Category Archives: STEM

Chavez HS students blast off toward national rocketry competition

The casual observer might never guess that the students who gather after school in Dr. Maqsuda Afroz’s science classroom at César E. Chávez High School are anything but ordinary high schoolers. They gossip and smack-talk and speculate about the future, most of them seniors with one foot out the door. Few would guess that these “average high schoolers” are in fact literal rocket scientists.

The Chávez Rocketry Club, headed by Afroz, spends two afternoons a week (and sometimes lunch periods or whatever scraps of free time they can get) designing and engineering model rockets for an international competition, The American Rocketry Challenge.

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Celebrated Hispanic astronaut gives HISD students out-of-this-world surprise

As students gathered in the Deady Middle School auditorium on Friday, Sept. 15, they thought they knew what they were in for. Deady students, along with students from Milby High School and Davila Elementary, were treated the day before to a preview screening of the new Amazon Prime film, A Million Miles Away, the life story of astronaut José Hernández. Little did they know that José Hernández himself was waiting in the wings to surprise them.

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HISD students multiply summer fun with Rice University math camps

Over summer break, Rice University welcomes hundreds of middle and high school students to participate in various academic camps offered on campus. The Tapia Camps, named for mathematician and Rice professor Dr. Richard Tapia, are for rising eighth-12th graders interested in STEM and honing their calculus skills before the new school year.

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Teen journalists discover “More to the Story” covering news in their school and community

Attucks Middle School prides itself on wearing many hats in order to consistently create opportunities for students to engage with and experience the community around them. In doing so, Attucks has made itself a home for a variety of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) magnet programs including a gardening club, an award-winning robotics program, and a culinary club via the Attucks STEAM Academy.

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HISD & TxDOT team up with mobile app to make driving near schools safer

HISD’s Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy is partnering with Houston ConnectSmart to help the Texas Department of Transportation end the streak of daily deaths on Texas roadways.

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HISD students visit Space Center Houston for National STEM Day

In observance of National STEM Day on Nov. 8, Space Center Houston welcomed more than 500 HISD students to speak with NASA astronaut Megan McArthur and engage in authentic science learning activities.

Students from Wesley Elementary School, Davila Elementary School, Deady Middle School, Booker T. Washington High School, and Milby High School were all in attendance.

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Northside HS students participate in program for promising Latino computer science scholars

Conexiones is a digital literacy and computer science program for students in Latino communities across the U.S. Now in its third year, the program is aimed at students ages 14 to 18 and offers classes on digital privacy and security, combatting cyberbullying, identifying misinformation, and more.

Conexiones was created by The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and is sponsored by T-Mobile. It’s designed to encourage and improve computer science literacy in Latino communities and empower young people to pursue careers in STEM.

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HISD educators participate in third annual NASA Teacher Externship

With a mission to bring new ideas and knowledge to the classroom, teachers from the Houston Independent School District participated in the third annual NASA-HISD Teacher Externship. On June 22 and 23, 14 teachers from HISD toured NASA facilities and completed professional development activities with NASA experts.

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Superintendent House visits future healthcare heroes at DeBakey HS

Tucked away on a side street in the shadow of the largest medical center in the world, DeBakey High School for Health Professions is the district’s medical magnet school, where students can learn more about the various career paths involved in the healthcare field, from the typical bedside options to the legislative branch.

Students like Cindy Choi, Paul Daniel, Caitlyn Davies, and David Dzul, all seniors, who gave Superintendent Millard House a tour of the school, which opened its $65 million, state-of-the-art, 194,000-square-foot building on the western edge of the Texas Medical Center in 2017.

 House was visiting the school on its second day of the 2021-2022 school year. As the ongoing global pandemic continues to make headlines, students at DeBakey are preparing to be the next generation of healthcare professionals.

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Wisdom HS calculator applications team headed to state for 4th year in a row

For the fourth consecutive year, the Wisdom High School math team is headed to state UIL competition.

The school’s UIL Calculator Applications team won the regional championship on Saturday at Fort Bend ISD’s Willowridge High School. With a team score of 581 points, they defeated runner-up Waller ISD by 22 points to advance to the state finals, which will be held on May 1.

The team includes sophomore Paul Oh, sophomore Bruno Santana, senior Wilmer Salgado and freshman Emir Genc. They are coached by Eridani Alcantar, Saul Cantu and JooHee Cho – under the direction of Principal Michelle Wagner.

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