Community gathers to honor late Trustee Rodríguez at board auditorium naming ceremony

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The family of late District III Trustee Manuel Rodríguez Jr., along with elected officials, educators, and community members, gathered at Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center on Thursday to dedicate the board auditorium in his name.

Rodríguez, who passed away July 19, was a lifelong public servant and a trustee for 14 years. He was also a product of HISD schools, graduating from Austin High School in 1970 after attending Franklin Elementary and McReynolds Middle schools. His wife and four children also attended HISD schools.

“Today is a day of joy as we leave behind a legacy for the Rodríguez family,” said HISD Board of Education President Wanda Adams. Continue reading →

Fifth Ward community members tour the new Mickey Leland  

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Excitement and nostalgia filled the air as community members from the historic Fifth Ward flocked to the new Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men on Friday to get their first glimpse of the new campus.

Roughly 50 school stakeholders and community dignitaries — including Gaston Leland, brother of late Congressman and school namesake Mickey Leland — crowded into the robotics lab, eager to see and learn about the facility, which is set to open to students for the first day of school on Aug. 28. Continue reading →

Reliant Energy donates generator to Energy Institute HS during annual school supply donation event

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Each year, Reliant Energy donates school supplies to HISD schools in August, but this year the company added something extra—a Goal Zero Yeti generator valued at more than $2,000.

The lucky recipients are the students at Energy Institute High School, and they saw a demonstration of the small but powerful generator during their freshman orientation on Aug. 10.

“We’re confident that demonstrating our portable Goal Zero Yeti 400 Lithium generator will give the event a unique STEM focus,” said NRG Retail Charitable Foundation representative Leanne Schneider. “It will combine the school’s cutting-edge approach with the buzz of renewable energy.”  Continue reading →

Eastwood Academy to open new CTE building by year’s end

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Students returning to Eastwood Academy this fall will see plenty of construction activity around the campus as crews work to finish the first addition — known as the blue wing — in time for a December move-in.

“We were hoping that the entire project would be finished by December, but we understand things can change for a variety of reasons,” Eastwood Academy Principal Brandi Lira said. “I see progress every day and will be happy to move into the blue wing in a few months.”

The project has seen delays due largely to unforeseen conditions, including the discovery of a large in-ground swimming pool, which had been filled with dirt and camouflaged with ground cover. Workers also found underground utility lines and storage spaces that were not documented on city site maps. Continue reading →

Ask HISD Superintendent Carranza your back-to-school questions

Parents and community members can have their back-to-school questions answered by the superintendent and learn more about what’s new in the 2017-18 school year by tuning in to a live, interactive broadcast on Monday, Aug. 21.

Superintendent Carranza and his staff will take questions during a discussion that will be streamed live on HoustonISD.org, Facebook.com/HoustonISD, and on HISD-TV (Comcast 18 and Uverse 99).

There will be two opportunities to join in the conversation: from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. for Spanish-speaking community members, and from 7 to 8 p.m. for English-speaking community members.

Parents can submit questions ahead of time by emailing Back2School@HoustonISD.org , posting a Tweet with the hashtag #Back2School, or posting a question at Facebook.com/HoustonISD. Questions can also be submitted during the live event.

The live broadcast will also provide an opportunity for the community to learn more about HISD’s initiatives for the new school year, including Achieve180, which is a plan to support the district’s 32 underserved campuses; restorative justice practices; wraparound services; and literacy. There will also be an update on the district’s new bond schools, nutrition in HISD, and fine arts.

Magnet application deadline for Phase 3 is Aug. 11  

Parents who would still like to apply for a magnet school for the 2017-2018 school year or would like to reapply to a school at which their original magnet application was dropped or released have until Friday, August 11, 2017, to do so.

Applications from eligible HISD-resident students will be considered first. Parents who accept an offered seat are asked to return a signed entrance agreement and proof of residency to their Magnet program. Parents may accept an offer to only one program, and magnet applications submitted after the August 11 deadline will not be considered.

Parents who created online accounts can find the results posted on their dashboards, and letters were sent out by U.S. mail to all parents who submitted an application.

For a complete list of campuses with space available, see this link (PDF). For additional information, see the School Choice page here.

Parents should email Magnet@houstonisd.org with questions.

New construction at Garden Oaks makes great strides

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Construction at Garden Oaks Montessori is gaining ground as the school’s two new building additions are more than a quarter of the way complete and renovations to the existing building are underway.

The construction of the two new additions are a key feature of the $26.7 million project, which is part of the HISD voter-approved 2012 Bond Program. Roof installation is complete on the two-story addition, which is being outfitted with doors and windows. On the three-story addition, steel work is complete and roofing is underway.

Renovations to the library and installation of the steel framing for the cafeteria expansion also are underway, and the new circle drive is halfway done.

Continue reading →

HISD Police Department welcomes new assistant chief and 11 officers   

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Wearing sharp black uniforms adorned with embroidered patches, newly appointed Assistant Chief Paul Cordova and 11 new officers filed into the Thomas Middle School gym on Monday ready to be sworn in as the district’s newest law enforcement officers.

Family, friends, and colleagues cheered as each officer had a shiny silver badge pinned to their uniform.

“Today is a momentous occasion,” HISD Police Chief Robert Mock said, noting that the badges conveyed great responsibility. “This a day you are given great trust, a day to become a leader.”

With Monday’s swearing-in ceremony being the largest to date, the HISD Police Department now boasts of 216 officers. It is the only accredited public school district police department in the nation, responding to more than 81,380 calls per year across 300 square miles.  Continue reading →

Emeterio Cruz named new principal of Sanchez Elementary

Emeterio Cruz (Houston Independent School District)Emeterio Cruz has been appointed principal of Sanchez Elementary School. He has been with HISD for eight years, starting as a fifth-grade bilingual teacher at Sutton Elementary School, where he was named teacher of the year in 2010. Cruz served as a teacher specialist at Shearn Elementary and assistant principal at Pugh and Anderson elementaries. He graduated from HISD schools and holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from University of Houston-Downtown and a master’s degree in education as part of the HISD Leadership Cohort at University of Houston.

Don’t miss Texas’ annual Sales Tax Holiday on Aug. 11–13

Most clothing, footwear, school supplies, and backpacks exempt

Parents have the opportunity for some extra back-to-school savings during Texas’ annual Sales Tax Holiday on August 11–13, 2017.

The holiday provides exemptions from state and local sales taxes on most clothing and footwear priced at less than $100, saving shoppers about $8 on every $100 they spend. Many retailers offer sales and special promotions over the weekend, so shoppers can maximize their savings. For complete details, please visit TexasTaxHoliday.org.