Category Archives: Achievement/Recognition

17th annual Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition Finals on Friday

Last year's Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition winner Mattias McBride.

Last year's Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition winner, Matthias McBride.

Dr. Martin Luther King will inspire several elementary school students to pick up a microphone and show off their oratory skills in the 17th Annual Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition Finals at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church of Christ on Friday, Jan. 18 from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Twelve  students will be judged on delivery, stage presence and decorum, content interpretation and memorization as they perform original three to five minute speeches designed to answer the question –  “If you could talk directly to Dr. King about your dream for our future, what would you tell him?”

Aimed at celebrating cultural diversity and encouraging continued development of writing and oratory skills, the contest has had an impressive past and led to contest winners spreading Dr. King’s messages of hope on local and national news outlets. Last year’s second-place winner, Donovan Williams, a fifth grader at Cornelius Elementary,  noted, “As a drum major for justice, Dr. King would surely share the baton with us.”

Check here to see the speeches from last year’s event, including the speech from winner Matthias McBride.

What:  17th Annual Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition Finals

Where:Antioch Missionary Baptist Church of Christ

 When: Friday, Jan. 18 from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

HISD Students Selected to Represent Houston in Inaugural ‘Posse’ Group

Posse Foundation to send 23 HISD Students to Elite Universities

The Posse Foundation, a national nonprofit organization designed to send students from urban districts to elite universities to serve in a pre-established peer support network, selected 23 HISD students to represent the city. Continue reading →

United Way of Greater Houston Partners with Bruce Elementary School

First-grade students at Bruce Elementary School are getting new help achieving their reading goals.   The United Way of Greater Houston is partnering with the school in a new literacy mentor program.

The program will pair a volunteer and a first-grade student together for the entire year.  During that time, the volunteers will read a book with the students and will later help them complete a literacy exercise. 

United Way President and CEO Anna Babin presented books to all of the first grade students along with a $5,000 check to principal Trealla Epps.  Both Babin and Epps said they believe the initiative will encourage the volunteers to develop positive relationships through mentoring and literacy.

Benbrook Elementary School Students Awarded Bicycles for Academic Excellence

Hundreds of Benbrook Elementary school students will be awarded bicycles for achieving their reading goals for the semester.  The kindergarten through third-grade students will also receive free helmets.  The generous donation is made possible by Elves and More which annually donates bicycles to students.   The City of Houston Bicyclist-Pedestrian department also donated two bicycle racks for Benbrook Elementary. 

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HISD Names New Chief Information Technology Officer

Lenny Schad, a 25-year veteran of the technology industry who has introduced the latest classroom hardware and software to schools throughout Katy, has been named Chief Information Technology Officer for the Houston Independent School District.

Schad will succeed Arnold Viramontes, who is retiring in January after a distinguished career in Texas public education.  Schad’s job duties in HISD will include overseeing the expenditure of $100 million in classroom technology funds at campuses across the district.  The technology money was included in the $1.89 billion bond proposition approved by 69 percent of HISD voters earlier this month.

“This is a critical time for the future of technology in Houston classrooms, and our students are fortunate to have a proven innovator such as Lenny Schad leading the way,” said HISD Superintendent Terry Grier.

Schad has served as Chief Information Officer in the 64,000-student Katy Independent School District for nine years.  Highlights of his career include managing and leading technology departments for the 1991 Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations, the 1992 Republican National Convention as well as creating and managing technology departments for joint ventures and global organizations.

“HISD is known as a school district that is making great progress toward closing the achievement gap by raising the level of performance for all students,” Schad said.  “I am excited to lead the effort to equip teachers and students with the tools and training they need to build on this progress.”

Through his leadership, Katy ISD is in year four of a mobile learning initiative focusing on Web 2.0 integration, digital citizenship and mobile devices.  For the past four years, fifth graders at 18 elementary schools have been using mobile learning devices in their classes with great success.  For the second year, public Wi-Fi will be available at every K-12 campus in Katy allowing students and teachers to bring their own device.  Schad’s first book, Mobile Learning: It’s Not About the Device, is due to be published next year.

Schad’s professional recognitions include:

  • National School Board Association’s “20 to Watch” educators for 2008
  • The Consortium of School Networking (CoSN) Volunteer Hall of Fame
  • CoSN 2011 National School District Team Award
  • CIO Leadership Forum “2011 Next Level Leadership Award”

HISD Athletic Director Recognized as Region’s 2012 Athletic Director of the Year

HISD’s Athletic Director Marmion Dambrino has been selected as the region’s 2012 Athletic Director of the Year by the Texas High School Athletic Directors Association.

“To be selected from a group of peers who are truly talented, exemplary and committed to their school districts, student athletes, and coaches is truly an honor,” said HISD Athletic Director Marmion Dambrino.  “I am humbled to have the opportunity to represent our region in the upcoming THSADA convention.”

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New Futuro Awards HISD Students with Scholarships, iPad

Thousands of Houston students and their families left the New Futuro college prep fair in October equipped with all the tools and resources necessary to get into college and beyond. But three lucky HISD students left with more, including thousands of dollars in scholarships.

New Futuro’s biggest prizes, a $4,500 and a $2,500 college scholarship, went to Alejandro Reyes from Hartman Middle School and Jennifer Hernandez from Debakey High School. 

“I’m really grateful for this scholarship,” said Hernandez, an aspiring clinical psychologist who plans to attend St. Edward’s University. “College is expensive and any amount is helpful, especially if it helps relieve the burden my parents will face when I attend the university.”  Continue reading →

KUHF episode features engineering program at Booker T. Washington

Dr. Nghia Le, an engineering teacher at Booker T. Washington High School, and his students were featured on Engines of Our Ingenuity, a regular segment from the University of Houston College of Engineering. Click here to listen to the episode, which aired today on KUHF.

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Featured in HISD’s Revamped eNews: Joe Tusa Reflects on Stadium Honor

The following story appeared in Friday eNews – HISD’s weekly  e-newsletter. Click here to subscribe and you’ll receive a roundup of the week’s top headlines, plus personal stories like this one and other interactive features.

In this week’s I am HISD, which features HISD graduates and HISD employees, former HISD Athletic Director and Reagan High School alumnus Joe Tusa talks about his 37 years with the district. On November 3, HISD officially renamed the district’s Northside sports complex the Delmar-Tusa Athletic Complex in honor of Tusa, who is HISD’s longest serving athletic director. Continue reading →

KHOU 11’s New Weekly Segment ‘Our Future’ to Feature Outstanding High School Students

In an effort to showcase some of Houston’s outstanding high school students, KHOU 11 is launching a new weekly segment “Our Future” to air during the 5p.m. newscast.

“We have many talented and dedicated students whose excellence goes beyond the classrooms, and they deserve to be recognized,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said.  “We are grateful to KHOU 11 for giving school districts like HISD the opportunity to showcase these students.”

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