Category Archives: Achievement/Recognition

School Celebrates Attendance Success With Pajama Party

September is Attendance Awareness Month, and HISD schools have worked hard to make sure students are in class. Some schools have used incentives, such as parties, to increase attendance.

Students at Shadowbriar ES donned their favorite pajamas on Fri., Sept. 27 – everything from Hello Kitty and Sonic the Hedgehog to the Buc-ee’s beaver – for a party to celebrate achieving a 98-percent attendance rate. Principal Stephanie Davis said the 74 percent of students who had perfect attendance will get another treat – a popsicle party where they can win prizes.

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It Takes More Than Grades to Win a Broad Scholarship

2012 Broad scholarship recipients

Leadership, initiative, community service, and setting realistic goals are a few of the things that the Broad scholarship review committee will be looking for when it reviews applications this spring.

HISD graduates will be applying for $550,000 in scholarships from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, thanks to the district winning this year’s Broad Prize and being named top urban school district in the country. Although the prize recognizes HISD’s efforts as a whole, the direct beneficiaries are students.

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Team HISD Elated at HISD’s Second Broad Prize Win

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/75418565/ w=320&h=205]

HISD employees erupted in cheers on Sept. 25 after learning that the district had been selected as the 2013 winner of the Broad Prize in Urban Education.

Almost 200 central office employees gathered in a conference room at the district’s headquarters to hear the winner announced, and after U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan confirmed what many had hoped, the mood in the room was ecstatic.

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HISD Named America’s Top Urban School District

The Houston Independent School District was awarded the most coveted award in public education on Wednesday because of consistently strong student academic achievement over a four-year period. The Broad Prize for Urban Education comes with $550,000 in college scholarships for graduating seniors.

HISD is now the nation’s first two-time winner of the prestigious award, which recognizes each year the public school system that has demonstrated the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among poor and minority students. HISD won the first Broad Prize awarded in 2002.

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Eight HISD Students Named National Achievement Scholarship Semifinalists

Eight seniors from seven high schools throughout the Houston Independent School District have qualified as semifinalists in the prestigious National Achievement Scholarship Program.

The National Achievement Scholarship Program is a privately funded academic competition created in 1964 to recognize and provide scholarships to academically promising African-American students across the country. It is conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and works in concert with the National Merit Scholarship Program.

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The Key to Success: Doing What You Love

 Virginia Croft, 77, has been teaching band at Lovett ES for 35 years. Because of her impact on students over the years, Croft was featured in this week’s Houston Chronicle. One of her first-graders loves band so much that he was disappointed that he had to stay home on Labor Day, while another student, now in his 20s, held on to a note that Croft had sent him in elementary school. To find out what that note said and to learn more about Croft, read her profile in the Houston Chronicle.

Sixty HISD Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

Sixty seniors from six high schools throughout the Houston Independent School District have qualified as semifinalists in the prestigious National Merit Scholarship Program. HISD had 56 semifinalists last year.

The students are among 16,000 from across the country to earn the semifinalist designation, allowing them the opportunity to continue in the academic competition and vie for more than 8,000 college scholarships worth roughly $35 million.

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HISD Teacher Recognized by Jamie Oliver for Promoting Healthy Foods

Kellie Karavias, a culinary arts teacher and garden educator at Gregory-Lincoln Education Center, who teachers her students how to grow, harvest and cook healthy foods,  has been highlighted as a Food Revolution Hero on Chef Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution website. “Food Heroes” are people across the country who combine their passion for food with innovative ways to promote fresh, healthy foods in their communities.

“One out of three kids is obese, because they are living on chips and fast food,” Karavias said. “If they make a big enough garden, they can feed their entire family.” Her culinary program begins with the organic school garden, where science, math, nutrition, reading, and physical activity are integrated into lesson plans. It continues in the “culinary classroom,” where students produce nutritious meals in a safe, kid-friendly environment. The students also market and sell their produce to Whole Kids Farmers Markets at Whole Foods Market—Montrose.

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HISD boasts only CALEA accredited public school district police department in the nation

The Houston Independent School District Police Department has again been awarded the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) accreditation. HISD boasts the only accredited public school district police department in the nation.

The accreditation, which was first achieved in 2006 and has now been renewed for a second time, was accomplished through a highly regarded and broadly recognized body of professional standards and a review conducted by independent assessors and CALEA’s commissioners.

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