CFS employees recognized at appreciation breakfast

HISD Facilities and Operations employees received a warm welcome back to school on Friday, as they were treated to breakfast and special recognition by General Manager of Facility Services Brian Busby and HISD District 9 Trustee Wanda Adams.

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Surprise! Shearn ES students find new program, meet the superintendent

Shearn Elementary School is one of 14 HISD schools launching the school year today as a dual-language campus, with instruction in both English and Spanish, and students had a special visitor this morning.

Dr. Terry Grier dropped in as the school day began to greet students and parents, and to pump up their enthusiasm for dual-language. “I sure wish we had this when I was in school,” Grier told a trio of fifth-grade school leaders who guided him on a tour of Shearn.

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Marques Foster was delighted to hear about the new program. “I really want to learn Spanish,” she said. “I know it’s important to have more than one language.” Continue reading →

Share your first day of school photos

We’re welcoming students back to school at all of 283 campuses in Houston ISD! We love seeing so many smiling faces, and we want to share that joy with you! Take a look below at the back-to-school photos that have been sent to us, and yours can be included by emailing them to hisdphotos@yahoo.com.

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Literacy By 3 aims to turn around crisis with districtwide movement

This is the tenth–and final–entry in a series of stories counting down to the start of school, spotlighting what is new in HISD in the coming year.

Literacy By 3 — which launches in every school on the first day of classes — is HISD’s movement to turn around and end the literacy crisis in Houston — not a mere initiative or program. Its mission is to have every child reading and writing with fluency by the end of Grade 3 — but Literacy By 3 will reach students at every level who are struggling with reading mastery. Continue reading →

Brrrrr: HISD staff, board members take Ice Bucket Challenge

The Ice Bucket Challenge has been popular around the world, including with Houston ISD staff and the Board of Education.

The Ice Bucket Challenge is a fundraiser for the ALS Association, which supports people diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease). People are challenged to dump a bucket of ice water on their head, and they can either accept the challenge, make a donation to an ALS charity of their choice, or both. As of Aug. 22, the association had raised more than $53 million.

Five high school principals – James McSwain of Lamar, Michael McDonough of Bellaire, Peggi Stewart of Westside, Jason Catchings of Westbury, and Connie Berger of Reagan – accepted their challenge, along with HISD Athletics Director Marmion Dambrino, on Friday.

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Community updated on plans for new addition at Waltrip

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Waltrip Ram pride was on display Thursday evening as students, parents and staff gathered at the school to pick up class schedules, visit with teachers and classmates, and hear about plans for the construction of Waltrip High School’s new addition.

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Linked Learning connects students’ present to future higher education and careers

This is the ninth in a series of stories counting down to the start of school, spotlighting what is new in HISD in the coming year.

So promising is HISD’s new Linked Learning approach, launching this school year, that the federal government gave one of its coveted Race to the Top grants worth $30 million to get it started over the next five years.

The Linked Learning approach — not a program, not an initiative — blends college and career readiness into one unified path from kindergarten through 12th grade. This year, eight HISD high schools and their 32 feeder elementary and middle schools are piloting Linked Learning. The high schools are Chavez, Eastwood Academy, Furr, Lee, Milby, Reagan, Sterling, and Westside. Continue reading →

State makes big change to Grades 5, 8 STAAR math

The Texas Education Agency has made a big change to STAAR testing for the 2014-2015 school year.

The agency said Friday that the math assessments for grades 5 and 8 will be given just once this year. The Student Success Initiative requirement that those students pass the math portion of STAAR has been suspended for the year. Continue reading →

Your back-to-school questions answered

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year! We know you may have questions about everything from registration to transportation to dress codes, so we’ve compiled a list of the most commonly requested information. If you have other questions, please let us know in the comments section below and we’ll look into them. Continue reading →