Walnut Bend ES team earns first place at Odyssey of the Mind World Finals

For the first time in school history, a team of students from Walnut Bend Elementary School was crowned champions at the Odyssey of the Mind 2019 World Finals for its outstanding performance and problem-solving skills.  

The team, along with six other HISD schools, traveled to East Lansing, Mich., for the 40th annual World Finals held May 22-25. 

Teamwork and creativity helped the Walnut Bend team earn first-place honors in the “Structure Toss” category, in which students were required to “design, build, and test a structure, made only of balsa wood with the option of using glue to connect the parts, and to test it by placing weights onto it.” The Walnut Bend’s structure held an impressive 780 pounds. 

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Scott C. Disch named new principal of West University Elementary School

Scott C. Disch has been selected as the new principal of West University Elementary School. Disch has served as a teacher and athletic coach at Grady Middle School. In his most recent role as Dean of Students at Westside High School, he supported the Westside Engineering and Geoscience Academy (WEGA), a prestigious magnet program that offers a unique chance for students to gain perspective and insight into the engineering field through a rigorous, hands-on, project-based math and technology curriculum. His recognitions include 2012 Grady Teacher of the Year and 2019 West Area Assistant Principal of the Year. He holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Rice University and a Master’s in teaching. He currently attends the University of Houston to pursue a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy.  

Chavis Mitchell named new principal of Parker Elementary School

Chavis Mitchell has been selected as the new principal of Parker Elementary School. Mitchell has served as a teacher, teacher development specialists and assistant principal at Anderson Elementary School. As a highly effective teacher, he was selected to serve on HISD’s Teacher Advisory Council for Career Pathways and Compensation and under HISD’s Transformational School Initiative, he provided coaching, mentoring, and teacher development support for more than 40 campuses. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Southern University A&M, and a master’s in public administration from Texas Southern University. 

Dave Wheat named new principal of Lanier Middle School

Dave Wheat has been selected as the new principal of Lanier Middle School. Wheat has more than 30 years of experience, including 20 of those years at HISD. He has served students as a teacher, dean of students, principal, and assistant superintendent. While a principal at St. George Place, he focused on building a strong academic program and led the campus to earn three TEA distinctions in the 2017-2018 school year. St. George Place also earned an “A” rating by Children and Risk for 2014–2015 and 2015–2016 school years.  He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from The University of Houston. 

Ministers and school, community leaders partner for safe start to summer

Local religious, school, and community leaders joined together Friday to kick off the 29th year of Project Safe Start to ensure students are safe as they transition to summer vacation.

Together, the group will ensure additional patrol officers are placed in the immediate vicinity of schools and throughout neighborhoods surrounding school campuses to help monitor and decrease any illegal activity during the last few days of the school year.

“We acknowledge that it takes all of us to make this possible,” Houston Ministers Against Crime Pastor F. N. Williams II said. “It takes all of us working together to bring this to pass.”

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HISD Police Department’s K-9 unit continues to expand

Most people don’t know that some of the most active members of the HISD Police Department are younger than 6 years old, furry, and do their part to keep the district safe.

The K-9 unit is a vital part of HISD’s Police Department, with all police dogs trained to support and protect officers. The K-9s also conduct area searches for drugs, weapons, or other contraband that may be on school grounds or in district facilities.

“The K-9 unit has been around since the ‘90s,” HISD Police Sergeant Tridung Tran said. “We started with two and now we’ve expanded to five K-9s. They allow us to provide a better service to the district.”

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Two HISD students named winners of Congressional District Art Competition

Two HISD students have been announced as winners of the 2019 U.S. Congressional Art Competition.  

Keren Reyes, a freshman from Sharpstown High School, was chosen as the 9th Congressional District’s winner. Her winning piece, ” La Creola,” is a pencil drawing of one of her closest friends who still lives in her home country of El Salvador. According to Sharpstown art teacher Guadalupe Hernandez, when asked why she decided to create the piece, Reyes said that she did not want to forget where she came from and the people she left behind to come to the United States.  

Julio Bautista, a sophomore from Mickey Leland Prepatory Academy, was selected as the 18th Congressional District’s winner. His original art work, “Mayan Mindbender,” pays homage to his Hispanic background and the beauty of the Mayan culture.  

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Nicole Ayen-Metoyer named new principal of Fleming Middle School

Nicole Ayen-Metoyer has been selected as the new principal of Fleming Middle School. She joins Fleming after recently serving as dean of instruction at Fonville Middle School and has served as a teacher, educational diagnostician, a curriculum specialist, teacher development specialist, assistant principal at Hogg Middle School, and principal at Gregory Lincoln Education Center. Ayen-Metoyer was named interim principal at Fleming in December 2018. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from West Indies, Trinidad and a Master’s in Library Studies from the University of West Indies, Jamaica.  

Racquel Torres-Rosenbalm named new principal of Sherman Elementary School

Racquel Torres-Rosenbalm has been selected as the new principal of Sherman Elementary School. She is currently completing the 2017-2018 school year as the assistant principal of Yolanda Navarro Middle School and has served as a bilingual teacher and teacher specialist. Her previous work experience includes being an administrator at DeChaumes Elementary School, where she assisted in leading the campus to meet all TEA campus distinctions for the 2016- 2017 school year. This year, Torres-Rosenbalm was named the district’s East Area Assistant Principal of the Year. The campus was also recognized as a Gold Ribbon Winner and rated an A+ on the School Report Card. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston, and a Master’s in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University. 

Myra Castle-Bell named new principal of Peck Elementary School

Myra Castle-Bell has been selected as the new principal of Peck Elementary School. An educator for 20 years with HISD, Castle-Bell began her career as a third-grade teacher at Rusk Elementary, and has served as a literacy coach and Title I coordinator at Gregory Lincoln Education Center, instructional specialist at Lewis Elementary School, and an assistant principal at Edison Middle School. She joins Peck Elementary after her recent role and first principalship at Kelso Elementary School. She is a HISD alumni of Yates High School and holds two master’s degrees in School Counseling and Education Leadership from Prairie View A&M University.