Category Archives: Community Partnerships

Special Dyad partnerships connect students to a community that cares

HISD students at NES and NES-A campuses regularly enjoy the unique experience of learning from the community members who teach their Dyad courses. Now community partners are helping enhance those experiences for students.

Volunteers from Home Depot’s Team Depot and Nike Community Ambassadors came to Atherton Elementary and Key Middle School, respectively, to support Dyad classes in a school garden beautification project and a trainer-led field day.

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HISD launches 2024 Souper Bowl of Caring

Team HISD, in collaboration with the HISD Foundation, is calling on the HISD community to participate in the 2024 Souper Bowl of Caring, a national, youth-led food drive to fight food insecurity.  

Souper Bowl of Caring is going on now, and collections will be accepted through Friday, Feb. 9. Donations will help to stock HISD Souper Pantries, and campuses, staff, students, and organizations can participate by hosting individual food drive events or donating funds directly to the HISD Foundation.

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HISD and partners bring necessities and holiday cheer to Mission Milby Winter Fest

There was a line around the corner on the afternoon of Wednesday, Dec. 20, for the Mission Milby Sunrise Center’s Family Winter Fest. Doors opened to a hall of holiday fun and resources for community members in need.

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Literacy program donates millionth book to HISD students

Research shows that children who have books at home are more likely to be successful in school and maintain grade-level reading comprehension. However, according to the National Literacy Trust, one in five children do not own any books of their own. This fact was the impetus for the creation of My Home Library, an initiative of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Literacy that strives to give children from low-income families tools to read at home and thrive in the classroom.

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HISD second graders gifted bicycles through Wish for Wheels

In 2022, Dogan Elementary School’s first graders watched covetously as their second-grade schoolmates were gifted bicycles courtesy of HISD’s partnership with Oxy and Wish for Wheels. They never would have dreamed that in a year’s time, they would be the recipients of bikes of their own, just in time for the holidays.

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HISD partners with Rockets, military to upgrade Blackshear ES book rooms

On the heels of Veterans Day, volunteers with the Houston Rockets and U.S. military spent a day at Blackshear Elementary transforming several book rooms for students and teachers.

The day of service is in partnership with the NBA’s Hoops for Troops program that puts teams to work alongside military members with the goal of helping to better communities.

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Upcoming HISD and community holiday distribution events

HISD and charitable organizations throughout Houston are gearing up for distribution days, drives, and other special events to kick off the holiday season. See below for a list of scheduled events. More will be added to this list as dates are announced.

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HISD students get wild with visit from Houston Zoo ambassador animals

Fonville Middle School is an HISD magnet campus that houses the Academy for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) Professionals. Under the direction of Magnet Coordinator Nishtha Pant, Fonville’s three-year-old magnet program gives STEM scholars access to classes developed to foster creative thinking in scientific fields.

Fonville’s STEM curriculum begins with Introduction to STEM in the sixth grade and branches out into three learning pathways: Engineering, Information Technology, and Computer Science. To supplement these programs of study, Fonville works with community organizations to introduce further STEM concepts. One of these organizations is the Houston Zoo, who visited Fonville on Friday, Nov. 3, with three animal ambassadors in tow.

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Girls Belong in School – Period: HISD students participate in period workshops

According to a State of the Period study, nearly a quarter of students experience “period poverty,” a lack access to menstrual hygiene products, which can cause them to miss class time and struggle emotionally and socially in school. To combat this, HISD has teamed up with community partners Dow Chemical and Impact100 to give middle school students a crash-course in period literacy. 

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HISD opens Sunrise Center in revamped Re-Engagement Center

The final of seven Sunrise Centers—hubs for wellness, nutrition, and social resources for the HISD community—has opened at the former Brock Re-Engagement Center at 1417 Houston Ave. The building once housed HISD’s Student Assistance Department, and the Sunrise Center initiative built on the foundation of the services and resources that were provided there to create an all-new assistance experience for students and their families.

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