In recognition of Black History Month, here is a list of scholarships available to African-American students. They are arranged by due date and include those that award $4,000 or more. There are many more scholarships listed in Naviance and on PowerUp GO. Continue reading
Category Archives: Parents
HISD to standardize school start times for the 2018-19 school year
HISD will implement standardized school start times for the 2018-19 school year to better deliver efficient, reliable, and affordable transportation to our students.
Currently, HISD manages 67 different school start times – the highest in the state – as it transports nearly 36,000 students on almost 1,200 different routes each day. Beginning next fall, the district will operate with two standardized start/dismissal times:
- 7:30 a.m.-2:50 p.m. for elementary schools and K-8 campuses
- 8:30 a.m.-3:50 p.m. for all secondary campuses (middle school, high school, and grade 6-12 campuses)
(Some specialty campuses may have alternate start/dismissal times that will be communicated directly from the campus.)
HISD gathered parent and principal input on the new start times through surveys conducted in October, and the results support the new start times, which were listed as Option 4 in the surveys. Of the 154 respondents to a survey of principals, 78, or 51%, chose Option 4. Of 17,138 respondents to a survey of parents, 7,932, or 46%, chose Option 4.
Standardizing school start times will bring efficiencies to the district’s bus routes and ensure that students arrive to campus and depart on time, resulting in fewer interruptions to teaching, learning, and family schedules. The new start times will also extend the life of the district’s bus fleet and reduce maintenance and fuel costs.
Organization provides East End students with 2,500 pairs of shoes for holidays
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Students in Houston’s East End gathered at Austin High School on Thursday to receive new shoes in time for the holidays, thanks to the Navigation Area Business Association’s annual Shoes for Kids donation.
For the 30th year, NABA donated more than 2,500 pairs of shoes to students from 10 HISD elementary schools: Burnet, Carillo, DeZavala, Franklin, Gallegos, J.R. Harris, J.P. Henderson, Lantrip, Page, and Tijerina. Continue reading
Pop Up Shop for Harvey-impacted families canceled; will be rescheduled after holidays
Sunday’s Pop Up Shop for families impacted by Hurricane Harvey has been canceled.
The Pop Up Shop was previously scheduled to take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, at Butler Stadium. An alternative time and date for the Pop Up Shop is pending for after the holidays, and HISD will broadcast that information as soon as it becomes available.
Wisdom HS to host immigration town hall meeting on Dec. 3
Wisdom High School will host a free town hall meeting on Sunday, which will be moderated by City Council Member Amanda Edwards regarding the passage of Texas Senate Bill 4 (SB4) and the discontinuation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
The “Be The Solution: Youth & Family Immigration Town Hall” will be held at the campus (6529 Beverly Hill, 77057) from noon to 3:30 p.m. and will include a lunch and resource fair, and a panel discussion with Charles C. Foster, Immigration Attorney & Chairman of Foster LLP; Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo; Norma Torres Mendoza, DREAMer; Jill Campbell, Immigration Attorney with BakerRipley; Juliet Stipeche, Director of Education for the City of Houston; and Joy Alessi, Co-Director of Adoptee Rights Campaign.
The event will be translated in Spanish.
To register, please click here.
New special education parent liaisons providing support for families
Office of Special Education Services Parent Liaison Marina Garcia (left), parent Rachel Wilson, and liaisons Benjamin Jules and Wilson Renteria.
National Parental Involvement Day is Nov. 16
When you ask Wilson Renteria to explain what it’s like to assist the families of students with special needs at HISD, he can’t help but get a little emotional.
“It’s almost an indescribable emotion to explain what it feels like to help our HISD families,” Renteria said. “To be able to serve our parents in what feels like an impossible way has been extremely rewarding.”
Renteria and two other colleagues, Marina Garcia and Benjamin Jules, serve as Office of Special Education Services Parent Liaisons, a new position that was added for the 2017-2018 school year. The liaisons provide personalized campus- and community-based services to HISD’s special needs students and their parents. Continue reading
Academic calendar for 2018-19 school year available online now
The academic calendar for the 2018-2019 school year, which was approved by the Board of Education this month, is now available online.
The calendar was drafted with input from a committee made up of principals, union representatives, and departments across the district, as well as the District Advisory Committee.
The first day of school for students will be Aug. 27, and the final day of classes for students will be May 31.
The academic calendar gives students and staff a full week off during Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, the Fall Holiday is set for Monday, Sept. 10, a date that coincides with the first day of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana.
View the calendar in English and Spanish here.
HISD closed next week for Thanksgiving holiday
All HISD schools and district offices will be closed Monday, Nov. 20, through Friday, Nov. 24, for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Normal school and business operations will resume on Monday, Nov. 27.
Parent Guides offer detailed look at what children are learning in each grade level
Parents can now get a detailed look at what their child is learning in each grade level throughout the school year through the district’s new Parent Guides, which are aimed at empowering parents to become more involved in their child’s education.
The guides give parents important information about what their child should know and be able to do at each grade level and include activities that parents can do at home to further their child’s learning. They cover academics, social and emotional learning, parent empowerment, college and career readiness, important dates, and tools for success.
For elementary, there will be four guides total for the year – one for each nine-week period: first nine weeks, second nine weeks, third nine weeks, and fourth nine weeks. For middle and high school, there will be 2 guides total for the year – one for each semester: fall and spring. The guides are available for download at HoustonISD.org/ParentGuides.
Free home Internet access available for eligible high school students
Students in grades 9-12 must fill out a short survey by Nov. 17
The Sprint Foundation is providing HISD with a donation to provide free Internet access to high school students (grades 9-12) who currently do not have high-speed Internet at home.
To determine eligibility for the donation, high school students must complete a short survey by Nov. 17 indicating what type, if any, of internet access they have available to them at home.
Students may complete the survey at https://goo.gl/SrpWNw.
Eligible students will be notified by the district and provided with additional details during the spring 2018 semester. Parents and students are not financially responsible for the donation. Recipients will keep the mobile hotspot throughout their high school career (four years) at no cost to their families.