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 →
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.
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 →
“I can’t ever recall a time in my career when I have been more proud,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier told principals after the Houston Schools Bond was approved by a more than 2-1 margin. Continue reading →
Thirty-eight Houston Independent School District campuses, including 28 of the city’s high schools, will be rebuilt or renovated under a bond proposition that won voter approval by better than a 2-1 margin on Tuesday.
The $1.89 billion measure passed with overwhelming support, earning 69 percent voter approval, according to unofficial results tabulated by the Harris County Clerk’s office. More than 312,000 ballots were cast in the election.
“Houston voters sent a message today that all children, regardless of where they live, deserve to attend quality school in quality buildings that offer our great teachers the tools they need to prepare students for a successful future,” said Trustee Michael Lunceford, president of the HISD Board of Education. “The new schools that will be built because of this vote will benefit today’s students, their future children, and even their grandchildren.”
HISD asked voters to consider the bond proposition after an independent evaluation of the district’s facilities showed that the average Houston high school is more than 50 years old and lacks the proper infrastructure to support modern technology and teaching strategies. The evaluation found that the cost of maintaining these deteriorating schools would soon surpass the replacement cost. Past HISD bond measures, including the 2007 plan that was passed with 51 percent of the vote, have focused on the district’s elementary and middle schools.
Because of the large amount of construction included in the 2012 bond proposition, HISD will spread the work out over the next six to eight years. This approach will help control costs and allow the district to gradually phase in a 4.85-cent property tax rate increase over the next five years. The district will soon seek bids from firms interested in performing the architectural design and engineering work on the first batch of projects. The list of school projects to be included in the first phase of construction is being developed with an eye toward breaking ground on at least one project in each geographic district within HISD around the same time. Construction work is expected to begin in 2014. Click here for more details about the 2012 bond package.
“When this work is finished, Houston will boast the most modern portfolio of urban high school campuses in America,” Superintendent Terry Grier said. “For years, HISD has been a national model for other urban school districts that are striving to simultaneously close the achievement gap while raising the level of achievement of all students, including the highest performers. Thanks to Houston’s voters, we will finally have quality campuses to fully support our students’ strong academic progress.”
Projects funded though the bond proposition include:
New campuses for 20 high schools
Austin
Bellaire
Davis
DeBakey
Eastwood
Furr
High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Jordan
Lamar
Lee
Madison
Milby
North Early College
Sam Houston
Sharpstown
South Early College
Sterling
Washington
Worthing
Yates
Partially replacing 4 high schools
Waltrip
Young Men’s College Prep Academy
Westbury
Young Women’s College Prep Academy
Renovating 4 high schools
Jones
Kashmere
Scarborough
Sharpstown International
Converting 5 elementary schools into K-8 campuses
Garden Oaks Montessori
Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion School at Gordon
Pilgrim Academy
Wharton Dual Language School
Wilson Montessori
Building 3 new elementary school campuses
Askew
Parker
Relief school on the west side
Replacing/completing 2 new middle school campuses
Grady (new addition to complete new campus)
Dowling (new campus)
In addition, the bond includes funds that would improve conditions for students in all HISD schools. This includes:
$100 million for district-wide technology improvements
$44.7 million to replace regional field houses and improve athletic facilities
$35 million to renovate middle school restrooms
$17.3 million for district-wide safety and security improvements
The Board of Education has also agreed to rebuild two schools – Condit Elementary and High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice – either through the sale of surplus district property, or by using any potential leftover bond funds.
Historic neighborhood schools and prestigious schools of choice to be replaced
HISD will now completely rebuild some of Houston’s most historic neighborhood high schools across the city. Some replacement schools will maintain their existing building structures while their interiors are transformed. These schools include Austin, Davis, Lamar, and Milby. The remaining replacement schools, including Yates, Washington, and Lee, will be demolished and replaced with entirely new buildings. New campuses are also in the works for some of HISD’s prestigious specialty schools, including the nationally renowned High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, DeBakey High School for Health Professions, and Eastwood Academy. All three schools made this year’s Children at Risk list of the Houston region’s Top 10 high schools.
The new HSPVA will be built downtown near Houston’s vaunted Theater District on land that HISD already owns at 1300 Capitol. DeBakey, meanwhile, will be relocated to property within the Texas Medical Center.
Each campus included in the bond package will have a Project Advisory Team made up of staff, parents, and community members, who will have input in the design and construction process to ensure that each school’s unique needs are addressed.
New schools to support continued academic achievement
Houston ISD students have made great strides in the classroom over the past several years. Click here to read more about the strong academic progress being made by HISD students.
“We know that what happens inside our classrooms is more important than the physical classrooms themselves. Our work to put effective teachers in every classroom and strong principals in every school is paying off,” Dr. Grier said.
HISD’s dropout and graduation rates are at record levels after four consecutive years of moving in the right direction. Hundreds more Houston students are scoring at the college-ready level on the SAT than at any other time in the district’s history. The same goes for the number of HISD students earning college credit through tough Advanced Placement exams, which is up 45 percent since 2009. And this year, Houston was the only Texas school district to be among the four finalists for the nation’s most prestigious education award: the Broad Prize for Urban Education.
Simultaneous phone banks after school on Monday at Davis, Sharpstown, Chavez, Scarborough and Furr plus one earlier on Friday at the Sam Houston Math, Science & Technology Center (MSTC) resulted in 187 commitments from Houston voters promising to hit the polls on Election Day.
More than 100 students participated in the phone banks in collaboration with Mi Familia Vota, a national nonprofit organization geared to promote civic engagement.
“This was an excellent opportunity for our kids to contribute toward a good cause, one that will benefit everyone,” said Sharpstown High School Principal Rob Gasparello. “It is always good to work with the great folks from Mi Familia Vota. The students really enjoyed volunteering for this event.”
The students volunteered a couple of hours after school to call eligible voters in their communities to encourage them to vote on Tuesday and remind them to finish the ballot.
“We had great results across the board from students, teachers and staff,” said Will Hernandez, deputized volunteer for Mi Familia Vota. “Thank you to HISD for allowing us to collaborate on this project!”
Mi Familia Vota provided the students at each campus headsets and a computer program to help facilitate the phone bank, along with the list of contact numbers for voters in their surrounding areas.
Students from Davis High School previously participated on another phone bank with Mi Familia Vota on October 19 to promote civic engagement and placed over a thousand phone calls.
At Sam Houston MSTC, parents and students made hundreds of phone calls to Houston voters on November 2.
Find your Election Day polling location and view a sample ballot
Election Day, Nov. 6, will soon be here and voters will head to numerous locations across the city to cast their votes. Don’t miss your chance to vote on the 2012 Houston Schools Bond Proposition – it’s at the very end of the ballot. The $1.89 billion proposition would rebuild or renovate 38 schools in neighborhoods across Houston and upgrade technology in all HISD classrooms.
Superintendent Terry Grier will answer questions today at 10 a.m.
HISD Superintendent Terry Grier will provide information and answer questions about the Houston Schools Bond during the district’s first-ever Twitter Town Hall. The event will be held today at 10 a.m. on the district’s main Twitter account, @HoustonISD. Students from Davis, Furr, Sam Houston, Bellaire, Worthing, Yates, Lamar, Lee, and Sharpstown High Schools plan to participate. Their schools would be rebuilt under the bond proposition, which is the last item on the General Election ballot. To join the discussion, send tweets during the event to @HoustonISD with the hashtag #HISDBond.
It’s getting close to Halloween, and there are some ghoulish efforts under way to get out the word on early voting, which starts on Monday (Oct. 22). Just look at these photos snapped at some of the HISD schools that would benefit from the $1.89 billion schools bond. The proposition appears at the very end of the ballot. Use your braaaaaains and vote early!