The Houston Independent School District is working to readjust attendance boundaries at almost two dozen schools in an effort to reduce classroom overcrowding.
The move is in response to a directive from the Texas Education Agency, which requires kindergarten through fourth-grade classes to have no more than 22 students per classroom. Classes that exceed that number must request a state waiver.
Board of Education meetings usually begin with commendations and recognitions. However, the first meeting of every year starts with the election of new officers.
On Jan. 15, 2015, the trustees chose Rhonda Skillern-Jones to serve as president, Manuel Rodriguez Jr. as first vice president, Wanda Adams as second vice president, Paula Harris as secretary, and Juliet Stipeche as assistant secretary.
Serving as an HISD school-board member requires a lot of hard work and dedication, and the nine trustees on HISD’s board selflessly devote many hours to studying issues, deliberating proposed actions and policy changes, and representing HISD in the community, all without pay. These men and women are essential to the success of this school district and deserve the district’s and the community’s deepest thanks.
2015 HISD Board of Education
For more information, including biographical information for each trustee, visit the Board of Education website.
Texas Commissioner of Education Michael Williams has notified Texas school districts and charters that the spring testing date for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) grades 5 and 8 mathematics will be shifted for the 2014–2015 school year.
The spring testing date for STAAR grades 5 and 8 mathematics will change from March 30, 2015, to April 20, 2015. Continue reading
‘Significant’ number of schools looking for increases
HISD’s Board of Education held a workshop Thursday on the status of fine arts education in the district and heard that in a survey, a “significant number” of schools said they would like to implement greater access to arts education immediately.
HISD Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones has begun serving a three-year term on the board of directors of the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), representing TASB Region 4D.
Skillern-Jones was elected to the HISD board in 2011 to represent District II. She is trustee for northern communities in HISD, including the former North Forest schools. She held positions of secretary in 2012-13 and is currently first vice-president.
Administrators are recommending that the HISD Board of Education authorize the district to negotiate design contracts with 13 firms on the remaining 14 projects within the 2012 bond program.
The latest round of contract recommendations comes ahead of schedule in response to the booming construction market in Houston. Although architect selections for schools in Groups 3 and 4 of the program weren’t slated to take place until next year, the district wanted to move forward as quickly as possible to minimize the impact of escalating construction inflation.
This is the fifth in a series of stories counting down to the start of school, spotlighting what is new in HISD in the coming year.
Two HISD middle schools and two high schools will be sporting new mascots when fall sports launch, in a historic move that saw outdated and culturally offensive symbols replaced in an orderly months-long process.
The Board of Education approved a policy change earlier this year after Superintendent Terry Grier sought new guidelines that would “respect cultural differences, values, and attitudes” by placing a ban on mascots or nicknames using race or ethnicity.
The Houston Independent School District will launch a series of four community meetings next week to hear feedback about a draft plan to redraw trustee districts.
The first meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 1, at Shadydale Elementary School, 5905 Tidwell 77028.
With the annexation of North Forest ISD in 2013, 56,000 more people were added to HISD, necessitating the redrawing of all nine trustees’ areas to comply with federal election law mandating that population be distributed evenly throughout the entire school district.
Trustees voted at their last regular meeting to send a draft plan to the community. Three additional meetings will be held in July: Continue reading
After two months of preparation and review, the Houston ISD Board of Education will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 19, at district headquarters to consider adopting a $1.74 billion budget for 2014-2015. The proposed budget addresses the district’s key priorities – increasing teacher pay, supporting the implementation of a comprehensive literacy plan, and funding required increases and expenditures that will ultimately save the district long term.
“Preparing an annual budget is a complex process that requires sound forecasting and tough discussions,” Houston Independent School District Chief Financial Officer Ken Huewitt said. “The workshops, countless hours of review and discussion have resulted in what we believe is a very strong budget proposal that is fair and in line with the district’s goals and priorities.”
Under the proposal, all teachers will receive raises between $1,100 and $2,300, depending on length of service. The budget also begins a phased-in plan to adjust the overall teacher pay scale, bringing starting salaries to $49,100 to make HISD more competitive with neighborhood districts in an active recruiting market.
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The Houston Independent School District recently was honored for its outstanding service and dedication in supporting military personnel working for the district.
The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve organization (ESGR), a U.S. Department of Defense office, presented the district with its “Above and Beyond Award” at the June 12 regular Board meeting.