There’s no better time for a child to begin their educational journey than pre-K, and in HISD, our youngest learners dream big!
Category Archives: Magnet/School Choice
National School Choice Week: Phase I application deadline Feb. 2
National School Choice Week (NSCW) 2023 runs Jan. 22-28 and aims to inform, inspire, and empower parents and caregivers to discover education options available for their children. Houston Independent School District has a variety of options across 274 campuses, including magnet and vanguard programs, career and technical education, early college, dual language, international baccalaureate schools, fine arts, and options for early childhood education and pre-K.
Continue readingHISD hosting enrollment events for pre-K parents

HISD is offering one-on-one support for parents and caregivers seeking assistance with enrolling their child in pre-K for the 2023-2024 school year.
Elementary schools that offer pre-k programs and Early Childhood Centers will participate in a pre-K fair on Wednesday, Feb. 1, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Continue readingHISD announces seven new magnet programs
The Office of School Choice hosted its second districtwide School Choice Fair on Saturday, Dec. 10, where seven new HISD magnet programs were revealed.
Continue readingRiver Oaks ES celebrates Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day
The River Oaks Elementary School community kicked off the week with a victory lap to honor Ruby Bridges’ walk to William Frantz Elementary School in 1960.
Students, administrators, and staff gathered around the school track wearing purple and holding signs to commemorate the symbolic walk.
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HISD hosting enrollment event for prekindergarten
HISD is offering one-on-one support for parents seeking assistance with enrolling their child in pre-K for the 2022-23 school year.
All elementary schools will participate in an event to assist parents with the application process on Thursday, March 3, 2022, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Continue readingOrtiz MS celebrates heritage, diversity with mariachi program
The scene playing out on the stage at Ortiz Middle School on a humid May morning is a familiar one to many Houstonians.
Musicians decked out in embroidered pants, wide-brimmed sombreros, and colorful silk ties playing vihuelas, guitarróns, trumpets, and other instruments in a style instantly recognizable as mariachi music.
But what makes this group stand out is that the musicians are all under the age of 14.
“It makes me feel alive,” sixth-grader Joshua Campos said. “My problems, when I play, they just go away. I just think about the music.”
Continue readingPre-Kindergarten Virtual Fair scheduled for April 10
To kick off The Week of the Young Child, a national event focused on early childhood education, the HISD Office of School Choice and HISD Early Childhood Education are offering a virtual informational fair for parents of incoming pre-kindergarten students.
The fair will be held online at HoustonISD.org/PreKindergartenFair on Saturday, April 10, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The meeting comes in advance of the April 30 deadline for Phase 1 applications for pre-kindergarten students.
Continue readingLast virtual school choice fair on Feb. 13 as Phase 2 deadline nears
Parents who would like to explore HISD’s portfolio of school choice options for the 2021-2022 school year are invited to the final virtual School Choice Fair from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Feb. 13.
Representatives from HISD campuses will be available, and attendees can get help submitting their application. Parents can log into the virtual fair here.
Continue readingNew Westbury HS fine arts wing ‘ups the ante’ for magnet program
When Nathaniel Melvin began teaching art at Westbury High School, he was assigned a classroom with no sink. For someone who specializes in building large sculptures and technical art pieces, that was an issue.
He installed one, but even then, the classroom never quite functioned the way he needed it to. There wasn’t enough cabinetry to hold supplies.
Melvin now teaches in a “visual arts studio” specifically designed to meet his students’ needs. Ample power is available via ceiling cables at each art table. There is plenty of built-in storage space. Most importantly — there is not one, but three sinks.
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