Category Archives: High Schools

Jack Yates HS students tour Houston Public Media

 

Taking advantage of the chance to observe radio and television professionals at work, Jack Yates School of Communications Student Television Network (STN) chapter members toured Houston Public Media’s facilities on the University of Houston campus.

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The students, accompanied by Yates High School journalism instructor and STN sponsor Victoria Syes, observed KUHF staff members during their live radio show. Students also operated studio cameras and spoke with on-air talent Dave Fehling and web producer Stacey Morrow.

HISD students receive corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship

Two Houston Independent School District students are among more than 1,000 high school seniors from across the country to be selected this week to win a corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship.

Sophia Cen of Bellaire High School received a $3,000 corporate-sponsored scholarship from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and Henry Hoang of Carnegie Vanguard High School was awarded a $3,000 scholarship from the Lockheed Martin Corporation Foundation.

Both students are in the first group of 2015 winners to be announced as part of the 60th annual National Merit Scholarship Program, which rewards academically talented U.S. high school students who score well on the PSAT with free money for college. The students’ scholarship awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study.

The corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards are financed by about 200 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. Scholarship winners must either plan to pursue a degree or career in the company’s industry, be a child of company employee, or be a resident of a community the company serves.

Additional recipients of other National Merit scholarships will be announced in May followed by the announcement of winners of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards. In September, 56 HISD students were named National Merit semifinalists.

32 HISD high schools rated as best in nation in 2015 Washington Post rankings

Five HISD high schools land in top 100 of America’s Most Challenging High Schools.

A Houston Independent School District high school has been named as one of the top 10 high schools in the country, and four more have been listed among the top 100, according to the Washington Post.

The five schools are among 32 HISD high schools that made it onto the Washington Post’s 2015 list of America’s Most Challenging High Schools. Nearly three-quarters of the district’s high schools received the prestigious distinction, which was granted to just 11 percent of schools across the country this year.

Carnegie Vanguard High School took home top honors for HISD, ranking 9th out of the more than 2,300 high schools from across the country that made the list. Eastwood Academy ranked 63rd, Challenge Early College High School came in 79th, Energized for STEM placed 84th, and the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice ranked 87th.

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Westbury HS students create fancy footwear for Vans Custom Culture contest

Clockwise from upper L are the Westbury HS entries for local flavor, art, music, and action sports.

Clockwise from upper L are the Westbury HS entries for local flavor, art, music, and action sports.

Seven creative students from Westbury High School are putting their best foot forward for the chance to win thousands of dollars for their campus’ art program—and to see their designs on other people’s feet.

The Westbury group—which is comprised of Joel Arredondo, Miguel Arredondo, Johnlee Chukwu, Cristian Garcia, Jailen Mendez, Silvester Laguna, and Klo Lay Pla—was selected from among 200 teams of applicants to participate in the Vans Custom Culture contest.

The competition is designed to foster high-school students’ creativity while simultaneously building awareness of shrinking arts education budgets across the country. Participants are challenged to customize four pairs of plain white Vans shoes using the following themes: art, music, action sports, and local flavor. Details from Westbury’s submissions include an astronaut against a backdrop of the Houston skyline (local flavor) and a skateboarding ramp complete with hand rail (action sports).

Judges will determine the top 10 semifinalists for each of five regions, and those will be presented to the public for voting starting Friday, April 24. Voting will last through Monday, May 11, with the top five finalists being announced on May 12.

All 25 regional finalists will be flown to New York City for the announcement of the grand prize winner in June. The grand prize winner will receive $50,000 for its high school art program and a chance for its designs to be sold in Vans retail stores. Runners-up will receive $4,000 towards their schools.

The Westbury team works under the direction of art teacher Amanda Fuchs.

Eleven HISD students win scholarships from Texas Legislative Black Caucus

Graduating seniors from five HISD high schools collectively received more than $20,000 in scholarships from the Texas Legislative Black Caucus (TLBC), including Madison High School valedictorian Luis Piñeda, salutatorian Idalia Castro, and two of their classmates: James Russell Jr. and Cherish Spears.

Other HISD students who received TMBC scholarships this year are: Decory Edwards (Waltrip HS); Giovanni Johnson (Kashmere HS); Michael Suber (Leland College Prep Academy); and Dillon Kennedy, Sheary Mandapat, James Pierce II, and Brittany Spriggs (Washington HS).

TLBC scholarships range from $1,500 to $4,000 for qualified high school students from across the state. To see a complete list of recipients for 2015, please visit the TLBC website.

HSPVA’s ‘Sound of Music’ nominated for six Tommy Tune Awards

Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) announced the nominees for the 13th annual Tommy Tune Awards, and HISD’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) received six nominations for their production of “The Sound of Music.”

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Schools in DFW area offer Jordan HS planners a glimpse of 21st century CTE spaces

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HISD educators are looking at the district’s $1.89 billion building program as a unique opportunity to align their buildings with 21st century education – especially career and technical programs.

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Student Congress using literacy to cultivate readers, leaders

Students from North Houston Early College High School read to second-graders at Roosevelt Elementary School.

Students from North Houston Early College High School read to second-graders at Roosevelt Elementary School.

Literacy is so important to HISD’s newly formed Student Congress that the organization has already created its own mentoring program.

“Bring a Book” got its start last September, when Congress members began brainstorming ideas for possible service projects. After agreeing to focus on literacy, the group decided to pair high-school students with second-graders to develop the younger children’s reading comprehension skills.

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New ‘Caught in the Act’ video series to showcase great instruction

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HISD is kicking off a new video campaign to recognize highly effective teachers delivering great instruction.

It’s called “Caught in the Act” (CIA), and its goal is to demonstrate what high-quality teaching looks like by spotlighting instructors from across the district. Every month, the HISD video team, along with Chief Elementary Curriculum and Instruction Officer Lance Menster and Chief Secondary Curriculum and Instruction Annie Wolfe, will be dropping in on classrooms to observe and point out examples of great instruction.

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