Category Archives: High Schools

Transportation: What you need to know for the 2015-2016 school year

As the first day of school quickly approaches on Monday, HISD Transportation is gearing up for another safe and smooth ride to kick off the start of the school year.

HISD Transportation employees are available in the department's customer call center to answer any bus route question.

HISD Transportation employees are available in the department’s customer call center to answer any bus route questions.

Parents should receive a postcard in the mail and at least two telephone calls with their children’s bus route information.

For a quicker response, a customer call center has been set up again this year to answer any bus route questions. Parents and schools can now call 713-613-3040 between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. for assistance with transportation-related issues. The call center will remain open for at least 30 days. Spanish translators also will be available to assist.

For information about eligibility for transportation and bus stops, contact your child’s school or go here.

Reliant gets HISD students off to a great start

Students at the Bellfort Early Childhood Center not only met their teachers this week, they also received school supply packs from Reliant, an NRG company. Reliant employees distributed 400 back-to-school supply packs during the school’s Pre-K Open House on Aug. 18.

“It’s really great that Reliant is making this donation to our Bellfort family, because it helps to ease the financial burden of our parents a little,” said Bellfort Early Childhood Center Principal Cheryl Lewis. “It shows our parents that the community members care about their child’s education.”

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Reliant is helping students from 39 HISD schools get off to a great start for the 2015–2016 school year, with a $16,780 donation that will provide 4,000 K–12 students with the supplies they need for the first day of classes. In addition to early childhood centers and K–8 schools, some high schools will also receive supplies. The kits are grade-specific and include items such as notebooks, pencils, pens, folders, crayons, and erasers. Continue reading →

New principal takes faculty on the road to learn more about community

Sometimes, the best way to understand someone is to learn more about their origins.

That’s why new principal Susan Monaghan took her faculty members on a one-hour tour of the neighborhood surrounding Westbury High School on Aug. 10 to give them a glimpse of the community in which many of their students grew up. Continue reading →

Band students now required to get pre-participation physicals

HISD has long required its student athletes to obtain clearance from their healthcare providers before participating in extracurricular activities — and now, that same policy will apply to students in marching bands, too.

“Whether they’re wearing 20 pounds of padding or carrying around a 20-pound tuba, it’s important for students to have a physical examination before they start practicing or playing,” said Director of Athletics and University Interscholastic League band activities Marmion Dambrino. “At HISD, safety is our top priority, so we want to make sure all of our students have a clean bill of health before they get out onto the field, particularly in this heat.” Continue reading →

Partnership with NMSI preparing students for AP success

A districtwide partnership with the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) is helping HISD teachers better prepare their students for the rigor of Advanced Placement (AP) coursework and for success on the corresponding exams — particularly in the areas of STEM: science, technology, engineering, and math.

During the week of Aug. 10, Advanced Placement teachers from across the district gathered at Carnegie High School for the AP Summer Institute. The four-day event, which was facilitated by the Innovative Curriculum and Instruction and Department, included training with NMSI content experts in the AP areas of English, calculus, statistics, biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, and computer science. Continue reading →

Wheatley HS biology teacher named finalist for Presidential Award

Wheatley High School biology teacher Ferleshare Starks poses for a photograph in her classroom, August 14, 2015. (Houston ISD/Dave Einsel)

Ferleshare Starks

Ferleshare Starks, a biology teacher at HISD’s Wheatley High School, has been named a finalist for the 2015 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

Starks, who came to HISD from Fort Bend ISD last year, is one of only 10 educators from Texas to be so honored. She was nominated by Tia Watson, a first-year teacher she is mentoring.

“Being nominated by my mentee is one of the highlights of my career,” said Starks. “My passion is to fill all new teachers with a love for science. Being named a finalist has given me an overwhelming sense of gratitude.”

Continue reading →

Preparing today’s high school graduates for the future

HISD recognizes the need to instill in students the skills they will need to be successful after high school, in college, or the workplace, and to compete in today’s global economy. In this month’s edition of Up Close, HISD Board of Education President Rhonda Skillern-Jones discusses the skills and characteristics of the Global Graduate with HISD Secondary Curriculum and Development Officer Annie Wolfe, Davis High School Principal Julissa Alcantar-Martinez, Chief Elementary Curriculum and Development Officer Lance Menster, and Shadydale Elementary School Principal Tammie Daily.

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“HISD engaged industry leaders, educators, university professors, community leaders, parents, and students to determine what knowledge, skills, and dispositions are critically important to have in place when a child graduates from HISD,” explained Menster. “Interestingly, they all focused on the six characteristics that form HISD’s Global Graduate profile.” Continue reading →

‘Caught in the Act’ spotlights Wheatley HS geometry teacher

Keisha Evans, a Wheatley High School teacher, was “Caught in the Act” of delivering great instruction during a sophomore geometry class toward the end of the 2014–2015 school year. An HISD video crew, along with Secondary Curriculum and Development Officer Annie Wolfe, surprised Evans and her students, and captured the video below.

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The “Caught in the Act” video campaign was started by HISD earlier this year to recognize highly effective teachers who are delivering instruction that will lead to students becoming Global Graduates — young men and women who possess the skills necessary to ensure success in college and the ability to compete in today’s global workforce. Continue reading →

Phase 3 of PowerUp begins

Monday was an exciting first day of duty for teachers at DeBakey High School for Health Professions. They received their laptops in the third phase of HISD’s PowerUp initiative.

“I’m excited about how I’m going to use it in my classroom,” said math teacher Wilson Chavez. “Sometimes it’s difficult to implement technology in math, but I have exciting plans to use it for various projects.”

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The teachers are currently receiving training on their laptops, including how to use web-based tools in their daily instruction through the HUB. Continue reading →

Sign up now to participate in 2015 Grads Within Reach walk

HISD wants to get dropouts back in school, and to do that, we need your help.

The district’s annual Grads Within Reach walk will be held on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, and we’re looking for caring community members to visit the homes of students who have not returned to finish their high school education and help them explore the many options for graduation that HISD offers. Continue reading →