When walking into Jennifer Heemer’s fifth grade classroom at Kolter Elementary School, it’s hard not to get excited about learning.
The walls are adorned with colorful decorations, including a poster reminding her students to “think outside the box” and class photos from her 21 years of teaching. Natural light from a wall of large windows fills the room and illuminates the two rows of perfectly-arranged desks.
There’s only one thing missing. Students.
Continue readingUnder a cloudy sky, Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan greeted Westbury High School students and their parents on the first day of the school year.
But instead of navigating blue and grey painted halls that would normally be crowded with students, she and new Principal Jerri Nixon were busy handing out pre-packed meals to Westbury families in the parking lot.
As students across the district return to school virtually, HISD Nutrition Services is offering daily curbside pickup for breakfast and lunch meals at 86 strategically located schools, including Westbury.
Continue readingAfter a week-long break, the Houston Independent School District is relaunching curbside student meals distribution on Tuesday, Sept. 8 — the first day of the 2020-2021 school year.
HISD Nutrition Services will offer daily curbside pickup, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 86 schools strategically located throughout the district. Each day, families can go to any location to pick up one pre-packed breakfast and lunch meal per student. The meals are served at no cost to families.
Parents must show proof of enrollment in an HISD school — such as a student ID or report card — to pick up the meals.
Continue readingHISD staff members took hundreds of calls and answered questions on a variety of topics during the district’s back-to-school phone banks on Friday as the district helps families to Reconnect Safely and Return Strong for the 2020-2021 school year.
The phone banks gave the public the opportunity to ask questions in English and Spanish by calling the HISD at H.O.M.E. hotline number at 713-556-(INFO) 4636.
“Every year, we hold our phone banks to ensure our parents and students can get their questions answered by talking one-on-one with an HISD team member,” HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “During this ‘Year of Flexibility,’ we want our parents to know that we are partners with them in their child’s education.”
Continue readingIn preparation for the upcoming school year, HISD parents began lining up at Northline Elementary School early to receive technology that will help when online classes begin next week.
Lourdes Villafuerte’s daughter Mila, a rising fourth-grader at Northline, received a Chromebook that she is excited to start using. Villafuerte says she’s relieved the district is making technology available to students during this challenging time.
“I really appreciate that they have tried to accommodate as many families as they have,” she said. I am still concerned about schools opening in October, so if we can continue with online learning, we would like to take that approach, and this makes that possible for us.”
Continue readingA new school year typically brings a mix of emotions for Kolter Elementary School Principal Julie Dickinson. Feelings of excitement mingled with the hope that everything will run smoothly.
As Dickinson readies for the start of the 2020-2021 school year, she is once again experiencing those same feelings, but this time they’re tinged with the promise of new beginnings.
“There was a huge loss to get where we are today,” Dickinson said. “But I can’t think of a more deserving community.”
Continue readingFor the past three years, Carla Garcia and her 9-year-old daughter Kaitlyn commuted about 25 minutes every morning to get to Mitchell Elementary School, despite living just across the street from the school.
The original Mitchell was damaged beyond repair when Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017, forcing students and staff to move about nine miles away to the former Caldwell Elementary School — their temporary home for the past three years.
With the new and improved Mitchell nearly complete, Garcia and Kaitlyn will once again be able to walk to school in the mornings.
Continue readingThe Houston Independent School District has moved to a new Student Information System (SIS) for the 2020-2021 school year. The new system includes a parent portal that will launch on Aug. 31.
Parents will be able to use the HISD Connect Parent Portal as a tool to track information related to their student’s schedule, grades, attendance, academic history, and more.
“Collaboration between educators and parents is more important than ever, as we prepare to reconnect safely and return strong,” HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “HISD Connect will integrate seamlessly with online learning.”
Continue readingHISD 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 morESurrounded by the bright orange and white colors of the Houston Dynamo, HISD Interim Superintendent Lathan led the unveiling on Tuesday of the district’s first-ever, all-virtual academic enrichment camp.
Camp Spark, which kicks off on Monday, Aug. 24, launched with a live socially distant celebration at Houston’s BBVA Compass Stadium. The virtual camp, which is designed to get students re-engaged as the district prepares for online learning, will provide lessons that focus on physical fitness, science, literacy, math, internet safety, technology and art.
New ninth-graders will take part in a boot camp to prepare them for high school while 10th- through 12th-graders will participate in a College and Career Readiness course.
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