Brookline Elementary School held a literacy challenge this summer to give 65 selected second- and third-grade English language learners a little extra help.
Teachers recommended students to invite to participate in the challenge. School officials said all the students had passed their grade level but needed some English language reinforcement.
HISD’s two building programs are busier than ever, but in very different stages.
The 2007 bond program is busy winding down so all original work is done by the end of the year. At the same time, the 2012 bond program is ramping up, with construction starting on all 17 schools in the first phase by the end of the year.
Whether they are new to the classroom or just to HISD, nearly 1,000 eager educators gathered at the Kingdom Builders Center on July 28 to begin the New Teacher Academy in anticipation of the coming school year.
The week-long workshop is held every summer to give the district’s newest recruits a head start on their first day of school—and this year, the focus is on using one’s special talents and stories to forge authentic connections with students.
New federal initiative eliminates applications so youngsters don’t go hungry
Students at 169 HISD schools will be able to eat lunch for no charge this year, regardless of their income, thanks to a new federal initiative that became available to all states and eligible schools July 1.
“This new program is a wonderful opportunity for HISD students and families,” said Audene Chung, HISD’s Nutrition Services administrator. “By eliminating the need to qualify students through an application, we hope more children will take advantage of our healthy breakfast and lunch menus.”
HISD has already offered free breakfast to all students since 2010. This push to expand the free lunch program, known as the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), is just the latest step to ensure low-income students don’t go hungry.
12 schools earn recognition for both high performance and progress
The Texas Education Agency has recognized several HISD schools for high performance and high progress for the 2013-2014 school year. Seventeen HISD schools were included on the agency’s list of Title I High Performing Schools and 17 schools were named as High Progress schools.
“The students and staff of the schools included on this list are focused on implementing innovative programs to affect student outcomes in a positive way,” said HISD Superintendent Terry Grier. “Their successes are models that can be used by all schools across the district to ensure that each of our students are not only receiving good grades and scoring well on tests, but are exposed to an academically rigorous education that creates learning leaders.”
All are designed to get elementary and middle school students excited about science and STEM careers
The classroom at Herod Elementary School didn’t have any ring stands available, but that didn’t stop the seventh-grade science teachers in it from completing their experiment on heat and energy at the Baylor Summer Science Institute.
The two-week event, which concludes on July 25, focuses on giving elementary and middle school teachers creative ways to deliver lessons on familiar subjects. And participants displayed that same spirit of ingenuity this year in assembling an acceptable substitute for that basic piece of lab equipment—made from a wet cork, some tin foil, and a coat hanger.
This fall Harrison A. Peters will rely on his more than 15 years of experience as a teacher, principal, and administrator as he leads HISD’s High School Office. As chief high schools officer, Peters will oversee 51 campuses with a combined enrollment of nearly 50,000 students. He and a team of school support officers and principals will focus on increasing student outcomes, expanding academic rigor and connecting students to experiences that support their career and college goals. Continue reading
About 160 rising freshman and sophomores are spending two weeks of their summer participating in a Houston ISD camp at Challenge Early College High School designed to boost their reading and writing abilities.
“The purpose of the camp is to provide the students with literacy strategies that they can take back with them to their schools and to get them excited and engaged with the acts of reading and writing,” said Erica Harris of Carnegie Vanguard High School, the program’s curriculum writer and lead teacher.
The students take four classes a day at the camp, each themed around the young adult book Divergent by Veronica Roth. Each class focuses on a different area of literary development.
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Grady Middle School recently presented the final design images of its new 21st century facility, which is highlighted in a new HISD video that explores the planning and design of the campus.
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The new Mark White Elementary School, formally referred to as Relief Elementary, held its second community meeting on Tuesday to discuss project details of the upcoming campus.
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