Category Archives: High Schools

HISD boasts half of 8-county region’s top elementary, middle and high schools

District is home to No. 1 schools at every level in statewide rankings

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Houston Independent School District campuses occupy half of the top 10 slots on the 2016 Children at Risk public school rankings of the region’s best public schools.

Additionally, HISD schools took the statewide No. 1 ranking in every category, with River Oaks No. 1 among elementary schools, T.H. Rogers No. 1 in the middle school category, and DeBakey High School for Health Professions No. 1 at the high school level.

The rankings were publicly released Monday at a ceremony conducted at HISD’s Pilgrim Academy, which received special distinction as a Gold Ribbon school, recognizing the region’s highest-performing, high-poverty campuses. Continue reading →

Schools’ Office Organizational and Staffing Changes

As HISD prepares for the 2016-2017 school year, the district is taking the necessary steps to align the central office team in a way that best supports teaching and learning. Also, as a result of the $165 million recapture payment HISD must make to the state, the district is making changes to the organization and staffing structure at the cabinet level and throughout central office departments. Continue reading →

South Early College HS selected as state STEM academy by TEA

South Early College High School was named one of 23 new Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (T-STEM) Academies for the 2016-2017 school year by the Texas Education Agency.

T-STEM academies are rigorous secondary schools focusing on improving instruction and academic performance in science and mathematics-related subjects, with a goal of increasing the number of students who study and enter STEM careers. Designated T-STEM campuses serve students in grades 6-12 or 9-12. Continue reading →

Yates High School to hold groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate new school

Yates High School will hold a groundbreaking ceremony this morning to officially mark the start of construction on the school’s new $59.4 million facility.

Scores of students, staff, alumni, elected officials, and district and community leaders are expected to attend the groundbreaking for Yates, which is among 40 schools across the district being renovated or rebuilt as part of HISD’s voter-approved 2012 Bond Program.

The groundbreaking is being held at 9 a.m. oat the Yates High School campus, 3703 Sampson St.

Continue reading →

Six HISD students win National Merit College-Sponsored Scholarships

Six Houston Independent School District students from four schools were announced this week as winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities.

The students — from Bellaire, Carnegie Vanguard, DeBakey, and Lee high schools — received college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships from the University of Houston, University of Oklahoma, University Texas at Dallas, Texas Tech University, and Vanderbilt University.

The scholarships provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study. Many post-secondary institutions also award additional scholarships to students who are recognized as National Merit scholars. Continue reading →

Challenge Early College HS grad looks forward to life of service

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Editor’s Note: Thousands of seniors have received their diplomas during graduation ceremonies across the district. Many of our students have overcome challenging circumstances during their educational journeys. We are sharing a few of their stories.

Chianti Price chose his future profession for two reasons: faith and medicine.

“I want to be an RN,” the valedictorian at Challenge Early College High School says. “From a young age, I’ve always wanted to learn about the human body.”

When he’s not helping patients, he will be preaching his faith. He hopes the irregular work hours of a nurse will allow him to carve out time for regular pioneer service as a Jehovah’s Witness.

Continue reading →

Washington Post ranks 37 HISD high schools among nation’s best

Seven HISD high schools crack top-100 list of
America’s Most Challenging High Schools

The Washington Post’s 2016 list of America’s Most Challenging High Schools features 37 Houston ISD schools, led by Energized for STEM Academy in the No. 4 slot.

Four out of every five HISD high schools made this year’s list recognizing the top 10 percent of campuses across the nation. HISD schools also accounted for 19 of the top 100 schools in Texas. The rankings are based on the number of seniors taking college-level Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Cambridge tests.

Continue reading →

Seniors share inspirational stories about their journeys to graduation day

Editor’s Note: Thousands of HISD seniors will receive their diplomas during graduation ceremonies across the district through the weekend. Many of our students have overcome challenging circumstances during their educational journeys. We are sharing a few of their stories this week. Continue reading →

Bellaire High School wins national economics competition

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A team of Bellaire High School students successfully put their economic skills and knowledge to the ultimate test to win the top prize at the 16th annual National Economics Challenge held this week in New York City.

Bellaire now has won two of the last three of these challenges in the advanced placement, international baccalaureate and honors students division of the competition. The team was among eight finalist schools to compete in the two-day competition hosted by the Council for Economic Education. The competition began with more than 10,000 students. Continue reading →

HSPVA construction project goes underground

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Construction on the new High School for the Performing and Visual Arts is well underway in downtown Houston, as workers have already excavated 25 feet into the Earth and hauled away roughly 55,000 cubic yards of dirt to make way for the building’s two-level, underground parking garage.

“When the weather was cooperating with us, we were running 40 trucks per day, averaging close to 400 loads per day out of the hole,” said Wesley Moncrief, senior project manager with McCarthy Building Companies, the construction manager at risk on the project. “Dirt removal will be finished in the next few weeks and then we’ll install two large tower cranes.”

Other activities happening this summer are installation of spread footings, the perimeter basement walls, and subsurface drainage. Barring any major impact to the schedule, Moncrief said he expects concrete to be poured for both levels of below-ground parking as well as the main ground floor of the building by the end of 2016.

Continue reading →