Category Archives: Middle Schools

Lawson MS hosts ‘Walk to Remember’ before building demolition

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Music echoed throughout the Lawson Middle School gym as community members gathered with former students and staff to catch up with old friends, flip through old yearbooks, and dance the afternoon away.

Led by current students and staff, the stroll down memory lane was part of a “Walk to Remember” — an event held to let stakeholders bid their final farewells to the building before it is demolished later this summer.

“It’s important to preserve the memories,” Lawson Principal Kasey Bailey said. “There’s a lot of history with this school, but we’re very excited to move into the new building.”

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Nutrition Services provides good food with everlasting knowledge at ‘Camp Lit’

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Equipped with planters, soil, and seeds, HISD’s Nutrition Services workers had all hands-on deck as they taught nearly 9,000 elementary and middle school students various ways to dig into good nutrition.

The day’s festivities were a part of Camp Lit, a two-day festival designed to promote literacy throughout the district. Gathered in the parking lot of Delmar Fieldhouse, students participated in outdoor tailgate-themed literacy games hosted by various district departments, sponsors, and partners.  Continue reading →

Two-day ‘Camp Lit’ event kicks off HISD summer school  

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The Houston Independent School District welcomed thousands of students to summer school, themed “Camp Lit” for literacy, on Wednesday and Thursday at Delmar Fieldhouse with a series of pep rallies and tailgates.

The summer kickoff for elementary students was held on Wednesday, and middle school students celebrated on Thursday.

“This is the brainchild of our interim superintendent. The idea is to continue our focus on literacy but in a way that is exciting and engaging,” Officer for Special Populations Courtney Busby said. “We want our students to know that meeting their needs in the summer is critical for their overall success. What better way to do that than with a celebration where all kids will leave with books to add to their personal libraries.”  Continue reading →

15 HISD schools ranked in the top 10 among Children at Risk’s annual top-performing schools

Number of schools given Gold Ribbon status nearly doubles to 21

Children at Risk announced its annual list of the top schools in the greater Houston area, and for the eighth consecutive year, HISD’s DeBakey High School for Health Professions was listed as number one among high schools in the area and the state.

Five other HISD high schools were included in the top 10: Eastwood Academy (#2), Carnegie Vanguard High School (#3), East Early College High School (#6), Sharpstown International School (#8), and Challenge Early College High School (#10).

Five HISD middle schools also were recognized as top 10 performers: T.H. Rogers School (#1), Project Chrysalis Middle School (#4), Lanier Middle School (#6), Energized for STEM Academy Southwest MS (#6), Mandarin Immersion Magnet School (#9). On the elementary school list, four HISD schools were ranked in the top 10: T.H. Rogers School (#1), Horn Elementary School (#4), River Oaks Elementary School (#5), and West University Elementary School (#6). Continue reading →

HISD announces new college and career readiness initiatives

The Houston Independent School District on Thursday announced the creation of new programs to expand college and career readiness opportunities for students across the district:  Launch HISD and Project Explore.

The new programs are under the newly established Office of Strategy and Innovation led by EMERGE founder Rick Cruz.

Launch HISD is a comprehensive college and career readiness and advising program. The program will serve students at every middle and high school campus in the district, expanding advising and college and career exploration for larger groups of students. The Launch HISD curriculum will incorporate college visits and career exploration, and will include a capstone college or career readiness project that every middle school participant will have to complete to develop their personalized graduation plan.

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Project Chrysalis MS named Title I National Distinguished School

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School is one of 63 nationwide to receive designation

Project Chrysalis Middle School has been recognized as a National Title I Distinguished School, an award that honors schools for their positive educational advances. The school is one of two in the state of Texas and one of only 63 nationwide to receive the designation.

The Project Chrysalis was selected by the Texas Education Agency to represent Texas as one of the highest-rated Title I Distinguished Schools based on its success in closing the achievement gap between student groups. Located near the city’s East End, the school serves nearly 300 students. Continue reading →

HISD Board of Education will not vote on partnership for “Improvement Required” campuses

HISD will not submit any plans to the Texas Education Agency related to SB 1882

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education on Tuesday adjourned without  approving a contract to partner with the governing board of Energized for STEM Academy as part of Senate Bill 1882. The district will no longer pursue this proposal, nor will the district submit plans for partnerships to the TEA.

The proposal was intended to give HISD a two–year pause on accountability from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and prevent sanctions from the state related to House Bill 1842.

HISD will continue to operate and manage the 10 campuses that have been in Improvement Required (IR) status with the state for four years or more. Those campuses are: Blackshear, Dogan, Highland Heights, Mading, and Wesley elementary schools, Henry Middle School, Woodson PK-8, and Kashmere, Wheatley, and Worthing high schools. The district’s goal is to help these 10 schools exit IR and continue to meet yearly standards.

“We are not bringing another partnership proposal to the Board, nor will there be another meeting to consider partnerships for the 10 schools,” said Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan. “Instead, we will continue to reinforce our commitment to helping students, staff, and families of our Achieve 180 schools continue the hard work they’ve done this year to transform their campuses and increase student achievement.”

HISD will make the necessary changes to the Achieve 180 framework to ensure the district provides them with the additional resources and supports they need to be successful. District administration will be holding meetings with staff and parents at these 10 schools to discuss Achieve 180 plans for their campuses in the 2018-2019 school year. Staff will remain in place at these 10 campuses unless a position is closed as part of the reduction in force HISD is experiencing across the district due to the $115 million budget shortfall.

 

HISD names 2017-18 Teacher of the Year finalists, Beginner Teacher of the Year winners 

Winners will be recognized on May 18 at the Educators of the Year banquet

In recognition of teaching excellence across the district, HISD will officially crown its principals and teachers at the “royal wedding-themed” Educators of the Year banquet on Friday, May 18, at the Hilton Americas Hotel.

Fourteen finalists have been named for the Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the year. The two winners, who will go on to represent the district in Region 4, will be announced during the Educators of the Year banquet on Friday, May 18. The 14 finalists were selected from all 287 campuses based on performance data and other criteria.  Continue reading →

Still need to choose a school for 2018-19? Come to the Spring School Choice Fair on April 21 

Magnet application deadline for Phase 2 is May 31

Magnet schools and other choice programs that still have open seats will be available to discuss options with parents at the Spring School Choice Fair on Saturday, April 21.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at Gregory-Lincoln Education Center (1101 Taft St. 77019) and will offer a glimpse of the many programs still waiting for students after the Phase 1 magnet deadline, as well as all other transfer options.

Schools with space available will have representatives at the event. For a complete list of magnet programs with openings, click here. Other programs such as dual language and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs will also be represented. Continue reading →

HISD updates standardized school start times for the 2018-19 school year

The Houston Independent School District announces revisions to standardized start/dismissal times for the 2018-19 school year in order to improve our delivery of reliable and affordable transportation to our students.

The updated times include two notable changes:

  • PK-8 and K-8 schools will now be grouped with middle schools, rather than elementary schools to have a later start/dismissal time of 8:30 a.m.-3:50 p.m.
  • Ten minutes will be added to each day for high schools and 6-12 campuses to account for eight optional early release days for final exams. Their start/dismissal time will be 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

Beginning next fall, the district will operate with the following standardized start/dismissal times: Continue reading →