Loan officer Anthony Lopez of LiftFund 
this week offered tips to local business owners on securing small business loans for startup businesses.
“We finance startup businesses, and we have a simple formula that we give to our customers to discover what they need to qualify for a loan,” Lopez said during HISD’s monthly Workshop Wednesday.
The sessions are held on the first Wednesday of the month and are hosted by HISD’s Business Assistance Supplier Diversity department.
[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000xj_4H5Kv73Y” g_name=”20160109-CracktheCode” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]
Did you know you could program a computer to play a piano using fruit or PlayDoh as a conductor? That’s what teachers and students learned at a “Crack the Code” event held Jan. 9, at HISD’s Southmayd Elementary School.
Sponsored by the Innovative Curriculum STEM Teacher Development team and funded through the TIF4 STEM grant, “Crack the Code” created an opportunity for teachers to develop coding skills and explore new ways to implement coding in their own classrooms, even when they don’t have computers available. More than 200 students, teachers, and parents participated in the event, which offered a variety of coding activities — both plugged and unplugged — in an exciting day of challenge and learning.
Teachers participated in the learning right along with their students, as they worked their way through the station activities. From creating obstacle courses and navigating mazes to working with Scratch programming and physical computing, participants expanded their coding skills and understanding.
“This was a wonderful experience for my students,” said Judy Salmon, a teacher at Milne Elementary. “They didn’t want to leave and neither did I.”
Managed by the Office Innovative Curriculum and Instruction in partnership with the Department of Research and Accountability, the TIF4 STEM grant is a five-year federal grant in its third year of implementation. The grant provides program support to 23 schools: 18 elementary campuses, three middle schools, and two K-8 campuses.
See more footage of students and their project in the #HISDecoded Twitter feed.
The new year is a great time to make a resolution to volunteer with HISD. There are so many opportunities, including classroom assistance at your child’s school, mentoring or tutoring at a neighborhood school, fundraising, reading to a young student, and much more.
Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) recruits thousands of parents and community members to donate their time and resources to increase student achievement across the district.
Only about 700 — or less than one percent — of HISD students have special dietary needs that require restricted diets, but providing those children with healthy, nourishing food is all in a day’s work for HISD’s Nutrition Services department.
Dietitian Lindsay Smith works closely with nurses and kitchen staff to monitor students who need allergen-free meals, and HISD as a district eliminated all peanut and tree-nut products from its recipes two years ago as a precaution, to prevent accidental allergic reactions.
The Houston Independent School District Board of Education will welcome its two newest members on Thursday, swearing in newly elected District VIII Trustee Diana Dávila and District IV Trustee Jolanda Jones.
The two trustees were elected to the board in November. They will be formally sworn in prior to the first meeting of the year during a special ceremony at 11 a.m. in the board auditorium of the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center. Continue reading
Interior work is underway in the new wing at Grady Middle School.
With construction well underway on schools throughout HISD, a few are beginning to put the finishing touches on their buildings—including installation of furniture that will bring 21st century learning to life.
Under the bond program, a total of 40 schools are currently being built or renovated with flexible and innovative learning spaces. Inside of each building, flexible furniture will be included in the learning spaces to move beyond the traditional classroom of four walls, white board, and fixed desks and chairs.
Two Houston Independent School District elementary schools have been nominated for the U.S. Department of Education’s prestigious national 2016 Blue Ribbon School designation.
National Blue Ribbons are awarded annually to high-performing schools to validate the hard work of students and educators. Lovett and Oak Forest elementary schools are among 26 public schools in Texas to be nominated for the recognition. Continue reading
[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000C6_AemRI5U0″ g_name=”20160112-Grier” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]
Mayor Sylvester Turner, who assumed leadership of the Bayou City earlier this month, recognized HISD Superintendent of Schools Terry Grier with a proclamation on Jan. 12 for his dedicated service to Houston’s children.
“Dr. Terry Grier is widely recognized for his leadership in turning around failing schools,” read the proclamation, “and the City of Houston commends Dr. Terry Grier for his commitment to the academic advancement of Houston youth and extends best wishes for continued success.”
In this week’s “I Am HISD,” which features district students, graduates, employees, volunteers, and other team members, probation officer Juan Sorto talks about what prompted him to become a member of HISD’s Volunteers in Public Schools, why he is so passionate about working with students in the North Forest area, and who inspired him to reach for greatness as a child.
You approached HISD several years ago with a very specific request: to volunteer in schools that used to be part of North Forest ISD. Why was serving students in that part of town so important to you?
I moved to the North Forest area in 2001, and I still live there today. It has a lot of students who are in the same situation I was as a kid. They are growing up in the same condition—poverty. I was raised by a single mother who didn’t know any English and barely finished the second grade, and I was the first person in my family to graduate from high school and go to college. When I finally reached a level where I was stable in life and had a disposable income, I wanted to get more involved with kids who were struggling themselves but maybe didn’t know how to succeed.
The Houston Independent School District will be holding its annual State of the Schools Luncheon on Thursday, March 3, 2016.
The event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the fourth-floor ballroom of the Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel (1600 Lamar, 77010).