Category Archives: High Schools

Board of Education votes to repurpose Jones and move Dodson

Jones to become specialized Futures Academy; Dodson students will move to Blackshear, Lantrip, and the Rusk School

The HISD Board of Education on Thursday voted 6 to 3 to repurpose Jones High School into a specialized Futures Academy with trustees Rhonda Skillern-Jones, Anna Eastman, and Paula Harris opposed. Trustees also voted 5 to 4 to close Dodson Elementary. Anna Eastman, Rhonda Skillern-Jones, Wanda Adams and Paula Harris were in opposition. These votes come after weeks of debate and conversation including nearly 75 comments from concerned citizens during the board’s meeting and the removal of three schools from the original closure and consolidation proposal.

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Plan Your Path Tip No. 2: You win! Complex requirements are made simple on HISD game board

Changes in STAAR exams and end-of-course tests. Personal Graduation Plans and Endorsements. Naviance, career interest inventories, requirements and schedules.

All the new terms and requirements brought by the Texas Legislature’s House Bill 5 regulations can be daunting, to be sure – but they become much clearer and simpler to understand with HISD’s unique “Plan Your Path” gameboard.

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Get a jump on your future over spring break

It’s never too soon to start preparing for life after graduation. Energy Institute High School Dean of Students Noelle MacGregor held a workshop during lunch recently to help freshmen create and build resumes in Naviance.

“It’s essential for students to start tracking their activities, community service, and awards now,” said MacGregor. “If they wait until senior year when they start applying for colleges and scholarships, they may forget some of them.”

All HISD high school and middle school students and their parents have access to Naviance on their school website. Students are encouraged to become familiar with Naviance as soon as possible (for information on Naviance, see this page).

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Teachers at YWCPA go to the pros for technology know-how – their students

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As a teacher at one of the HISD’s 11 pilot PowerUp schools, Mariela Niland is working to include more technology in her classroom at the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy. Recently, the first-year teacher took part in a unique training that had her and her students swap roles to learn more about the latest and greatest tech tools and web applications. “I want to hear from them what I can do to make my lessons more interesting,” said Niland. “I want to know what digital tools and resources they enjoy using.”

Niland and her YWCPA colleagues got an earful from students who were excited to take part in the table-turning after-school exercise. The format allowed the girls to become the teacher, show off their tech savvy, and share some of their favorite websites.

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Board of Education to consider school closures, graduation plan

Proposal would close Jones, Dodson; new graduation plan under HB 5 would include Algebra II requirement

The Houston Independent School District Board of Trustees will review proposals to close Jones High School and Dodson Elementary School, and vote on new policies associated with House Bill 5 during a board meeting planned for Thursday, March 13.
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Campus meetings put families in-the-know about upcoming changes in high school

Reagan, Washington HB 5 sessions show what’s in store for next year’s ninth-graders

High school is changing in a big way for next year’s ninth-grade students, and dozens of HISD families got a jump on finding out how at two community meetings Monday night at Reagan and Washington high schools.

The changes are coming as a result of state legislation known as House Bill 5 – and HISD has rebranded the process for its students and their families as “Plan Your Path.”

“Plan Your Path” is all about guiding students to “dream big,” explained Alejandro Morua, HISD’s general manager of Family and Community Engagement, by combining career awareness and selection with a rigorous academic curriculum from pre-K through graduation.

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Long Academy pharmacy technology students get white coats

Jane Long Academy held a white coat ceremony Friday for its pharmacy students.

The ceremony was held to induct ninth-graders into the School of Pharmacy Technology, which is part of the HISD’s Futures Academy, and to celebrate the achievements tenth-graders have made over the past year.

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Yates HS boys basketball team plays for state title

Yates High School’s boys basketball team will play for the district 3A state championship at 10 a.m. Saturday in Austin. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest Plus.

Yates will be playing the same team it played in the title game last year, Dallas’ Madison High School. Yates lost that game and is hoping to avenge that loss. The players’ sprits are high after beating Kennedale, which had been undefeated this season, in the state semifinals game on Thursday.

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This level of play is nothing new to Yates, who competed for the state championship in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. The program won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.