A Houston Independent School District student is among more than 1,000 high school seniors from across the country to be selected to win a corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship award.
Thao T. Lam of DeBakey High School for Health Professions received a $2,500 corporate-sponsored scholarship from The Novartis Group, a leading manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and health-care products. Lam plans to attend the University of Miami and later work in pediatrics. Continue reading
Share your photos, videos, and messages on social media
While they may not wear capes, HISD teachers truly are real-life superheroes. As part of National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 2-6), HISD is asking students, parents, and staff to thank a teacher hero in their lives and share out on social media.
Take a picture with your favorite teacher (past or present) or take a picture of your child with his or her favorite teacher and post on social media using the hashtags #HISDHero and #ThankATeacher. If your favorite teacher is not nearby, take a selfie holding a piece of paper with a simple message thanking that teacher who made a difference in your life.
Or better yet, surprise an HISD teacher using your camera cell phone and tell them why they are your teacher hero. Check out the video below and watch as Westbury High School students give a surprise thank you to their teachers and even their principal.
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HISD will be sharing the posts on its own social media channels, so be sure to follow us on Twitter @HoustonISD and like us at Facebook.com/HoustonISD.
The Houston Independent School District along with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner will recognize 164 graduating scholars headed to the nation’s top-tier colleges and universities during the third annual EMERGE Senior Celebration on Thursday.
Through EMERGE, scholars from 28 high schools have earned the distinction this year of being accepted to colleges and universities including Yale, Harvard, Rice, Brown, Stanford, Smith, Dartmouth, Duke, Wake Forest, Northeastern, Pomona, and Boston University.
The EMERGE program aims to help low-income, high-potential students gain admission to and graduate from Ivy League and other top tier colleges and universities across the nation. The EMERGE scholars will be recognized for their dedication and hard work during a banquet scheduled for Thursday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Rice University in the Tudor Fieldhouse. Mayor Turner is scheduled to speak at the program along with HISD Interim Superintendent Ken Huewitt. Continue reading
The Houston Independent School District will commemorate national College Signing Day on Tuesday, April 26 by encouraging high school seniors to tout their college acceptance letters and wear college paraphernalia as part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Better Make Room and Reach Higher initiatives to celebrate education.
HISD will host its College Signing Day event at Austin High School, where more than 300 high school seniors will be recognized for their academic excellence. The event will bring together students, administrators, teachers, school counselors and parents to celebrate seniors who are headed to college, thanks to academic scholarships. Many of the students will be the first in their families to attend college. Continue reading
Carnegie Vanguard High School has been ranked as the 10th best high school in the country, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 Best High Schools rankings.
Three additional Houston Independent School District schools were ranked in the top 100 — DeBakey High School for Health Professions, which was ranked 29th, Eastwood Academy, which came in at the 50th spot, and Challenge Early College High School, which was ranked 78th. Continue reading
The North Forest High School track team recently won the District 20-5A state championship.
It’s all good news at North Forest High School this year. Most recently, their track team won the District 20-5A championship, and earlier this year, the undefeated football team—the Bulldogs—was district champion. The Bulldogs also were the UIL bi-district champions, with five players receiving all-state honors. Coach Mike Ferrell won District 20-5A coach of the year, and 30 of his players were all-district.
The North Forest boy’s and girls’ basketball teams qualified for the playoffs, and Sonny Cousin was nominated for McDonald’s All-American team, an honor bestowed only on the nation’s best high school basketball players. The volleyball team had the best season in school history, and the inaugural North Forest wrestling team had four students qualify for regionals.
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Representative from HISD’s College Readiness department and The College Board spent most of Friday driving across Houston to surprise 11th-grade students at seven high schools who were named winners of the School Day Incentive program.
The purpose of the program is to increase student participation and scores for the School Day SAT on April 12, thereby increasing student access to higher education and money for college. Two contests were introduced through the incentive: the You Khan Do It Scholarship and the Best SAT Campaign Ever. Students were encouraged to participate in taking the SAT for a chance to earn scholarships toward college-bound materials or activities.
The HISD Board of Education unanimously awarded a construction contract that will bring much needed building improvements to Kashmere High School.
Kashmere is joining nearly two dozen schools under construction thanks to the voter-approved 2012 Bond Program. The board awarded Kashmere’s contract to DT Construction for a total cost that will not exceed $14.1 million.
“We are excited to give Kashmere students a campus that reflects the community’s proud history,” said Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones, who represents the Kashmere area. “Kashmere is gaining strong momentum academically and this major renovation will further establish the campus as a center of community activity.”
Located on Houston’s northeast side, Kashmere was built in 1969 and last renovated in 2000. Design plans call for the four main campus buildings to be merged into one, and the school’s center courtyard to be enclosed, creating a large indoor flexible space with natural light for year-round use. Plans also include an updated front entrance.
Construction at Kashmere could begin by early summer, with work complete within a year.
The Kashmere community is invited to learn more about the project at a community meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, at Kashmere High School, 6900 Wileyvale Road.
Rusk School redesign approved
Also Thursday, HISD trustees unanimously approved a plan to gradually transition the Rusk School into a middle school campus with a magnet program with a health and medical focus, similar to the Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan. The change is being made in anticipation of the Star of Hope Mission’s impending relocation outside of the current Rusk attendance boundary.
“We are committed to giving Rusk the resources it needs to remain a strong neighborhood school while also providing all HISD students with another great magnet option,” said Trustee Diana Dávila, who represents the Rusk community.
Priority admission will be given to middle school students who live within the current Rusk attendance boundary. Remaining seats will be open to all HISD students using a random lottery.
Under the plan, Rusk will no longer house students in grades Pre-K through 2 after the current school year. Next school year (2016-2017), Pre-K students living in the current Rusk attendance boundary will be rezoned to the Ninfa Laurenzo Early Childhood Center, and students in grades kindergarten through second will be rezoned to Lantrip and Burnet elementary schools. Grades 3 through 5 will be phased out one grade level at a time over three years, starting with third grade in the 2017-18 school year, with those students also being rezoned to Lantrip and Burnet.
HISD Scholars Banquet honors Class of 2016 valedictorians and salutatorians HISD paid tribute to 99 high school seniors at the top of their class at the annual Scholars Banquet on April 12 at the Westin Oaks Galleria. In addition to their outstanding academic achievements, these valedictorians and salutatorians have already garnered more than $10 million in scholarships and financial aid offers.
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Thousands of HISD high school juniors will have the opportunity to take the SAT college admissions test during normal school hours, free of charge, on Tuesday, April 12 during SAT School Day.
SAT School Day takes place in both the fall and spring, offering students the chance to experience firsthand what it’s like to take the SAT in the familiar surroundings of their own school, thus reducing test anxiety.