HISD to host Ascending to Men appreciation luncheon

The Houston Independent School District will host a special appreciation luncheon for the men and women who have served as mentors during the successful first year of the district’s Ascending to Men Project (ATMP).

The luncheon will be held from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Friday, August 23 at the Boy Scouts of America Cockrell Scout Center (2225 N. Loop West, 77008).

Since it began last fall, the unique HISD program, which is open to male students, has provided academic, emotional, and social support to 1,088 students from 181 mentors.

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HISD Police Department welcomes 15 new officers

Fifteen uniformed men and women gathered with friends and family Wednesday at the High School for Law and Justice to be sworn in as the district’s newest law enforcement officers.

The audience cheered after each officer had a shiny silver badge affixed to their uniform by a family member or friend. The new officers walked across the stage proudly, pausing to shake their colleagues’ hands and accept congratulations.

 “Before stepping foot on a school campus, please remember that some of our students deal with challenges beyond what you can imagine,” HISD Police Chief Paul Cordova said, offering the officers a few words of advice just before they were officially sworn in. “Remember to have a warm smile and a bit of compassion.”

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HISD expands fine arts access to all elementary schools

Inspired by Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan’s mission to provide fine arts education to more students, HISD will add a fine arts teacher to 37 elementary schools across the district for the 2019-2020 school year.  

“For the first time in recent history, all HISD elementary students will have access to a certified fine arts teacher,” HISD Director of Fine Arts Wenden Sanders said. “HISD views every student as an emerging artist, and thanks to Dr. Lathan’s vision, students will have ample opportunity to develop those creative skills.”  

Up until this year, roughly 20,000 HISD elementary students had little to no access to fine arts instruction. Now, those students will have the chance to participate in either music, theater or visual arts on a daily basis.  

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Parent University to kick off for second year with districtwide workshops

The Houston Independent School District will kick off its second year of Parent University on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at all district campuses.

The workshops will connect parents and children to resources offered by the district to create successful academic careers as well as safe and healthy environments at home and at school. 

A variety of district and community program representatives and experts will be available for parents to connect with individually. After the districtwide event on Sept. 17, Parent University workshops will take place monthly at geographically dispersed locations at 5:15 p.m. as follows: 

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2012 Bond Program nears completion

Almost seven years after Houston voters approved a $1.89 billion bond to replace and repair 40 schools across the district, including 29 high schools, the 2012 Bond Program is coming to a close.  

Only four schools remain under active construction as part of their original scope of work – Northside, Lamar, Austin, and Bellaire high schools. 

“We’re excited about the work we’ve done over the summer,” Construction Services Officer Derrick Sanders said. “We’re proud of the 21st–century learning spaces we’ve created.” 

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HISD students to eat all meals at no charge this school year

As parents prepare for the upcoming school year, Nutrition Services has taken one key responsibility off their plates — providing students with breakfast, lunch, and dinner free of charge for the second year in a row. 

All HISD schools are once again qualified to operate under the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service Community Eligibility Provision, which provides students with access to three healthy meals each day — at no cost to them and without having to fill out a free and reduced-price meal application. 

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HISD asking parents to complete socioeconomic form for the 2019-2020 school year

The Houston Independent School District will provide free breakfast and lunch to students for the 2019-2020 school year, but parents will need to fill out a new form to ensure Title I funding for HISD schools. 

All HISD schools are qualified to operate under the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service Community Eligibility Provision, which allows HISD to provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner at no charge to all students, eliminating the need for free and reduced-price meal applications. 

While parents will not need to complete and return a free and reduced-price meal application, they will need to complete a socioeconomic form (see below), known as the blue form. 

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Transportation Services announces new tools for parents

Parents of students riding HISD buses now have two new tools designed to ensure better bus service for students and better customer service for parents with transportation-related questions and concerns. 

Beginning this school year, Transportation Services is launching the bus tracking app SafeStop and Let’s Talk!, an easy-to-use, online program that aims to streamline communication between Transportation Services and parents and school staff.  

“We want to provide an easy-to-use service that will help parents who utilize our service,” Transportation Services General Manager John Wilcots IV said. “Increased effectiveness in our operations and our customer service continues to be our main goal for Transportation Services this year.” 

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District Leadership kicks off the 2019-2020 school year at Welcome Back

HISD leadership geared up the for the new school year, gathering at Delmar Stadium for the district’s annual Welcome Back meeting. 

More than 1,500 principals, deans, assistant principals, and district leaders packed the general session to hear the breakdown of Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan’s strategic priorities, attend area breakout sessions centered on their campus goals for the upcoming school year and celebrate successes from the previous year. 

“Last school year, we made great strides in closing the achievement gaps for students and turnaround efforts for our Achieve 180 program remain on an upward trend,” Lathan said. 

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Deshonta Everett named new principal of Anderson Elementary School

Deshonta Everett has been selected as the new principal of Anderson Elementary School. With 12 years of experience in education, Everett previously served as an assistant principal at Welch Middle School for two years. Before joining HISD, he started his career as a middle school English teacher in Dallas ISD and served as an instructional coach, secondary ESL specialist and academic principal in the Crowley and Irving Independent School Districts. Everett holds a bachelor’s in English from Jackson State University, a master’s in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment from Walden University, another master’s in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of North Texas.