Student’s Artwork to be Selected as HISD’s 2013 Holiday Greeting Card

Artwork by more than 30 finalists considered

What:             Each year HISD honors the artistic talent of its students by choosing one of their designs for the district’s holiday greeting card.  This year more than 30 students from elementary, middle, and high schools were selected as finalists.  District officials will reveal on Friday HISD’s 2013 holiday greeting card, selected by Superintendent Terry Grier. The winning student will be on hand for the unveiling and all the finalist holiday cards will be available for purchase.

Who:               Winning student, HISD Board of Education Trustees and HISD Chief             Business and Communications Officer Dr. Michele Pola

When:             Friday, Nov. 8, 2013 at 11 a.m.

Where:           HISD Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, 4400 W. 18th Street

HISD Police Investigating Jordan High School Incident

Houston Independent School District police are investigating an incident that happened around 8:26 a.m. today at Barbara Jordan High School.

The campus officer was patrolling the parking lot when he spotted two people he suspected of breaking into a vehicle. The officer confronted the suspects and ordered them to get out of their vehicle. The suspects did not comply and the officer fired his weapon when the driver of the suspects’ vehicle drove toward him. The suspects escaped.

The incident remains under investigation and the officer will be on administrative duty until the investigation is complete, which is standard procedure when an officer fires his weapon.

Partnership Yields Real-World Skills for Students with Special Needs

Jones High School graduate Cynthia Nieves puts labels on supply bags at a Walgreens pharmacy as a part of her training in the HISD/HCC Transition Program.

Some students need just a little extra help to become self-sufficient—and that’s where the HISD/HCC Transition Program comes in.

This partnership between the district and the local community college system, which began in 1994, was designed for students with cognitive disabilities who have already met the district’s graduation requirements.

HISD teachers work collaboratively with Houston Community College instructors to help students learn skills they can use in obtaining meaningful employment, such as the art of interviewing, how to complete applications, and the characteristics of good employees.

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Reagan Bulldogs Make History Again After 54 Years

The Reagan Bulldogs celebrate their first district title in 54 years Nov. 2 at Delmar-Tusa Stadium. They’ll launch their playoff bid there next week against either Tomball or Tomball Memorial High School. (Photo by Michael Sudhalter/The Leader News)

The last time the Reagan High School Bulldogs won a football title, gas was 25 cents a gallon, Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, and the U.S. had just named its first crop of potential astronauts.

The year was 1959, and 2013 will go down in Reagan history with the same milestone, as the Reagan varsity squad notched its first district championship in 54 years Nov. 2 in a hard fought homecoming battle with rival Waltrip High School at Delmar-Tusa Stadium.

The game ended with Reagan holding on to a 28-14 victory, with a perfect district season record of 7-0, and with Coach Stephen Dixon drenched in celebratory Gatorade.

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PowerUp Curriculum To Empower Teachers To Use Technology

As HISD prepares to distribute laptops to nearly 17,000 high school students this coming January, the district’s Curriculum Department is preparing an expanded and enhanced set of planning documents to assist teachers at the 11 campuses in PowerUp. PowerUp is the district’s one-to-one initiative that will eventually provide all students a laptop.

“PowerUp is about more than just giving kids computers that they can use in the classroom and at home,” said HISD Secondary Curriculum Director Mike Dorsey. “This is about changing the culture of teaching and learning at HISD by digitizing the classroom and by giving our teachers and students the tools they need.”

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HISD Board of Education Election Results

Incumbent Trustees Anna Eastman and Harvin Moore will keep their seats on the Houston Independent School District Board of Education after beating their challengers, according to final, but unofficial results of Tuesday’s election.

Former City Councilwoman Wanda Adams also won a seat on the HISD Board of Education, beating out two opponents to fill the District IX spot being vacated by departing Trustee Larry Marshall. Trustees Greg Meyers and Michael Lunceford were unopposed in their re-election bids.

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Math Students Tally Up a Victory for HISD in ‘Think Through Math’ Contest

Six of the top ten students in the Think Through Math summer competition came to a reception held in their honor on Nov. 5. From L–R are: Saide Christoffel, Jésus Mendez, Patrick Han, Alexander Chin, Aldo Ortega, and Drayton Gober.

Ten students’ passion for solving math problems over their summer vacation has helped bring HISD first-place honors and bragging rights as the top district in its division of Think Through Math’s (TTM) “2013 Texas Math—Everybody’s Doing It!” competition.

The contest lasted from June 10 until Aug. 9, and districts from all over the state participated by having students complete math lessons to earn points.

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Furniture Expo Sets Stage for 21st Century Learning Spaces

Sitting down at flexible tables with swivel chairs and tablet compartments, students, teachers and parents moved quickly from one piece of furniture to the next to see which ones were the most comfortable and collaborative.

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More than 70 people tested out furniture on display Tuesday at Houston ISD’s first furniture expo showcasing 21st century learning environments. The event allowed Project Advisory Teams (PATs) to explore different learning spaces and provide feedback to help guide the design for the new schools being built and renovated under the district’s 2012 bond program.

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EMERGE Students See Significant Gains in SAT Scores

Although HISD will not receive SAT results from the College Board until later this year, individual seniors who retook the SAT in October after attending the EMERGE SAT Boot Camp in July are getting their scores and seeing significant improvement – more than 300 out of 2,400 possible points in some cases.

“We are very pleased with the results,” said Assistant Superintendent for College Readiness Richard Cruz, who launched EMERGE in 2011 and continues to oversee it. “We are about to expand the program from 100 to 300 students.” EMERGE is a districtwide initiative aimed at getting high-achieving HISD students in underserved communities into Ivy League and other Tier 1 schools.

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HISD’s Terry Grier Chosen as Texas’ Nominee for National Superintendent of the Year

Dr. Terry Grier

Dr. Terry Grier, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, will represent Texas in the American Association of School Administrators’ (AASA) National Superintendent of the Year Program.

Under Grier’s leadership, Houston ISD was awarded the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education, an award that recognizes gains in student achievement and comes with $550,000 in college scholarships for its high school seniors. Houston is the only district in the country to receive the award twice, winning the inaugural Broad Prize in 2002. The district was one of four national finalists in 2012.

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