HISD preschool parenting program reports higher student achievement in reading and math

Children of parents who participated in the Houston Independent School District’s Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program have outperformed their peers on the 2014 Aprenda 3 exam in reading and mathematics in the first, second, and third grades.

This marks the fourth consecutive evaluation in which HIPPY students have significantly outperformed their peers on the standardized exam for English Language Learners.

The annual HISD evaluation of the program looked at test results of 99 elementary school students whose parents participated during the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 year. The most significant differences between HIPPY students and non-HIPPY students were in second-grade mathematics and third-grade reading. On these exams, HIPPY students outscored their peers by 12.7 and 10.6 normal curve equivalents (NCEs), respectively. Continue reading →

Challenge Early College HS students learn about cybersafety and digital citizenship peer-to-peer

Underclassmen at Challenge Early College High School took their recent lesson about cybersafety and digital citizenship very seriously. As one of the Phase II PowerUp schools, Challenge students will get laptops by the end of October and must undergo digital citizenship training. At Challenge they are doing the training a little differently. Challenge ECHS seniors were trained by HISD instructional techs, and they, in turn, are training the 9^th-, 10^th- and 11^th-graders during their Advisory class.

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“They’re actually getting the information from the perspective of a student, and it’s from a facilitator in their own advisory, so it’s someone they’ll actually listen to,” said Challenge senior Sandra Torres. “They won’t tune out the student because they’re so connected to them, so they’re actually going to pay attention and take into account what they say.” Continue reading →

PSAT Test Day introduces students to the SAT, prepares them for college

HISD 9-11th graders took the PSAT during the school day on Oct. 15 at their campus as part of the district’s PSAT Test Administration Day.

The PSAT, a preliminary SAT and College Board exam that measures college readiness among students, is offered to HISD students free of charge on PSAT Test Administration Day at HISD. Students are scheduled to take the exam in the morning and could spend up to three hours completing the test that includes sections on math, critical reading, and writing.

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“There are a lot of opportunities for students to prepare for the PSAT in HISD,” said Jharrett Bryant with the HISD College Readiness Department. “The PrepMe platform is an online course that’s given to all students in the district. It’s actually an adaptive course, where based on a diagnostic you take at the beginning of the class, it customizes a study plan for you.” Continue reading →

HISD Board of Education approves tax rate

The HISD Board of Education adopted a 1-cent property tax rate increase on Oct. 9, 2014, by a 7-1 vote with Trustee Greg Meyers in opposition. Trustee Manuel Rodriguez, Jr. did not attend the meeting. The new property tax rate $1.1967 per $100 taxable value keeps HISD as the district with the lowest rate in the region and the lowest of the 13 largest districts in Texas. Continue reading →

Check out this week’s HS football schedule

We’ve got a packed weekend of high school football!

One of the most closely watched matchups will be Bellaire vs. Lamar. Lamar has won the last 31 games against Bellaire and is looking to extend its streak to 32, but the powerful Cardinals are looking put a stop to it. Check out this story on yourhoustonnews.com for more about the rivalry and how this game will impact the race for the 20-6A crown.

Here’s this week’s HISD high school football schedule: Continue reading →

The creative side of technology: Chevron program fuels Clifton MS STEM education

Imagination, creativity, problem-solving, and technology joined forces at Clifton Middle School with a generous donation from Chevron and its Fuel Your School program. Chevron donated MaKey MaKeys to Clifton MS and teacher Jawad Tahiri’s engineering and technology classes.

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“At Clifton, we believe that at this age, they should be totally fluent in the language of technology, so we put cutting-edge…latest technology in their hands,” said Tahiri. Continue reading →

First-year HISD teachers say support makes the difference in Alternative Certification Program

Early on a Saturday morning, a group of 168 first-year teachers have gathered together at Sam Houston Math, Science & Technology Center for fellowship and support while learning practices to make them effective first-year HISD teachers.

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This is a key part of support for these first-year teachers who are interns in HISD’s alternative certification program — the Effective Teacher Fellowship (ETF).

ETF acknowledges the challenging work of teachers in urban school districts such as HISD and equips interns with appropriate skills to thrive in the classroom environment. ETF has partnered with FuelEd, a unique training program that equips teachers with the social and emotional competencies necessary to establish high-quality relationships in schools. Continue reading →

HISD PD reaches out to community during National Night Out

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The Houston Independent School District Police Department celebrated its annual National Night Out event on Tuesday with food, music and fun activities. About 150 community members, law enforcement officials, volunteers and businesses gathered at the department’s headquarters to host the event, which aims to strengthen police and community relationships.

Continue reading →

Nutrition Services finds it’s easy being green with competitions, games

With more than 220,000 meals a day served, HISD’s Nutrition Services generates a massive volume of waste – which is now being recycled, thanks to new green initiatives at the Food Service Support facility.

Recycling bins have been distributed to manufacturing and common areas and to every cubicle in administration to collect paper, plastic wrap, cans, bottles and more for reuse instead of landfilling.

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“We are so proud of our green efforts,” said Jennifer Lengyel, Nutrition Services nutrition education dietitian, who is leading the efforts at the support facility. “We pride ourselves in nourishing the lives of our students and community with nutritious food, and now we are nourishing the future by protecting the environment and reducing our carbon footprint.” Continue reading →

Ivy Plus College Night shows students they can get accepted into a top college

Madison High School senior Jamie Russell has his heart set on attending the University of Texas or Texas A&M University, but he came to Ivy Plus College Night Monday anyway to weigh his options and learn about the nation’s top colleges.

“My counselor told me this would be a good chance to learn about top colleges and see what opportunities they have for students in higher education,” said Russell, who is currently ranked No. 7 in his senior class. “I’m getting good advice on financial aid and the (college) application process.”

Hundreds of high school students from across the district attended Ivy Plus College Night at Reagan HS to get tips on how to increase their chances of getting accepted into a top tier college such as Yale, Harvard, Rice, and Duke. All of the colleges represented at the event are ranked among the top 100 by U.S. News & World Report.

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