‘Green-minded’ students earn money while giving back to nature

Performing manual labor outdoors in July is probably not the way most Houstonians would choose to spend their time, but for some HISD students, there’s nowhere else they’d rather be.

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Meet HISD’s new Literacy Director, Cindy Puryear

On June 9, Cindy Puryear became HISD’s new director of literacy. We sat down with her recently to talk about how she overcame her own reading difficulties as a young person, when she first knew she would be a teacher, and what her goals are for the first year of Literacy By 3. Following is a condensed transcript of that conversation.

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Externships allow educators to ‘practice what they preach’

Linked Learning teachers gain first-hand knowledge to bring back to the classroom

Thirty HISD teachers shadowed healthcare professionals, construction crews and business professionals last week in order to better connect industry standards with classroom content and learning strategies.

“I think it’s an excellent opportunity to give teachers,” said Memorial Hermann Chief Nursing Officer Melody Dickerson. ”Most individuals only have that experience having been a patient or a customer of our services. They’re going to get a behind-the-scenes approach to what’s going on.” Continue reading →

Sam Houston MSTC students win coveted slots at Latino Law Leaders Camp

SHMSTC seniors Giovanni Figueroa and Emily Duarte pose with counselor Ana Zamarippa and debate coach Ken Ogden. (Houston Independent School District)

SHMSTC seniors Giovanni Figueroa and Emily Duarte pose with counselor Ana Zamarippa and debate coach Ken Ogden.

Emily Duarte and Giovanni Figueroa, rising seniors and debate team members at the Sam Houston Math, Science & Technology Center, were two of just 40 students nationwide to be selected to participate in the National Hispanic Bar Foundation’s Future Latino Law Leaders Camp.

The students will work with Latino politicians, government officials, and lawyers during the eight-day workshop, which takes place at American University in Washington D.C., July 12–20.

Emily and Giovanni received full scholarships to attend the camp, and their airfare was generously underwritten by the Hispanic Bar Association of Houston, Sugar Hill Recording Studio, and Zenobia Harris, director of the Houston Urban Debate League.

25 HISD students get taste of hospitality industry

David Robinson with students from Davis, Jordan and Worthing high schools (Houston Independent School District)Twenty-five students from HISD three high schools spent their part of their summer getting a sneak peak into what their future may look like, and will continue with a one-year internship.

The students, who attend Davis, Jordan and Worthing high schools, were selected to participate in the Admiral Hospitality Scholars, an internship program which was founded by former San Antonio Spurs star David Robinson. Continue reading →

PowerUp teachers get tips for implementing laptop use in instruction

Teachers and administrators from 21 high schools that are joining the PowerUp laptop initiative in the 2014-2015 school year have spent a chunk of their summer getting ideas as to how to best implement the program in their classrooms.

Eleven schools were part of the pilot program last year. They received help from the Mooresville Graded School District, which experienced great success in a similar program, and officials from Mooresville returned to Houston to help the second batch of schools.

“The PowerUp initiative puts technology in the hands of the kids and allows students to be reached in ways that we’ve never been able to do before,” said Scott Smith of Mooresville GSD. Continue reading →