Achieve 180 hosts first-ever teacher appreciation tailgate event

Achieve 180 teachers didn’t let Wednesday’s cold front stop the festivities as they prepared for their biggest challenge outside of the classroom — determining which campus had the best chili.  

The district invited nearly 1,400 teachers from the turnaround program to a first-ever, pep-rally-style Achieve 180 Tailgate as a celebration of the teachers’ efforts to transform some of the district’s most undeserved campuses and critical student populations.   

“This is our way of saying thank you for always making our students a priority,” Achieve 180 Area Superintendent Felicia Adams said. “Whether it’s arriving early, staying late, (or) constantly attending professional development opportunities, none of our achievements would have been possible with you.”  

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Confidence, community support on display at ATMP/ROSES Winter Ball

As he waited for the night to begin, Tyler Burgmon, a senior at North Forest High School, nervously adjusted a red rose pinned to the lapel of the first suit he’s ever owned. 

A new suit can provide confidence and self-assurance, but for Tyler, a student enrolled in HISD’s Ascending to Men Project (ATMP), it stands for so much more.  

“This suit is an extension of what ATMP does for you,” he said. “ATMP creates men; it creates a foundation where you can be safe in your community and build powerful bonds between brothers.” 

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Transportation Services to focus on recruiting efforts in new year

The Houston Independent School District’s Transportation Services department will spend the new year focusing on recruitment efforts as it works to hire 30 more drivers by March.  

The department will begin hosting monthly bus driver job fairs in February 2020 as part of continuing efforts to make sure all routes are fully staffed, and additional drivers are available to provide coverage when employees are absent. 

Transportation Services General Manager John Wilcots IV said three job fairs will be held each month — one on a Saturday and two on weekdays. The upcoming job fairs are expected to give the department a head start on staffing for the summer and the 2020-2021 school year.  

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HISD participating in Toys for Tots holiday toy drive

This holiday season, the Houston Independent School District once again is participating as a donation site for Toys for Tots, the Marine Corps’ premier community action program.  

Employees as well as the general public are encouraged to drop off new and unwrapped toys at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th St., 77092) to the Strategic Partnerships department (Level 1SE) by 4 p.m. on Dec. 18. 

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School Choice application deadline for Phase 2 is Feb. 28  

Parents who would still like to apply for a school choice program for the 2020-2021 school year have until Friday, Feb. 28 to do so. 

After all applications in Phase 1 have been offered, eligible Phase 2 students who meet a program’s qualifications will be considered in the order in which their application was submitted should the program have space available. 

Any applications for students who live outside the HISD boundaries will not be considered until Phase 3, even if the application was submitted during Phase 2. 

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HISD student recognized for taking swift action to help woman in distress

Baylor College of Medicine Biotech Academy at Rusk sixth-grader Joziah Crenshaw was honored at a surprise recognition ceremony on Tuesday after he took swift action when he saw a mother and child in a potentially dangerous situation. 

Joziah was honored with a Citizenship Award from HISD Police for alerting authorities after he saw a distressed mother across the street from his school who had inadvertently locked her baby in the car.   

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Reading teacher at Osborne ES named Teacher of the Month

Fourth-graders at Osborne Elementary School were in the middle of their reading inference lesson Tuesday morning when their teacher, Demetria Washington, learned from Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan she would be the district’s Sterling McCall Teacher of the Month for December.  

“She has been a phenomenal educator this year,” Principal Mikia Barnes said. “She has adapted quickly to the demands of meeting her students’ needs by engaging in after-school planning to learn the new reading standards.” 

The fourth-grade ELAR teacher is always striving to build her capacity, attending all North area trainings and learning to utilize FOCUS comprehension to close literacy gaps for her students.  

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Fondren MS students venture through space from the classroom

Project Explore students from Fondren Middle School ventured on an interactive 3D voyage through space on Friday with the Lunar Planetary Institute.  

The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), a research institute in Clear Lake that provides support services to NASA and the planetary science community, partnered with Best Buy’s Geek Squad Academy to host a free one-day STEAM camp for more than 50 HISD students. 

Geek Squad Academy provides an opportunity for middle school students to develop tech skills, build self-confidence, spark creativity, and discover how technology can benefit them in their educational pursuits and future careers.  

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Fifth annual Dream Summit draws record crowd as students take steps toward college

Nineteen years to the day that Dr. Jose Luis Zelaya was reunified with his family at the border, hundreds of students and their families watched in awe on Saturday as he achieved what was once thought to be an impossible dream.

A profound silence filled the Hattie Mae White boardroom as the HISD graduate and DREAMer, who migrated to the U.S. from Honduras at the age of 13 after an arduous 45-day journey, was hooded by his mother and father to solidify his doctorate in Urban Education from Texas A&M University.  

“My graduation is happening in this moment because of my support systems, because of the people that believed in me,” said Zelaya, who served as the keynote speaker for HISD’s fifth annual Dream Summit. “There will be times when you won’t have money to buy your next meal, but there will be people that believe in you so much, that out of nowhere they will help you.” 

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A special message from Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan

Let’s Connect initiative offers supports to students on a variety of issues

In HISD, we believe you cannot educate a child without taking care of the WHOLE child, and that includes promoting and offering supports for positive mental and physical health.

The Office of Student Support Services offers resources and helpful information on issues students are facing – including vaping, human trafficking, suicide prevention, and bullying prevention – through a program called Let’s Connect. The Let’s Connect initiative encourages students in HISD to reach out to a trusted adult on their campus, such as a teacher, social worker, nurse, counselor, principal, or librarian.

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