HISD Scholars Banquet honors Class of 2016 valedictorians and salutatorians HISD paid tribute to 99 high school seniors at the top of their class at the annual Scholars Banquet on April 12 at the Westin Oaks Galleria. In addition to their outstanding academic achievements, these valedictorians and salutatorians have already garnered more than $10 million in scholarships and financial aid offers.
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Architect Christian Sheridan had a simple strategy for making sure he remembered what’s important while designing the new $29.5 million Parker Elementary.
He kept a list of more than two dozen must-haves for the new campus, authored by Parker students two years ago during a special workshop hosted by his firm, Brave Architecture, to gather input on everything from paint colors to windows.
On Saturday, in front of nearly 400 people who turned out to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new school, Sheridan’s two young daughters presented the list, matted and framed, to Parker Principal Lori Frodine as a reminder that the new school reflects the needs of the people who will use it.
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The competition was fierce down to the final buzzer, but Dogan ES came out victorious after scoring a whopping 922,464 minutes in reading time during the NCAA Read to the Final Four Literacy competition.
Dogan ES Principal Tarrieck Rideaux beamed with pride Friday amid cheering, hand-waving, and fanfare at NRG Stadium, where 10,000 HISD students, some representing the Final Four schools – Browning ES, Carrillo ES, Dogan ES and Janowski ES, gathered for the announcement of the winner. Rideaux said six months of intensive reading had paid off for his third-graders.
“It has actually helped their reading growth,” said Rideaux. “Stronger growth over the last few months – more than we’ve ever had.”
The top four schools read a total of 2,695,728 minutes since the competition began in September, and all schools netted 9,128,176 minutes read.
Dogan ES was awarded a Final Four trophy and a $5,000 cash prize. On Monday, there will be a celebration at the campus.
“I was excited when they announced our name, and I screamed.” said Dogan fourth-grader Luigi Marquez. “I was proud that we won.”
Courtside VIPS on hand to celebrate the students’ accomplishments included HISD Board of Education Trustees Wanda Adams, Diana Dávila, and Anna Eastman, as well as HISD Chief Academic Officer Andrew Houlihan and Houston Final Four Local Organizing Committee Chairman Tony Chase.
“I am so excited to be here and to rock the ‘Road to the Final Four.’ I want to personally thank all 68 schools for reading over 9 million minutes. You all need to be applauded,” said Trustee Adams. “And congratulations to Dogan Elementary School for reading all those hours. So again, congratulations Team HISD.”
Early in the program, Team HISD enjoyed performances by the Waltrip HS band and the Atherton ES drum line, as well as a quick game between the Cancer Hardwood Heroes and their coaches.
The NCAA Read to the Final Four Literacy competition, which supported the HISD Literacy By 3 initiative, challenged HISD third-graders to read more books than other competing schools and started with 68 schools. Nearly 6,800 third-graders helped kick off the bracket-themed reading contest that encouraged students to read at least 30 minutes a day.
Carrillo Elementary School students learn they are in the lead for the Read to the Final Four challenge in November 2015.
Nearly 10,000 HISD elementary school students will fill NRG Stadium (Reliant Parkway, 77054) on Friday, April 1 for the district’s announcement of the winner of the NCAA Team Works Read to the Final Four Literacy Program at Reese’s Final Four Friday event.
The program begins at 11 a.m., but prior to that, Waltrip HS’s band will play as students arrive, and Atherton ES’s drum line will perform before the announcement of the winning school at 11:40 a.m., which will receive a $5,000 cash prize, Final Four trophy, and campus celebration. The final four elementary schools in the competition are Browning, Carrillo, Dogan, and Janowski. Additionally, the top readers from each of the 68 schools will receive a bike from CYCLE. Attendees are welcome to stay for the remainder of the day and watch special practice games and tributes. The day’s activities are free and open to the public, including parking in the stadium’s Blue Lot beginning at 9 a.m. Anything brought into the stadium during all Final Four events must be in a clear bag, due to security. Some 125,000 clear bags are being given away at Houston hotels and the George R. Brown Convention Center, as well as on METRORail platforms. Find full details here.
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke visited with Grissom ES students on March 10 to help HISD’s Nutrition Services Department celebrate National School Breakfast Week.
First, he presented a video that showed him and his fellow astronauts enjoying their mission on the International Space Station and fueling their bodies for space travel.
“We have fun with our food because it floats. Do you know why it floats?” asked Fincke. “No gravity!” shouted the students.
Fincke explained how space food needs to be packaged to stay fresh and nutritious so astronauts can remain healthy while in space. “We especially enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables we get when a care package is delivered with a supply cargo from earth.”
Last spring, HISD, Young Audiences of Houston, the City of Houston, and more than 30 community arts organizations announced a new partnership — the Arts Access Initiative (AAI) — that has been providing additional arts-education programming to 10 elementary schools and one middle school. In late March, the AAI will announce 14 new HISD schools selected from around 40 applicants that will join the existing AAI cohort in 2016–2017.
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The first district schools to benefit from AAI are: Atherton, Benbrook, Eliot, Hartsfield, Hines-Caldwell, Kashmere Gardens, Memorial, Mitchell, Scarborough, and Whittier elementary schools, as well as Hamilton Middle School.
Two groundbreaking ceremonies, five community meetings and quarterly Bond Oversight Committee meeting scheduled through April
With construction making noticeable progress across HISD, many projects are reaching their next milestone – including including groundbreaking ceremonies at Parker Elementary School and Booker T. Washington High School, and a host of community meetings scheduled for the spring.
The HISD Board of Education is searching for a new superintendent, and trustees want input from community members about the qualities and traits they would like to see in the next district leader.
The board has hired Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates to assist in the superintendent search process. The Illinois-based firm is conducting a survey (which you can find here) and helping trustees host a series of community meetings in March to gather input from various district stakeholders. Feedback obtained from those meetings will be used by trustees to finalize their superintendent profile and begin searching for candidates.
The Black College Expo is making its return to Houston on Saturday, and many HISD middle and high school students are taking advantage of higher education opportunities days before the big event.
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College recruiters and representatives from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) will be available from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Power Center (12401 South Post Oak Road, 77045) to provide students and parents with one-on-one counseling, as well as scholarship and financial aid information. HISD students and parents can attend the event for free.
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The Houston Texans Ambassadors are a group of former NFL players who represent the team throughout the year by visiting schools and speaking to high school football players, as they did at Worthing High School recently in honor of Black History Month. Jerry LeVias (Houston Oiler 1969-1970) and ND Kalu (Houston Texan 2006-2008) were joined by a surprise guest, current Texan defensive tackle Vince Wilfork. All three players talked about their experiences in the NFL.