Category Archives: Achievement/Recognition

Wheatley HS biology teacher named finalist for Presidential Award

Wheatley High School biology teacher Ferleshare Starks poses for a photograph in her classroom, August 14, 2015. (Houston ISD/Dave Einsel)

Ferleshare Starks

Ferleshare Starks, a biology teacher at HISD’s Wheatley High School, has been named a finalist for the 2015 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

Starks, who came to HISD from Fort Bend ISD last year, is one of only 10 educators from Texas to be so honored. She was nominated by Tia Watson, a first-year teacher she is mentoring.

“Being nominated by my mentee is one of the highlights of my career,” said Starks. “My passion is to fill all new teachers with a love for science. Being named a finalist has given me an overwhelming sense of gratitude.”

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Twenty-nine HISD schools awarded by TEA for top performance in 2014-2015

Campuses receive every distinction designation available from the state.

Twenty-nine schools from across the Houston Independent School District earned the maximum number of distinction designations from the state for their top performance throughout the 2014-2015 school year.

The campuses – 17 elementary schools, six middle schools and six high schools – earned every distinction designation awarded by the Texas Education Agency. Schools are eligible for distinctions if they are rated as having “Met Standard” — the highest rating under the state accountability system — and meet various other performance standards.

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Lamar HS named ‘National Debate School of Honor’

Lamar High School has been recognized as a National Debate School of Honor by the National Speech & Debate Association.

The National Speech & Debate Association is the largest interscholastic speech and debate organization serving middle school, high school, and collegiate students in the United States, and it presented the award to Lamar during its annual tournament held in Dallas over the summer.

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HISD earns “Met Standard” rating from state for the 2014-2015 school year

Almost 80 percent of HISD campuses also receive “Met Standard” designation.

The Houston Independent School District earned an overall “Met Standard” rating, according to 2015 state accountability data released Friday by the Texas Education Agency.

The district received the rating — the highest offered under the state’s current accountability system — despite increasing performance targets on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, test.

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HISD Class of 2015 receives record-breaking scholarship and financial aid offers

The Houston Independent School District’s Class of 2015 has received almost $265 million in scholarship and financial aid offers, a record-breaking amount that surpasses last year’s total by $10 million.

Nearly all HISD high schools — 82 percent — saw increases in scholarship offers at the campus level, with the biggest boost at Scarborough High School, where scholarship offers jumped by nearly 1,000 percent, increasing from less than $200,000 last year to almost $2 million this year.

Record increases also were seen at Mount Carmel Academy, the Houston Academy for International Studies and Worthing and Booker T. Washington high schools. Continue reading →

Six more HISD students win National Merit College-Sponsored Scholarships

Six more Houston Independent School District students were selected this week to win National Merit scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities, bringing the total number of HISD winners up to 23 this year.

The students — Afton Widdershins from Bellaire High School; Ariel Hayes, David Lee, and Camille Potts from Carnegie Vanguard High School; and Sloan Lalinde-Barnes and Jessica Rollinson from DeBakey High School for Health Professions — received college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships from the College of Wooster, University of Houston, University of Southern California, Texas A&M University and Trinity University. Continue reading →

Students win study abroad opportunities

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Two HISD high school juniors are well on their way to an education that straddles continents. On June 15, the Institute of International Education (IIE) bestowed Passport Awards on Luz De Leon of Davis High School and Karen Ortiz of Sharpstown International School. The Passport Awards were given to 13 students across the country in an effort to encourage these students to go abroad in college.

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Westside HS wins national ‘Cooking Up Change’ competition

Westside HS students Jalien Noel, Jose Acosta, and Briseida Salas hoist the trophy in victory with Chef Reggie Martin and Ray Danilowicz

Westside HS students Jalien Noel, Jose Acosta, and Briseida Salas hoist the trophy in victory with Chef Reggie Martin and Ray Danilowicz

When the heat was turned up, the Westside High School’s Culinary Arts Program team stayed cool under pressure, taking home first place at the Cooking Up Change National Finals on Monday in Washington, D.C.

Students Jose Acosta, Jalien Noel, and Briseida Salas, working under the direction of Westside Chef Reggie Martin, wowed the judges with a menu that highlighted different flavors from the Bayou City: cowboy Cajun chicken lollipop, twisted Texas cabbage and collard greens, and a pineapple tart.

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Grady MS student named myON’s fourth ‘Reader Leader’

Apurba Roy Photo courtesy Muses3, LLC.

Apurba Roy Photo courtesy Muses3, LLC.

Apurba Roy, who just finished the seventh grade at Grady Middle School, has been named the fourth “Reader Leader” by myON for logging the most time spent reading on that website during a particular month.

Roy read for an astonishing 219 hours and 34 minutes in myON in May. As a part of her prize, Roy received a laptop (with computer case) from Muses3, LLC, the representative of myON in southeast Texas. She was formally recognized during a special ceremony held on her campus June 4.

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