School has been out for more than a month, so high school students may be looking toward the new school year and how they need to prepare – whether it’s for the next year of high school or the first year of college, university, or a technical program.
Here are some ideas to maximize the summer break: Continue reading
In 2014, HISD launched Literacy by 3, a program with the goal of having all students read and write on grade level by the end of third grade by 2019. In the summer of 2016, the district followed with Literacy in the Middle aimed at middle school students. Now, the literacy focus is expanding to high schools. Called Literacy Empowered, the program is training teachers on how to implement best practices for improving literacy in all four core classes.
“In the coming school year, we are allocating more district resources and tools to support and grow secondary students as readers, writers, listeners, speakers, and thinkers through professional development, online training modules, and just-in-time sessions,” said HISD Chief Academic Officer Grenita Lathan.
High school principals were invited to attend a two-day training in mid-June, and all core content high school teachers are being trained the week of June 26 at Waltrip High School. A follow-up training opportunity will be offered to high school teachers during the week of July 17 at Ortiz Middle School. English Language Arts teachers will attend four days of training June 26-29, July 17-20, or July 24-27.
During training sessions, participants will explore and apply the elements of Literacy Empowered, including disciplinary content, literacy best practices, hands-on experience, and instructional technology. For instructions on registration, see this link.
“In the training sessions, our teachers are learning about independent reading, writing, and discourse, and they are also learning about new resources that are coming to their classrooms this fall,” said Secondary Curriculum and Development Officer Annie Wolfe. “We know that interventions are needed now for our students who read far below grade level, but we also want to put systems in place from elementary all the way up into our secondary schools to make sure that tier-one instruction is adequately addressing the literacy needs of our students.”
HISD has approved $2 million for the program. All high schools will receive books and digital classroom libraries—300 books for ELA classrooms and 250 book club books for other classrooms. Each campus will receive a campuswide license for Achieve 3000, which offers personalized articles for students at their reading and interest level. Campuses will also receive comprehension toolkits and additional classroom libraries for ninth- and 10th-grade reading-intervention classes.
The focus will be on independent reading, writing, thinking critically, and student discourse in a one-to-one classroom environment.
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Driving along the Gulf Freeway near the University of Houston, it’s not hard to spot the new High School for Law and Justice, which rises three stories tall and is now about 60 percent complete.
“I love seeing the progress,” said HSLJ Principal Carol Mosteit. “This is going to be a beautiful building that will enhance our law and justice curriculum and provide a wonderful learning environment for students.” Continue reading
The Houston Independent School District is moving forward with a plan to rebuild Bellaire High School at its current location on South Rice Boulevard and has formally submitted applications to the City of Bellaire for required permits and variances.
The first stop for the project proposal will be the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission on June 13, when the request for a Specific Use permit will be considered. In addition, the district is seeking variances from the Board of Adjustments that would allow construction of a building of approximately 434,000 square feet with up to four stories on some portions toward the interior of the site.
The Board of Adjustments meeting is June 15. If the Specific Use permit and variances are approved, the project then could head to the Bellaire City Council in August for a public hearing and final vote.
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When construction of the new Yates High School is complete next year, it will offer unparalleled views of the city with Downtown Houston to the north, Texas Medical Center to the south, and the Galleria to the west.
The 360-degree view — which includes University of Houston to the east and Texas Southern University to the west — is already visible from top floors of the building, the construction of which is almost a quarter of the way completed.
“It’s starting to move very quickly,” said Yates Principal Ken Davis, who got his first glimpse at the new school during a recent Project Advisory Team meeting and site visit. “I’m excited about that. It’s an exciting feeling to know it is happening. After years of planning, it’s actually happening.”
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More than 300 students, teachers, parents, and medical center community members converged on the Texas Medical Center on Thursday to celebrate the dedication of the new DeBakey High School for Health Professions.
Columns of blue and white balloons flanked center stage and music from the DeBakey orchestra filled the five-story atrium as attendees took their seats, eager to celebrate the school’s opening and tour the new facility.
“This year we will be celebrating 45 years,” DeBakey Principal Agnes Perry said. “DeBakey High School for Health Professions has successfully introduced and honed an innovative magnet school model.”
Construction is underway at Northside High School, where crews already have begun to demolish the old front entrance and gut and renovate the second floor library space.
By the end of the summer, work on the library — a portion of which will be transformed into new classrooms — as well as work on restrooms, common areas, and utilities throughout the building, will be complete, and new temporary buildings will be fully installed.
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Cheers, chants, and high-fives echoed through the hallways at HISD elementary schools this week as high school seniors marched single-file past their younger peers – a tradition of “grad walks” that are gaining in popularity every year.
The walks were held not only to give the seniors a sense of pride, but to help inspire the elementary students to follow on their own paths toward becoming Global Graduates.
High schools that held grad walks this year include: Austin HS, Sterling Aviation HS, Northside HS, Sharpstown HS, Sharpstown International School, Wheatley HS, and Westside HS.
Nearly 11,000 seniors from HISD will graduate in dozens of ceremonies across the city starting today.
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Work on the new Madison High School is now underway as crews have demolished athletic fields and begun construction on a new parking lot across the street from the current building.
The work is part of the project’s first phase, which also includes construction of the new high school. Passersby can expect to see steel being erected over the summer as crews officially begin construction of the building.
Nearly 11,000 high school seniors from across the Houston Independent School District will receive their diplomas at graduation ceremonies this week for the Class of 2017.
Students from HISD’s Class of 2017 have received more than 10,000 acceptances to state colleges as well as top-tier colleges and universities across the country. To date, the entire senior class has racked up more than $342 million and counting worth of scholarships and financial aid awards.