First Class Breakfast program expanding to high schools

Food Research and Action Center awards Nutrition Services $64,000 grant

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) has awarded HISD’s Nutrition Services department $64,000 to expand the First Class Breakfast program in HISD high schools. The grant will ensure that students at eight high schools get a nutritious, free breakfast every school day.

A 2012 HISD study reported better academic performance, behavior, and attendance in schools that served breakfast. Nutrition Services Director of Operations Odell Warren explained how beneficial the program is to helping students stay focused in class.

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Email marketing strategies featured at November’s Workshop Wednesday

This month’s Workshop Wednesday featured marketing strategist and author Toni Harris, who discussed the power of email marketing and social media engagement in growing a business.

“Email marketing is a way to hand your message to your clients,” said Harris, who also represents Constant Contact, the largest email marketing company in the world. “Only a small percentage of your contacts will see your social media posts, a lot more will see your direct email, so it’s important to create content that engages your audience.”

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Next School Choice Open House set for Nov. 14

Parents who have not yet decided where to send their children for the 2016–2017 school year still have time to make up their minds, and HISD is helping them narrow the field with a series of four School Choice Open Houses scheduled through mid-December.

The first two Open Houses took place on Oct. 3 and 24, but if you missed those, don’t worry. The next one is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14, at Yates High School (3703 Sampson, 77004), and there will be one more before the deadline for guaranteed first-round consideration of magnet applications on Dec. 18. Continue reading →

HISD CFO/deputy superintendent wins national award for urban education

Kenneth HuewittHouston Independent School District Deputy Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer Ken Huewitt has been honored by the Council of Great City Schools with the 2015 Bill Wise Award for distinguished service to urban education.

The national honor was established in 2000 to recognize school district business officials who distinguish themselves through their service to urban education and exemplify professionalism, commitment, integrity and leadership. The award is bestowed by Council of the Great City Schools, which brings together 68 of the nation’s largest urban public school systems in an effort to improve the education of urban schoolchildren. Continue reading →

HISD Student Congress leader advises peers to ‘embrace the uncertain’

Amy Fan

Amy Fan

In this week’s “I Am HISD,” which features district students, graduates, employees, volunteers, and other team members, Bellaire High School senior Amy Fan talks about why she got involved in the HISD Student Congress, what her goals are for this school year, and the biggest hurdle she had to get over in embracing her role as speaker of the congress.

You served as the outreach chair of the Student Congress during its inaugural year of operation. What made you decide to throw your hat in the ring for the top leadership position?

You make me sound like a politician. Actually, I’ve been really interested in education reform for a while, even before the Student Congress was founded (mostly just through reading and watching videos), and I’ve come to embrace its mission. And after being part of the Student Congress Cabinet in its founding year, I learned a lot more about the district, both from a student perspective and an adult perspective, and it seemed logical to run for speaker my senior year. Continue reading →

Brookline ES kicks off $100,000 capital campaign to renovate library

A student reads at Brookline Elementary School’s Literacy Night on Oct. 7.

A student reads at Brookline Elementary School’s Literacy Night on Oct. 7.

Brookline Elementary School is on a quest to upgrade its campus library, and the “Books for Bobcats” kickoff it held on Oct. 26 has already received a boost from an anonymous donor, who promised to match up to $50,000 — or half of the campaign’s stated $100,000 goal.

“This person is a college friend of one of the faculty who has been very successful in the corporate world,” said Brookline teacher and capital campaign director Theodore Wills. “He has been a generous benefactor to public libraries and many other causes.”

Wills noted that Brookline devotes its resources to improving student achievement in math and reading each school year. This year, campus leaders determined that updating the library collection was critical to preparing students to be successful global graduates, so Brookline is devoting its entire library budget to the purchase of new STEM-focused (science, technology, engineering, and math) books. Continue reading →

HISD Board of Education Election Results

Diana Dávila and Jolanda Jones were elected to the Houston Independent School District Board of Education on Tuesday, according to final, but unofficial results of Tuesday’s trustee election.

Jones won a seat on the HISD Board of Education for the first time, beating out three opponents to fill the District IV spot being vacated by departing Trustee Paula Harris. Jones defeated Davetta Daniels, Ann McCoy, and Larry McKinzie. Continue reading →

2015 holiday greeting card artwork winners announced

The winners of HISD’s annual 2015 Holiday Greeting Card competition were announced on Nov. 3, and one was a repeat from last year.

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Gloria Xie, who won in the middle school category in 2014, also claimed that honor this year as a seventh-grader at Pershing Middle School. “I would just like to say thank you to my principal, Ms. (Kim) Heckman, and my teacher, Ms. Perugini, and my parents,” she said.

Each year, the district sends out hundreds of holiday greeting cards to principals, board members, legislators, local leaders, parents groups, and community partners. Since 2003, these cards have featured the artwork of HISD students.

The other students whose artwork was selected for 2015 were: Continue reading →

Revere STEM program gains national attention with BP’s help

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Community partners are invaluable when it comes to helping students see how things are done in the real world. BP America has been partnering with HISD’s Revere Middle School since 2013, when STEM magnet coordinator and robotics teacher Alyssa Cannon-Banks began searching for role models for her students. BP America was one of the first to respond and sent nearly 40 scientists, engineers, and accountants to judge the school’s science fair. Soon after, BP America organized frequent tours of their headquarters, which made lasting impressions on students, most of whom come from underprivileged families.

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