Category Archives: High Schools

EMERGE students tour nine top-tier universities in four days

In what can be described as a super-charged dose of college “realness,” EMERGE students from 15 HISD high schools completed a whirlwind tour of some of the top colleges and universities in the nation in only four days, from June 1-4. More than 80 sophomores and juniors toured Tufts, Harvard, MIT, Clark, Brandeis, Stonehill, Brown, Boston College and Northeastern University, talked to current students and found out what it takes to get in…and stay in.

Students, many of whom will be the first in their family to attend college or university, had the chance to eat in the dining halls with current Ivy Leaguers, attend panels on subjects such the role of cultural centers on academic success, and even engage in time-honored traditions such as “painting the cannon” at Tufts University. They also received advice from current students and admissions counselors on financial aid and the affordability of higher education.

More importantly, the trip gave many high-schoolers a renewed sense of purpose. “Knowing that I have a real chance of attending one of these amazing schools, such as Harvard or Tufts, has created a sense a hope that I didn’t have three days ago,” said junior Giovanna DeLeon. “Realizing that our economic background is not something that needs to define us or whether or not we should or can go to college is powerful.”

The EMERGE program encourages and prepares talented HISD students from underserved communities to successfully attend and graduate from Ivy League and other top-tier colleges.

HISD will soon be launching an EMERGE blog to highlight these students’ journeys throughout the next year. In the meantime, you can read the first few entries from Day 1 and Day 2, and visit the HISD News blog at https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/ for regular updates. You can also follow the students on Twitter using the hashtag #EMERGETour.

Pomp and circumstance for Class of 2014: 48 hours, 40 HISD graduations

Houston ISD’s Class of 2014 is big – the graduates attend a total of 42 high schools. In less than 48 hours between Friday and Sunday, the district held 40 graduation ceremonies.

Team HISD made sure that each ceremony was special for the graduates and their families. The district used 10 facilities across the city, including Reliant Arena, Reliant Stadium, and the George R. Brown Convention Center, to accommodate all of the celebrations.

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2013-2014 annual Board of Education student awards

Each year the Board of Education recognizes distinguished seniors from HISD high schools in recognition of their total accomplishments exemplified by their character, academic achievement, leadership, and service. Selection is made by a school committee appointed by the principal and the award is presented by the board trustee during commencement exercises. An outstanding young man and young woman are selected as well as up to five honorable mention students from each high school. This year’s recipients are:
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Milby HS educator named HISD’s 2014 Librarian of the Year

HISD’s 2014 Librarian of the Year Rowena Verdin (center) with Principal Roy de la Garza (left) and School Support Officer Justin Fuentes

Rowena Verdin has been finding innovative ways to do her job since practically the minute she stepped onto the Milby High School campus. After only a year of fielding requests for copies of old yearbooks from dozens of alumni, she launched an effort to digitize them for easier access. And to entice students to read more, she set up her own version of the Red Box movie-rental kiosk in a display window, adorning popular books with bright red covers that say, “Have you ‘red’ any good books lately?”

It is these efforts and more that have earned Verdin the title of HISD’s Librarian of the Year for 2014.
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Waltrip HS shares love of robotics with Garden Oaks ES

Garden Oaks Elementary students recently had a hands-on chance to learn more about science, technology, engineering and math thanks to help from Waltrip High School.

The theme of the May 22 STEM Night was “Around the World with STEM.” Students were given passports to visit four different areas. “Roboville” was one of the most popular “countries.”
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Lessons learned after 177 Days: Celebrate triumphs and make plans to improve

Natalie Nelson, Michael Bennett, Brandi Latimer, Mariela Niland, Shelbi Craig

Last fall, we asked five first-year teachers to share their experiences with us through a blog called 177 Days, and over the past year, our bloggers have learned a number of valuable lessons, such as the importance of having a back-up plan (Natalie Nelson), the discovery that little things can make a big difference (Shelbi Craig), how meeting with parents can improve both their own and their students’ performance (Michael Bennett), why setting behavioral expectations early is so critical to success (Brandi Latimer), and even the importance of staying well-nourished during the day (Mariela Niland).

Now the regular academic year is coming to a close, so we asked our bloggers to share some parting words with us before they cleaned out their desks and closed up their classrooms for the summer.
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HISD announces Nurses of the Year for 2014

A commitment to making every student feel valued and a refusal to limit care to an eight-hour work day have garnered two HISD nurses the district’s highest honors for medical professionals in a school setting.

Lashawnda Harris, who serves at Lyons Elementary School, and Karen Adams, who serves at Sharpstown International School (SIS), have been named HISD’s Elementary and Secondary Nurses of the Year (respectively) for 2014.

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New partnership shines spotlight on Linked Learning’s potential

When most people think about employment opportunities available at large grocery or clothing chains, they probably envision minimum-wage jobs such as cashiers, sackers, stockers, or parking lot attendants who collect abandoned shopping carts.

But a new partnership between HISD’s Career and Technical Education department, the University of Houston Downtown (UH-D), and various big-box stores is looking to change that misconception, and in the process, create a steady stream of high-school students poised for high-paying careers in retail management.

“This type of partnership does exactly what we want,” said Michael Webster, HISD’s assistant superintendent of career readiness. “It’s giving kids access to real-life situations. The idea is that within two to four years of graduation, they will be in a managerial role, and a typical manager at one of these stores makes $125- to $150,000 a year.”

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