Category Archives: High Schools

Linked Learning connects students’ present to future higher education and careers

This is the ninth in a series of stories counting down to the start of school, spotlighting what is new in HISD in the coming year.

So promising is HISD’s new Linked Learning approach, launching this school year, that the federal government gave one of its coveted Race to the Top grants worth $30 million to get it started over the next five years.

The Linked Learning approach — not a program, not an initiative — blends college and career readiness into one unified path from kindergarten through 12th grade. This year, eight HISD high schools and their 32 feeder elementary and middle schools are piloting Linked Learning. The high schools are Chavez, Eastwood Academy, Furr, Lee, Milby, Reagan, Sterling, and Westside. Continue reading →

Your back-to-school questions answered

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year! We know you may have questions about everything from registration to transportation to dress codes, so we’ve compiled a list of the most commonly requested information. If you have other questions, please let us know in the comments section below and we’ll look into them. Continue reading →

Request a new sport at your school

When you read this year’s HISD Code of Conduct, you’ll see something interesting on the last page – a form to request a new sport on your campus.

According to the district’s athletics department, students and parents have always been able to ask for a sport, and requests for both UIL- and non-UIL sanctioned sports have been requested. Some of those requests have resulted in schools getting a new team, including lacrosse at Lamar High School and volleyball at Carnegie Vanguard High School. Continue reading →

Countdown to 2014-2015: What’s new in HISD #4 — Construction set to start on all Group 1 bond schools

This is the seventh in a series of stories counting down to the start of school, spotlighting what is new in HISD in the coming year.

As campuses head into the new school year, expect to see lots of work going on in HISD, with simultaneous work on two bond programs. Over the next several months, contractors will be busy at several campuses finishing up a variety of projects under the $805 million 2007 bond program, including new air conditioning, mechanical and electrical systems for Hogg Middle School and new classroom lighting at Pugh Elementary.

As those projects are completed, work on the $1.89 billion 2012 bond program is ramping up, with construction set to begin on all the schools in the first group of the program by the end of the year. Those schools include: Continue reading →

Countdown to 2014-2015: What’s new in HISD #5 — Dual-language programs expanding to 14 more schools

This is the sixth in a series of stories counting down to the start of school, spotlighting what is new in HISD in the coming year.

When the school bells sound Monday in HISD, 14 additional elementary campuses will be conducting classes in two languages, as the district expands its successful dual-language program to a total of 32 schools.

The structure offers foreign language immersion for English-speaking students and a bilingual program for Spanish speakers.

The expansion process started a year ago, when all HISD elementary schools were invited to apply for the successful program. Those chosen have spent months preparing. HISD has a six-year plan to turn at least half its elementary campuses into dual-language schools by 2020. Continue reading →

Three HISD grads headed for Houston firefighter training with $5,000 scholarships

Growing up with two uncles as firefighters and listening to their stories of saving lives has inspired Furr High School graduate Justice Jones to take a similar career path.

“I understand the dangers of being a firefighter because I’ve seen my uncles come home from work with burns, cuts, and even a broken collarbone,” Jones said. “But that’s a risk I’m willing to take because I love helping people, and firefighters save thousands of lives every year.” Continue reading →

Countdown to 2014-2015: What’s new in HISD #6 — Mascot makeover at four campuses

This is the fifth in a series of stories counting down to the start of school, spotlighting what is new in HISD in the coming year.

Two HISD middle schools and two high schools will be sporting new mascots when fall sports launch, in a historic move that saw outdated and culturally offensive symbols replaced in an orderly months-long process.

The Board of Education approved a policy change earlier this year after Superintendent Terry Grier sought new guidelines that would “respect cultural differences, values, and attitudes” by placing a ban on mascots or nicknames using race or ethnicity.

Continue reading →

Learn the roads traveled by HISD’s newest leaders to reach our campuses

Did you know that one of HISD’s newest principals has actually met the queen of England? Or that another once jumped out of an airplane? How about the one who took 17 years to finally propose to his girlfriend? Or the one whose grandfather was in the circus?

Almost two dozen new campus leaders will take the driver’s seat for the first time this fall at various HISD schools, and to help parents, students, and their new colleagues get to know them a bit better, we asked each to tell us a little about their background, pick three adjectives to describe themselves, and reveal something people might not know just by looking at them. Continue reading →

Yates boys’ basketball team declared 2013, 2014 state champs

Yates High School celebrated a bittersweet victory on Aug. 15, after the University Interscholastic League (UIL) announced that Yates High School has been declared the 2013 and 2014 Conference 3A Boys Basketball State Champions. The announcement followed a forfeiture of the titles by Dallas Independent School District’s Madison High School.

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