Category Archives: Global Education

HISD students earn study abroad scholarships during inaugural Global Issues Summit

Two HISD students earned study abroad scholarships after delivering inspiring speeches during the district’s inaugural virtual HISD Global Issues Summit and speech competition.

Ritika Gupta, an eighth-grader at Lanier Middle School gave a passionate speech about gender equality, and Nusaibah Arif, a junior at Sharpstown International High School, showcased Houston’s diversity by delivering her speech in Bengali about the Bengali Language Movement. These two students will receive a full scholarship to study abroad – when global travel safely resumes – from HISD Abroad partners, The Puranik Foundation and Amigos de las Américas.

The two HISD students had their voices amplified by UNICEF USA, who announced the winners and included their speeches in an article published on the UNICEF USA website.

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HISD students to host Virtual Global Issues Summit

Staying connected is important now more than ever, and HISD Abroad is answering the call with next week’s Virtual Global Issues Summit hosted by HISD students.

Student hosts Van Nguyen and Boris Mejia, seniors from HISD’s Houston Academy of International Studies, will go live on Zoom at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27 to discuss the impact of global issues on high school students. They will be joined by guest speakers John Moravec, founder of Education Futures, and Carrie Olson, President of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education. 

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Language competition, love of Mandarin Chinese unlocks a world of opportunity for MIMS student

Dressed in a red floral brocade dress and her blonde hair illuminated in lights, Cambry Gerardi, an eighth-grader from the Mandarin Immersion Magnet School (MIMS), stood alone on a stage in Zhengzhou, China and shared her story of learning Chinese. 

In near perfect Mandarin, the non-native speaker described to the judges of the Chinese Bridge World Language Competition how a simple, albeit significant, chain of events solidified her love of the Chinese language and led her to that moment.   

“My trip to the Chinese Bridge (competition) has helped me improve my Chinese and connect with friends from all over the world,” she told the audience. 

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HISD grad receives $40K on Good Morning America

The CollegeBoard announced that it is investing $25 million over the next five years for its new Opportunity Scholarship. And to kickstart that commitment, Booker T. Washington High School 2017 graduate Matthew Blue has been awarded a $40,000 scholarship to continue his studies at Langston University in Oklahoma.

Blue is one of the very first recipients of CollegeBoard’s Opportunity Scholarship, and the award was unveiled live on Good Morning America. Blue was a pioneer in making Official SAT Practice at Khan Academy a household name in HISD. Using Khan Academy, he increased his SAT score by more than 200 points, expanding both his scholarship and college options. Continue reading →

Summer internships at HISD help students determine possible careers

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HISD hired nearly two dozen interns for its 2018 Summer Leadership Program, exposing students to possible careers and skills employers demand in an increasingly technological workforce. The students were assigned to various administrative departments, including Informational Technology, College and Career Readiness, Communications, and Procurement.

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Microsoft partners with HISD on Coding Bash at HMW

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Hundreds of HISD employees participated in a Coding Bash and Technology Showcase at Hattie Mae White Education Support Center on Friday, Dec. 8, in support of Computer Science Education Week.

Microsoft and HISD’s Advanced Academics Department partnered on the event, which demonstrated the importance of coding as a way to develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The district is leading by example to show students, teachers, and staff members that coding impacts everyone.

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HISD recruiting teachers at hiring events in Florida

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A team from the Houston Independent School District will travel to Florida this month to recruit and interview teachers for positions in critical shortage areas.

The district is looking for elementary bilingual education teachers who are fluent in both English and Spanish, as well as secondary math, science, and English/Language Arts teachers. Also needed are special education teachers with experience in autism education and deaf education at all levels.

Interviews/Job Fairs will be held in both Orlando and Miami. Candidates must pre-register and bring their teaching certificates, college transcripts, and/or a copy of their bachelor’s degree. Continue reading →

Piney Point ES receives National Wildlife Federation Green Flag Award

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Representatives from the National Wildlife Federation visited Piney Point Elementary School this morning to present the campus with the Eco-Schools USA Green Flag Award.

The Green Flag is the highest honor a school can receive from the NWF. Piney Point is only one of two schools in Houston to be recognized this year and one of three elementary schools in the state of Texas to receive the honor.

“Here at Piney Point, we truly live by our motto – Everyone Learning, Everyone Leading,” Principal Bobby Swaby said.

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Asian Advisory Committee honors teachers, trustee at annual celebration

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HISD kicked off Asian Pacific American Heritage Month on Thursday, May 4, at Kim Son restaurant with an extravaganza of color and entertainment. The Asian-Pacific American Heritage Celebration featured performances, awards, and the traditional dragon dance.

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White House spotlights HISD classroom computer science efforts

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The Houston Independent School District’s efforts to increase the number of teachers trained in computer science and to immerse all students in computer programming from elementary to high school have earned the White House’s attention.

The White House computer science fact sheet outlines President Barack Obama’s plan to give all students across the country the chance to learn computer science in school. The fact sheet titled A Year of Action Supporting Computer Science Education for All (#CSForAll) shows the progress various states have made in computer science by adopting higher standards to better prepare students for success in careers and college since the initiative first launched in January.

The factsheet highlights HISD for its plans to double the number of computer science certified teachers over the next two academic years; expand advanced computer science courses by offering Advanced Placement computer science programming and computer science courses at 38 HISD high schools by the end of the 2017 school year; and adopt computer science standards that will provide for teaching computational thinking skills to 215,000 HISD students in grades pre-K to 12. Continue reading →