Category Archives: Elementary Schools

HISD schools claim spots on TEA Title I Reward Schools List

12 schools earn recognition for both high performance and progress

The Texas Education Agency has recognized several HISD schools for high performance and high progress for the 2013-2014 school year. Seventeen HISD schools were included on the agency’s list of Title I High Performing Schools and 17 schools were named as High Progress schools.

“The students and staff of the schools included on this list are focused on implementing innovative programs to affect student outcomes in a positive way,” said HISD Superintendent Terry Grier. “Their successes are models that can be used by all schools across the district to ensure that each of our students are not only receiving good grades and scoring well on tests, but are exposed to an academically rigorous education that creates learning leaders.”

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Baylor Summer Science Institute giving educators new ways to teach old lessons

All are designed to get elementary and middle school students excited about science and STEM careers

The classroom at Herod Elementary School didn’t have any ring stands available, but that didn’t stop the seventh-grade science teachers in it from completing their experiment on heat and energy at the Baylor Summer Science Institute.

The two-week event, which concludes on July 25, focuses on giving elementary and middle school teachers creative ways to deliver lessons on familiar subjects. And participants displayed that same spirit of ingenuity this year in assembling an acceptable substitute for that basic piece of lab equipment—made from a wet cork, some tin foil, and a coat hanger.

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Sinclair principal receives honor from Texas PTA

Sinclair ES Principal Abigail Taylor

Abigail Taylor

Sinclair Elementary School Principal Abigail Taylor knows that her students’ parents are just as passionate about learning as she is, and her partnership with them has led to her being recognized as the 2014 Texas PTA Elementary Principal of the Year.

“I am honored that our PTA would think to nominate me for this award,” Taylor said. “When I learned that I was a finalist, I thought it was pretty neat, but I never thought that I would be selected.” Continue reading →

Principals prepare for launch at New & Emerging Leaders Institute

Almost two dozen new principals will take the driver’s seat for the first time this fall at various HISD campuses, and the district’s New & Emerging Leaders Institute is helping to prepare them for success.

The intensive four-week training program, which started July 7, provides new and aspiring campus leaders with information on both practical matters, such as balancing budgets and analyzing data subjects, and more ethereal subjects, such as managing change, building community, and providing leadership.
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Consistency, support make all the difference in HISD’s Literacy By 3 initiative

HISD’s focus on literacy may be nothing new, but according to Elementary Curriculum & Instruction Officer Lance Menster, many components of the district’s Literacy By 3 initiative are.

“The difference is in the districtwide alignment and the resources and support that will be available,” said Menster. “This is one of the most exciting things happening right now in HISD.”

Menster appeared alongside Elementary Reading Manager Malene Golding in the July 2014 edition of HISD Up Close (a district TV program hosted by the Board of Education President Juliet Stipeche) to discuss Literacy By 3 and to talk about what sets it apart from the district’s previous literacy efforts.

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Pen pal project builds bridge to literacy for all participants

Neff ES student Leticia Hernandez is all smiles after reading her April pen pal letter from Westside HS student Annie Edick.

When Neff Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Stefani Patch first coordinated a pen pal exchange between her students and some of their older counterparts last school year, she had no idea that it would result in both parties improving their literacy skills.

But participating students at Westside High School were forced to bring their “A game” to the table once they saw the caliber of their younger correspondents’ letters.

“My students were blown away by the quality of writing from the younger students,” said Westside High School teacher Donna Patch (who is also Stefani’s mother). “It challenged them to be more creative and to focus on their own writing.”
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Hidden talents show determination, diversity of HISD’s bilingual instructors

What do a national judo champion and a member of an up-and-coming European band have in common? They’re both bilingual teachers in HISD!

The district has been hiring highly qualified bilingual teachers from Spain to fill critical shortage areas in HISD through a partnership with that country’s Ministry of Education since 1997—and Blanco “Miguel” Lopez (Law ES) and Juan Luis Alonso-Benito (Coop ES) are two of them. Continue reading →

‘Leader in Me’ leading Longfellow ES students to academic excellence

Thousands of adults have benefited from Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People since that book was first published more than 20 years ago, and now, HISD students are starting to benefit from it, too.

Over the years, that self-help classic has been refined and reimagined to help young people cultivate a sense of personal responsibility and leadership skills, and the result is “The Leader in Me (LIM),” which is currently in place at Longfellow Elementary School and two other HISD campuses, Shearn ES and Garden Oaks Montessori.

“’The Leader in Me’ provides the most solid foundation I have ever seen to help kids lead a principled, centered life,” said Longfellow ES Principal Norma Perez-Gwynn. “It has made an incredible difference with our children.”
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Whidby ES baton-twirlers headed to state finals after first-place finish in Corpus

Baton-twirling’s heyday may be about 60 years behind it, but a group of 14 girls from HISD’s Whidby Elementary School is bringing back that lost art with an amazing run for the national title next month.

The Whidby team, which just ended its very first year under the guidance of teacher Crystal Evans, is already headed to the state finals in Dallas at the end of June, after earning the first-place prize and the highest possible ranking (a “one”) at a regional competition of the National Baton Twirling Association in Corpus Christi. Continue reading →

School tours give principals a look inside successful Guided Reading programs

Figuring out how to do something for the first time can be tricky, but having an expert on hand to show you the ropes can make it a lot easier. That’s why HISD has asked the principals of eight elementary schools with effective Guided Reading programs in place to offer tours to other campus leaders.

Guided Reading is a critical piece of the district’s Literacy By 3 initiative, which aims to have all elementary students reading at or above grade level by the end of grade 3. A big part of its successful implementation will depend upon the creation of both individual classroom libraries and a central storage area for Guided Reading materials that all teachers can use as a resource. Continue reading →