Category Archives: New schools

Project Advisory Teams tour 4 innovative schools in D.C. area

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The concept of a 21st century school can be hard to imagine. But Project Advisory Team members from nine HISD schools have a clearer vision after a trip to our nation’s capital last week.

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Notice of destruction of Special Education records

Special Education records which have been collected by the Houston Independent School District (HISD) related to the identification, evaluation, educational placement, or the provision of Special Education in the district must be maintained under state and federal laws for a period of five years after Special Education services have ended for the student. Special Education services end when the student is no longer eligible for services, graduates, completes his or her educational program at age 22, or moves from the district. Continue reading →

Board of Education votes to repurpose Jones and move Dodson

Jones to become specialized Futures Academy; Dodson students will move to Blackshear, Lantrip, and the Rusk School

The HISD Board of Education on Thursday voted 6 to 3 to repurpose Jones High School into a specialized Futures Academy with trustees Rhonda Skillern-Jones, Anna Eastman, and Paula Harris opposed. Trustees also voted 5 to 4 to close Dodson Elementary. Anna Eastman, Rhonda Skillern-Jones, Wanda Adams and Paula Harris were in opposition. These votes come after weeks of debate and conversation including nearly 75 comments from concerned citizens during the board’s meeting and the removal of three schools from the original closure and consolidation proposal.

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Workshops Guide Designs for New HSPVA and DeBakey Campuses

Architects go over design ideas for the new DeBakey High School for Health Professions during a design charrette.

Houston ISD will be rebuilding two of its specialty high schools into 21st century campuses that cultivate creativity and collaboration when construction gets underway on the new DeBakey High School for Health Professions and the new High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

That consensus came as each school held a two-day design charrette with their Project Advisory Teams and architects to discuss specific goals and aspirations for the new campuses.

“Students are more open and receptive to learning if they can access it visually,” said architect Greg Papay, who is part of the architect team designing the new DeBakey. “We’re designing a 21st century school where learning will happen in a variety of spaces.”

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New School Year Brings Excitement, Opportunities for HISD Students

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/73169755/ w=320&h=205]

Monday marked the first day of the new school year for the Houston Independent School District, and everyone—from parents to the superintendent—expressed excitement about what that would mean for students.

Superintendent Terry Grier visited several campuses to welcome students and teachers back to class, including Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan and Thurgood Marshall Elementary School.

Baylor is one of two new secondary campuses opening this fall to offer students a highly specialized curriculum. (See related article on the other one, Energy Institute High School.)

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HISD Opens School Year with New Campuses, New Programs, Thousands of New Students

Texas’ largest school district will open the 2013-2014 academic year on Monday with two new neighborhood school buildings, two new specialty magnet schools, and thousands of new students.

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier and members of the HISD Board of Education will visit with students, parents, teachers and principals at two campuses to personally welcome them to back to school on Monday, Aug. 26.

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Media Tour of New HISD School

Atherton Elementary is one of two new HISD schools opening Monday

HISD officials will lead the news media on a tour of one of the district’s two new elementary schools for the 2013-2014 school year. Atherton Elementary, in Houston’s historic Fifth Ward, is an 86,000-square-foot school built with funds from the voter-approved 2007 bond program. It was built to Green Building standards and features modern science labs, and a fine arts wing with a dance studio, band and choir room, and a theater arts room. 

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First-of-Its-Kind Energy Institute High School Debuts


Energy Institute HS Ribbon Cutting from Houston ISD on Vimeo.

Members of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association (PESA) gathered with Houston energy executives and HISD officials on Wednesday, August 14, 2013, to mark the opening of the new Energy Institute High School, the first of its kind in the nation. The revolutionary partnership between local industry leaders and HISD staff will ensure that students receive the skills necessary to compete in today’s 21st-century workforce.

“The energy industry is front and center here in Houston,” said Sara Ortwein, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, “so it’s not only visionary but appropriate that our city, the energy capital of the world, be home to the nation’s first school dedicated to the study of energy.”

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HISD Officially Opens Energy Institute High School

What:  HISD, the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), and Houston energy executives will gather to officially open the district’s new Energy Institute High School. The school is the first of its kind in the nation and represents a collaborative effort between a public school district and industry leaders. The high school will provide students with a rigorous STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) curriculum, hands-on learning, and externships in the fields of geoscience, alternative energy, and offshore technology.

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