Category Archives: Elementary Schools

Benbrook ES students celebrate their library makeover

Excitement was in the air as the faculty and staff of Benbrook Elementary School awaited the grand opening of their new library. Target, in partnership with the Heart of America Foundation, funded a total makeover for the school’s library. Volunteers from local Target stores put the finishing touches on the furnishings and shelved the last of the new books just moments before HISD Superintendent Terry Grier, Heather Cook from U.S. Rep. Ted Poe’s office and State Rep. Jessica Farrar joined the celebration.

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“When you can look across a big wonderful city like Houston and you can find corporate sponsors like Target who care, who care about the kids, who care about the communities in which their stores are located,” said Grier, “it just makes Houston a can-do, special kind of place.” Continue reading →

Parents, students explore variety of educational options at School Choice night

Middle school parents learned about more than 40 high school programs their children can choose from at a Parent Information Night organized by the district’s Office of School Choice on Thursday at Burbank Middle School.

“It’s good to see that our students have so many opportunities at HISD,” said Rubin and Laura Precella, who attended the program with their daughter and nephew, both eighth-graders at The Rice School. “We just want to learn more about the different programs so that we can choose one that will help our children make their mark on the world.” Continue reading →

Community teams up with HISD schools for Walking Towards Literacy event

Over 300 students, families, HISD staff and community members gathered on Saturday to promote literacy across Houston during the 3rd annual Walking Towards Literacy event at Tidwell Park. The Making It Better organization, a HISD community partner for Read Houston Read, sponsored the event.

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Confucius Institute celebration goes to great lengths at MCLIMS

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Students, parents and community members experienced a rare treat at the Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion Magnet School last week. They were strung along as top chefs from China demonstrated the unique technique of noodle-making at the Taste of China presentation in celebration of the International Confucius Institute’s 10th anniversary. Continue reading →

Rodriguez and Wharton are HISD’s newest IB schools

Rodriguez Elementary School and the Wharton Dual Language Academy have received official authorization to operate as International Baccalaureate (IB) World Schools. These authorizations bring the district total to 16 IB campuses.

“We earned our authorized IB status through the extensive, collaborative hard work and commitment of our faculty, staff, students, and parents,” said Wharton Principal Jennifer Day. “This journey has brought our school community a long way toward realizing our mission of empowering our students to become respectful, life-long, bilingual and bi-literate inquirers who celebrate diversity as responsible citizens of the world.”

“Our IB authorization reflects our ongoing commitment to excellence for the diverse children of the Gulfton community,” said Rodriguez ES Principal Elena Martinez-Buley.” We are determined to close student achievement gaps by providing a rigorous, meaningful, and integrated curriculum that will expand our student’s knowledge and provide them with the tools to be productive citizens in our society and across the world.” Continue reading →

HISD Up Close: Juliet Stipeche talks about Read Houston Read, student congress

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HISD Up Close, hosted by HISD Board of Education President Juliet Stipeche, explores the initiatives, educational programs and information about the school district that is of interest to students, parents, teachers and the community. In September, Stipeche spoke with Cindy Puryear, the district’s literacy director, and Garcia Elementary School Principal Aaron Dominguez about HISD’s Read Houston Read program. Puryear discussed the formation of the HISD Student Congress with the organization’s founding members. Finally, Stipeche visited with Rice University’s award winning mathematician, Dr. Richard Tapia. Continue reading →

Young scholars rewarded for meeting literacy goals

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Usually, the benefits of reading include a bigger vocabulary, greater word comprehension, and better conversation skills, but dozens of HISD students received a different type of reward recently from two of the district’s community partners for focusing on literacy over the summer.

Most of the students were recognized for participating in the district’s Extended Primary Year program, which was offered at 29 elementary schools.

“The HISD Literacy Team joined forces with Strategic Partnerships and Elves & More to award bicycles to 100 children who met their literacy goals, had excellent attendance and conduct, and exemplified a can-do attitude,” explained Literacy Director Cindy Puryear. “The Literacy Team will partner with Elves & More again this holiday season to reward more that 7,000 scholars for their hard work and determination. One thousand of those will be rewarded for meeting or exceeding their literacy goals.” Continue reading →

Park Place ES selected by state for best practices case study

Park Place Elementary School has proven to be successful in classroom efforts —despite having a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students and a high mobility rate — and that success has led to it being chosen for a best practices case study project being conducted by the Texas Education Agency. Continue reading →

New program designed to lower stress, boost focus in classes

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Twelve Houston ISD schools have a new program designed to improve students’ health and reduce their stress.

The program, which is sponsored by the Sonima Foundation, will teach students skills for a healthier lifestyle. Through group discussion, character education, breathing exercises and yoga, students will learn to focus their attention, calm their minds, reduce stress and think before reacting.  Nutrition curriculum will be introduced later in the school year. Continue reading →

Your Voice feedback paves way for school improvement

HISD recently released the results of the 2013-2014 “Your Voice” survey, which gave thousands of students, parents and instructional staff the opportunity to share information on how HISD and individual schools have progressed toward district and campus goals.

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The survey, which was conducted for the second year in a row this past May, measures perceptions of safety, rigor and environment within the district. The survey also allows HISD to better understand the needs of its schools and to foster a culture of community engagement that will help guide future initiatives. Continue reading →