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.
HISD’s brand new Mark White Elementary School (2515 Old Farm Road, 77063) will be opening its doors for the first time in the fall of 2016, and interested parents have until Friday, March 25, to submit their applications for admission.
The school, which is located just north of Westheimer on the district’s west side, will offer a French-language immersion program to students in prekindergarten and kindergarten during its first year of operation, and expand the program by one additional grade each year until 2021.
Pilgrim Academy students pose with retired Jones Day attorney Jim Teater during a “Pathways to Law” exercise on Feb. 22.
Students at HISD’s Pilgrim Academy have been exploring the intricacies of the Fourth Amendment’s search-and-seizure clause as part of an ongoing partnership with the international Jones Day law firm.
Founded in 2013 by former Jones Day attorney Jim Teater (now retired), the “Pathways to Law” program is designed to help eighth-grade students develop a better understanding of the law and expose them to possible careers in the legal field.
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.
Editor’s Note: Black History Month runs from Monday, Feb. 1, through Monday, Feb. 29, this year, and HISD is celebrating with a series of weekly stories recognizing distinguished African Americans who graduated from HISD high schools. This article focuses on alumni who went on to have successful careers in radio, television, and film. Previous articles highlight athletes, artists, and politicians.
HISD has produced a number of notable African-American graduates who have established successful careers in radio, television, and film. Before making their names in the industry, though, they got their start in district communications programs.
Kim Gagné
Television producer and Yates High School graduate Kim Gagné (1982) is a two-time Daytime Emmy award winner who won for her work as a supervising producer for the Steve Harvey show. She also won a regional Emmy for her time with Houston’s KHOU-TV. Gagné got her start as a student in the Yates School of Communications. In her “I Am HISD” profile, she discusses the skills she learned while at Yates.
“While I was in the Yates magnet program, I realized that what I wanted to do with my life was possible,” said Gagné. “I thought, ‘This is not crazy. I can achieve this.’ The magnet school was in its infancy, and the teachers were so dedicated. We learned about TV, radio, film, and photography. It was pretty amazing. I had the best experience and made lifelong friends.”
Roland Martin, who also graduated from Yates (1987), is best known as a nationally syndicated columnist, a TV One cable-network commentator, and host of “News One Now,” a one-hour weekday news show. He is also a former CNN analyst and was named by Ebony magazine as one of the 150 most influential African Americans in the U.S. in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
During a visit with Yates students, Martin remembers that it all began in high school. “The foundation of what I do, everything related to communications, actually began at HISD and Yates,” he said. “That has been my passion since I was 14 years old, and I certainly want the school to continue with its strong and vibrant communications program.”
Other distinguished African Americans in radio, television, and film who graduated from HISD schools include Ralph Cooper (Worthing HS, 1966, radio), Rosalind Jordan (Jones HS, 1984, journalist), and Sherri Williams (Lamar HS, 1990, journalist).
Join the conversation! Do you know other distinguished alumni who graduated from HISD schools? If so, tell us about them on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #HISDBlackHistory.
School construction is progressing at a record pace in HISD, and if you’ve spent any time driving in district neighborhoods recently, you have probably spotted one or more of our schools under construction.
With fifteen projects currently in the construction phase, that’s more active construction than at any other time in the district’s history. Many of these projects are well into vertical construction, and visible progress can be seen almost daily.
Check out these latest photos taken the second week of February.
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As the district moves forward with implementation of the $1.89 billion bond program, which was approved by Houston voters in 2012, the bond team expects to have signed construction contracts on an additional six schools by the end of the first quarter of 2016, and nearly all the remaining projects will be bid by the end of 2016.
Phase 1 of the Worthing project will be complete by summer. Schools on track to open in time for the start of the 2016-2017 school year include Condit Elementary, Mark White Elementary, North Houston Early College High School, South Early College High School, Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion Magnet School, and (non-bond) North Forest Early Childhood Center.
The bond program, which will rebuild or renovate 40 schools, including 29 high schools, also includes improvements to district-wide athletics facilities, middle school restroom renovations and significant technology upgrades. HISD is also building some non-bond funded schools: North Forest High School, North Forest Early Childhood Center and the Energy Institute High School.
More information on HISD Building Programs
Kianna Hawkins
A project taken on as one Girl Scout’s quest for the Gold Award has earned her additional recognition at the state and national levels.
Last year, 17-year-old Kianna Hawkins led an initiative called “EyeCare4TeenVision” to provide basic eye-care services and corrective lenses to needy young people. As a part of her project, she joined forces with various local organizations to coordinate a vision screening event for teens and collected more than 300 pairs of gently used eyeglasses. Those efforts led to Kianna earning the Gold Award, which is the highest honor a Girl Scout can receive (see related local newspaper story here).
Editor’s Note: Black History Month runs from Monday, Feb. 1, through Monday, Feb. 29, this year, and HISD is celebrating with a series of weekly stories recognizing distinguished African Americans who graduated from district high schools. This third article focuses on alumni who went on to have successful careers in the fine arts. The first and second articles spotlighted professional athletes, and lawmakers/politicians (respectively). Others will feature educators and those with careers in radio, TV, and film.
HISD has a wealth of African-American alumni with talent in the performing and visual arts — and many of these distinguished graduates have chosen to share their gifts with later generations of students.
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On Jan. 30, six teams from HISD’s Pilgrim Academy competed in the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) Area 4 Robotics Competition — and three of those teams took home top honors when they swept the Advanced Arena Division for middle- and high-school students.