Teacher Appreciation Week is May 4 through 8, and it’s a time for our staff, students, parents, and community to recognize our teachers.
For Teacher Appreciation Week, HISD is launching a fun campaign called “Get Emoji-tional” so we can share the love 😍 for our teachers on social media. Each day, share emojis as well as videos, photos and special messages with the hashtag #ThankAnHISDTeacherto show your support for teachers.
Continue readingTwelve finalists have been named as HISD’s 2019-2020 Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year. The two winners will go on to represent the district in Region IV. The 12 finalists were selected from all 280 schools based on performance data and other criteria.
Continue readingThe Fine Arts Department is working with teachers and students to promote the fine arts curricula, as well as additional projects to inspire students while distance learning is occurring.
Dancers from six HISD high schools worked together virtually to create a dance to inspire students studying at home via distance learning. The students are in the process of editing the video, which is part of a series titled “HISD Dance Alone—Together.” The video is expected to debut on Fine Arts Friday on April 24.
The Fine Arts Department is also receiving world-class guidance for instruction in theater arts. The Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and the Globe – three world-renowned theater companies in the United Kingdom – have granted HISD permission to use their online materials in the district’s theater curriculum. In addition, eight HISD theater teachers have created or are in the process of creating videos to accompany the HISD @ H.O.M.E. theater curriculum.
Continue readingThe Houston Independent School District will continue operating food distribution sites, with another 25 sites operating throughout the district during the week of April 27.
The food distribution efforts will continue utilizing Nutrition Services staff to pack food bags at the Hexser T. Holliday Food Services Support Facility and deliver the food to the distribution sites. Each site can distribute up to 500 bags — or 15,000 pounds of food — per day.
HISD, Houston Food Bank plan second mass food distribution at NRG on Saturday
As families arrive at sites, nutrition staff will minimize contact by filling out the required Emergency Food Assistance Program forms for families and placing food in their trunks. Participants who walk to the sites also must adhere to social distancing requirements.
Continue readingThe Houston Independent School District is partnering with the Houston Food Bank to organize a second mass food distribution site on Saturday, April 25 from 4 to 7 p.m. at NRG Stadium.
Distribution will be held in the NRG yellow lot, and attendees must enter via the yellow lot main entrance off South Main Street. The site is expected to distribute 5,000 food packages — each weighing 80 to 100 pounds — in about three hours. That’s the equivalent of roughly half a million pounds of food.
HISD’s first mass community distribution site was held last Saturday and distributed more than 280,000 pounds of food to 4,256 cars and 450 families on foot.
Continue readingThe Houston Independent School District Board of Education has issued a proclamation designating April 20 through April 24 as Volunteers in Public Schools Recognition Week in the district.
Every year, thousands of parents, businesses, and community partners support students and teachers in HISD by donating their time, resources, and knowledge through the district’s Volunteers In Public Schools (VIPS) program.
HISD’s VIPS program was started in 1970 by longtime HISD educator Jean Davis Myers, who passed away in 2015. Myers served as executive director of VIPS for 20 years and under her leadership, the program became an award-winning national model.
Continue readingWriters in the Schools (WITS) is helping HISD students celebrate National Poetry Month with virtual offerings to support the transitions of students, families, and educators to online learning.
Historically, WITS has created art installations, organized student readings, and held poetry slams during the month of April. Amidst the outbreak of COVID-19, WITS has developed new, free digital offerings highlighting poetry and amplifying student voices.
Continue readingThe Houston Independent School District is committed to providing instructional resources to parents of students with disabilities during this time away from school buildings as well as multiple ways to engage children in meaningful learning experiences.
HISD has updated the special education section of the HISD @ H.O.M.E page to enhance the organization of resources and tools for virtual instruction.
For example, if a student is accessing learning in a Structured Learning Class (SLC), there is a section with resources specific to students being served in this setting. There are also sections for additional placements to include: Preschoolers Achieving Learning Skills (PALS), Preparing Students for Independence (PSI), Skills for Learning and Living (SLL), and Structured Learning Class- Alternative (SLC-Alt).
Continue readingThe Houston Independent School District has updated the special education section of the HISD @ H.O.M.E page to enhance the organization of resources and tools for virtual instruction.
The district is committed to providing instructional resources to parents of students with disabilities during this time away from school buildings as well as multiple ways to engage children in meaningful learning experiences.
For example, if a student is accessing learning in a Structured Learning Class (SLC), there is a section with resources specific to students being served in this setting. There are also sections for additional placements to include: Preschoolers Achieving Learning Skills (PALS), Preparing Students for Independence (PSI), Skills for Learning and Living (SLL), and Structured Learning Class- Alternative (SLC-Alt).
Continue readingFor the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, the Houston Independent School District is adopting a new grading policy in alignment with the implementation of the district’s new online learning system, HISD @ H.O.M.E.
To ensure that students’ grades are not negatively impacted due to the need for online instruction in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic:
Continue reading