Students at Poe ES pose with Principal Jeff Amerson and their new books.
A new partnership between the Boniuk Foundation and Chicken Soup for the Soul is helping students in HISD and across Harris County to develop more cultural awareness while simultaneously building their literacy skills.
The partnership kicked off on May 14 at Poe Elementary School, where a group of students gathered to open boxes of books that were being delivered to the libraries of every school in Harris County.
Trustee Paula Harris (far L) presents the Board Awards to some of the first graduate from the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy
Each year, the HISD Board of Education honors distinguished seniors from district high schools in recognition of their accomplishments, as exemplified by their character, academic achievement, leadership, and service.
Selections are made by school-based committees appointed by each principal and the awards are presented by the trustee representing each district during commencement exercises.
One outstanding young man and young woman are selected from each high school, as well as up to five honorable mention students. A list of this year’s award recipients is here (.pdf) and a list of the students receiving honorable mention is here (.pdf).
HISD held its fourth annual Celebration of Excellence at the Hilton Americas Hotel on May 15, 2015, and one of the evening’s most exciting moments came when the district’s Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year were announced.
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Robert Uzick, a fourth-grade teacher at Cunningham Elementary School, and Jessica Joseph, a sixth-grade math teacher at Hogg Middle School, have been named the winners of these awards for 2015. Continue reading
In 71 hours, a person can ride a bicycle from Paris, France, to Brest and back or complete 48 orbits of planet earth. For Mimie Taylor, who was honored at Thursday’s Read Houston Read Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast, those 71 hours were best spent helping first-graders improve their reading skills at Garcia Elementary School.
“Tuesdays and Thursdays are dedicated to Read Houston Read and my scholars,” said Taylor brightly.
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Nathan Brunell, a junior at HISD’s Westside High School, will be immersing himself in deaf culture this summer after being selected to attend an exclusive American Sign Language (ASL) program at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
Nathan is one of only 48 high-school students chosen from across the country to participate in the 10-day program, which is for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing students. Gallaudet is the only university in the world designed specifically to serve deaf and hard-of-hearing students, and only experienced signers at the intermediate level or higher were considered for the workshop.
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Stroll through the halls of HISD’s Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th St, 77092) over the next few days, and you could see a lion, a wolf, or even a cheetah.
All of these and more are represented in original artworks created by HISD students as part of the 2015 Spring Visual Arts Showcase, which is organized annually to display the talent of student artists from across the district.
Project Advisory Team (PAT) members for Askew Elementary, Wharton Dual Language Academy, and Young Women’s College Prep Academy (YWCPA) spent two days this week in an intensive workshop to put together preliminary design plans for their new facilities.
Coach Wilson (L) with J.J. Watt and members of the Fondren MS football team
Eight members of the Fondren Middle School football team received a big surprise on April 18.
They got to meet one of their idols that day—legendary Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt—at a special celebration held in Houston by the charity he created. As previous beneficiaries of a grant from the Justin J. Watt Foundation, the students were invited to help accept a large donation from Papa John’s Pizza, one of its biggest supporters, at the event. They also got to visit with Watt personally and ask him a few questions.
From left: Dr. Piazza, president of the Greater Houston Dental Society; Piney Point ES fifth-grader Viviana Jimenez; Garden Villas ES third-grader Alejandra Rodriguez; White ES second-grader Sandy Kong; Condit ES fifth-graders Eden Barr and Heidi Tamm; and Dental Health Committee CoChairs Dr. Nguyen and Dr. Aguilos. Not pictured: Scroggins ES second-grader Gabriel Velazco.
Every year, HISD elementary and middle school students participate in the Dental Health Poster Contest, which promotes the American Dental Association’s National Children’s Dental Health Month campaign. The purpose is to convince children and adults of the importance of good oral health.
Reagan HS, Pilgrim Academy, and 20 other campuses also rated ‘Gold Ribbon’ schools
Children at Risk released its annual list of the top schools in the greater Houston area on April 27, and for the sixth consecutive year, HISD’s DeBakey High School for Health Professions was listed as number one.
Four other HISD high schools were included in the top ten: Carnegie Vanguard High School (#2), the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (#4), Eastwood Academy (#7), and North Houston Early College High School (#10).
T.H. Rogers, which serves students in grades Pre-K through 8, has held steady in the number one position among the top middle schools in Houston since 2011, and ranked first at the elementary level since 2012. Other HISD schools in the top 20 were: Wharton K-8 (#5), Pin Oak (#7), Lanier (#8), and Briarmeadow Charter (#15) at the middle-school level; and West University (#2), River Oaks (#3), Horn Academy (#6), Bush (#13), Condit (#14), Oak Forest (#17), and Roberts (#19) at the elementary level.