Berry Elementary School received a “Green Ribbon Schools” Award recently from a national program of the same name in recognition of its leadership in touting green initiatives on campus.
The school was one of only 63 campuses chosen from among 13 states and Guam to win the award, and Berry was selected for achieving the online community’s highest level of participation during the 2011–2012 school year. Continue reading
This spring’s Houston Independent School District graduates will receive $150,000 in scholarships from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.
Update, May 29, 2013: The Broad Foundation increased its scholarship giveaway to $165,000 in an effort to distribute more financial assistance to HISD students.
The scholarships are a result of HISD being among the four national finalists for the 2012 Broad Prize for Urban Education, which was awarded today to the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This was Miami-Dade’s fifth time to be a Broad Prize finalist. HISD won the inaugural Broad Prize in 2002.
“We were honored to be among the final four of 75 urban school districts for the most prestigious award in education,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said. “The consistent progress that our students have made over the past several years is a direct reflection on the hard work put in by the teachers, principals, and every member of Team HISD.” Continue reading
Update 10:57
Miami-Dade County Public Schools named winner of the 2012 Broad Prize
Update 10:51
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will present the 2012 Broad Prize. He recognizes the four finalists, including Houston ISD. Duncan highlights HISD’s efforts to dramatically increase Advanced Placement course offerings, the Apollo 20 school turnaround initiative, and the focus on data to drive instruction.
Update 10:45
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is at the podium delivering welcoming remarks. He says,
“The work of giving our kids a better future is never done, but the Broad Foundation is helping to raise the bar.” Bloomberg believes the finalists for the Broad Prize are proving that “progress is… possible.”
Update: 10:35
Admiral Mike Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the keynote speaker at today’s Broad Prize ceremony. He says the future of our country is closely tied to the nation’s K-12 education system. “I would like to say to the winners, congratulations. It is terrific to see so many who have worked so hard. It is the best investment we can make in America.”
Update: 10:14
The wait is nearly over for the Houston Independent School District and the three other national finalists for the 2012 Broad Prize for Urban Education.
The award ceremony is underway at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Here in Houston, members of Team HISD are watching the celebration live on the web: http://hisdtv.org/live-coverage/
At the HISD Watch party.
The Broad Prize for Urban Education is the largest education prize in the nation. The winning district will receive $550,000 in college scholarships for the Class of 2013.
The other finalists this year are: Corona-Norco Unified School District in Riverside County, Calif., Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and The School District of Palm Beach County, Fla.
Update: 10 a.m.
Superintendents, principals, and teachers from the four districts named as finalists for the Broad Prize for Urban Education participated in the “Mind the Gap” panel discussion to share ideas about strategies being used to close the achievement gap. HISD Superintendent Terry Grier, Fondren Middle School Principal Charles Foust, and Berry Elementary Teacher Gaby Oliveros represented HISD. They discussed the importance of data-driven instruction, teamwork, and use of technology in the classroom.
Dr. Grier and Mr. Foust also shared information about HISD’s bold school turnaround effort, Apollo 20. Foust said Fondren MS, an Apollo 20 campus, uses Title I funds to pay tutors to help reinforce the material that students are learning in the classroom.
Oliveros, HISD’s Teacher of the Year in 2010, told the panel about HISD’s teacher support specialists. She said their observations help her and her colleagues become better teachers.
HISD is one of four finalists for the largest education award in the nation
The winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education—the most prestigious prize in public education— will be announced this morning at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. HISD is one of four finalists for the award, which recognizes the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among poor and minority students from 2008.
HISD Superintendent Terry Grier, Board of Education President Mike Lunceford, Trustees Anna Eastman, Rhonda Skillern-Jones, Paula Harris, and Harvin Moore, and Houston Federation of Teachers President President Gayle Fallon are in New York for the announcement.
Other finalists for the Broad Prize include Corona-Norco Unified School District in Riverside County, California, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and The School District of Palm Beach County, Florida. Dr. Grier joined the leaders of those school districts for a panel discussion about strategies being used to help close the achievement gap between minority students and their white counterparts.
Live coverage of the discussion and the Broad Prize announcement is available at http://hisdtv.org/live-coverage/
The wait is nearly over for the Houston Independent School District and the three other national finalists for the 2012 Broad Prize for Urban Education.
On Tuesday, Oct. 23 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will announce the name of the school system that beat out 75 national competitors for the title of best urban district in America. All four finalists made the cut for the Broad (rhymes with “road”) Prize because they demonstrated the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among poor and minority students from 2008 to 2011.
The other finalists this year are: Corona-Norco Unified School District in Riverside County, Calif., Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and The School District of Palm Beach County, Fla. Aside from bragging rights, the winning district earns $550,000 in college scholarships for students who graduate at the end of this school year. The other finalists receive $150,000 in scholarship money from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.
HISD staff will gather at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center to watch the announcement live, beginning at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. The announcement will also be carried live online at www.houstonisd.org.
“We are honored to have the national education spotlight on the students, teachers, and staff who make Houston schools great,” said HISD Board of Education President Michael Lunceford. “We have high expectations for every student, and we are proud that more of them are rising to meet the challenge each day.”
Members of the HISD Board of Education and Superintendent Terry Grier will be among those in New York City on Tuesday for the announcement.
“For years, HISD has been led by a visionary Board of Education that is willing to make the tough decisions that consistently put the interests of children first,” Dr. Grier said. “It is that unwavering focus on high academic standards, and hiring and retaining effective teachers and principals that led directly to the impressive progress that Houston’s children are making in the classroom.”
Houston won the first ever Broad Prize in 2002, and could be the first two-time winner. Among the reasons why Houston ISD was chosen as a 2012 Broad Prize finalist:
This year’s four finalists were selected by a review board of 13 prominent education researchers, policy leaders, practitioners and executives from leading universities, education associations, civil rights advocates, think-tanks and foundations. The review board evaluated publicly available academic achievement data that were compiled and analyzed by MPR Associates, Inc., a leading national education research consulting firm.
In selecting the finalists, the review board looks for urban school districts that show the greatest overall performance and improvement in urban student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among poor and minority students. Among the data they consider are SAT, ACT and Advanced Placement participation rates and outcomes, graduation rates, state assessments in reading, math and science, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, student demographics including poverty, state test rigor, per pupil expenditures and district size.
Over a two-month period last spring, teams of educational researchers and practitioners led by the education consulting company RMC Research Corporation conducted a four-day site visit in each finalist district using a research-based rubric for district quality to gather qualitative information, interview district administrators, conduct focus groups with teachers and principals and observe classrooms. The teams also interviewed parents, community leaders, school board members and union representatives. A selection jury of prominent individuals from business, industry, education and public service then chose the winning school district after reviewing both the student achievement data and the qualitative site visit reports.
The Broad Foundation does not play a role in selecting the finalists or the winner.
Palm Beach County and Corona-Norco are both first-time finalists, and Miami-Dade is a five-time finalist.
For more information about The Broad Prize, please visit www.broadprize.org.
Students and staff at Twain Elementary School celebrated the completion of their campus’ new track with a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony held on Oct. 12.
The new track, which encircles the athletic field and playground, lies just inside the perimeter of the fence surrounding the campus at the corner of Braes and Aberdeen.
“Today is the day,” said Principal Melissa Patin. “Our children will finally be able to enjoy our new playground and track. This is a sterling example of what we can accomplish when we work together.”
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The ribbon-cutting ceremony included a performance by members of the strings orchestra and concluded with the entire student body marching around the track for the first time in a ‘Parade of Grades’ led by the tiger mascot.
“This project has been on our radar for many years,” said Parent Teacher Organization President Sydni Mossman. “It was in the original plans of the new school.”
Dignitaries in attendance included HISD Board of Education Mike Lunceford, HISD Special Projects Director Willie Burroughs, Isani Consultants Engineering Manager Vincent Jacobs, and many of Twain’s corporate sponsors and community partners.
Blue Bell Creameries will honor Project Chrysalis Middle School (4528 Leeland), one of two HISD schools named 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools, with a school-wide ice cream party on Thursday, Oct. 11. A Blue Bell truck filled with ice cream will arrive at the school at noon to treat all of the students, teachers, and staff members.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Blue Ribbon Schools program has honored more than 7,000 of America’s most successful schools for the past 30 years. This year 269 public and private schools across the country, including HISD’s East Early College High School, received the coveted award. Blue Bell Creameries rewarded East Early College High School at a previous party.
Blue Ribbon Schools are selected based on two primary criteria. They must be among the highest-performing schools in their state, or they are schools with at least 40 percent of students from disadvantaged backgrounds that have improved student performance to high levels.
This year’s winning schools will also be honored at an awards ceremony in Washington D.C. on Nov. 12-13, 2012.
The Lee High School Alumni Association is hosting a celebration of 50 years in education Oct. 25–27, 2012.
The centerpiece of the 50th “JubiLEE” weekend will be the Hall of Honor dinner at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, at the Westin Galleria Ballroom, where alumni such as Billy Gibbons (’65), Gib Walton (’68), the Honorable Bill Yeoman (’69), and Andy Fickman (’82), among others, will be honored.
The dinner will also recognize longtime faculty members Henri Gadbois and Eleanor Grant. The event is open to all former students, faculty, and staff.
For more information, please visit the Lee HS alumni website.
HISD will be celebrating three of its long-standing community partners by inducting them into the district’s 2012 Hall of Fame during the annual Partnership Appreciation Breakfast on Friday, October 5 at 8:15a.m. at the Royal Sonesta Hotel (2222 West Loop South).
This year’s honorees, KBR, Port of Houston Authority, and Prepared 4 Life,will be recognized for their continued support and efforts to provide extra resources and opportunities for HISD students.
“We depend on our community partners to help us better serve our students and provide them opportunities that will prepare them for the workforce,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said. “They are vital to the success of the children in Houston. We can’t thank them enough for their continuous commitment to helping Houston’s students.”
The 2012 event’s theme, “Partnership Champions,” will recognize the partners’ efforts to go above and beyond to help HISD students achieve their dreams through their collaboration.
The KBR partnership began with the original HISD-Halliburton partnership in the 1980s. This partnership provides HISD with volunteers and financial contributions as well as support for organizations that help the district’s students. The KBR Discover Engineering group has volunteered for HISD programs as judges for science fairs, Youth Inventors’ Showcases, HISD/KBR Science Teacher Award, and FIRST Robotics Competitions. KBR is known for its three year commitment of $25,000 per year beginning in 2009 for the KBR Science Teacher of the Year Award.
The Port of Houston Authority began its partnership with HISD in 1986. Since then, the partnership has evolved to focus on encouraging students to pursue career opportunities in maritime transportation or associated fields. Thousands of students have taken tours of the Ship Channel on the Sam Houston inspection boat. The cornerstone of this partnership is the maritime program at Austin and Yates high schools. Students participating in the maritime program have the benefit of dual course credits, field trips, internships, college scholarship opportunities and maritime industry themed forums. Students also participate in the Port of Houston Authority/Texas Southern University summer transportation academy program and the Boy Scouts of America’s Venturing program.
Prepared 4 Life has been an HISD partner since 2005. The partnership began with after-school activities offered at select middle schools to instill life skills, character education and self-reliance. An E-mentoring program was later implemented to help students as well. Prepared 4 Life is noted for sponsoring Lemonade Day which began in 2007 and offers students entrepreneurial experience by encouraging them to select lemonade stand sites while schools choose to have school, grade-level, or classroom stands. To extend the entrepreneurial experience to more students, Serving Up Lemonade was implemented in 2010 for sixth-grade students and expanded the next year to include seventh-grade students.