Two seniors at DeBakey High School and another at Lamar High School have won National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s National Achievement Scholarships, it was announced Wednesday, April 9.
New building for Sterling will ‘speak aviation’
An airplane hangar and flight simulators will be a few of the first things students see upon arriving inside the new Sterling High School.
“When you approach the school, we want the building to speak aviation,” said Principal Dale Mitchell at a community meeting Tuesday. “The airplane hangar and our flight simulator areas will be a place where students will be able to learn more about flight and how to put together and take apart planes.”
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The project’s second community meeting drew about 20 parents, students, stakeholders and community members interested in learning more about the three-story transparent building that will emphasize the school’s aviation program and provide students views of airplanes in flight from William P. Hobby Airport, less than five miles from the school.
Sterling, originally built in 1965, is one of 40 schools that will be rebuilt or renovated into a 21st century learning environment under HISD’s 2012 $1.89 billion bond program. Plans are underway to begin construction on Sterling in the fourth quarter of 2014. The school will be built on a site area adjacent to the existing building, allowing students to continue to attend classes in the current facility during construction. The building will serve between 1,600 and 1,800 students and is scheduled to open in 2016.
During the community meeting, the school’s architects presented design renderings and images of the building’s front entrance and interior spaces while providing an update on the organization of academic and student spaces in the building.
The architects are currently in the design development phase for the new facility, exploring various options for exterior and interior building materials, including blue metal panels for the front entrance and double high glass windows to provide a more industrial and 21st century appearance for the building exterior.
“We want to create an environment of success for the students, so what they do in their academic environment mimics what they will do in their future career,” said architect Jennifer Henrikson of the SHW Group, the firm designing the new facility.
Inside, the building will feature learning commons throughout hallways that will be called “learning runways” at the school. The learning commons will offer students areas to work in small groups that will be visible to teachers in main instructional spaces.
“The building is laid out so that you can literally stand on one end of the building and see the other side of the building,” Mitchell said. “That’s a key piece because this will allow teachers and our staff to continue to monitor students.”
The first floor will include the school’s aviation power plant, theater, black box, cafeteria, gym, community room, and departments for visual arts, life skills, music, career and technology. The first floor will also have a security vestibule where visitors will be required to check in before entering the main office. Some learning spaces on this level will have direct access to outdoor learning areas where teachers will be able to easily take students outside for assignments or special projects. As part of the district’s PowerUp initiative, the entire campus will be wireless, allowing students to work on assignments digitally from anywhere in and around the building.
The second floor and third floors will feature science labs, teacher work centers, additional administrative offices, student meeting spaces, and learning neighborhoods for various academics. Each learning neighborhood is comprised of flexible classroom spaces with moveable, glass walls that allow teachers to merge their class with another or change their space as needed. Outside of the learning neighborhoods will be additional learning commons with laptop charging stations. The area will also serve as a place where students can make presentations, study and lounge.
“In the learning commons, we can break off into groups,” said Sterling student Ebony Kelly. “It gives us more of a college feel since we won’t just have classrooms with rows of desks.”
“This is 21st century learning,” added the Rev. A.L. Hickman Sr., who serves on the school’s Project Advisory Team. “The little classrooms we’ve had before with one door … this building will not look like that.”
Since the school has a longstanding partnership with Hobby Airport, the architects and school principal are also exploring the idea of the third floor having an observation deck to provide visibility to Hobby’s flight pattern and possibly a control room where students can hear inside a control room at the airport. An alumni of the school has also suggested adding specialized doors or the school logo or name on a side of the building to help student pilots identify the school when flying.
“There are not a lot of places you’ll go in this building and not see aviation as the focus,” Mitchell said.
Another HISD campus to offer International Baccalaureate Program
After a five-year process, Durham Elementary School has received official authorization to operate as International Baccalaureate World School. This authorization brings the district total to 13 IB campuses.
“We find that the framework of the IB Primary Years Programme provides the means to teach the state curriculum in a more meaningful way,” said Durham Elementary School Principal Angie Sugarek. “The proven track record of high standards, academic rigor, character development, and assessment are in line with the vision the community has for our school. We couldn’t be more thrilled to receive our authorization.”
To achieve IB authorization schools must complete two extensive applications and prepare for an onsite authorization visit from an IB-certified team. During the audit process, schools are responsible for training teachers on the International Baccalaureate Program and framework. Typically, the average school takes about three years to become authorized. Durham kicked off its process with a feasibility study during the 2008-2009 school year and moved through several steps including classroom observations by authorizers, reviews of the school’s curriculum, and interviews of faculty, students, parents, the school’s Board of Education representative, and administrators.
Founded in 1968, IB is a non-profit foundation that offers challenging educational programs for students aged 3 to 19 to help develop their intellectual, personal, emotional, and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world.
Harvard, Northline, River Oaks, Roberts, and Twain elementary schools; Lanier, Fondren, Hogg and Grady middle schools; and Lamar, Bellaire, and Reagan high schools are authorized to offer IB programs. Other HISD schools in the authorization review process are Briargrove, Briarmeadow Charter, Herrera, Poe, Rodriguez, Rusk, the School at St. George Place, and Wharton.
Celebrate Week of the Young Child with HISD preschool skill-building programs
This week, HISD celebrates the Week of the Young Child, which focuses awareness on the needs of young children (birth through age 8) and their families — and which recognizes the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. In honor of the Young Child, here are a few things that you should know:
- During the first 3 years of life, the brain undergoes its most dramatic growth, and children acquire the ability to speak, learn, and reason.
- A young child’s ability to use language, as well as to pick up and understand the meaning of spoken and written words, is related to later achievement in reading, writing, and spelling.
- At 16-18 months, when children begin building vocabulary, word learning is significantly affected by economic background.
- By age 3, the way your child talks, including vocabulary, growth, and style of interaction, are well established.
- Gaps between children who have developed strong literacy skills and those who did not grow wider, rather than shrink, over the early elementary years.
- Children’s academic success at ages 9 and 10 is based on the amount of talk they hear from birth through age 3.
- Parents play a critical role in the development of a child’s early literacy skills.
Here are two important ways parents can work with HISD to help their child develop the skills they will need to achieve in reading and writing when they start school:
- Enroll your child in a Pre-K program. HISD offers pre-K programs across the district and has early childhood centers that can help your young child develop the skills they need for primary school. Visit www.houstonisd.org/Page/32100 to learn more.
- Enroll in the HIPPY program. You spend more time with your child than anyone else, and, whether you realize it or not, you ARE your child’s first teacher. The HIPPY program is offered in 49 HISD school communities and builds adults’ parenting skills to help 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds get an early start on reading, writing, and math. To see a list of schools served and find out more about the HIPPY program, visit www.houstonisd.org/Page/99154.
HISD STEM students compete for summer internships in Washington, D.C.
Students from the Young Men’s College Preparatory Academy and Energized for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Academy competed April 8 for a chance to win all expenses-paid summer internships with the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C.
The science competition was part of the American Association for Blacks in Energy (AABE) 2014 conference held at the Hilton Americas Hotel in downtown Houston. The purpose of the event was to encourage minority students from underserved Houston communities to pursue STEM-related careers.
“The event is not really about competing against each other,” said Argentina James, Energized for STEM Academy Principal. “It’s an opportunity for students from both schools to do a summer internship in Washington, D.C., with the Department of Energy.”
Participants were high school students who previously demonstrated excellence in the STEM academic disciplines at their schools. Teams consisted of five students representing both schools, all of whom are 16 years old and able to intern in the nation’s capital this summer.
“I became interested in STEM when I heard that my friends were interested,” said Young Men’s Preparatory Academy sophomore Sharrieff Muhammad.
“I just wanted to try it out,” said his classmate, Kelwyn Tippins.
YMCPA science teacher Adrian Acosta said the competition, although stressful, was not as stressful as a day in the classroom. “We have rigorous academics on a daily basis. An opportunity like this contest is fun for the students compared to taking tests.”
The AABE organization is committed to prepare the next generation of STEM-educated students for careers in the energy industry. In addition to the competition, students participated in site tours and mentoring relationships with energy professionals at the event ‘s sponsoring companies including CenterPoint Energy, Spectra Energy, and Schlumberger.
YMCPA and Energized for STEM Academy are only two of many HISD schools that specialize in promoting STEM education. To learn more about other STEM schools, visit www.houstonisd.org/schoolchoice.
Cheer on HISD’s Culinary Arts Students as they ‘cook up change’
Do you love cooking competitions on television? Well here’s your chance to witness culinary arts high school students from HISD go head-to-head as they compete to have their menu items featured on next school year’s lunch menu and to win a trip to Washington, D.C.
Join ARAMARK/HISD Food Services from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12, this Saturday as they host the inaugural Cooking Up Change Culinary Competition–Houston, at Rice University’s West Servery. The event is free and open to the public.
For the last three months, students have worked tirelessly with HISD Food Services’ dietitians and chefs to create nutritious meals that meet federal guidelines and budget constraints. Seven teams representing Barbara Jordan, Davis, Westside and Harper Alternative high schools will compete for their chance to enter the national competition in June in Washington, D.C. This is the first year the competition is in Texas, and Team HISD will represent the entire state.
Judges for the competition include HISD Superintendent Terry Grier; Texas Department of Agriculture’s Director for Nutrition, Education and Outreach Beth Thorson; HISD Food Services Executive General Manager Ray Danilowicz; and ARAMARK/Reliant Park Executive Chef Mark Cornish.
Schedule:
- Students’ food preparation – 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Menu sampling – 12 noon-1 p.m.
- Judges’ deliberation– 1 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
- Announcement of winners – 2:15-2:30 p.m.
To learn more about the Cooking Up Change program, visit http://www.healthyschoolscampaign.org/programs/cooking-up-change/.
Six HISD students earn national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
HSPVA student Patrick Zapien celebrates with sponsoring art teacher Eileen Montgomery after being named as a Scholastic Art & Writing Gold Medal portfolio winner.
Six Houston ISD students have won national awards for their entries in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
High School for the Performing and Visual Arts student Patrick Zapien is a gold medal art portfolio winner, which earned him a $10,000 scholarship.
HISD recognized for its digital transformation efforts
The Houston Independent School District’s efforts to embrace and expand the use of technologies district-wide, including in the classroom, have been recognized by the Center for Digital Education and the National School Boards Association. HISD was ranked fifth on the top 10 list of the 10th annual Digital School Districts Survey, which is conducted by the two organizations.
“Team HISD’s efforts to transform teaching and learning through the district’s PowerUp initiative have only just begun, and we are honored that our work is being recognized and acknowledged,” said Chief Technology Officer Lenny Schad.
Transportation department wins Telly Award for ‘School Bus Shuffle’
The Houston Independent School District Transportation Department has won bronze in the 35th Annual Telly Awards for its educational safety video titled “School Bus Shuffle.”
In honor of National School Bus Safety week in October 2013, the HISD Transportation Department created a music video that covered such topics as proper boarding procedures, how to sit on a bus and the importance of reporting bullying. Students from Peck Elementary School, Yates High School and the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts were included in the video, along with district bus drivers and attendants. The district’s multimedia team filmed the video. The video has received more than 38,000 views on YouTube.
Rusk debuts new building wing for middle schoolers
Cheerful student ambassadors at The Rusk School met alumni, parents and community partners at the front entrance of their school to welcome them to a celebration for the opening of a new building wing.
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Students accompanied guests down the hallways of the school to an outdoor walkway that leads to a new two-story building addition. The 21st century learning areas feature smart boards, document cameras, flexible student seating, and large windows – some of which overlook downtown Houston.
“It feels really good to have our own space,” said seventh-grader Michelle Hernandez, who welcomed visitors to the new building during a two-day celebration that began Friday with an open house that drew more than 300 parents.
The celebration also included a ribbon cutting Monday with musical performances by the school choir and student testimonies about their education at Rusk and how the school has changed their lives.
Many students gave guests tours of the 21,000-square-foot building that will serve 250 middle school students at the K-8 school. The building, funded under HISD’s 2007 bond program, includes seven classrooms, two science labs and a computer lab that will also serve as an engineering lab. The facility will also offer a 1:1 laptop initiative, providing each student with their own laptop or iPad.
“No more temporary buildings for our middle school students,” said Rusk Principal Eduardo Sindaco. “The fact that they have their own space and a brand new space at that will allow them to flourish even more.”
The $11 million building addition, designed by STOA International Architects and built by contractor Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, features state-of-the-art technology infrastructure and multiple environmental enhancements designed to save energy through the use of recycled building materials and increased daylight views.
“I love all the natural lighting and the large rooms that will allow for more collaborative learning opportunities for our students,” said HISD Board President Juliet Stipeche.
The new facility will open to students this week.
“We have been looking forward to being in the new building for a while,” said seventh-grader Nikolas Lechuga while sitting in the facility’s gym that will also serve as a multipurpose room for special events. “We have more room to grow, and we have a gym now. That’s the fun part because when it’s cold and wet outside, we can play in here.”
“It is my hope that with this new building, the school will allow more children to discover themselves,” said eighth-grader Erik Lopez who spoke during the opening ceremony at the ribbon cutting.
Students helped Principal Sindaco, School Support Officer Rudy Trevino, Stipeche and former HISD trustee and Houston City Councilman Felix Fraga, an alumni of Rusk, cut the ribbon before opening the building up for tours.
“I’ve always been proud of Rusk,” said Fraga, who attended the original Rusk in the 1930s. “We keep thinking neighborhoods like this are going to disappear, but they’re not. This community needs school developments like this one that will continue to support and improve our neighborhoods.”