Category Archives: High Schools

HISD students offered more than $250K in scholarship money at Black College Expo

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About 450 HISD students attended the 2015 Black College Expo Tour on Saturday, Feb. 28, and a fair amount of those students received “on the spot acceptances,” as well as more than $250,000 in scholarship money.

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Yates communications students visit Prairie View A&M

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Yates High School of Communications students traveled to Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) to participate in Prairie View A&M Mass Communications Week on Friday, Feb. 27, 2015.

Former BET (Black Entertainment Television) anchor and reporter Ed Gordon hosted a session just for Yates students during which he discussed the media industry and what they need to do to stay competitive. Students also toured the PVAMU television station.

Changing the public’s perception of the homeless in Houston

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Carnegie Vanguard High School junior Mackenzie Aden went above and beyond her assignment when she embarked on her junior year research project, Hobo Chic Gallery Walk.

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Two HISD high schools to be honored by Young Audiences

This year, Young Audiences of Houston is highlighting two schools who integrate the arts into their science, technology, engineering, and math (known as the STEM-to-STEAM movement) programs. Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy and Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men will receive the Arts Empowerment Award at Disco Galaxy Soiree, Young Audience’s annual gala, from 6 – 9 p.m. on May 7, 2015, at Rice University’s Cohen House.

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SBOE rep visits Austin HS Mexican-American studies class

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Ruben Cortez Jr., a member of the State Board of Education from District 2, visited Stephen F. Austin High School today to check on the progress of a new history class that is near and dear to his heart – Mexican-American studies. Cortez, who is from Brownsville, Texas, advocated for the new course and convinced the board to approve it in April of last year. The vote included asking the Texas Education Agency to draft new state standards (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, better known as TEKS) in Mexican-American history.

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Attend Black College Expo Saturday to learn about college options

Juniors, seniors encouraged to bring transcripts, SAT/ACT scores to share with university representatives

HISD middle- and high-school students and parents will be able to meet with universities and scholarship providers and learn about finding money for college when they attend the Black College Expo on Sat., Feb. 28.

The expo will be held at the J. W. Marriott Hotel, 5150 Westheimer Road, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The district has partnered with the National College Resources Foundation to offer free admission to the event with a school identification card.

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HSPVA leader participates in inaugural Cooke Foundation Summit

Dr. R. Scott Allen

Dr. R. Scott Allen

Dr. R. Scott Allen, the principal of The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) was one of only 100 campus leaders from around the country to be invited to participate in at a two-day summit last week to identify solutions to close the excellence gap—the troubling disparity in academic performance between lower-income and higher-income students at advanced levels.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation convened “Closing the Excellence Gap” on Feb. 5 and 6 to share cutting-edge research and best practices for supporting high-achieving, low-income students.

A number of principals formed a new organization at this landmark event, called the “Coalition of Leaders for Advanced Students Success,” whose goal is to support and advocate for high-achieving students with financial need.

“We are leaders in our communities who have a stake in nurturing talent wherever we find it and regardless of a student’s economic status,” said Dr. Allen. “We need talent to remain competitive as a nation. This summit underscored the fact that HSPVA is part of the solution.”

“This summit confirmed my belief that these leaders have excellent insights to offer policymakers at all levels of government,” said Harold Levy, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and former chancellor of New York City Schools.

The creation of HSPVA in 1971 represented the first attempt by any public high school in the nation to correlate an academic program with concentrated training in the arts. It was one of only three public schools in the nation to offer programs in both the visual and performing arts, and the first such institution in the Southwest. HSPVA is fully accredited and offers the same academic curriculum and graduation requirements as all HISD high schools.

Austin High School students take a bite out of “Shark Tank” competition

Houston Community College Professor Catherine Smith’s Business Dual Credit/College Credit students at Austin High School made “business dreams and ideas come alive” twice this past year when they participated in two high-level collegiate business plan and business development competitions. Continue reading