HISD Futures Academy gives students head start on college, high-demand career industry

Challenging program lets students work in the field, earn college credit

The Futures Academy of Petroleum Engineering Technology at Furr High School is preparing students to pursue college degrees in fields such as engineering and business administration at four-year universities.

The academy was designed to train students to work as engineering technicians in the downstream and midstream petroleum industry. Students complete coursework in areas such as hydrocarbon safety, oil exploration and drilling and receive career training as part of a partnership with the Houston Community College and companies in engineering.

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Computer programming classes teach students how to code, create mobile apps

Schools across district to take part in ‘Hour of Code’ Dec. 8-14

At HISD’s Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan (BCMA), proficiency in computer science is not just encouraged, but expected. The school offers a computer programming course on building web applications as part of the curriculum and as an elective.

“Our goal is to offer this course to every student between grades six through eight,” said BCMA Principal Jyoti Malhan. “A coding class is critical for my students, and the most important reason I offered it is the need for our kids to learn coding and programming to be better prepared for the workforce.”

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HISD educators, administrators tour California schools integrating Linked Learning approach

A team of 40 school educators and  district support staff recently traveled to California for a site visit of five schools that have successfully combined core academics with career-based knowledge and skills in collaborative and research-intensive learning environments known as Linked Learning. Continue reading →

Longfellow ES students announce hottest toys of the holiday season

Fifth-graders use ‘Leader in Me’ principles to conduct annual ‘hot toy’ survey

Students at HISD’s Longfellow Elementary School have been polling their school-mates for the past 15 years to determine the hottest toys each holiday season, but this year, they took a slightly different approach.

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Give the gift of literacy for #GivingTuesday Dec. 2

Volunteer to read with an HISD first-grader in person or virtually

Would you like to volunteer for Read Houston Read?

Sign up for Read Houston Read by clicking here. Show your support by downloading the attached badge and add it to your Facebook page or share it on Twitter.

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It’s the time of year to give back, and as part of the national “Giving Tuesday” movement, HISD is asking Houstonians to sign up for Read Houston Read and give a struggling student some of their time—listening, caring, and sharing the joy of reading.

This year, Giving Tuesday, a national day of giving that encourages Americans to donate to a charitable organization, falls on Tuesday, Dec. 2. HISD is encouraging folks to spend a few moments of their time that day signing up to be a volunteer at www.readhoustonread.com. As part of the program, volunteers spend half an hour to an hour each week—either in person or virtually—mentoring a child and listening to them read aloud.

HISD is encouraging local businesses and corporations, as well as their central office employees, to sign up for the program. Many, like HISD Senior Executive Secretary Fatima Barnett, have already started mentoring students. Continue reading →

‘Newcomer’s’ gratitude for school, home, country recognized by mayor’s office

Salvadorian student wins first place in citywide poetry contest just six weeks after immigrating to U.S.

fondrenms_student’Tis the season for feeling thankful, and when the Newcomers Academy at Fondren Middle School student Daniela Fuentes expressed her gratitude, it won first place in the City of Houston’s Citizenship Month Poetry Competition earlier this month.

Although the eighth-grader just moved here from El Salvador in late September, she has already met Houston’s first lady, Kathy Hubbard, who presented her with a plaque in a ceremony held at the Asia Society of Houston. Fuentes read her poem aloud to hundreds of distinguished guests before it was put on display at the University of Houston-Downtown library. Continue reading →

Middle-school student rewarded for demonstrating outstanding character

KatherineMiranda_400SIS eighth-grader Katherine Miranda named first 2014 winner in Luby’s ACT program

Luby’s has been rewarding good behavior in HISD middle school students through its ACT Program (Achieving Character Together) program since 2008, and this year, the first student to be recognized with a silver award came from Sharpstown International School. Continue reading →

Strong classroom support promotes success for HISD dual language expansion

When Houston ISD doubled its dual language programs to include 28 schools this August, that was just the beginning of district’s commitment to making sure students on those campuses become bilingual and biliterate.

Representatives of HISD’s Multilingual Programs Department have visited each school to evaluate instructional practices and to offer support for principals and teachers to embed language instruction into strong academic content. Native Spanish-speakers learn English, and English speakers gain a second language through immersion. Continue reading →

High school students lend a helping hand to Literacy by 3

Scheduling conflicts usually prevent high school students from volunteering with younger students during the school day, but two district campuses figured out a clever way to work around that obstacle in order to take part in the district’s Literacy by 3 movement.

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Members of the National Honor Society at Davis High School have been using their early release day every month to spend time reading to students at Pugh Elementary. On Nov. 19, about 20 seniors spent the afternoon at Pugh, mentoring and working close to 30 students. Continue reading →