Category Archives: Achievement/Recognition

East Early College HS educator named National SECME Teacher of the Year

Samuel Saenz was a KBR Science TOTY in 2013 and a finalist for HISD’s secondary TOTY in 2014

SECME_Saenz_250The third time has proven to be the charm for HISD’s Samuel Saenz.

The East Early College High School (EECHS) physics teacher, who placed second for KBR’s Science Teacher of the Year in 2013 and was a finalist for HISD’s Secondary Teacher of the Year in 2014, has been named the National Southeastern Consortium of Minorities in Engineering (SECME) Teacher of the Year for 2015.

“Each year, SECME accepts nominations for extraordinary educators to be recognized for their dedication, creativity, and professionalism in inspiring students’ interest and achievement in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM),” said SECME, Inc. Interim Executive Director Michele Williams. “Mr. Saenz clearly demonstrates all of the qualities that SECME encourages in educators to accomplish our mission to engage and prepare a diverse pool of students for college and careers in STEM.”

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Graduation ceremony schedule for the Class of 2015

GraduateTN_2015_300Hundreds of students from 47 different HISD high schools will take their first steps into adulthood starting on Friday, May 29, when they walk across the stage to collect their diplomas as part of the district’s annual graduation ceremonies.

The ceremonies will take place at various locations around the city (primarily at the Barnett Fieldhouse, Butler Fieldhouse, NRG Arena, and Texas Southern University campus) from Friday, May 29, through Sunday, May 31.

A complete list of the dates and times is here.

HISD schools receive TEA reward designations

The Texas Education Agency has recognized two dozen HISD schools for high performance and/or high progress for the 2014-2015 school year based on 2013-2014 student performance results.

Sixteen HISD schools were included on the agency’s list of Title I High Performing Schools and eight schools were named as Title I High Progress schools. All eight of the High Progress schools were also recognized as High Performing schools.  Title I schools are defined as campuses with a student population of at least 40 percent low-income. Continue reading →

Bellaire HS teacher wins H-E-B lifetime achievement award

Michael Clark

Michael Clark

Michael Clark, a teacher at HISD’s Bellaire High School, was honored on May 3 with a Lifetime Achievement award at the secondary level through H-E-B’s 2015 Excellence in Education Awards.

Clark was named HISD’s own Secondary Teacher of the Year in 2011. He has been an educator for almost a quarter of a century, with the last 15 of those years spent at Bellaire High School teaching Advanced Placement government and economics courses.

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Milby HS student wins national digital storytelling contest

Nancy Casarrubias

Nancy Casarrubias

Milby High School’s library is a place “where learning never ends,” and now, the whole world knows it.

Senior Nancy Casarrubias created a five-minute video showcasing her library (and its librarian, Rowena Verdin) for a digital storytelling contest sponsored by the American Association of School Librarians—and her entry won in the high-school category (grades 9–12).

The contest challenged students to show how their school library/librarian helps advance their education by encouraging them to learn new things, fine-tune their research skills, and discover how to make the most of available resources. The focus of entries was the 2015 School Library Month theme, “Your School Library: Where Learning Never Ends.”

 

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Sterling HS valedictorian wins coveted Gates Millennium Scholarship

RobertChildress_250Robert Childress, a senior at Sterling High School, will be following his military dreams to Texas A&M University this fall at minimal cost to himself, after representatives of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced the winners of the Gates Millennium Scholarships for 2015.

Childress, who is the valedictorian at Sterling this year, was one of only 1,000 students chosen from more than 52,000 applicants nationwide—and the sole student selected from HISD.

The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) program was established in 1999 to promote academic excellence and to provide an opportunity for outstanding minority students with significant financial need to reach their highest potential.

Candidates for the GMS award must be citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States. Students must also meet the Federal Pell Grant eligibility criteria, have at least a 3.3 GPA (on a 4.0 scale), and have demonstrated leadership through community service or other extracurricular activities.

A full list of Gates Scholars from the Class of 2015 is available here (link to PDF is at the bottom of the article).

Help determine the ‘Fan Favorite’ at HISD’s Celebration of Excellence

HISD will be hosting its annual Celebration of Excellence on Friday, May 15, and one of the announcements to be made that day is the district’s Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year.

Those honorees are determined at the district level using performance data and other criteria, but you can help select the 2015 Fan Favorite by choosing one of this year’s Teacher of the Year nominees—and using your social media know-how to build a network of supporters.

All campus-based Teachers of the Year are eligible for this award, which will be determined by who has the largest number of fans. Anyone can vote—including colleagues, parents, students, and former students.

Visit this link to make your selection during the first round of voting through Friday, May 8, and be sure to share your favorite on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media channels to get the word out. A second round of voting will take place through May 15 to determine the winner from among the finalists.

The Fan Favorite will be announced live and on social media during the Celebration of Excellence on May 15.

Chávez HS scores surprise first-place finish at state chess competition

Coach Robert Myers (far L) with the Chavez HS team at regionals

Coach Robert Myers (far L) with the Chavez HS team at regionals

Students at Chávez High School were thrilled to walk away with a third-place team victory at the State Scholastic Chess Championship in McAllen, Texas, last month, but they were even more excited when they learned that due to an extremely complicated tie-break system, computer results revealed that they were actually the first-place winner among unrated players.

The team had to score among the top five groups at the regional tournament to advance to the state competition, and placing first there qualified them to compete in the national tournament held in Columbus, Ohio, where they ranked sixteenth in the nation in the unrated section.

“Chess is about options,” said Chávez Coach Robert Myers. “The students exercised those options and continued to practice, study, and develop. They have learned through perseverance to never give up, never surrender.”

The team subsequently placed first at a KIPP chess tournament held on April 18.

 

HISD students honored for their winning dental posters

From left: Dr. Piazza, president of the Greater Houston Dental Society; Piney Point ES fifth-grader Viviana Jimenez; Garden Villas ES third-grader Alejandra Rodriguez; White ES second-grader Sandy Kong; Condit ES fifth-graders Eden Barr and Heidi Tamm; CoChairs of the Dental Health Committee Dr. Nguyen and Dr. Aguilos.

From left: Dr. Piazza, president of the Greater Houston Dental Society; Piney Point ES fifth-grader Viviana Jimenez; Garden Villas ES third-grader Alejandra Rodriguez; White ES second-grader Sandy Kong; Condit ES fifth-graders Eden Barr and Heidi Tamm; and Dental Health Committee CoChairs Dr. Nguyen and Dr. Aguilos. Not pictured: Scroggins ES second-grader Gabriel Velazco.

Every year, HISD elementary and middle school students participate in the Dental Health Poster Contest, which promotes the American Dental Association’s National Children’s Dental Health Month campaign. The purpose is to convince children and adults of the importance of good oral health.

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Fondren MS recognized for providing exemplary customer service

A commitment to meeting high expectations in every area has resulted in a big prize for Fondren Middle School. That campus was recently named the inaugural winner of HISD’s Blue Star Award for Service Excellence.

The award was created to honor schools that provide exemplary customer service; a friendly, professional environment; and a culture of positive expectations, and Fondren was selected from a field of 22 nominees and five finalists. As a part of the evaluation, a team of volunteer judges made unannounced, structured visits to each nominated campus, in which they conducted walk-throughs of the facilities and interacted with staff members. They also made anonymous calls to each school to test the clerical staff’s response.

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