Business expo provides networking, business opportunities

Supplier DiversityHISD joined hundreds of Houston employers – including big names like Chevron, BBVA Compass, NASA, and the City of Houston – at the George R. Brown Convention Center this week for the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council (HMSDC) Business Expo.

“Energizing the Global Economy!” was the theme of this year’s expo. HMSDC actively involves its members in efforts that will increase and expand business opportunities and business growth for minority business enterprises.

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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist brings ‘Enrique’s Journey’ to HISD administrators

Dozens of HISD administrators got a better idea of the many challenges facing some of their immigrant students on Sept. 26, when Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sonia Nazario visited the district’s headquarters to share her story.

Nazario wrote Enrique’s Journey to call attention to the harrowing experience many unaccompanied minors face when leaving Central America to find their parents, and she shared both some of her own experiences from recreating one boy’s trek to find his mother and what educators can do to help these students once they arrive in Houston.

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Children who come to the U.S. by riding the tops of freight trains not only face constant exposure to the elements, but also the ever-present threat of being robbed, raped, or killed by corrupt law enforcement officials who control the check points or gangsters who also ride the rails and patrol the train stops. Continue reading

HISD volunteer receives state honor for his service to Jones High School

Houston Ministers Against Crime president Pastor F.N. Williams, Sr., left, recognizes the volunteer efforts of Pastor Eugene Jones, right, during a press conference for Project Safe Start, a collaborative program between area ministers, law enforcement and school officials to encourage students to have a safe summer, May 27, 2014. (Houston ISD/Dave Einsel)

Pastor Eugene Jones was also recognized by Houston Ministers Against Crime in May for his volunteer efforts.

Earlier this year, the Rev. Eugene Jones was honored for his service to Houston’s school children work with the Charles Harding Senior Award during HISD’s annual salute to volunteers. Now, he is getting recognition at the state level as one of the Texas Board of Education’s 2014 Heroes for Children.

Each year, 15 Texans are selected by state board members and recognized for volunteering their time, talents and skills to help improve the public schools in their communities, and Rev. Jones was the only one from HISD to be selected. He was formally honored along with 14 other winners during a special ceremony held on Sept. 19, and his name will be engraved on a plaque that will be permanently displayed at the Texas Education Agency.

HISD Up Close: Juliet Stipeche talks about Read Houston Read, student congress

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HISD Up Close, hosted by HISD Board of Education President Juliet Stipeche, explores the initiatives, educational programs and information about the school district that is of interest to students, parents, teachers and the community. In September, Stipeche spoke with Cindy Puryear, the district’s literacy director, and Garcia Elementary School Principal Aaron Dominguez about HISD’s Read Houston Read program. Puryear discussed the formation of the HISD Student Congress with the organization’s founding members. Finally, Stipeche visited with Rice University’s award winning mathematician, Dr. Richard Tapia. Continue reading

Sharpstown HS community hears about construction process for new school

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About 35 community members gathered on Tuesday evening to hear about the construction process and design concepts for a new sustainable 21st century campus for Sharpstown High School.

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Professional Educators Compensation and Support Committee meets for the first time

Group to explore where HISD is as a district, where it’s going, and what needs to be done to get there

In 2010, HISD launched the Effective Teachers Initiative to provide targeted support for teachers to better meet the needs of their students and ultimately to improve student achievement.

This year, the district is continuing to prioritize instructional practices to ensure effective teaching and excellent school leadership by convening an advisory group that will strengthen the way teachers are supported and to reward practices that promote student achievement.

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Microsoft’s ‘Bing in the Classroom’ comes to HISD

A kindergarten class is studying about butterflies and can share the dramatic migratory adventure of the Monarch butterfly through the eyes of children in a classroom in Mexico. That is what Sylvia Huerta, a kindergarten teacher at Memorial Elementary School, is hoping to do through the technology introduced at her school by Microsoft.

Microsoft’s Bing in the Classroom initiative offers the transformative power of technology to schools with ad-free search, Surface laptop-tablets for classrooms, and digital literacy lessons. Through hands-on training at the school, Memorial ES teachers learn how to navigate the technology. Continue reading

Texas College Night encourages students to find the right fit for higher education

More than 1,000 HISD high school students met with admissions representatives from a variety of colleges and universities Tuesday at Texas College Night at the University of Houston.

Students learned about college admissions requirements, academic programs, and financial aid and scholarship opportunities at Texas’ top colleges and universities such as UH, the University of Texas, Texas A&M University, and Sam Houston State University.

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