Category Archives: District IV – Patricia Allen

District’s Montessori schools provide students with independent, purposeful collaboration

Montessori is a child-centered educational approach that emphasizes independent, purposeful work and collaborative exploration. At Blackshear Elementary School, classrooms are equipped with tools to encourage “discovery” of concepts by using materials rather than by instruction from a teacher. The teacher guides the learning and encourages independence, freedom within limits, and a sense of order.

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“One of the biggest misconceptions about Montessori is that it’s not structured, and that the kids are ‘free’ to do what they want,” says Blackshear’s magnet coordinator Madelyn Traylor. “It has a rich environment for children to explore, but concepts are taught in a sequenced manner, allowing each child to move through this sequence, and fulfill their academic needs, at their own rates and levels.” Continue reading →

eNews Highlight: Furr HS alumna on the value of ‘the road less-traveled’

EMERGE graduate gives advice on the importance of taking risks in this week’s edition

Graduating seniors face a dizzying array of choices when considering a college to attend. In addition to selecting programs and possible majors, students have to decide whether to stay close to home or leave everything familiar behind by enrolling in a university thousands of miles away.

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HISD students participate in first-ever UH Special Olympics Basketball Camp

Basketballs were flying around the Hofheinz Pavilion on Nov. 10, as more than 50 HISD students with special needs got to meet and play basketball with coaches and student-athletes from the University of Houston (UH) men’s basketball program.

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For the first UH Special Olympics Basketball Camp, Cougar coaches and players set up six stations on the pavilion’s basketball court, and middle-school students practiced shooting, dribbling, passing, and other fundamentals. Continue reading →

HAIS principal honored with outstanding school leadership award

The Houston Academy for International Studies (HAIS) was officially recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School at an awards ceremony on Nov. 11 in Washington, D.C., and Principal Melissa Jacobs-Thibaut was also presented with the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership.

The award recognizes campus leaders who are committed to doing whatever it takes to help their students meet high standards. The award’s namesake served as secretary of education from 1981 to 1985. Continue reading →

District’s Petroleum Academies show off their talents at the Shell STEM Showdown

Do you think you can build a geodesic dome from plastic straws and masking tape that will not only stand up, but also hold weight? Students from Milby HS, Westside HS, Energy Institute HS and the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy, along with Fort Worth ISD’s Southwest High School, did just that in the spirit of competition at the Viva Technology™ Shell STEM Showdown at the University of Houston.

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Three teams from each school teamed up with university students from UH, UH Downtown, Rice University, Texas A&M, and Texas Christian University. Guided by their college counterparts, the high schoolers competed throughout the day in a series of hands-on exercises designed to stimulate interest in the applications of technology. Continue reading →

Jones HS joins forces with UN Women to ‘wipe out’ Ebola

When America’s first confirmed case of Ebola was diagnosed last month in Dallas, many Houstonians sat up and took notice, as that north-Texas city is located only about 240 miles away.

But students at HISD’s Jones Futures Academy have turned their alarm into action by launching a “Wipe Out” campaign to collect hand sanitizer, bleach, antibiotic wet wipes, gloves, and antibacterial soaps for shipment to Liberia, one of the hardest-hit countries in Africa.

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Houston Rockets supports HISD effort to raise awareness about recycling

clutchStudents at Shearn Elementary School were paid a visit from Clutch, the mascot for the NBA Houston Rockets, as part of a fun and educational program that teaches kids about recycling.

The show, “Red Nation Goes Green: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is a partnership between HISD and the Houston Rockets to help increase the district’s awareness of recycling, along with the importance of education.

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FRAC grant to bring First Class Breakfast to more high school students

Students at eight HISD high schools will now receive their first meal of the day right in their classrooms, thanks to a $64,000 grant from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), funded by Kellogg’s corporate citizenship fund.

The money will be used to purchase equipment, food, labor, and marketing materials to implement the First Class Breakfast program at Kashmere, Lee, Madison, Milby, Sam Houston, Sterling, Washington, and Wheatley high schools. Continue reading →

DeBakey HS community hears final design, construction plans

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Students and staff at DeBakey High School for Health Professions will soon have a new facility in the heart of the Texas Medical Center that will allow easier access to some of the best facilities in the world.

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