students filed in from parent drop-off with their backpacks slung over their shoulders and arms full of books, one phrase could be heard repeatedly in the main hallway: “It’s Dragon Time!”
It’s a phrase that Principal Christyn McCloskey said is an important part of the 2021-2022 school year.
“One of the initiatives that we put in place this year is Dragon Time; we are the Stevenson Dragons,” McCloskey said. “It’s where students are getting those intensive small-group interventions. Every single teacher on campus has a Dragon Time group, and they’re all working on figuring out where are the students, what are they working on.”
The new addition is a part of the school’s efforts to address learning loss this school year. Dragon Time is a series of small group learning activities that help students to make up for any learning loss that might have taken place over the summer—or even over the course of the pandemic.
Continue readingOn Tuesday, the Westside Wolf Band, Westside High School, the Houston Independent School District community, Superintendent Millard House, and family members gathered around a tree to celebrate the life of David Castro. The tree represented more than just life, but optimism on the second day of school, as Paul Castro, David’s father, started the #RAKDavid (Random Act of Kindness) movement.
Tucked away on a side street in the shadow of the largest medical center in the world, DeBakey High School for Health Professions is the district’s medical magnet school, where students can learn more about the various career paths involved in the healthcare field, from the typical bedside options to the legislative branch.
Students like Cindy Choi, Paul Daniel, Caitlyn Davies, and David Dzul, all seniors, who gave Superintendent Millard House a tour of the school, which opened its $65 million, state-of-the-art, 194,000-square-foot building on the western edge of the Texas Medical Center in 2017.
House was visiting the school on its second day of the 2021-2022 school year. As the ongoing global pandemic continues to make headlines, students at DeBakey are preparing to be the next generation of healthcare professionals.
Continue readingSuperintendent Millard House II marked his first day of school in the Houston Independent School District by traveling from campus to campus, welcoming students back and peeking into their classrooms to watch them learn.
But his first stop — though not on his official schedule— held special meaning.
“As I dropped off my fourth grader at school this morning, he told me, ‘Dad, I have butterflies in my stomach,’” House said, referring to the range of emotions many students are feeling as they start a second school year amidst the pandemic. “That’s understandable.”
House told the story while speaking to a room of reporters and district officials who gathered at Parker Elementary School for HISD’s first-day-of-school press conference.
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