Third annual Dream Summit draws record crowd with college, financial aid resources 

HISD’s third annual Dream Summit, held Saturday at Hattie Mae White, drew more than 200 students eager to collect resources and information about college applications and financial aid – about double the attendance over last year.

The HISD Office of College and Career Readiness and Multilingual Programs event is held each year to offer assistance to HISD DREAMers, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients, visa holders, permanent residents, refugees, and asylum grantees, along with their families.

Assistant Superintendent of Multilingual Programs Gracie Guerrero said the goal of the event is twofold.

“It shows students who may think that they have no options to pursue anything beyond high school that there are specific resources for them. And it also brings together resources that we have in the district in one place to make it accessible,” Guerrero said. Continue reading →

HISD Board of Education to consider plan to rebuild four Harvey-damaged schools

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education during its December meeting on Thursday will consider a plan to rebuild four elementary schools that sustained the most severe flood damage as a result of Hurricane Harvey.

The board’s regular monthly meeting begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, in the Manuel Rodríguez Jr. Board Auditorium of the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, 4400 W. 18th St. Click here to view the full agenda.

Facilities assessments of the four elementary schools  — Braeburn, Scarborough, Kolter, and Mitchell — found significant property damage, as well as a strong need to raise the elevation of the buildings to prevent potential future flood damage. Continue reading →

More than 2,500 elementary students to step into the holidays with new kicks in East End

Students in Houston’s East End will get brand-new shoes in time for the holidays, thanks to the Navigation Area Business Association’s annual Shoes for Kids donation.

The event will take place Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017 at 6  p.m. inside the gym and cafeteria at Austin High School (1700 Dumble, Houston 77023).

For the 30th year, NABA will donate more than 2,500 pairs of shoes to students from 10 HISD elementary schools: Burnet, Carillo, DeZavala, Franklin, Gallegos, J.R. Harris, J.P. Henderson, Lantrip, Page, and Tijerina. Continue reading →

Microsoft partners with HISD on Coding Bash at HMW

Hundreds of HISD employees participated in a Coding Bash and Technology Showcase at Hattie Mae White Education Support Center on Friday, Dec. 8, in support of Computer Science Education Week.

Microsoft and HISD’s Advanced Academics Department partnered on the event, which demonstrated the importance of coding as a way to develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The district is leading by example to show students, teachers, and staff members that coding impacts everyone.

Continue reading →

Eastwood Academy and Austin HS learn about college readiness from UHD president

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Students attend forums to learn about post-high school options

University of Houston-Downtown President Juan Munoz on Thursday visited with upperclassmen at Austin High School and Eastwood Academy, discussing the limitless opportunities of higher education – and bringing some exciting news to a few seniors.

Located less than five miles from UHD and only a six-minute walk between the two high school campuses, both Eastwood Academy and Austin High School are represented by HISD District VIII Board of Trustee Diana Davila, who joined Munoz on the college-readiness tour.

“It’s important for HISD to have forums like today that introduce another college option and allows for our students to interact with the decision-makers of a university,” Davila said. “Hopefully today, the students realize that there are people who care and are working hard to provide resources they need as they continue their education beyond high school.”  Continue reading →

Workshop Wednesday presents human capital strategies

G&A Partners Director Jose Laurel spoke to a crowd of local business owners and vendors on Wednesday offering advice on hiring and retaining good employees.

Laurel emphasized two critical requirements that are essential in achieving growth and success: employees must be eager to learn and companies must be willing to evolve.

Laurel asked attendees how often their companies administered employee reviews. While most in attendance said their companies conducted reviews annually, Laurel noted that the best practice was to conduct shorter appraisals on a regular basis. This ensures employees have the opportunity to get and give feedback.

Continue reading →

HISD awarded more than $13 million in grants to expand college access programming

More students in the Houston Independent School District will have access to college readiness programming thanks to two grants totaling $13 million from Houston Endowment.

The three-year grants will allow the district to expand EMERGE, a program that helps students from underserved backgrounds attend and graduate from the nation’s top colleges and universities. Most students in the program receive more than $200,000 in scholarships and grants over four years. And more than 96 percent of all EMERGE students have graduated from college within four years, or are on track to do so. Continue reading →

HISD named to College Board’s AP District Honor Roll for gains in student access, success

District, placed on list for first time, is among 447 across U.S. and Canada to earn distinction

The Houston Independent School District is one of 447 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the 8th Annual AP District Honor Roll, a first for the district.

To be included on the 8th Annual Honor Roll, HISD had to increase the number of students participating in AP since 2015 while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher. The district has more than doubled that number since 2007. Reaching these goals shows that HISD is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for AP.

“I am very proud of our students and staff for achieving this distinction,” Superintendent Richard Carranza said. “This honor is yet another example of the district’s commitment to offering rigorous options to all our students that we believe prepare them for their next level of education.” Continue reading →