Category Archives: Elementary Schools

Parents encouraged to register for 2019-2020 pre-K programs

All HISD campuses serving pre-kindergarten students are participating in a common registration window during the week of April 29 through May 3 for families to register children for pre-K classes for the 2019-2020 school year.

Offering a common week for registration allows the district and campuses to communicate and advertise to all school communities. However, parents do not have to wait for this window as schools are ready to register students right now.

HISD provides full-day pre-K programs focused on the development of literacy, math, and social skills that serve as the foundation for children’s success in their educational careers.

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Spring STAAR testing begins April 8

HISD students in grades 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 will be taking portions of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) beginning Monday, April 8. 

Students in grades 4 and 7 will be taking the writing portions, while students in grades 5 and 8 will be taking the math and reading portions. High-school students who are currently enrolled in or have completed English I and II will be taking the end-of-course (EOC) exam associated with that subject. 

The first spring test administration concludes on Thursday, April 18. Additional testing will take place in May and June. 

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C. Martinez ES teachers to read bedtime stories via Facebook Live

The Houston Independent School District’s C. Martinez Elementary School is starting a weekly Facebook livestream event to focus on literacy. 

Every Tuesday evening, students can login to Facebook (CMES Readers Den) for “A Night in the Wolves Den” and listen to a special guest read a bedtime story.  The intent is to help build literacy at home by engaging with CMES teachers and staff in a way that is current and fun. 

To join in, add CMES Readers Den as a friend on Facebook and turn in on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. to hear a bedtime story read by a teacher. 

Special Olympics Field Days rescheduled for March; volunteers needed

Editor’s note: Due to the threat of inclement weather, the Special Olympics Field Days rescheduled for March have been postponed. When new dates are established, they will be communicated.

The sixth annual Special Olympics Field Days, which was postponed in November because of inclement weather, are now scheduled for March, and HISD needs volunteers for the upcoming event.

Field Days give students with intellectual and developmental disabilities a chance to showcase their athletic skills by taking part in fun athletic contests. The friendly competition includes basketball, tennis, soccer, and track and field for all ages, as well as flag football for high-schoolers.

Middle-school students will have their events on March 6, while high school students will participate on March 7. Then elementary students get their Special Olympics Field Day on March 5.

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Askew ES celebrates new facility with student-led ceremony

Askew Elementary School’s bold primary colors and collage of stars on the gymnasium walls set the stage Thursday as students, known as Askew All-Stars, led a building dedication ceremony.

The new $27.8 million west area campus opened for the start of the 2018-2019 school year and recently completed construction of a playground and parking lot to finish out the project. Continue reading →

Transportation Services to host Coffee & Conversations, add new stops

Transportation Services will host its third round of Coffee & Conversations on Wednesday — an opportunity for the department to share important updates and progress, as well as gather feedback to better identify ongoing challenges.

The bi-monthly meetings are normally held in the morning and evening at rotating locations. This time, the group will gather at Transportation Services’ Northwest Terminal and Eastwood Academy.

In the morning session, Interim General Manager John Wilcots IV will guide attendees on a tour of an HISD school bus to demonstrate the features of Zonar, a fleet management and tracking system implemented earlier this school year. Continue reading →

Transportation Services operating 41 fewer routes, addressing needs with TransFinder

When the spring semester starts in January, HISD’s Transportation Services will be operating 860 bus routes — 41 routes fewer than they did at the end of September.

The nearly five percent reduction is part of the department’s continued efforts to streamline operations, increase efficiency, and provide better service for students, Transportation Services Interim General Manager John Wilcots said. Continue reading →

Transportation updates routes ahead of new school openings, continues to recruit drivers

Transportation Services has updated all bus routes assigned to Kinder High School for Performing and Visual Arts in preparation for their relocation to their new campus in downtown Houston.

The school is moving out of its current campus in Montrose and into a new building located at 790 Austin St. during the upcoming winter break. The new facility, built as part of the 2012 Bond Program, will officially open its doors to students when they return from winter break on Jan. 7, 2019.

The updated routes take effect on Jan. 7, 2019. HSPVA parents and students were notified of the changes via phone and text message earlier this week and will receive reminders again next week. Continue reading →

Transportation Services to review afternoon routes

Transportation Services is conducting a comprehensive review of all afternoon bus routes to ensure all stops are scheduled appropriately and all routes can be completed safely in the time allotted.

This analysis comes on the heels of a similar review of all morning bus routes, which is wrapping up. Department staff are expected to complete the review and make any necessary route changes by February 2019.

“I want parents to know we hear them,” Interim General Manager John Wilcots IV said, noting that they focused first on morning routes to ensure students were getting to school on time. “They want us to get these afternoon routes reviewed and updated, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

As part of the review, stop times will be updated to accurately reflect the time needed to execute each route. This will help the department provide parents with accurate pick-up and drop-off times. Continue reading →

CYCLE Houston rewards students’ literacy achievements with bikes

Thousands of HISD second-graders from across the district will be awarded bicycles for achieving their reading goals for the semester.

Through the CYCLE (Changing Young Children’s Lives through Education) bike program, students worked with teachers to create personalized literacy goals to help boost their reading skills. Each student signed a contract that once those goals were achieved, they would be awarded a brand-new bicycle and helmet.

According to CYCLE, the program not only helps students achieve grade-level reading, it teaches them that hard work equals reward. Students at Eliot Elementary School were so excited about the prospect of earning a bicycle, they came to school early, stayed late, and tracked their own reading progress for months. Continue reading →