Jason Davila named new principal of Henry Middle School

Jason Davila has been selected as the new principal of Henry Middle School. Davila began his career at HISD as an assistant principal at McReynolds Middle School in 2015 and previously served as a principal at Pugh Elementary School. While at Pugh, he focused on building a strong academic program and support system that focused on the care of students, parents, and teachers. Davila’s biggest achievement at Pugh was leading the campus out of IR status to earning a Met Standard rating with Distinctions in science and comparative growth during the first year of his leadership. Pugh was also rated a B campus by the Texas Education Agency. Davila holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston-Clear Lake and a master’s degree from Lamar University. 

Enedith Silerio named new principal of DeChaumes Elementary School

Enedith Silerio has been selected as the new principal of DeChaumes Elementary School. She has served as a teacher, magnet coordinator and an assistant principal. In her most recent role as an assistant principal at Burbank Elementary School, she helped the campus achieve 16 TEA distinctions during the 2015–2018 school years, as well as receiving the Best Urban School Award in 2017 from the National Center for Urban School Transformation. This year, she was named the North Area Assistant Principal of the Year. Silerio holds a bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Studies Bilingual Education from University of Houston–Downtown and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from University of St. Thomas.

Pablo Resendiz named new principal of Holland Middle School

Pablo Resendiz has been selected as the new principal of Holland Middle School. He has served as a teacher, teacher specialist and an assistant principal at McReynolds Middle School, where he was instrumental in leading the campus to six out of seven state distinctions. Prior to his principalship, Resendiz was voted Teacher of the Year in 2016 at McReynolds. Most recently, he served as assistant principal at Furr High School. Resendiz holds a bachelor’s in Education from University of Texas at Austin and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Ethical Leadership at University of St. Thomas. 

Shanda Walker named new principal of Kelso Elementary School

Shanda Walker has been selected as the new principal of Kelso Elementary School. As an educator for 18 years, she has served as a teacher, Title I coordinator, dual-language curriculum writer, and school administrator. She joins Kelso after serving as the assistant principal at Reynolds Elementary School. Walker holds a bachelor’s in Sociology and Pre-Law from Spelman College and a master’s in Supervision and Administration from University of Phoenix.

Stacy Garcia named new principal of High School for Law and Justice

Stacy Garcia has been selected as the new principal of High School for Law and Justice. She began her career in education 15 years ago as a bilingual teacher at Davila Elementary School and has also served as an instructional specialist at Law Elementary School, assistant principal and dean of students at Chavez High School. During the last five years, she has served as a secondary assistant principal at the middle and high school levels, including at Lanier Middle School, where she was responsible for providing instructional support to the science department that led to academic gains. She holds a bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Studies from University of Houston-Downtown and a master’s in Educational Administration from University of Houston-Clear Lake. 

‘Camp Lit’ celebration at Minute Maid Park kicks off HISD summer school  

Music, fun and laughter filled Minute Maid Park On Thursday as HISD kicked off summer school for thousands of students, ushering in the district’s second year of “Camp Lit” for literacy.  

“We have 5,000 students here today that are representing over 70 HISD schools,” HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “Not only will our students leave here with books for their own personal library, but we have a number of students here that have never been to Minute Maid Park, so it’s a wonderful learning opportunity for them.” 

Continue reading →

HISD welcomes summer interns for six-week job program

The Houston Independent School District recently welcomed interns to participate in the 2019 Summer Student Leadership Program, a six-week paid summer internship and leadership development program for HISD high school students and alumni currently enrolled in college.  

In just the first week, the interns have been fully submerged in their respective departments for a true hands-on experience, and, over the next five weeks, interns will gain valuable employment experience and can test-drive numerous career pathways before choosing a college major or entering the workforce.  

Continue reading →

HISD Business Operations launches new brand focused on students

[su_document url=”https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/06/Business-Operations-Annual-Report.pdf” height=”840″]

With more than 7,000 employees, Business Operations is the largest division in HISD. But what exactly do we do?

Before students can ever file into their classrooms, bus drivers and crossing guards must get them safely to school. Cafeteria workers must make them a nutritious breakfast. Custodians, police officers, and construction crews must make sure they have new, clean, safe spaces in which to learn.

The breadth of our work touches all facets of the district, and support is at the heart of everything we do. We help lay the foundation for student success — most of the time behind the scenes.

Continue reading →

HISD airs first-ever livestream of graduation, providing virtual access to Kinder HSPVA ceremony

Click here to view this tweet collection

The Office of Communications aired the district’s first-ever graduation livestream on Facebook and HISD TV (Comcast Ch. 18 and U-verse Ch. 99) for Kinder HSPVA at Jones Hall on Wednesday, May 29. 

The office announced a districtwide video contest prior to the last day of the 2018-2019 school year to increase community and campus engagement surrounding the district’s upcoming graduation schedule.  

“Our goal was to provide a fun way for our schools to celebrate one of the biggest accomplishments yet for our students,” said HISD Chief Communications Officer Rebecca Suarez. “Our students and campus leaders work hard all year long, and this was a chance to get everyone even more excited about graduation season. It was an innovative way to provide a viewing opportunity for family and friends to watch the students walk across the stage from wherever they were around the world.” 

Continue reading →

DeBakey HS for Health Professions again tops Children at Risk’s list of top public schools

For the 11th consecutive year, DeBakey High School for Health Professions topped the 2019 Children at Risk list of best public schools in the Houston area.  

HISD’s Eastwood Academy ranked third in the Houston area, Carnegie Vanguard High School came in fourth, East Early College was sixth among local public high schools, and Challenge Early College ranked eighth regionally.   

“We thank Children at Risk for recognizing the work done by HISD and our neighboring districts to ensure academic equity for all students,” HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “Our city helps drive the nation’s economy and our public schools are the engine.” 

Continue reading →