Category Archives: District IV – Patricia Allen

Two HISD students win top honors in regional Scholastic contest

Anna White, from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, was named an "American Vision" finalist in this year's Scholastic Art & Writing Contest for her painting, entitled "Afternoon Nap."

Anna White, from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, was named an “American Visions” finalist in this year’s Scholastic Art & Writing Contest for her painting, entitled “Afternoon Nap.”

The Harris County Department of Education recently announced the regional winners of the Scholastic Art & Writing contests, and one of the top 10 finalists in each category attends an HISD school.

Anna White (High School for the Performing and Visual Arts) was named an American Visions finalist for her painting entitled “Afternoon Nap,” while Jaelynn Walls (Carnegie Vanguard High School) was named an American Voices finalist for her personal essay/memoir entitled “Prime.” American Visions and American Voices nominees are considered regional “best of show” winners in art and writing (respectively). Each will receive a $250 scholarship from sponsor Texas Art Supply, and one finalist in each category will earn the national medal in March.

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Lanier MS masters 30,013 words to earn top honors in National Vocabulary Bowl

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Students at Lanier Middle School screamed in excitement as they learned that Lanier came in first in the U.S.—beating more than 16,000 schools—in Vocabulary.com’s December Vocabulary Bowl.

The annual Vocabulary Bowl pits schools against one another in a friendly competition of word mastery. Students log onto the interactive learning game, select their grade level, and learn the meaning of words they may never have seen before. Teachers can also create vocabulary lists based on reading students have done in class.
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HISD students win big in Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo School Art Contest

The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo School Art Contest Committee judged nearly 600 pieces of HISD student artwork on Jan. 21 at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center. Several HISD students walked away with top recognitions for this year’s contest, including three for Best of Show and four Gold Medal Awards.

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DeBakey HS holds beam-signing event to celebrate new campus

Students, staff and community members from DeBakey High School for Health Professions gathered on the construction site for its new school on Wednesday to sign a steel beam that will be used in the building.

The new $64.5 million building project is being built under HISD’s current bond program located on the western side of the Medical Center complex on land donated by the Medical Center.

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DeBakey will receive a new 198,000-square-foot building five-stories high to  accommodate 900 to 1,000 students. The facility will feature state-of-the-art medical training equipment with teaching labs for dental, rehabilitation, and patient care. These will include mock hospital rooms and science labs designed to mimic real-world research labs.

“It’s pretty impressive,” said DeBakey ninth-grader Lucy Zhang. “It’s going to be amazing once it’s completed, and we’re able to move in and go to school here. It’s much bigger, and I feel that it gives an opportunity for larger classrooms and preferably more room to do hands on activities.”

After the beam-signing, workers will transport it to the construction site to install in the new building, scheduled to open for students in August 2017.

Seven bond schools planning community meetings in first quarter

Updates will be provided on design plans and project status for each campus

Community meetings have been scheduled during the first quarter for the following seven bond schools, to inform stakeholders of project plans to rebuild or renovate their campus as part of HISD’s $1.89 billion bond program. Attendees will hear from project architects and other team members and will have the opportunity to ask questions.

Meeting times and locations

SCHOOL DATE ADDRESS
Garden Oaks Montessori Tues., Feb. 2, 7:00 p.m. 901 Sue Barnett
Askew Elementary Thurs., Feb. 4, 6:30 p.m. 11200 Wood Lodge
Waltrip High School Tues., Feb. 9, 6:30 p.m. 1900 West 34th St.
Westbury High School Thurs., Feb. 18, 6:30 p.m. 11911 Chimney Rock
Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy Tues., Feb 23, 6:30 p.m. 1906 Cleburne Street
Wilson Montessori Thurs., Feb. 25, 6:30 p.m. 2100 Yupon
Sam Houston MSTC Wed., Mar. 2, 6:30 p.m. 9400 Irvington

More information on HISD building programs

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Career Day at Mading ES benefits students, entire community

More than 30 professional volunteers took time out of their busy careers to speak to Mading Elementary School students, parents, and community members during the school’s second annual Career Day on Jan. 14.

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Mading Principal Nicole Haskins said the event began last year as a community job fair in an effort to get more parents and community members involved. This year, after extending the event, the number of community involvement increased significantly.

“This is an opportunity not only for the students to see different careers, but the teachers, community members, and parents as well,” Haskins said. “It also affords our parents the opportunity to perhaps find a job just by coming to our Career Day.”

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Thank a trustee during National School Board Recognition Month

The 2016 Board of Education

The 2016 Board of Education are (L-R): Anna Eastman, Michael Lunceford, Second Vice President Diana Davila, First Vice President Wanda Adams, Assistant Secretary Rhonda Skillern-Jones, Secretary Jolanda Jones, President Manuel Rodriguez Jr., Harvin Moore, and Greg Meyers.

January is National School Board Recognition Month, honoring the men and women who serve on the nation’s thousands of Boards of Education. These dedicated public servants become school board trustees because they are committed to improving public education and their communities.

Our board members devote many hours to making sure Houston’s schools are safe and have the resources and instructional programs needed to educate children to their fullest potential.

“The students in HISD are very fortunate to have dedicated board members who work day in and day out to shape policies that support a high-quality education for all of our students,” said HISD Superintendent Dr. Terry Grier. “If you haven’t reached out, please thank your school board trustee for caring about our children, and let them know that they truly are appreciated for what they do.”

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Meet HISD’s newest trustees in this month’s edition of ‘Up Close’

In this edition of “Up Close,” HISD Board of Education President Rhonda Skillern-Jones visits with recently elected District IV Trustee Jolanda Jones and District VIII Trustee Diana Dávila.

Jones landed a seat on the board for the first time in November, beating out three opponents to win the District IV spot being vacated by departing trustee Paula Harris, who did not seek re-election. Jones says she is looking forward to focusing on the new superintendent search. She is also planning to advocate for the preservation of existing schools, and to work on resource equity.

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Construction well underway for new South Early College HS

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Construction on the new South Early College High School is well underway. Roof installation and exterior framing is currently ongoing, along with concrete installation for the parking lot, building sheathing and waterproofing.

The 57,000 square foot facility, located on the campus of Houston Community College South Campus, will accommodate 400 students and will feature flexible learning spaces that support the school’s technological programs, including robotics, computer technology, and software engineering. The new building is slated to open for the 2016-2017 school year.

Photo gallery of HISD building projects

Update on Young Women’s College Prep bond project

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This all-girls secondary school is slated to receive a $27.1 million makeover that will preserve its historic past while creating modern learning spaces to help prepare students for college and careers.

The design includes adding a circular drive to the front of the building with a covered pick-up/drop-off area. The administrative offices, now on the second floor, will be relocated near the building’s main entrance, where a secure vestibule will be added. Much of the interior renovation will focus on modernizing the classroom spaces into larger learning centers with better natural light, integrated technology and flexible furniture. An addition is slated to be built adjacent to the current auditorium, and will feature an atrium and flexible spaces to create a college-like, collaborative atmosphere for the students.

The school held its first community meeting in August of 2015 and a second one will be held in early 2016 to discuss the design development. The goal is to have the project bid so construction can start by the end of 2016.

Photo gallery of HISD building projects