New HISD chief of police sworn in during ceremony

The Houston Independent School District’s new police chief, Pedro “Pete” Lopez, Jr. was sworn in Tuesday during an official ceremony where he took the oath of office at the district’s Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center.

The chief’s wife took part in the ceremonial badge-pinning portion of the event. Houston Municipal Courts Director and Presiding Judge J. Elaine Marshall administered the oath of office.

Lopez comes to HISD after 32 years of law enforcement experience, with 29 of those years spent serving the Houston Police Department, where he rose from the rank of patrol officer to assistant chief of Patrol Region 1. He has also served with the Harris County Sheriff’s Department and Texas Department of Corrections.

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HISD school buses to deliver fresh fruits and veggies directly to students each week

Next week school buses will roll once again, but for a special reason — they will be delivering fresh produce to students at 68 select elementary campuses as a part of a new produce delivery program.

Fresh Bus school buses will provide weekly deliveries of fresh fruits and vegetables to several locations in each school community, making fresh produce directly available to more than 36,000 students.

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HISD plans to hold virtual summer school for more than 40,000 students

The Houston Independent School District will be holding virtual summer school from June 8 to July 2.

The district is planning for more than 40,000 students to participate in online summer instruction via Microsoft Teams with a teacher.

Students will attend virtual summer school Monday to Thursday, and daily attendance will be two hours for students in grades PK-2, three hours for students in grades 3-5, and four hours for students in grades 6-11. Summer learning schedules for high school students taking credit recovery courses and/or courses for original credit as approved by their school counselors will be determined by the courses they are enrolled. 

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HISD launches ‘Let’s Stay Connected’ mental health hotline for students and parents

The Houston Independent School District has announced the launch of Let’s Stay Connected, a mental health hotline for students and parents to provide emotional, social, and psychological support to students and parents who feel the need for assistance.

Students and parents may call the Let’s Stay Connected Hotline at 713-556-1340 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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HISD students eligible for Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer

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HISD families may be eligible to receive Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT), a one-time benefit of up to $285 to be issued on an EBT card to assist families during the district’s closure.

The $1 billion benefit program was approved by the United States Department of Agriculture to help eligible families buy food during the COVID-19 pandemic. The EBT card can be used like a debit card to buy food from any retailer that accepts the Texas Lone Star Card. 

Children up to 21 years old who are certified for free or reduced-price meals at school in Texas during the 2019-2020 school year and all children who attend a school that offers meals at no charge through the Community Eligibility Provision — as HISD does — are eligible to receive P-EBT benefits.

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HISD to award 10 exemplary students with Superintendent Scholars Award

Houston Independent School District Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan will surprise 10 high school seniors with 2019-2020 HISD Superintendent Scholars Awards during surprise visits to their homes.

This is the third year the scholarships will be awarded to graduating seniors who have exemplified great character and resilience in the face of adversity.

Moved by their tenacity and inspiring journeys, Lathan personally selected the 10 students she will surprise from among 45 HISD seniors who were nominated by their principals or leadership teams.

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HISD students to host Virtual Global Issues Summit

Staying connected is important now more than ever, and HISD Abroad is answering the call with next week’s Virtual Global Issues Summit hosted by HISD students.

Student hosts Van Nguyen and Boris Mejia, seniors from HISD’s Houston Academy of International Studies, will go live on Zoom at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27 to discuss the impact of global issues on high school students. They will be joined by guest speakers John Moravec, founder of Education Futures, and Carrie Olson, President of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education. 

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ProUnitas donation helps HISD family after devastating loss of home

Three weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, an early morning fire swept through the home of an HISD family, causing them to lose everything.

The early April blaze not only destroyed the Jackson family’s home and the entirety of its contents, but it also left Destiny Jackson, whose five children attend HISD schools, with severe burns over a large percentage of her body after she ran into the burning home to carry her youngest son, Malik, to safety.

“My family and I are still dealing with a lot of emotion from that night,” Marcus Jackson said. “It is very hard for me talk about it, but what I can tell you is that my wife is the bravest person I know.”

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HISD transitioning to student summer meals program on June 1

As the school year comes to a close, the Houston Independent School District is transitioning from its community food distribution efforts to a curbside summer meals program for students.

Beginning June 1, families will be able to pick up boxed student meals twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays at one of 68 designated schools across the district. Boxes may be picked up by students, parents, or other adult family members.

Each box will contain a day’s worth of meals, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack. Families will receive several days’ worth of food — three boxes on Mondays and four on Thursdays — per child at each pickup.

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Westbury HS among winners in Michelle Obama, MTV voting challenge

Westbury High School graduating seniors learned during a video call with Michelle Obama that they are one of only 20 campuses in the nation and the only one in Texas to be named winners in a voter registration challenge co-chaired by the former first lady.

The competition was held by MTV and the national nonpartisan group When We All Vote (WWAV), which was launched in 2018 by Obama along with celebrities like actor Tom Hanks, pro basketball player Chris Paul and country music stars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

“It is extremely impressive that our Westbury students had an opportunity to be on a call with Mrs. Obama,” HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “It is equally impressive that they put in the work and carried out a pledge to educate and register their peers to vote.”

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