Students at Kolter Elementary School cheered and posed for pictures alongside a $10,000 check from Code.org that will go toward purchasing new laptops after the school won the nonprofit’s Hour of Code registration challenge. Kolter was selected as the Texas school winner along with 50 other schools that were named the winners for their state. [su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/114167212″ ]
HISD, Code.org announce new K-12 computer science education partnership
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The Houston Independent School District teamed up with Code.org on Wednesday to announce a new partnership that aims to bring computer science education to all HISD campuses over the next three years.
Through the partnership, HISD will find ways to integrate coding and computer science principles at all grade levels. Rather than focus simply on computer programming, the goal is to use coding to emphasize the underlying principles of logic, creative thinking and expression in all academic areas. Continue reading
Engineers, college professor, and even a cowboy share love of reading with elementary students
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Reading aloud to students is widely recognized as the single most important activity for developing literacy. And if that reader also can serve as a positive male role model, even better.
This past fall, Anderson Elementary Dual Language School launched M.A.L.E. (Men and Literacy Evolving), an initiative in which male members of the community come to the school to read to students on the last Monday of each month. Anderson Principal Roslyn Stiles Vaughn envisioned the program after a member of her church expressed his desire to make a difference by reading to students. Continue reading
Students with autism get their kicks at special performance of Rockettes
The Bayou City’s second autism-friendly Broadway show came to the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 6, and dozens of HISD students and their families took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy a rare night out together in a supportive environment. Continue reading
Teacher attributes his own ‘value-added’ growth to principal’s guidance
When Tiffany Chenier became the new principal of McNamara Elementary School back in 2006, one of the first things she did was analyze her student data. That led to a series of “serious conversations” with teacher Pang-Cheng Liu, whose student passing rate at the time was only around 50 percent. Continue reading
Spring 2015 testing date changes for STAAR math test for grades 5, 8
Texas Commissioner of Education Michael Williams has notified Texas school districts and charters that the spring testing date for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) grades 5 and 8 mathematics will be shifted for the 2014–2015 school year.
The spring testing date for STAAR grades 5 and 8 mathematics will change from March 30, 2015, to April 20, 2015. Continue reading
Students learn what it takes to run the City of Houston
Twenty-one seniors from Barbara Jordan High School for Careers were recognized Tuesday, Dec. 9 by the City of Houston for their commitment to job shadowing with more than 10 city departments to get a comprehensive look at what it takes to provide services to residents of the nation’s fourth largest city. Continue reading
HISD employees donate more than $309,000 to Combined Charities
Top contributors saluted for Combined Charities participation
HISD’s Combined Charities Campaign concluded on Oct. 31 this year, and when all of the pledges were tallied, district employees had contributed more than $309,000 to support their favorite causes.
Day 3: Middle school students connect creatively with Hour of Code
Eighth-graders at Fonville Middle School joined the districtwide coding challenge for the Hour of Code with a tutorial in programming. This is the second year that Fonville students have participated in the international initiative designed to generate awareness about computer programming. [su_vimeo url=”http://vimeo.com/114140296″ responsive=”no”]
HISD student wins grand prize worth $25K in Microsoft’s Bing Summer Story Challenge
Park Place students won big in the national Bing Summer Story Challenge. From left to right are Adrian Pizarro, Johana Contreras Castillo, and grand prize winner Shaun Toliao.
Third-grader Shaun Toliao will be taking his family to Hawaii, just for writing a story about what he did last summer. The Park Place Elementary School student was the grand prize winner of the Bing in the Classroom Summer Story Challenge, a digital storytelling contest sponsored by Microsoft.
He also won a Surface Pro Tablet and other tech prizes, as well as the opportunity to take classes in digital literacy while in Hawaii. Toliao’s prize is worth a grand total of $25,000. Continue reading