Category Archives: College Readiness

Energy Institute HS celebrates grand opening of new facility

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Known for its innovation, Energy Institute — which once programmed robots to shovel dirt at its groundbreaking ceremony — decided to forego a traditional ribbon-cutting, and instead have students use a circular saw to cut a wooden board laser printed with the school’s logo. The cut pieces were then presented to special guests at the event.

“What a journey,” Energy Principal Lori Lambropoulos said as she looked out to the crowd. “This school is the first one of its kind in the nation, and we could not have done any of this without all of you in this room.” Continue reading →

Top-Tier College Night scheduled for Oct. 9 at Chavez HS

Juniors, seniors, and students interested in getting a head start on the college process are invited to attend Top-Tier College Night on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at Chavez High School (8501 Howard Dr., Houston, 77017).

Admissions representatives from top colleges across the nation will be on hand to answer questions about selective college admissions.

Students must RSVP by Friday, Sept. 28. Sign up here to reserve a space and to learn about options for bus transportation from your campus. Dinner will also be provided.

The evening will begin with dinner and orientation from 4 to 5:30 p.m., followed by Selective College Admissions Workshops (freshmen and sophomores) and a College Fair (junior and seniors) from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Continue reading →

Incoming freshmen at South Early College HS get an early start 

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Over 80 incoming South Early College High School freshmen are participating in the school’s annual Summer Bridge program in which students focus on core academic subjects, team building, career and college readiness, collaborative learning, and field trips.

Over the course of two weeks, students attend mini-workshops from Houston Community College faculty and staff on topics about dual credit, library services, counseling, advising, campus safety and classroom etiquette. Students also take the Texas Success Initiative, which is the college entrance exam.  Continue reading →

Summer internships at HISD help students determine possible careers

HISD hired nearly two dozen interns for its 2018 Summer Leadership Program, exposing students to possible careers and skills employers demand in an increasingly technological workforce. The students were assigned to various administrative departments, including Informational Technology, College and Career Readiness, Communications, and Procurement.

Continue reading →

Preliminary HISD STAAR scores show strong gains across multiple grades, subjects, and student groups

Houston Independent School District students showed strong gains that exceeded those made by the state in third- through eighth-grade reading and math, and on end-of-course (EOC) assessments in English I and Algebra I, according to preliminary 2018 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) scores.

“This year, our students made significant progress on the state-mandated STAAR tests,” Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “We are excited about what these preliminary results mean for our schools labeled by the state as Improvement Required and our district’s accountability ratings. HISD is shifting course and turning schools around. We know that it is critical that we continue our commitment to strengthening the supports in place to further advance our progress in student achievement.”

Overall, the spring administration of the 2018 STAAR grades 3-8 assessment results indicate the district held steady or showed increases in the percentage of students meeting the Approaches Grade Level standard in reading, math, science, and social studies. Continue reading →

Teach Forward Houston Cohort 3 selected

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This is the third year for the Teach Forward Houston program, a collaboration with the University of Houston College of Education (COE) and HISD to educate students in return for their commitment to teach in HISD schools for four years.

Continue reading →

Northside HS senior receives first HISD Superintendent and Board of Education Scholar Award 

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Northside senior Sofia Flores got a big surprise in class Tuesday morning when she was named the first-ever recipient of the HISD Superintendent and Board of Education Scholar Awards.

The scholarships, which will be distributed to one senior at every high school through next week, recognizes students who have exemplified great character and resilience.

HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan, with District I Trustee Elizabeth Santos, had the honor of presenting Sofia with an oversized $5,000 check. Lathan highlighted the importance of the scholarships and helping students who had overcome significant obstacles to pursue their dream of going to college.

“We want to help them in their endeavors as they embark on the next leg of their journey,” she said.

Sofia has flourished in her studies despite losing her younger brother, Josue Flores, who was killed as he was walking home from his school. Just days ago marked the two-year anniversary of his murder, which remains unsolved.

Sofia was her younger brother’s personal tutor, guiding him to academic success and nurturing his love of math and science. It was in her interactions with him that inspired her to go to the University of Texas and study education. She hopes to one day return to HISD as a teacher.

“I am actually honored to get this scholarship,” Sofia said. “Helping him inspired me to be a teacher, and everything I do, I do for him.”

 

 

 

HISD announces new college and career readiness initiatives

The Houston Independent School District on Thursday announced the creation of new programs to expand college and career readiness opportunities for students across the district:  Launch HISD and Project Explore.

The new programs are under the newly established Office of Strategy and Innovation led by EMERGE founder Rick Cruz.

Launch HISD is a comprehensive college and career readiness and advising program. The program will serve students at every middle and high school campus in the district, expanding advising and college and career exploration for larger groups of students. The Launch HISD curriculum will incorporate college visits and career exploration, and will include a capstone college or career readiness project that every middle school participant will have to complete to develop their personalized graduation plan.

Continue reading →

Worthing HS students lead Bastian ES scholars on School to College Pipeline

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Students from both campuses participate in five college tours

College-bound students from Worthing High School are reaching back to the elementary students coming behind them to cultivate a college-bound culture throughout the entire Worthing feeder pattern.

“We want the older kids to mentor the young students so they understand credits, extracurriculars, volunteer work, and that you need to perform well on SATs,” said Worthing High School Principal Khalilah Campbell. “We also want our program to grow and for relationships to keep growing so students who will eventually attend Worthing will be focused on college before they even walk through our doors.” Continue reading →