With the nation’s largest school district food production facility, Houston ISD Nutrition Services has a lot on its plate preparing more than 270,000 meals each day for delivery to schools across the greater Houston area. Continue reading
Family Learning Academy offers five spring events for HISD families
Parent and community members are invited for presentations, workshops, and resources to help students succeed
This spring, the HISD Family Learning Academy will be offering five free events to connect families to resources to help students succeed in school, get into college, and find a rewarding career. Family Learning Academy partners with HISD Departments and community organizations to tailor every event to community needs.
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HSPVA leader participates in inaugural Cooke Foundation Summit
Dr. R. Scott Allen
Dr. R. Scott Allen, the principal of The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) was one of only 100 campus leaders from around the country to be invited to participate in at a two-day summit last week to identify solutions to close the excellence gap—the troubling disparity in academic performance between lower-income and higher-income students at advanced levels.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation convened “Closing the Excellence Gap” on Feb. 5 and 6 to share cutting-edge research and best practices for supporting high-achieving, low-income students.
A number of principals formed a new organization at this landmark event, called the “Coalition of Leaders for Advanced Students Success,” whose goal is to support and advocate for high-achieving students with financial need.
“We are leaders in our communities who have a stake in nurturing talent wherever we find it and regardless of a student’s economic status,” said Dr. Allen. “We need talent to remain competitive as a nation. This summit underscored the fact that HSPVA is part of the solution.”
“This summit confirmed my belief that these leaders have excellent insights to offer policymakers at all levels of government,” said Harold Levy, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and former chancellor of New York City Schools.
The creation of HSPVA in 1971 represented the first attempt by any public high school in the nation to correlate an academic program with concentrated training in the arts. It was one of only three public schools in the nation to offer programs in both the visual and performing arts, and the first such institution in the Southwest. HSPVA is fully accredited and offers the same academic curriculum and graduation requirements as all HISD high schools.
Author visits build love of literacy through inspiration, encouragement
Author Barney Saltzberg with Visual Art Specialist Rebecca Stewart
Whether you’re five, 15, or 55 years old, it can still be a thrilling experience to meet someone who actually created a book you enjoyed. If it makes a big enough impression, the experience can even make you a reader for life.
That’s why a number of HISD schools regularly invite popular authors to visit their campuses as part of the district’s literacy initiatives, such as Harvard ES, Patterson and Red elementaries, and Burbank Middle School.
Barney Saltzberg was the latest writer/illustrator to bring inspiration and encouragement to students. He came to Memorial Elementary School on Feb. 13.
“His visit was awesome,” said Visual Art Specialist Rebecca Stewart. “He spoke about not being a very good student. He said he was terrible at spelling. No one—not even his parents—was very optimistic that he would ever do anything significant, because he had such a hard time in school. But he loved to draw, so he drew all the time. When he went to art school, he still didn’t think he was very good, but a teacher looked at his drawing one day and said, ‘You need to write a book with that character.’ So he did. And the little boy who had such a hard time at spelling is now a best-selling author with more than a million books in print.” Continue reading
Lamar HS football player to accept prestigious Watkins Award
Lamar High School football player Holton Hill will be in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 21, 2015, to receive this year’s Franklin D. Watkins Memorial Award. He is one of only five high school athletes nationwide to be so honored this year by the National Alliance of African American Athletes. Continue reading
TX Dept. of Agriculture dubs HISD Nutrition Services the ‘Cream of the Crop’
Nutrition Services representatives (L-R): Glenn Topfer (vendor liaison), Amanda Oceguera (nutrition manager), Angela Olige (chief administrator), and Audene Chung (senior administrator) accept the award on behalf of the district.
HISD’s Nutrition Services department was recently recognized for supporting agriculture in the Lone Star State. The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) presented it with a “Cream of the Crop” award on Jan. 8 for the district’s commitment to sourcing food locally.
Each year, the TDA challenges schools to use more Texas products in the meals they serve during National School Lunch Week and recognizes those who complete the challenge.
HISD served nine menu items that were locally sourced, including milk from Oak Farms, apple juice from Cal-Tex, and tortillas from Kurz.
“Our vision is to create more recipes from scratch, sourcing the ingredients and menu items locally to not only provide wholesome meals for our students, but also to support the Texas community,” said Audene Chung, senior administrator of Nutrition Services.
This was the district’s second year of recognition. HISD Nutrition Services was also presented with the Grapefruit Award for completing a local products challenge last year.
Updated HISD emergency administrative guide to be distributed
HISD Risk Management Field Safety Team Leader Robert Cage, Jr. and HISD Risk Management Safety and Loss Control Manager Julie Burris-Richardson.
HISD’s Risk Management department recently rolled out a new Emergency Resource Administrative Guide aimed to prepare staff members and students across the district for potential emergency situations.
TV stations partner with HISD to spread word about free money for college
FAFSA public service announcements airing on Spanish and English stations
Houston’s Spanish and English TV stations have partnered with HISD to help high school seniors apply for and receive financial aid to pursue higher education. All local stations are running public service announcements (PSAs) produced by the HISD Multimedia Department to encourage seniors and their parents to fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). FAFSA gives students access to $150 billion in grants, loans, and work-study funds made available by the federal government.
Austin High School students take a bite out of “Shark Tank” competition
Houston Community College Professor Catherine Smith’s Business Dual Credit/College Credit students at Austin High School made “business dreams and ideas come alive” twice this past year when they participated in two high-level collegiate business plan and business development competitions. Continue reading
Digital Learning Spotlight: Herrera Elementary
During the month of February, all HISD teachers are being encouraged to try something new in their classrooms, as well as share ideas, resources, and lessons learned by posting their experiences and photos on social media using the hashtag #HISDdigital. Each week during the month, we are profiling a teacher or campus that is using technology to break up rows in classrooms, engage students, and innovate instructional practice. This week’s profile features Herrera Elementary.
Students at Herrera Elementary are using tablets and digital programs such as iMovie, Animoto, Prezi, and Roxio to produce digital book trailers instead of the standard book report most of us remembering doing in elementary school. Continue reading