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 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 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
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
Parents have a wide variety of choices regarding where to send their students to school in HISD, but time is running out to be in the first round of consideration.
Parents who still aren’t sure which school they want their child to attend next year are invited to the final School Choice Fair from 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday, Dec. 1, at Milby High School (1601 Broadway St., 77012). Representatives from HISD magnet schools will be there, and attendees can get help submitting their application.
The deadline to apply is Dec. 7 for guaranteed consideration in the first round. Any applications received after the Dec. 7 deadline will be considered only for schools where space is still available. Continue reading
The academic calendar for the 2019-2020 school year, which was approved by the Board of Education this month, is now available online.
The calendar was drafted with input from a committee made up of principals, union representatives, and departments across the district, as well as the District Advisory Committee.
The first day of school for students will be Aug. 26, and the final day of classes for students will be May 29.
The academic calendar includes the first districtwide holiday and day of community service in honor of Latino empowerment icons César Chávez and Dolores Huerta on Monday, March 30. Meanwhile, the Fall Holiday is set for Wednesday, Oct. 9.
View the calendar in English and Spanish here.
Fifth-grade students at Longfellow Elementary School on Friday will announce the top 10 toys for children this holiday season.
The results are based on a toy survey the students conducted. For over a month, students worked in teams to survey classmates on the playground and in the cafeteria.
This is the ninth consecutive year Longfellow students have conducted a toy survey. In addition to their findings, students will showcase samples of the top toys, which will be provided by Target.
As Houston temperatures dropped, the gift of warmth arrived just in time for hundreds of kids at Nathaniel Q. Henderson Elementary School in East Houston.
FedEx Cares teamed up with Operation Warm, a national nonprofit that provides brand new coats to children in need, to deliver coats to every student enrolled at N.Q. Henderson. Nearly 40 FedEx volunteers helped more than 300 students pick out a free, brand-new coat in their size and favorite color.
“I am so excited for our campus,” Principal Alana Holloway said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for our scholars. We are very appreciative. I know that our parents and families will be extremely grateful.” Continue reading
HISD Nutrition Services is gearing up to host its annual Thanksgiving lunch for students across the district on Thursday, Nov. 15.
The special celebration, occurring during normal lunch hours, is an HISD tradition that has attracted thousands of families to school cafeterias for more than 50 years. The event gives parents a chance to celebrate the holiday a week early by sharing a meal with their children.
HISD bus riders at 22 pilot schools across the district began scanning their badges as they got on and off the bus this week as part of the official launch of Student Badge Program.
The 22 pilot schools were tapped to lead the initiative, giving Transportation Services time to review the initial rollout and refine the program as needed before implementing it districtwide next week.
Bus riders at all remaining HISD schools will begin scanning their badges during the week of Oct. 29.
“No one will be refused transportation if they don’t have a badge. However, it’s important for students to remember to bring and scan their badges every day,” Transportation Services Interim General Manager John Wilcots IV said. “These badges give us — and their parents — access to real-time information about when and where students get off the bus. But no badge equals no data.” Continue reading