Summer vacation is representative of freedom and relaxation for students all over the world, a three-month period where the last thing on their mind is schoolwork and schedules. In preparation for a season of cartoons and endless play, HISD teamed up with Nickelodeon and several local partners to launch the Summer Sizzle Campaign and send students off with fun tools for mental enrichment and tips for staying safe outside of school.
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HISD PD: Social media threats of violence carry serious consequences
In the age of the internet, many assume that their comings and goings on social media and elsewhere in digital spaces are anonymous. An anonymous person can sometimes feel comfortable to say and do things online that they would not do in person. With this comfort on the rise, so too has there been a rise in anonymous threats to schools and public spaces on social media.
Continue readingHISD celebrates successful Nickelodeon partnership in support of early childhood education
Pre-K and elementary education are cornerstones of a child’s cognitive development. Few know that better than HISD and Nickelodeon, the producers of children’s programming and champions of early childhood education.
Continue readingHISD celebrates National Police Week May 9-15
Law enforcement officers in the Houston Independent School District and across the country will be celebrated for their service and sacrifice as part of National Police Week on May 9-15.
HISD police officers’ duties include everything from keeping campuses safe to providing crucial assistance at sporting events and food distributions to serving as mentors to students – and more. Their efforts make a huge difference on every aspect of the district.
Continue readingHISD Police Department’s K-9 Bjorn to get donation of body armor
Houston Independent School District Police Department K-9 Bjorn will receive a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non–profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.
K-9 Bjorn’s vest will be embroidered with “In honor of Haley’s 21st Birthday.” Delivery is expected within 10 weeks.
Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., established in 2009, is a 501(c)(3) charity whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States.
Continue readingDistrict mentorship programs, HISD PD’s C.O.R.E Team promote positive youth-police dialogues
Students from across the district participated in a virtual conversation with the HISD Police Department’s C.O.R.E Team that focused on the importance of relational policing between police and youth.
During the event, Let’s Talk: Youth Promoting Social Action, more than 150 students from HISD’s mentorship programs, Ascending to Men Project (ATMP) and the Resilient Outstanding Sisters Exemplifying Success (ROSES), engaged in dialogue and asked officers questions about how to best establish relationships with local police.
According to Officer Odell McKinney, building relationships based on trust and understanding leads to strong partnerships between officers and students that help solve problems, break barriers, and create positive environments.
Continue readingPolice Department’s CORE team to promote relational policing
To shed the negative image that often comes with wearing a badge, HISD Police Chief Pedro Lopez Jr. is following the lead of police chiefs nationwide to bring relational policing into HISD classrooms and neighborhoods.
That idea, along with a recent significant boost in department funding, paved the way for the district’s new police community outreach team CORE (Community Outreach Responsive Engagement).
“We are determined to go out into the communities, build back those relationships and bridge that gap that has increasingly widened with what has been happening throughout the country,” said HISD Police Officer Steven Bennett, who is one of the six officers serving on the CORE team. “We just want to get out there and do everything we can to repair this relationship between the community and law enforcement.”
Continue readingD.A.R.E. program returns to district with HISD PD training program
The Houston Independent School District announced the return of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program to select HISD schools at a press conference on Monday.
“I am so very excited about D.A.R.E. returning to HISD,” Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “We are determined to ensure that all students not only receive a quality education but that they come to school not under the influence and prepared to receive that quality education.”
In partnership with state Rep. Jarvis Johnson, D.A.R.E. America, the HISD Police Department, and the Houston Police Department, the program will initially train 35 HISD PD officers and seven HPD officers on teaching evidence-based prevention education curricula to students.
Continue readingNew HISD chief of police sworn in during ceremony
The Houston Independent School District’s new police chief, Pedro “Pete” Lopez, Jr. was sworn in Tuesday during an official ceremony where he took the oath of office at the district’s Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center.
The chief’s wife took part in the ceremonial badge-pinning portion of the event. Houston Municipal Courts Director and Presiding Judge J. Elaine Marshall administered the oath of office.
Lopez comes to HISD after 32 years of law enforcement experience, with 29 of those years spent serving the Houston Police Department, where he rose from the rank of patrol officer to assistant chief of Patrol Region 1. He has also served with the Harris County Sheriff’s Department and Texas Department of Corrections.
Continue readingHISD names Houston law enforcement veteran as new police chief
The Houston Independent School District has named Pedro Lopez Jr., a Houston Police Department assistant chief with 32 years of experience, as the new chief of the HISD Police Department.
Lopez has spent 29 of his 32 years in law enforcement with HPD, moving up the ranks from patrol officer to his current position as the assistant chief for Patrol Region 1. He has also served with the Harris County Sheriff’s Department and Texas Department of Corrections.
“We are fortunate to have a law enforcement veteran with the experience, training and expertise of Chief Lopez join our district and lead our police department of more than 200 officers,” HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “We know he will do a great job protecting our students, staff and campuses as we work to educate, train and support our global scholars.”
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