#TeamHISD rallies around Sam Houston MSTC as basketball team advances to state semi-finals

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HISD’s own Sam Houston Running Tigers got a raucous send-off Thursday before they head to the state boys’ basketball semi-finals this weekend for the first time since 1988, and fans are being encouraged to show their support by attending Friday’s game or cheering the team on through social media.

Students and staff – along with members of the school’s 1988 state basketball championship team – gathered at Sam Houston Math, Science & Technology Center for the morning rally before the Tigers’ trip to San Antonio, where they will take on the Atascocita HS Eagles (Humble ISD) in the initial 6A division match-up at 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Alamodome. The winner of that game will play against either the DeSoto Eagles (DeSoto ISD) or the Steele HS Knights (Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD) the following night at 8:30 p.m. for the state championship.

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HISD Nutrition Services called a ‘role model’ after acing state review

TDA Lead Monitors Kelly Craig and Sally Page sign the preliminary review report to Nutrition Services Senior Administrator Audene Chung.

TDA Lead Monitors Kelly Craig and Sally Page sign the preliminary review report to Nutrition Services Senior Administrator Audene Chung.

HISD’s Nutrition Services Department was praised recently by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) as a “role model” for other districts after achieving a near-perfect score on an administrative review.

The preliminary review debriefing took place on Feb. 26, and Nutrition Services was praised for its efforts to provide HISD students with the best school meals in the state.

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HISD Board of Education to consider plan detailing distribution of funds to schools for 2016-2017

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education is expected to vote Thursday on a plan detailing how funding will be distributed to campuses across the district for the 2016-2017 school year.

The plan is outlined in the district’s annual Resource Allocation Handbook, which campus administrators use to develop their budgets for the coming school year. It calls for a reconfiguration of district funding methods to ensure the neediest students still receive appropriate resources despite budget cuts resulting from the state’s funding formula. Continue reading →

HISD, Arts Access Initiative partnership to expand arts education to 25 schools

Last spring, HISD, Young Audiences of Houston, the City of Houston, and more than 30 community arts organizations announced a new partnership — the Arts Access Initiative (AAI) — that has been providing additional arts-education programming to 10 elementary schools and one middle school. In late March, the AAI will announce 14 new HISD schools selected from around 40 applicants that will join the existing AAI cohort in 2016–2017.

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The first district schools to benefit from AAI are: Atherton, Benbrook, Eliot, Hartsfield, Hines-Caldwell, Kashmere Gardens, Memorial, Mitchell, Scarborough, and Whittier elementary schools, as well as Hamilton Middle School.

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HSPVA ensemble becomes first from HISD to be named ‘Madrigal Festival Honor Choir’

HSPVA_MadrigalCostu_2016_800A group of singers from The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) has just become the very first from an HISD campus to win a coveted state title.

The HSPVA Madrigal Singers were recently named the winner of the 2016 Madrigal and Chamber Choir Festival and the 2017 Honor Choir by the San Antonio Madrigal & Chamber Choir Festival (SAMCCF). They competed against 41 other choirs from across the state on March 5, and as the winners of this year’s competition, they will return to the festival next year and perform the Honor Choir Concert.

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HISD observes National School Breakfast Week March 7–11

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The Houston Independent School District encourages students to start their day with a healthy breakfast. That’s why HISD’s Nutrition Services Department is observing National School Breakfast Week March 7–11, with the theme of “Blasting off with Breakfast.” The districtwide effort highlights the many benefits of HISD’s free breakfast program.

This year, Nutrition Services invited two local heroes to show students the importance of breakfast at school. On March 8, the Houston Texan’s mascot Toro pumped up students for a day of learning in the breakfast line at Montgomery ES, courtesy of Dairy MAX. And on March 10, NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke will be on a mission at Grissom ES to talk about the importance of healthy eating for space travel.

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HISD athletic activities canceled Tuesday due to pending inclement weather

All Houston Independent School District athletic activities scheduled for today — Tuesday, March 8, 2016 — have been canceled due to pending inclement weather.

The cancellation affects all HISD baseball, softball, and soccer games. Games will be rescheduled for a later date. All other afterschool activities will be left up to individual campus discretion.

HISD officials will continue to monitor weather conditions throughout the night in anticipation of storms and heavy rains that forecasters have said could cause flooding and potentially dangerous driving conditions throughout the city.

The safety of our students and staff – and their families – is always our first consideration when making these decisions. Any additional closures or cancellations will be announced early Wednesday morning, after district officials have had the opportunity to assess weather and road conditions.

For additional updates, please visit www.houstonisd.org, or call the HISD Inclement Weather Hotline at 713-267-1704. You can sign up for HISD text message alerts to receive updates on school weather conditions by texting YES to 68453. You also can follow the district on Twitter and Facebook: twitter.com/houstonisd and facebook.com/houstonisd.

Groundbreaking ceremonies, bond community meetings planned for spring

Two groundbreaking ceremonies, five community meetings and quarterly Bond Oversight Committee meeting scheduled through April

With construction making noticeable progress across HISD, many projects are reaching their next milestone – including including groundbreaking ceremonies at Parker Elementary School and Booker T. Washington High School, and a host of community meetings scheduled for the spring.

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Smithsonian science study promises long-lasting benefits for HISD students

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HISD just completed a five-year study with the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC), and the lessons learned from it will be benefitting HISD students for years to come.

The study evaluated the effectiveness of the SSEC’s Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) model of science instruction in three states, using an Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. In HISD, the study followed approximately 9,500 students at 26 schools whose academic performance was monitored from 2011 through 2016.

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