Category Archives: HISD: Our Story

HISD awarded more than $60 million in federal grants

U.S. Department of Education funding to target teacher recruitment, STEM programs

The Houston Independent School District has been awarded three grants, including one that is believed to be the largest grant the district has ever received.

Each of the three grants is from the U.S. Department of Education. The largest totals $47 million and will go to recruiting and retaining the best teachers and administrators at the district’s most struggling schools.

The district also received a nearly $15 million grant for STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math — education at six HISD schools, and a $1.3 million grant that will go toward professional development for music and arts teachers in high-poverty schools. Continue reading →

72 HISD students named National Merit semifinalists

Students will have opportunity to compete for more than $32 million in scholarships 

Seventy-two seniors from six Houston Independent School District high schools have qualified as semifinalists in the 63rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program, earning one of the top academic honors in the nation. HISD had 51 semifinalists last year.

The students are among 16,000 from across the country to earn the semifinalist designation, allowing them the opportunity to continue in the academic competition and vie for more than $32 million in scholarships that will be awarded in the spring.

The students attend Bellaire, Carnegie Vanguard, Lamar, and Westside high schools, as well as DeBakey High School for Health Professions and the High School for Performing and Visual Arts. Continue reading →

Lyons ES, Eastwood Academy named National Blue Ribbon Schools for second time

A month after catastrophe crippled the city, there’s a bright spot to celebrate in HISD.  Two of our schools have been named National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education:  Eastwood Academy and Lyons Elementary.

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private exemplary campuses or those that are closing achievement gaps.  Eastwood and Lyons are among 26 public schools in Texas to receive the award this year, and both were named as “Exemplary High Performing Schools.”

Eastwood Academy, which is located in the East End, is a college prep high school.  Students here complete dual-credit courses, along with 80 hours of community volunteer work, before they graduate.  The principal attributes part of their success to the school’s focus on addressing the needs of individual students through social and emotional learning. Continue reading →

Sharpstown HS wins $100,000 sports equipment grant 

Sharpstown High School has won a $100,000 customized sports equipment grant from Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Let’s Play, and Good Sports!

After the field had been narrowed down to 20 schools from across the country, voting opened on Facebook on Sept. 8. Sharpstown then made the top 10, then the top three, and finally were selected by a committee to win the grand prize.

Coach Carlos Quintero spearheaded the winning campaign, and now the athletic department will have $100,000 worth of new equipment. The school would like to thank everyone who voted for them.

See Click2Houston’s video here, which captures the moment the coach and students found out they won, as well as part of the video that won them the prize.

Books Between Kids delivers thousands of books to HISD schools in wake of Harvey

In the days after Hurricane Harvey moved through the Houston area, Books Between Kids opened its warehouse to hundreds of volunteers and received donations of thousands of children’s books to replenish schools impacted by the storm.

In partnership with HISD, the organization last week delivered more than 4,000 children’s books to Robinson and Mitchell elementary schools, both recently relocated due to extensive damage directly related to floodwaters from the hurricane.

In the coming days, Books Between Kids will continue its support, delivering 15,000 children’s books to relocated campuses across the school district, including Braeburn, Scarborough and Hilliard elementary schools. Continue reading →

Fondren MS opens Fondren Pantry for students, community after Harvey 

Students at Fondren Middle School are launching a pantry for families in need, a year-long service that will serve as a community pantry for both students and families who were directly impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

The Fondren Pantry will be located on campus and will open to the community once a week to help ensure that all students have access to adequate food, toiletries, uniforms, and school supplies to help them be successful this year.

For those who wish to donate, these are the most-needed items:

  • Non-perishable food items
  • Uniforms: (khaki pants and solid white, gray, and black polo shirts)
  • Backpacks: (clear or mesh)
  • School supplies
  • Toiletries
  • Detergent and other essential household products.

For questions, please call Fondren MS at 713-778-3360.

Barbara Bush Foundation, partners donate 500 books to students affected by Harvey 

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When Robinson Elementary School flooded, their neighborhood schools (Holland Middle and Pleasantville Elementary) stepped up to take in displaced students and their teachers. In order to support students, leaders from the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, American Federation of Teachers, Houston Federation of Teachers, and First Book visited Holland Middle School as part of a joint “Hurricane Harvey Relief: Essentials for Kids Fund” effort.  The groups surprised students with more than 500 books on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017.

HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza, AFT President Randi Weingarten, Barbara Bush Foundation Chairmen and Founders Neil and Maria Bush, First Book CEO and President Kyle Zimmer, and HFT president Zeph Capo observed two Holland MS classrooms filled with Robinson students learning.

Continue reading →

Nutrition Services facility named after district’s first African-American food services director  

HISD’s Nutrition Services Support Facility located off Bennington Road in northeast Houston will now bear the name of the district’s first black food services director.

After a vote Sept. 14 by the HISD Board of Education, trustees unanimously agreed the facility will be called the Hexser T. Holliday Food Services Support Center

Holliday served the Houston Independent School District from 1958 until his departure in 1996. He began his career at HISD as a culinary arts teacher at Yates and Booker T. Washington high schools. Over the course of his tenure, Holliday advanced to become the district’s Assistant Superintendent of Food Services, the first black food services director in the district and one of the first in the nation.  Continue reading →

Teachers awaiting start of school attend trauma training and plan community event

Displaced teachers gathering at Kingdom Builders Center for week of training and collaboration

HISD teachers working at schools with delayed starts are gathering at the Kingdom Builders Center in southwest Houston for a week of planning, collaboration, and learning how to best meet the emotional needs of students affected by Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath.

Later in the week, staff from the nearly a dozen campuses will travel to the impacted neighborhoods surrounding their schools for a community event.

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All nine HISD meal sites open for Houston community in wake of Harvey

The Houston Independent School District is supporting relief efforts in communities across Houston by providing meals to families and individuals affected by the recent floods.  HISD’s Nutrition Services began serving breakfast, lunch and dinner free of charge at sites in the Houston area. All nine sites are now open. The meals will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to all community members.

Breakfast is served from 8-9 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m.-noon, and dinner from 4-5 p.m.  Those times are subject to change.  Meals will be offered at the following locations: Continue reading →