Category Archives: High Schools

Special Olympics Field Days rescheduled for November; volunteers needed 

Houston ISD students participate in a district wide field day at Barnett Stadium, May 1, 2015.

Houston ISD students participate in a district wide field day at Barnett Stadium, May 1, 2015.

The fourth annual Special Olympics Field Days, which was postponed in April because of inclement weather, are now scheduled for November, and HISD needs volunteers for the upcoming event.

Field Days give students with intellectual and developmental disabilities a chance to showcase their athletic skills by taking part in fun athletic contests. The friendly competition includes basketball, tennis, soccer, and track and field for all ages, as well as flag football for high-schoolers.

Continue reading →

Houston ISD students participate in National Voter Registration Day

The Houston Independent School District launched a district-wide voter registration drive as part of the district’s ongoing efforts to teach students about their civic duties and the voting process.

HISD  celebrated National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday at Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center by assisting eligible students with voter registration.

HISD has partnered with several local non-profit organizations that promote civic engagement to assist in HISD’s voter registration efforts. In addition, pursuant to Texas state law, all HISD high school principals are designated to serve as High School Deputy Voter Registrars and are required to register eligible high school student voters by distributing voter registration forms at least twice during the school year. An official from the Harris County Tax Assessor’s Office trained all HISD high school principals on the proper protocol to follow for notifying students of the voter registration process and disseminating and collecting voter registration applications.

There are more than 6,500 HISD high school students who will be eligible to vote for the upcoming November election.  All HISD high schools will have voter registration cards available on campus to encourage all eligible students to register to vote.

Kashmere HS drum major the face of new Metro ad campaign

Zackery Johnson, drum major for Kashmere High School, takes METRO to school every day, and his dream is to one day be part of the famed Texas Southern University’s Ocean of Soul Marching Band.

But you may already know all of this if you’ve seen or heard the latest ad for Metro on TV or on the radio. The ad, part of Metro’s “This is My Metro” campaign, features Zack on the bus and performing on the field.

“(Zack) is amazing and can always bring a smile to my face,” said Kashmere High School Principal Nancy Blackwell. “Zack works hard to promote the band, and he has specific plans for his future. I love having him at Kashmere High School.”

According Metro’s website, “We have invited real customers to talk about their experiences riding our system and tell why they do it and how it’s changed their lives.”

 

Furr High School awarded $10 million grant

HISD’s Furr High School has won a $10 million Super School Project grant, beating out thousands of other schools who applied from across the nation.

The five-year grant, awarded by the XQ Institute, began with a call for innovative ideas for redesigning traditional American high schools to prepare students for college and the workforce. Only 10 schools were awarded grants. Continue reading →

52 HISD students named National Merit semifinalists

Fifty-two seniors from six Houston Independent School District high schools qualified as semifinalists this week in the 62nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

The HISD students are among 16,000 from across the country to earn the semifinalist designation, allowing them the opportunity to continue in the academic competition and vie for nearly $33 million in scholarships that will be awarded next year.

The students attend Bellaire, Booker T. Washington, Carnegie Vanguard, and Lamar high schools, DeBakey High School for Health Professions, and the High School for the Performing & Visual Arts. Continue reading →

Telemundo, Chick-fil-A want to recognize outstanding HISD teachers

Know an outstanding teacher who deserves kudos and free Chick-fil-A? Then nominate them for Telemundo/Chick-fil-A’s Teacher of the Month program.

The partnership seeks to recognize HISD educators who inspire their students, are involved in the community, and routinely go above and beyond in the classroom.  Continue reading →

2016 Grads Within Reach walk recovers more than 50 students

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000vyJr955Q0g8″ g_name=”20160910-GradWalk” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and a team of volunteers from Booker T. Washington High School walked the neighborhood on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, knocking on doors and talking to dropouts about returning to school. They were part of a team of volunteers from HISD high schools participated in the district’s annual Grads Within Reach walk and convinced students across the city to come back to school and continue their education.

Continue reading →

Summit connects schools with wrap-around services in Houston community 

Principals network with more than 120 city, county, and nonprofit service providers to help serve their students and families

HISD principals were able to connect with more than 120 different city, county, and nonprofit service providers available to their students and families as part of the district’s first ever Wrap-Around Services Summit.

The summit, held at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center on Sept. 7, was designed as a networking opportunity for campuses to identify resources available to their school communities in the areas of behavior and medical related services, parent education, vocational/workforce training, and other social services.

“Some schools may not even know what exists out there,” said District V Trustee Mike Lunceford. “There is an assortment of organizations who have the ability to help our children, and we need to reach out and make sure that all of our schools benefit from these services.”  Continue reading →

School Choice Fairs highlight special programs, magnet application process

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G00001vCflhIkBgY” g_name=”20160917-Choice” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]

Weekly campus tours also planned; applications accepted Sept. 30 through Dec. 9

The Houston Independent School District Office of School Choice will host five School Choice Fairs and offer weekly campus tours at all magnet campuses throughout the fall semester for families to meet with magnet representatives and learn about the 2017-2018 application process, which begins Sept. 30.

Families will be able to attend a fair to learn more about the district’s 119 Magnet programs, which specialize in areas such as fine arts, language studies, college and career readiness and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math).

Continue reading →