Rather than spend their summer watching TV and keeping cool, nearly two dozen students from Austin, Bellaire, Carnegie Vanguard, Challenge Early College, DeBakey, Lamar, Lee, Milby and Westbury high schools are helping create trails in area parks as part of the six-week Student Conservation Association’s (SCA) summer program.
M/WBE Firm Focuses on ‘One-Stop Shopping’ for Customers
Editor’s note: This is the third in an occasional series of profiles on minority or women-owned companies that do business with HISD. The district’s minimum M/WBE goal levels are 20 percent for all levels of purchasing and construction, and 25 percent for professional services. In the 2007 bond program, that commitment reached nearly 34 percent. In the 2012 program, the contracts awarded to date reflect a nearly 51 percent M/WBE commitment.
HISD Workshop to Prepare Designers on Building Green Schools
Berry Elementary School, built under the 2007 bond program, has earned LEED Silver certification.
Water-collection systems, recyclable materials and healthier learning and teaching spaces are among the topics to be discussed at HISD’s “Sustaining Momentum” workshop for architect and engineering teams working under the 2012 bond program.
Ideas shared during the half-day workshop on Monday, July 29, will help district officials set sustainability goals for schools under the $1.89 billion construction program, which will replace or rebuild 40 schools across the city.
Millionaire Club Spotlight: What Are You Reading This Summer?
HISD’s Millionaire Club is a literacy initiative designed to encourage students to read for pleasure during the summer months. Each week, we’ll catch up with one HISD librarian to find out what’s on his or her reading list. This week, we spoke with Rowena Verdin, a librarian at Milby High School.
What are you reading right now?
I just finished reading Insurgent by Veronica Roth and I started The Dog Stars by Peter Heller.
Insurgent is actually the second book in the series by Veronica Roth. The first book, Divergent, was in last year’s Name That Book list. I enjoyed the first book; it’s like Hunger Games. Plus, I really like dystopian novels, so I just had to read the second book. The third book is supposed to come out in October.
Dog Stars is on the Name That Book (NTB) list.
PowerUp Pilot Schools Learning Best Practices
Nearly a century ago, famed educator John Dewey said, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” Dewey’s words of wisdom resonated among 150 HISD school leaders, central office staff members, and teachers as they gathered this month for a four-day retreat to officially launch and learn more about PowerUp, HISD’s groundbreaking initiative that will eventually give every high school student a laptop computer.
Principals and teachers involved in phase 1, or the pilot phase of PowerUp, along with members of curriculum, professional development, and instructional technology, met July 15-18 at Sharpstown High School to train with over a dozen educators from the Mooresville Graded School District located in Mooresville, N.C. MGSD has received national recognition for undertaking a digital technology initiative that provides every student in grades 4-12 with a computer to use at school and at home.
HISD Parents, Students, Staff Grade Schools in Survey
The average Houston Independent School District campus earned a grade of B- after results were tabulated for the most comprehensive stakeholder satisfaction survey in HISD history.
July 18 eNews Highlights Teacher Using ‘Check for Understanding’ Technique
McReynolds Middle School teacher Vanessa Saldana says it’s critical for teachers to be sure to “Check for Understanding” throughout lessons so she can identify trouble spots immediately. That’s one of the stories highlighted in the July 18 edition of Community eNews.
Other stories highlighted in eNews include:
Students Accelerate Learning During Summer Academic Camps
Rather than spending all their time biking, playing, or soaking up the sun, some HISD students are taking advantage of an opportunity to advance their education over the summer months.
In addition to the standard summer school offerings designed to help students catch up or pass the STAAR exam, many campuses offer enhanced education options, such as Advanced Placement assistance, accelerated math courses, college entrance exam preparation, STEM courses, or others to help kids get ahead.
Board of Education to Consider Four More Contracts for 2012 Bond Work
Selected projects include construction manager at risk services for four high schools
Administrators are recommending that the HISD Board of Education authorize the district to negotiate contracts with three firms to provide construction manager at risk (CMAR) services on selected 2012 bond projects.
Reagan HS and Hogg MS Celebrate IB Authorization
Reagan High School and Hogg Middle School are the two latest HISD campuses to receive official authorization to operate as International Baccalaureate World Schools. The announcement, which came on July 5, creates the first continuous IB feeder pattern in the historic Heights neighborhood. Students now can begin the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) at Harvard Elementary and then progress to Hogg Middle School and Reagan High School for the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP).