Teacher Appreciation Week is May 4 through 8, and it’s a time for our staff, students, parents, and community to recognize our teachers.
For Teacher Appreciation Week, HISD is launching a fun campaign called “Get Emoji-tional” so we can share the love 😍 for our teachers on social media. Each day, share emojis as well as videos, photos and special messages with the hashtag #ThankAnHISDTeacherto show your support for teachers.
Continue readingTwo HISD students receive scholarships
HISD’s Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts received three Tommy Tune Awards for its production of “The Color Purple” in the annual competition, which celebrates the educational value and excellence of high school musical theatre in the Greater Houston area.
The awards were announced during a first-of-its-kind online presentation on Facebook and YouTube on Tuesday night. The show featured Broadway, television and film stars along with production and theatrical professionals from across the nation.
Continue readingTwelve finalists have been named as HISD’s 2019-2020 Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year. The two winners will go on to represent the district in Region IV. The 12 finalists were selected from all 280 schools based on performance data and other criteria.
Continue readingConstruction at Lamar High School is continuing, as allowable under the public health guidelines, with renovations to the original building now 80 percent complete.
The renovation work, designed to preserve the building’s historically significant architecture, included the construction of a new child care wing, welcome center, and updated ROTC and Career and Technical Education classrooms.
The athletic fields — including football, baseball, softball, soccer practice fields — and tennis courts also are underway.
Continue readingHISD aired a live virtual town hall meeting on Tuesday, April 28, to assist students pursuing postsecondary education options during the COVID-19 crisis.
The virtual town hall, which aired in English and Spanish, opened with remarks from HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan and featured experts in college admissions, scholarships and financial aid, testing requirements, and enrollment.
Dr. Lathan thanked everyone for their patience during this difficult time, saying, “Our goal is to give you access to knowledgeable individuals who can provide up-to-date information, resources, and answers to any questions you might have.”
Continue readingThree Houston Independent School District students have received National Merit Scholarship awards, one of the nation’s most competitive academic honors for graduating high school seniors.
Two of the students attend Bellaire High School and one attends Westside High School. They are among 1,000 distinguished high school seniors who have won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 160 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations.
Continue readingIn response to the unique challenges presented by COVID-19, the Houston Independent School District is excited to announce that 100 interns will be hired to tutor students remotely.
The HISD Virtual Student Leadership Program will offer online instruction and lessons to students in need, delivered by student interns. To promote social distancing and properly plan, the focus of HISD’s Summer Student Leadership Program has been shifted from in-person internships within departments to online virtual tutoring services.
In addition to providing high-quality virtual academic instruction, the district remains committed to ensuring that students have access to competitive summer employment opportunities. All students who applied for the Summer Student Leadership Program will be notified of the change and are invited to apply for a paid internship tutoring students virtually.
Continue readingVoters in Harris County may want to remember the name Mercedes Sotelo. The Eastwood Academy senior has some serious goals – and clearly likes to have options.
Sotelo, who is a proud lifelong resident of Houston’s East End, has been accepted to 25 colleges across the nation. States with universities with her name on their acceptance lists range from Hawaii to Maine. On top of that, her scholarship offers totaled a whopping $559,000.
The choice wasn’t easy, but Sotelo ultimately chose to stay home, in Texas. In the fall, Sotelo will attend Concordia University in Austin, where she will pursue a degree in Political Science and Government.
Continue readingThe Fine Arts Department is working with teachers and students to promote the fine arts curricula, as well as additional projects to inspire students while distance learning is occurring.
Dancers from six HISD high schools worked together virtually to create a dance to inspire students studying at home via distance learning. The students are in the process of editing the video, which is part of a series titled “HISD Dance Alone—Together.” The video is expected to debut on Fine Arts Friday on April 24.
The Fine Arts Department is also receiving world-class guidance for instruction in theater arts. The Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and the Globe – three world-renowned theater companies in the United Kingdom – have granted HISD permission to use their online materials in the district’s theater curriculum. In addition, eight HISD theater teachers have created or are in the process of creating videos to accompany the HISD @ H.O.M.E. theater curriculum.
Continue readingThe Houston Independent School District will continue operating food distribution sites, with another 25 sites operating throughout the district during the week of April 27.
The food distribution efforts will continue utilizing Nutrition Services staff to pack food bags at the Hexser T. Holliday Food Services Support Facility and deliver the food to the distribution sites. Each site can distribute up to 500 bags — or 15,000 pounds of food — per day.
HISD, Houston Food Bank plan second mass food distribution at NRG on Saturday
As families arrive at sites, nutrition staff will minimize contact by filling out the required Emergency Food Assistance Program forms for families and placing food in their trunks. Participants who walk to the sites also must adhere to social distancing requirements.
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