Category Archives: High Schools

Class of 2015 beats previous year’s scholarship offers by $10 million

Several HISD schools saw significant increases in the amount of scholarship and financial aid offers their seniors received this year. Recent HAIS graduates Karina Barbosa (left) and Rynique Lucas received more than $1.7M between them.

Several HISD schools saw significant increases in the amount of scholarship and financial aid offers their seniors received this year. Recent HAIS graduates Karina Barbosa (left) and Rynique Lucas received more than $1.7M in scholarship and financial aid offers between them.

The numbers are in, and HISD’s Class of 2015 has received almost $265 million in scholarship and financial aid offers.

At $10 million more than the Class of 2014, Director of College Readiness David Johnston called the figure “a testament to the district’s college readiness efforts.” A handful of campuses have also seen significant increases in the amount of money their seniors have been offered from last year to this one.

College Success Manager Pamela Joyce Williams attributes Washington High School’s jump from about $2,360,000 in 2014 to more than $7,223,000 in 2015 to a year-long outreach campaign, in which she sent students and their parents regular progress reports and email reminders about deadlines through Naviance. Continue reading →

Seats still available in some magnet programs for 2015–2016 year

Parents who still haven’t decided where to send their children this fall are in luck, as several magnet programs still have space available for the coming school year.

Magnet schools offer students unique opportunities to develop specific career-oriented skills in particular fields, such as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), maritime, or fine arts. Campuses with either open spots or short waiting lists include Scarborough High School, Austin High School, Marshall Middle School, M.C. Williams Middle School, Gregory-Lincoln K-8, and Carrillo Elementary School, all of which were featured in a series of magnet spotlights last fall. Continue reading →

Migrant students set their sights on college

[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/FQk7ij5sPOA” responsive=”no”]youtube url=”http://youtu.be/GzLcJfvbaww” width=”320″ height=”200″ responsive=”no”][/su_youtube]

Migrant students may not always live conventional lifestyles, but that doesn’t mean they don’t share the same dreams as other young people—such as getting a college education. That’s why HISD students who qualify for assistance through the district’s Migrant Educational Program have spent the past few weeks touring Lamar, Texas A&M, and Sam Houston State universities in order to learn more about the college application process. They concluded their tours, which were organized by the Office of College Readiness, with a trip to Stephen F. Austin University (SFA) in the East Texas piney woods on June 30.

Continue reading →

2015 Bellaire HS grad to play piano with Houston Symphony

A 2015 Bellaire High School graduate will be playing the piano with the Houston Symphony before she begins the next chapter of her education.

Esther Liao was awarded the opportunity to play with the Symphony as part of becoming the gold medalist in the 2015 Ima Hogg Competition. She’ll take the stage at Jones Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, and perform a selection of Tchaikovsky and Dvoràk pieces. Continue reading →

First female Carnegie Vanguard student president wins leadership award

Mai Pham

Mai Pham, a 2015 graduate of Carnegie Vanguard High School (CVHS) has been awarded a scholarship from The Texas Lyceum, a program dedicated to fostering youth leadership.

In May, the Lyceum distributed $35,000 in scholarships to seven students. The winners were selected from a pool of 900 applicants from all over Texas based on their leadership, academic accomplishments, personal essays, and letters of recommendation. Continue reading →

HISD principal declared best in Region 4

Angela Lundy JacksonAngela Lundy-Jackson, principal of North Houston Early College High School (NHECHS), was awarded the Region 4 Secondary Principal of the Year on June 25. She is now a candidate for the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals’ Principal of the Year award.

Lundy-Jackson was selected to represent HISD in the Region 4 segment of the competition based on her school’s academic ratings, overall student performance, Advanced Placement and SAT participation, and her leadership skills. Region 4 consists of 50 school districts across seven counties.  Continue reading →

NFL player brings excitement, equipment to his alma mater

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000dhTjBdgYtmQ” g_name=”20150629-Lamar-football-Chevron” 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” ]

On June 24, the Lamar High School football team received a generous donation and a dose of inspiration from Chevron’s Fuel Your School, a program that seeks to provide educators with useful supplies and materials.

The players received new equipment as well as a surprise visit from 2004 Lamar graduate and NFL player Brian Orakpo. Continue reading →

Jones Futures Academy freshmen tour Prairie View A&M for insight into nursing, architecture

A group of 70 freshman students from the Jones Futures Academy traveled to the campus of Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) on June 25 to learn first-hand what it takes to  become future construction, architecture and nursing students.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000HO2bMoSY_tg” g_name=”20150625-JonesFuturesAcademyPVAMU” 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” ]

 

Continue reading →

Incoming freshmen dive into the world of STEM

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000P3Gj2Hy6aHs” g_name=”20150624-South-Early-STEM” 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” ]

While some students are vacationing, incoming freshman at South Early College High School (SECHS) are preparing for long careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through a Summer Bridge Program with Houston Community College.

SECHS is HISD’s only STEM magnet early college, aimed at increasing student awareness of and preparation for careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, all while earning an associate’s degree tuition-free from Houston Community College.

The Summer Bridge Program allows freshman to get a head start on building relationships, developing study habits, and improving critical reading, writing, and math skills. The students also had a chance to tour the Houston Community College campus and see where STEM studies might lead them. Back in the classroom, students have been exploring the range of the STEM world by completing virus and yeast labs and learning computer programming to operate robots.

“We are excited about STEM at South Early,” said Summer School Coordinator Cedric Starks. “I wanted the students to experience working in the science lab, conducting tests and experiments, and using codes to program the robots.”