Category Archives: Achievement/Recognition

Young ES science teacher named Teacher of the Month

Young Elementary School fifth-grade science teacher Brittnay Douglas on Tuesday learned that she had been named the district’s Sterling McCall VIP Services Teacher of the Month for January.  

“Douglas has served as an amazing science teacher that has made the classroom,” Principal Shanica Smith said. “She is always making the classroom fun as she creates autonomous thinkers.” 

In her fifth year of teaching at Young Elementary School, Douglas ensures that her students are gaining exposure to new environments, especially during field lessons to Galveston State Park and TopGolf, where they learned about force and motion. 

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HISD 2019-2020 budget earns top honors for financial accuracy, accountability

The Houston Independent School District has received the Meritorious Budget Award (MBA) from a worldwide association of school business officials for producing a 2019-2020 budget that is accurate, informative and easy to comprehend.

HISD earned the award from the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO), which has been in existence for 110 years. To receive the honor, the association required the district to submit a substantial packet of detailed budget documents, which were evaluated by a confidential panel of school finance experts.

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Yates HS earns status as International Baccalaureate World School

Houston Independent School District leaders on Thursday announced Yates High School’s new status as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, becoming the district’s fifth high school campus to receive official authorization to offer the Diploma Programme.

Yates will begin offering the IB Diploma Programme to juniors and seniors at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. The IB Diploma Programme is for students ages 16 to 19 and is currently offered at Bellaire, Chávez, Heights, and Lamar high schools.

Yates is one of nine HISD schools supported by the district as part of Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan’s initiative to expand the number of IB campuses in geographically diverse areas across the city.

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Horn ES educator named finalist for TCEA Teacher of the Year

Alex Jones

Alex Jones, a STEM lab teacher at HISD’s Horn Elementary School, has been named one of only three finalists for Texas Computer Education Association’s (TCEA) Classroom Teacher of the Year.  

The award, which will be handed out in February 2020, is presented annually to the educator who best recognizes the importance of technology in school and actively tries to promote its use in his or her classroom. Jones, who was previously nominated in 2015, opened the STEM lab at Horn during the 2017-2018 school year, and since then he has helped secure numerous donations and grants for the use of technology on the campus.  

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North Houston Early College HS receives prestigious national ‘Distinguished School’ award

HISD campus is one of two Texas schools to receive the award     

The Houston Independent School District’s North Houston Early College High School is one of about 70 campuses nationwide and one of only two in Texas to receive a Distinguished Schools Award from the national organization of program administrators who manage Title I and other federal funds.   

The HISD campus was selected from among thousands of schools across the country and is the only one in Texas to earn the distinction due to its significant progress in closing academic achievement gaps between diverse student groups.  

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Confidence, community support on display at ATMP/ROSES Winter Ball

As he waited for the night to begin, Tyler Burgmon, a senior at North Forest High School, nervously adjusted a red rose pinned to the lapel of the first suit he’s ever owned. 

A new suit can provide confidence and self-assurance, but for Tyler, a student enrolled in HISD’s Ascending to Men Project (ATMP), it stands for so much more.  

“This suit is an extension of what ATMP does for you,” he said. “ATMP creates men; it creates a foundation where you can be safe in your community and build powerful bonds between brothers.” 

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HISD student recognized for taking swift action to help woman in distress

Baylor College of Medicine Biotech Academy at Rusk sixth-grader Joziah Crenshaw was honored at a surprise recognition ceremony on Tuesday after he took swift action when he saw a mother and child in a potentially dangerous situation. 

Joziah was honored with a Citizenship Award from HISD Police for alerting authorities after he saw a distressed mother across the street from his school who had inadvertently locked her baby in the car.   

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Reading teacher at Osborne ES named Teacher of the Month

Fourth-graders at Osborne Elementary School were in the middle of their reading inference lesson Tuesday morning when their teacher, Demetria Washington, learned from Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan she would be the district’s Sterling McCall Teacher of the Month for December.  

“She has been a phenomenal educator this year,” Principal Mikia Barnes said. “She has adapted quickly to the demands of meeting her students’ needs by engaging in after-school planning to learn the new reading standards.” 

The fourth-grade ELAR teacher is always striving to build her capacity, attending all North area trainings and learning to utilize FOCUS comprehension to close literacy gaps for her students.  

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Moody’s Investors Service affirms HISD’s triple A rating

Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed the Aaa (triple A) bond rating for the Houston Independent School District following a recent review. 

In its ratings report, Moody’s stated, among other factors, HISD’s excellent credit fundamentals are supported by a history of strong operating performance guided by an experienced management team, which has allowed for the maintenance of healthy reserve and liquidity levels.  

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HISD graduate studying at Yale selected as Rhodes Scholar

Liana Wang (Photo credit: The Rhodes Trust)

Bellaire HS alum and EMERGE program participant Liana Wang among 32 U.S. students chosen for elite honor

Houston Independent School District graduate Liana Wang has been selected to join the 2020 Rhodes Scholarship class from a pool of nearly 1,000 U.S. applicants who attend top colleges and universities throughout the nation.

“This is a testament to the community that has brought me here: my family, friends, professors, and supporters throughout my life, including my teachers and mentors in EMERGE and HISD,” Wang said. “They motivate my work, and I hope my time at Oxford helps me better achieve my goals of pursuing a more just and equitable society.”

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