Category Archives: Early Education

March is National Read Aloud Month

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March is National Read Aloud Month, and HISD is teaming up with the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation to raise awareness among our families about the importance of reading aloud to children each and every day.

Independent reading and reading aloud are important strategies of Literacy by 3.

Reading aloud, for 15 minutes a day, is critically important during a child’s earliest years of life, and the benefits of reading aloud through the elementary years has been shown to instill a love of reading. In a recent study, researchers found that not only does reading aloud throughout elementary school years expose children to more complex words or stories than when they read alone, but they are also more likely to read more books independently in later years.

In addition to reading a book with a child at bedtime, here are five tips parents can use “on the go” to ensure their children are reading aloud for 15 minutes a day. Continue reading →

Dual language program to double in size for 2015–2016 school year

HISD’s dual language program is doubling in size next year to more than 50 campuses — and the district is currently recruiting schools to commit to the year-long process to become a dual language campus for the 2015–2016 year.

Dual language campuses promote instruction in two languages as equally important. This allows English Language Learners (ELLs) to retain their own language while mastering English and gives native English speakers the gift of bilingualism. Studies have shown that children enrolled in dual-language programs routinely outperform their peers on standardized tests, do better on college-readiness exams such as the SAT, and can earn up to 20 percent more in wages as adults.

“Dual language schools also support biculturalism,” said Assistant Superintendent of Multilingual Programs Gracie Guerrero. “It’s a win-win for everyone, and HISD’s long-term vision is that every graduate will be fluent in two languages.”

HISD’s current dual language schools are now accepting student applications for the 2015–2016 school year. For a complete listing of campuses, click here, or watch the video below to learn more about the program and its benefits.

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Schools interested in the opportunity of becoming a dual language campus for the 2015–2016 school year should contact Gracie Guerrero at guerre5@HoustonISD.org or 713-556-6961.

Literacy By 3 gets a boost at Neff with donation of 4,500 books

HISD’s Literacy By 3 movement got a big boost on Oct. 31, when four organizations joined forces to help students at Neff Early Learning Center start or build a home library.

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The Greater Houston First Book Volunteer Board (GHFB), partnering with Disney, First Book National, and the Rotary Club of Sharpstown, distributed 4,500 books to Neff students that day, with each student receiving seven books to take home. Continue reading →

HISD enrollment reaches 215K, highest level in four decades

The first of four official state counts of enrollment in Houston ISD showed Friday that membership now surpasses 215,000 students — the highest figure since 1973.

The district’s membership tally on the 51st day of school was 215,225, up from 211,406 over the same day in 2013, 3,819 students more. It is the figure that will go into state records as HISD’s fall Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) count.

“The steady upswing in student performance, our great neighborhood schools, and HISD’s reputation for a school option for every interest and goal are undoubtedly helping to draw families to our schools,” said Superintendent Terry Grier. Continue reading →

Pumpkins get a makeover as schools explore literacy through art

In HISD, people aren’t the only ones donning costumes this Halloween. In an effort to get students excited about reading, pumpkins across the district have been painted, polished, and primped to depict dozens of children’s favorite literary figures.

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HISD preschool parenting program reports higher student achievement in reading and math

Children of parents who participated in the Houston Independent School District’s Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program have outperformed their peers on the 2014 Aprenda 3 exam in reading and mathematics in the first, second, and third grades.

This marks the fourth consecutive evaluation in which HIPPY students have significantly outperformed their peers on the standardized exam for English Language Learners.

The annual HISD evaluation of the program looked at test results of 99 elementary school students whose parents participated during the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 year. The most significant differences between HIPPY students and non-HIPPY students were in second-grade mathematics and third-grade reading. On these exams, HIPPY students outscored their peers by 12.7 and 10.6 normal curve equivalents (NCEs), respectively. Continue reading →

Free HISD program helps prepare pre-K kids to succeed in school

Preparing young children to start kindergarten goes beyond buying school clothes and meeting the teacher. Parents are their children’s first teachers, and there are simple and easy ways that parents can help children learn at home before they ever set foot in a classroom.

Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is a free HISD program that trains instructors to visit parents of three- and four-year-olds in their homes once a week over 30 weeks. HIPPY instructors model instructional activities that encourage learning and development that parents can then practice with their children. Continue reading →

Community partners pitching in to help students start off the new school year right

Thanks to the generosity of Houston-area companies and community organizations, many HISD students have the supplies they need to start the new school year.

For the fourth year in a row, NRG, formerly known as Reliant Energy, helped local students with a donation of more than $20,000 worth of school supplies. NRG executives were on hand at the Martin Luther King Jr. Early Childhood Center the week before school started to personally distribute the school supply packets to students. Four thousand more backpacks that include grade-specific supplies for students in grades K-12, such as crayons, notebooks, pens, paper, or folders, will be distributed to more than 35 HISD schools.

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‘Early Matters’ to HISD, part of new coalition advocating for preschool learning

On this day when hundreds of thousands of Houston-area youngsters began the new school year, six local superintendents took time out for a news conference at HISD’s Rodriguez ES focusing on a segment for whom education is often hard to come by — low-income, preschool children.

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HISD Superintendent Terry Grier joined his fellow educators and a broad coalition of community, business, education, philanthropic, and nonprofit organizations operating as “Early Matters.”  The more than 50 members have pledged to fight for increased funding, access, and quality of the area’s early childhood education programs over the next decade. Continue reading →

Your back-to-school questions answered

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year! We know you may have questions about everything from registration to transportation to dress codes, so we’ve compiled a list of the most commonly requested information. If you have other questions, please let us know in the comments section below and we’ll look into them. Continue reading →