HISD Foundation to offer grants for teachers impacted by Hurricane Harvey 

$100 gift cards distributed to teachers with delayed start dates

The HISD Foundation’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund has raised more than $1.3 million and the nonprofit group is wasting no time distributing the funds to support schools and staff that were most severely impacted by the storm.

On Friday, Sept 15, Foundation Director Ann Scott surprised those teachers still awaiting the start of school on their campus with a $100 gift card to either Office Depot, Crystal Children and Teacher Supply, or Lakeshore Learning. The amount of donated gift cards totaled nearly $37,000 and will be used by the teachers to redecorate their damaged classrooms or supply a new classroom in a different facility.

In addition, Scott announced that starting next week, the Foundation will begin offering grants of up to $1,000 to all HISD teachers who were impacted by Harvey.    Continue reading →

Workshops available for assistance with DACA application renewals

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will host a series of free workshops for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients to assist them in completing renewal applications.

To receive help with the application process, sign up for one of the workshops below by calling 713-874-6570 or 713-595-4100. All workshops will take place at 2707 North Loop West, Houston, Texas 77008.  Please contact Catholic Charities to determine whether you qualify to file a renewal application. Continue reading →

Trustees approve extended school day for 12 campuses, eliminate early dismissal days for all schools

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At its first regular Board meeting since Hurricane Harvey forced a delayed start to the school year, the Houston Independent School District Board of Education approved extended school days for 12 campuses to make up instructional time.

The Board also eliminated five early dismissal days scheduled throughout the school year for all campuses.

Download the revised 2017-2018 Academic Calendar

The Texas Education Agency approved waivers that exempt students from making up the first nine days of missed classes. However, students at 12 schools starting after Sept. 11 will have to make up lost time beyond those days.

“There is no perfect solution,” Superintendent Richard Carranza said. “And as we talked about over the course of this weather event, flexibility will be key. But we are also making sure the extra time is not just seat time.” Continue reading →

Leal sworn in as trustee for District III

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At a brief ceremony in the Manuel Rodríguez, Jr. Board Auditorium, José Leal was sworn in as District III trustee by State Sen. Sylvia Garcia. He was surrounded by friends and family during the board ceremony, which was presided over by District II Board Secretary Rhonda Skillern-Jones.

“I am here to serve the students, the parents and the teachers,” Leal said in an interview after the ceremony. “This is not about status, it’s all about the service and people.”

Leal was appointed to the Board of Education in August 2017 by unanimous vote of HISD trustees. He is serving a portion of the unexpired term of District III representative, a position left vacant by the passing of Trustee Rodríguez. Leal’s term will expire in January 2018 after a special election for the office will be held on Nov. 7, 2017.

Leal has worked in HISD schools since 1981, beginning his career in the operations and maintenance departments.   Continue reading →

HISD Board of Education to vote on extended days for schools with delayed start

Sept. 14 2017 – In its first regular meeting since Hurricane Harvey, the Houston Independent School District Board of Education Trustees will consider a proposal to make up instructional time lost because of the storm.  The Texas Education Agency approved waivers that exempt students from making up the first nine days the storm took away.  However, students at the 12 schools that suffered the most significant damage will have to make up any lost time beyond those days.

Here’s how the proposed plan works:  Students at the four schools scheduled to start on September 18 would be in school for 25 additional minutes every day.  Students at the eight schools scheduled to start on September 25 would go for an extra 55 minutes.  That extended school day would be effective from their first day of school until the end of the first semester in December. Continue reading →

Community relocation meetings taking place

As a result of Hurricane Harvey, some HISD schools have been damaged, and students are being relocated to other schools.

R.P. Harris Elementary School

HISD Trustee Diana Davila and will be hosting a community meeting to discuss the delayed start for R.P. Harris ES at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 21, at the school (1262 Mae Dr., Houston, Texas 77015). Parents may visit student classrooms after the meeting.

Supe embarks on marathon tour to welcome students, staff back after Harvey

On Sept. 11, the first day of school after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston on Aug. 26 and delayed the start of school in HISD, Superintendent Richard Carranza visited six schools to welcome back students and staff members. 

7:22 a.m.: Allison Acres Mobile Home Community

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On a cool, clear Monday morning, Superintendent Richard Carranza greeted two elementary students in south Houston at their bus stop, admiring their electronic sneakers and new backpacks and taking selfies with them for his Twitter page. He was impressed when he asked one of them for advice to pass on to his followers, and she said, “Don’t talk back to your teacher.” Carranza then boarded the bus with the students and rode with them to school, showing off the drawings they did for him when he arrived at Codwell Elementary. Continue reading →

Teachers awaiting start of school attend trauma training and plan community event

Displaced teachers gathering at Kingdom Builders Center for week of training and collaboration

HISD teachers working at schools with delayed starts are gathering at the Kingdom Builders Center in southwest Houston for a week of planning, collaboration, and learning how to best meet the emotional needs of students affected by Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath.

Later in the week, staff from the nearly a dozen campuses will travel to the impacted neighborhoods surrounding their schools for a community event.

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DeBakey HSHP welcomes back students for the first day of school

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Reaching five-stories high, the stairwells at DeBakey High School for Health Professions were filled with students making their way to their classrooms on Monday morning for the first day of school.

DeBakey Principal Agnes Perry said she had been looking forward to having her students back, and both her parents and students also seemed excited about the day.

“I’ve been waiting for this day to happen,” Perry said. “Our teachers are ready.”

Continue reading →

Milby HS students walk new hallways for the first time

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Footsteps echoed throughout the hallways of the new Milby High School as students flowed into the building on Monday for the first day of the 2017-2018 school year.

Principal Roy de la Garza said he and his staff were excited to spend the first day in the school after so much time away. For the past three years, Milby High School students and staff have been temporarily located at the old Jones campus to allow for construction of their new school, which was part of the 2012 Bond.

“It’s so much nicer to be back in the neighborhood,” de la Garza said, admitting that he was overcome with emotion after walking the building on the first day and seeing his students in their new classrooms for the first time. “It’s so good to have them here.”

Continue reading →