Houston Independent School District is excited to announce a new partnership with PNC Bank and Houston Dynamo Football Club aimed at improving Early Childhood Center libraries and access to literacy throughout the district.
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Updated Student Enrollment website to launch May 2
The Student Enrollment Department is excited to announce the launch of its updated website on Monday, May 2. We invite all families and staff to explore HoustonISD.org/Enroll.
Continue readingProposed Pre-K instructional materials available for online review
The Houston Independent School District is participating in the prekindergarten instructional materials adoption process TEA’s Proclamation 2021, evaluating which of the state-adopted materials best supports HISD students.
As part of that evaluation, the district invites school and community members to review the state-adopted materials for English and Spanish prekindergarten systems and provide feedback. Materials selected and approved next spring by HISD Board of Trustees are then eligible for district purchase and distribution to Pre-K classrooms.
Ten publishers have submitted materials for HISD’s consideration. Instructions on accessing online samples of these materials can be viewed online here.
Continue readingSchool Choice application deadline for Phase 2 is Feb. 26
Parents who would still like to apply for a school choice program for the 2021-2022 school year have until Friday, Feb. 26 to do so.
After all applications in Phase 1 have been offered, eligible Phase 2 students who meet a program’s qualifications will be considered in the order in which their application was submitted, should the program have space available.
Any applications for students who live outside the HISD boundaries will not be considered until Phase 3, even if the application was submitted during Phase 2.
Continue readingDolly Parton’s Imagination Library to provide books to homes of thousands of HISD children
HISD is partnering with Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, Books Between Kids, PNC Bank, St. James Family Life Center and the Waltrip Family Foundation to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to up to 5,000 children in Houston.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that provides free books to children from birth to age 5 in participating communities within the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Ireland. Dolly Parton launched Imagination Library in 1995 to foster a love of reading among her home county’s preschool children. Today, the program gifts over a million books to children around the world each month.
Part of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the “Book a Month” program will provide young Houstonians access to books by mailing a book directly to their home each month until the child turns 5. Families who either reside or attend a school in the following zip codes can sign up to participate in the program: 77009, 77011, 77012, 77017, 77020, 77022, 77029 and 77087. The first book each child will receive via mail will be Dolly Parton’s favorite—The Little Engine That Could.
Continue readingHISD seeking families and home instructors for HIPPY program
HISD’s Elementary Curriculum department is still recruiting families and part-time home instructors to work with the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program for the 2020-2021 school year.
HIPPY is a school readiness program for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children that helps parents prepare their preschoolers for academic success. Instructors virtually instruct parents for an hour a week over a 30-week period during the school year, and model research-based learning activities designed to help Pre-K children develop skills in reading, math, and science.
Parents then practice the activities with their children over the week until they learn a new activity during the next lesson. Children whose parents participate in the program consistently outperform their peers in reading and math in kindergarten and first grade.
Continue readingEnroll now for HISD pre-K programs for 2020-2021
HISD is currently enrolling for its full-day pre-K program at schools across the district, offering more 3- and 4-year-old students in the community with the opportunity to attend a high-quality program that will build a strong foundation of learning.
Space in HISD pre-kindergarten programs is limited, and parents are encouraged to secure their child’s seat for the 2020-2021 school year as soon as possible. Children must live within HISD boundaries but do not have to be zoned to a specific campus to attend a pre-K program. To begin the enrollment process:
Read morEWinners of HISD, myON Read to Succeed competition announced
The winners of the HISD and myON Reader by Renaissance Reading Initiative’s second annual Read to Succeed Competition have been announced.
The competition is hosted in partnership with myOn, an online literacy platform, and encourages pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students to compete against each other to see who read myON books for the most number of minutes.
Continue readingHISD 2019-2020 educators of the year announced during surprise home visits
The 2019-2020 Houston Independent School District educators of the year were announced during surprise home visits, including visits by Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan at the homes of the elementary and secondary teachers of the year and beginning teachers of the year.
The visits took place on Wednesday, May 6, and Thursday, May 7, during Teacher Appreciation Week and included yard signs, balloons, and gift baskets near the front doors of the educators who were asked to come outside for the announcements, in keeping with safe social distancing practices.
Continue readingHISD announces 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year finalists
Twelve finalists have been named as HISD’s 2019-2020 Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year. The two winners will go on to represent the district in Region IV. The 12 finalists were selected from all 280 schools based on performance data and other criteria.
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