Lamar HS coach’s influence spans from HISD to the World Series

The Houston Astros are the colossal favorites to win the 2019 World Series, but one HISD coach’s loyalties are torn between the hometown team and his former student, Washington Nationals third baseman and Lamar High School alum Anthony Rendon. 

“There’s not a jersey around that can have both the Nationals and the Astros on the same side,” Lamar head baseball coach David Munoz said. “I’m not going to lie. Having a kid play in the World Series is special. I am rooting for him.” 

Rendon, who has been instrumental to the Cinderella Washington Nationals team that advanced to its first-ever World Series, is just one in a long line of students that Munoz has motivated during his 22-year tenure at the HISD campus.  

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Two all-girl science teams at Waltrip HS first at campus to remotely navigate prototype Mars Rover

As two NASA astronauts ventured out of the International Space Station for an historic all-female spacewalk, a group of girls from Waltrip High School was the first to remotely navigate a prototype Mars Rover on Friday through the rocky terrain at the Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) Mars Yard.  

The nine female students made up teams Five Amigas and Mission Explorers, which were two of the five teams at Waltrip that took part in Mission Control Academy’s Mars rover training exercise. The students controlled the rover prototype located in the province of Quebec at a facility where terrain conditions resemble those on Mars. 

“It is really cool,” sophomore Julyssa Godina said. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” 

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Food service attendant receives October Customer Service Impact Award

Each morning, food service attendant Pamela Cole makes her way down the special education hallway at Milby High School to serve a nutritious breakfast to her favorite students, each of whom she knows by name. 

One day, Nutrition Services Team Lead Mari Thibodeaux assigned someone else to that hallway. 

“The teacher called and said her students were waiting for Ms. Pam,” Thibodeaux said. “Can you believe they didn’t want anyone but her? It’s because she exudes excellence in all that she does.” 

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HISD celebrates National School Lunch Week with good food, music

Students who walked into the De Chaumes Elementary School cafeteria on Wednesday were greeted with decorations featuring musical instruments, disco balls, and vinyl records.  

Long cafeteria tables clad in green and yellow tablecloths with black and white music note centerpieces tied to colorful balloons — all in celebration of National School Lunch Week. 

“I’ve never been a part of this type of event before,” De Chaumes third-grader Diego Martin Salinas said. “It feels kind of cool.” 

Observed this year from Oct. 14 to Oct. 18 and featuring a “What’s on Your Playlist?” theme, National School Lunch Week aims to promote the benefits of serving nutritionally balanced meals to students. 

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Mitchell ES celebrates construction progress on new school

The autumn chill did not stop the Mitchell Elementary School community from gathering Thursday on the site where their new school soon will stand to celebrate the progress being made on their new building. 

Students in matching yellow T-shirts kicked off the event with a heartwarming rendition of “There’s a Leader in Me.” Mitchell Principal Elizabeth Castillo-Guajardo then spoke to the crowd in English and Spanish. 

“We are so proud of the resiliency everyone has shown throughout this process,” Castillo-Guajardo said. “Our new school will be a symbol of promise and hope that will propel our students into their bright future.” 

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10 reasons why students should submit their FAFSA or TASFA today

Completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and TASFA (Texas Application for State Financial Aid) is the first step toward receiving the various types of financial aid for school, and finishing your FAFSA/TASFA early is the best way to maximize college-award packages.  

But how much do you know about these financial aid applications? Here are 10 reasons why students should submit their FAFSA ASAP! For info on TASFA, see below. 

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Community meetings scheduled on board goals

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education will be hosting several districtwide meetings to discuss the district’s board goals.

The focus of these meetings will be to better understand the educational expectations of parents, students, and stakeholders.

All community members are invited to attend and share their thoughts on the student outcomes they believe to be most important.

[su_document url=”https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/10/BoE_Goals-Community-Mtgs-10.21.19_ENG.pdf” height=”840″]

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‘Culture of trust, accountability’ at the center of North Forest turnaround success

Over six years ago, HISD faced an enormous challenge when it agreed to take over North Forest ISD, which had been plagued by years of low academic performance, a laundry list of state sanctions, and financial mismanagement – which eventually led to the order from the Texas Education Agency to close the district. 

Since taking on the seven schools in the North Forest district, HISD has made significant strides in improving the long-struggling campuses using strategies such as mobilizing effective teachers and principals, implementing reading mastery and corrective reading, extending the school day, and streamlining bus transportation to boost attendance.  

Five of the seven original transition team members are still part of Team HISD to this day, and the experience left an indelible impact on each of them. 

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Achieve 180 math teacher named October Teacher of the Month

There was a level excitement that could not be contained when math teacher Breana Chatman of Holland Middle School was surprised by Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan as the Teacher of the Month for October. 

“Mrs. Chatman goes above and beyond the call of duty every time she steps into the classroom,” Principal Pablo Resendiz said. “She is very intentional in planning and ensures standards have been unpacked thoroughly before she designs her lessons.” 

Not accepting anything less than excellence from her students, Chatman pushes students understanding and knowledge of the mathematical process by using mathematical sentence stems, and utilizes interactive word walls and anchor charts to ensure the class environment supports all students. 

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The road to redemption: Wheatley HS on a journey to demonstrate academic growth

From a sprawling mural featuring famous politicians and educators to students laughing as they head to their next class, it’s hard to imagine Houston’s Fifth Ward community without Wheatley High School, the campus that has served many residents as a gateway to adulthood.  

There’s the feeling of perseverance and reassurance when you step foot onto the Wheatley campus. Plagued with the “improvement Required” label since 2012, the district learned in August 2019 that Wheatley wouldn’t meet standard for the 2018-2019 school year.

Despite Wheatley High School demonstrating tremendous academic progress and earning a passing grade of D this year with a calculated score of 63, they earned an overall rating of 59 due to a provision introduced into TEA’s 2018 Accountability Manual. 

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