College Readiness Month helps students plan early for college

The Houston Independent School District will recognize October as College Readiness Month by offering college fairs, workshops, and information sessions to students as they prepare to take College Board exams and apply for college and financial aid.

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“Students can find themselves running out of time to meet deadlines if they wait until November or later to begin the college admissions process,” said HISD College Readiness Assistant Superintendent Rick Cruz. “Applying to colleges and visiting college campuses early helps ensure that our students don’t miss out on a number of valuable opportunities that may lead to a college acceptance or scholarship offer.”

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Houston Texans urge Lanier MS students to get out and play

The Houston Texans kicked off the NFL PLAY 60 Challenge at Lanier Middle School Tuesday with the help of linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and safety DJ Swearinger, Texans Cheerleaders, and in partnership with the American Heart Association. PLAY 60 is the National Football League’s campaign to encourage kids to be active for 60 minutes a day.

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After a pep rally for the students, the Texans players and cheerleaders played health games and led activities to put a buzz in the students’ ears about being active each day. The students enthusiastically cheered as Swearinger faced off against Clowney in a hula hoop contest and a “Texas Feud” game show.

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Grier urges using Your Voice as school improvement tool

Annual survey inspires campuses to use valuable feedback

HISD campus administrators have been busy using the feedback from the district’s Your Voice survey to improve their schools and relationships with students and parents.

“After we realized the valuable data we would receive from the survey, we advertised it better,” said Neff Elementary Principal Amanda Wingard. “We did call outs to our parents to remind them to turn it in.”

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Board of Education to consider design contracts for remaining projects under 2012 bond program

Administrators are recommending that the HISD Board of Education authorize the district to negotiate design contracts with 13 firms on the remaining 14 projects within the 2012 bond program.

The latest round of contract recommendations comes ahead of schedule in response to the booming construction market in Houston. Although architect selections for schools in Groups 3 and 4 of the program weren’t slated to take place until next year, the district wanted to move forward as quickly as possible to minimize the impact of escalating construction inflation.

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HAIS recognized as 2014 National Blue Ribbon School

The Houston Academy for International Studies has been named a 2014 National Blue Ribbon Exemplary High Performing School.

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National Blue Ribbons are awarded annually to schools to validate the hard work of students and educators. To be recognized as an exemplary high performing school, a school must have its students test in the top 15 percent in the state in both reading and math, have subgroups test in the top 40 percent in the state or have a graduation rate in the top 15 percent in the state. Continue reading →

Community teams up with HISD schools for Walking Towards Literacy event

Over 300 students, families, HISD staff and community members gathered on Saturday to promote literacy across Houston during the 3rd annual Walking Towards Literacy event at Tidwell Park. The Making It Better organization, a HISD community partner for Read Houston Read, sponsored the event.

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Dogan Elementary celebrates dedication of new school

Dogan Elementary School students, staff and community members gathered on Monday to officially dedicate the school’s new 86,000-square-foot building, which was built with $19.6 million in funding from HISD’s 2007 bond initiative.

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Confucius Institute celebration goes to great lengths at MCLIMS

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Students, parents and community members experienced a rare treat at the Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion Magnet School last week. They were strung along as top chefs from China demonstrated the unique technique of noodle-making at the Taste of China presentation in celebration of the International Confucius Institute’s 10th anniversary. Continue reading →

Flying with confidence: New simulators at Sterling HS prepare students for career takeoff

Moments after the bell rings for the last class period of the day, Sterling High School student Jacqueline Vickers is buckling her seatbelt inside a flight simulator and preparing for takeoff.

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With her hands resting on the flight yoke, she reviews the flight control panel and gazes at the video screen that stretches across the cockpit and shows a digital picture view of Houston.

“I love everything about flying – just knowing that you’re in the air and you’re doing something that most people think is impossible,” Vickers says while practicing to fly in one of two new flight training devices at Sterling. Continue reading →