All east area campuses’ weekend activities cancelled, sporting events relocated

Friday, March 22 – 5 p.m.

With reports of the Deer Park industrial fire re-igniting this afternoon, all on-campus activities for east area campuses this weekend (Friday, March 22 through Sunday, March 24) have been cancelled. Weekend sporting events also have been rescheduled at alternate locations.

Thursday, March 21 – 1:30 p.m.

According to Harris County Office of Emergency Management, the shelter-in-place for Deer Park has been lifted.

As an added precaution at campuses closest to Deer Park: All outdoor activities will continue to be held indoors, all after-school activities are cancelled, and after-school sporting events have been rescheduled at alternate locations. Principals from those impacted campuses are contacting parents directly with more information.

In addition, HISD has been conducting random air-quality testing at those east area campuses – and those tests are continuing.

We will continue to provide updates as they become available. You can follow immediate updates via social media at Twitter.com/HoustonISD and Facebook.com/HoustonISD.

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Art teacher’s past influences his students in the classroom today

Art has been a driver of social change throughout history, and Edison Middle School visual arts teacher Gerard Caliste is using his experience as a student artist to transform the way his students view their craft and the world around them.

“My kids are learning to paint on anything,” Caliste said. “They are learning to see anything as art. They love the creation process, and I make sure to facilitate that first.”

In his teens, New Orleans-born Caliste, who is one of 22 teacher artists selected to exhibit new works for the Inaugural HISD Visual Art Teacher Exhibition, became involved with the New Orleans based youth art organization YAYA, which gives artistically talented inner-city youth the space to have non-critical access to creative materials. And, according to him, the organization gave him the support he needed to develop his artistic confidence and skills.

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Status of magnet applications now available

Parents and students who submitted an application to a magnet program for the 2019-20 school year during Phase I (Sept. 28-Dec. 7, 2018) can now check the status of their applications online.

Parents who created an online account will be able to find the results posted on their parent dashboards at www.hisdchoice.com. Application-status letters were sent out by U.S. mail on March 12, 2019.

Next Steps

Once you receive your application status, there are steps you must take to secure your place:

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Students, teachers prepare for upcoming AP exams

HISD Advanced Placement students and teachers are invited to attend AP: The Countdown to help prepare for Advanced Placement exam season.

AP: The Countdown will take place at Energy Institute High School from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 30. Throughout the morning, students and teachers will participate in three different review sessions aimed at helping them feel confident and prepared for AP exam season.

The event is free, open to all HISD AP students and teachers, and breakfast will be provided. Students should bring a notebook, a pencil, and a laptop. In addition, transportation will be available at select schools.

Advanced Placement coursework prepares students for college and careers. Students can earn college credit hours and save thousands of dollars in college tuition when they earn a three or higher on AP exams.

During the 2017-2018 school year, 10,242 HISD students received college credit by scoring well on their AP exams, saving their families $11,782,500 in college tuition. AP courses leverage rigorous instruction to help students become independent learners.

Students should register here by March 27. Teachers can register via OneSource using Course Code #927001.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Suzanne Acord at suzanne.acord@houstonisd.org / (713) 556-7240.

HISD launches new tagline across the city

If you’ve visited local movie theaters recently or driven around town, you might have noticed the district’s newest marketing campaign featuring HISD’s new tagline: HISD Empowers.

The tagline emphasizes HISD’s role in building stronger, more confident students. The district launched the series of advertisements in an effort to highlight the district’s positive impact through educational initiatives and services.

The billboards are located at: I-10 and Mary, US Hwy. 225 and Main Street, I-45 South and Edgebrook, Loop 610 and Kirby Drive.

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Principals at Achieve 180 campuses receive district recognitions

While the district prepares for Spring Break, campuses and leadership in the Achieve 180 program are taking a moment to celebrate their academic and leadership achievements for the month of March. 

Earlier this month, the district announced Principal Khalilah Campbell-Rhone of Worthing High School as HISD’s 2018-2019 Secondary Principal of the Year. 

The Secondary Principal of the Year kicked off the school year learning that her campus was removed from the Improvement Required list—a notable accomplishment in just one year as principal at the campus.  

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At midpoint of the legislative session, teacher pay raise and school finance bills advance

Texas lawmakers have entered the halfway point of the 86th Legislative Session, and the pace of activity at the State Capitol has significantly increased since January.

On March 4, the Texas Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 3, which provides an across-the-board $5,000 pay raise to every full-time classroom teachers and all school librarians. As filed, the bill would have provided raises to full-time classroom teachers only. However, the bill’s author, Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound), amended the legislation on the Senate floor to include school librarians because of their requirement to teach in the classroom for two years. SB 3 will now go to the House for consideration. House Public Education Committee Chair Dan Huberty (R-Humble) indicated SB 3 would likely receive a hearing in his committee.

Increasing teacher compensation and reforming school finance are two of the governor’s emergency items, declared in his Feb. 15 State of the State address. SB 3 is also a priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and all 31 members of the Texas Senate.

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Nutrition Services celebrates National School Breakfast Week

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This week, HISD Nutrition Services encouraged students to start their day with school breakfast as they took part in celebrating National School Breakfast Week. 

Observed from March 4-8, the national campaign brings attention to school breakfast programs and emphasizes the importance of providing students with a healthy breakfast every day. 

As part of the weeklong celebration, every HISD elementary student eating school breakfast this week was given a trading card featuring this year’s “Start Your Engines” theme. Students were able to collect and trade the three different cards, each of which highlighted a popular breakfast item and included a fun fact.  

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Resource Allocation Advisory Committee accepting applications for community members

The Houston Indepenedent School District’s Resource Allocation Advisory Committee (RAAC) is inviting members of the community to serve on the panel.  

RAAC, which was created by Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan last year, functions as an advisory committee to create recommendations on HISD’s funding model and expenditures at the campus level.

The committee consists of HISD principals, parents, community leaders and staff. The administration is open to recommendations from the public and views of the community as a critical partner in the decision-making process of reimagining HISD.  

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HISD Foundation dinner spotlights national conversation on importance of public education 

Event raises nearly $300,000 to fund strategic initiatives for HISD students

About 1,500 public education advocates, HISD educators, supporters and students attended the HISD Foundation’s first-ever Public Education Matters Benefit Dinner, which raised
nearly $300,000 to fund strategic initiatives for HISD students.

The highlight of the evening was a fireside chat between Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan, CEO of Teach for America Elisa Villanueva Beard and Harlem Children’s Zone Founder Geoffrey Canada. The discussion was moderated by ABC’s What Would You Do? host John Quiones who recalled his childhood as a migrant worker and a defining moment when his father asked if he wanted to do that kind of work the rest of his life or get a college education.

“Public education levels the playing field,” Lathan said. “I want people in the community to reach out to elected officials and encourage them to increase funding for our school district so that our students can continue to grow and thrive academically and compete with their peers worldwide.”

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