As another school year draws to a close, HISD seniors are not only preparing for exams, prom and graduation, but for the vast and unknowable world that awaits them after high school. In acknowledgement of the bright and exciting futures that await them, HISD granted the Superintendent Scholars Award to an outstanding senior from each high school, and bestowed an additional honor to the Superintendent’s hand-picked top 10.
Continue readingLocal celebrities, organizations come together to encourage student voting at HISD Civic Youth Summit
HISD’s Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Department invited a number of HISD juniors and seniors to the My Ballot My Future Civic Youth Summit at Delmar Fieldhouse on May 14. Students were welcomed by bouncing bass and staff excitedly waving pompoms – not exactly what might be expected from an event focused on “boring” adult concepts like civic responsibility and voting.
Continue readingHISD student artists win second annual Truck Art Contest, artwork displayed on city trucks
On May 7, the City of Houston unveiled four Solid Waste Management vehicles adorned with the artwork of four talented HISD students. The artists are the winners of the second annual Truck Art Contest, a competition devised and executed by HISD’s Energy and Sustainability Department in partnership with the City of Houston’s Solid Waste Management Department to increase awareness of recycling and waste diversion in the city’s youth.
Continue readingHISD sophomore combats food insecurity with nonprofit food delivery service
Layla Lee, a sophomore at Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy, is only fifteen years old, but she is already on a mission to change the world around her for the better.
Lee founded and runs a nonprofit organization called Community Cuisine, a project devised to combat food insecurity in her community. Inspired by a school visit from the Pangea Network, an organization devoted to empowering women and youth, Lee applied for their Young Women’s Leadership Challenge (YWLC), a program that encourages young people to start their own community service projects.
Continue readingHISD expands partnership with Hazel Health to offer no-cost care at every campus
As part of its new Continuum of Care model for student wraparound supports, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) is expanding its partnership with Hazel Health to every campus and Sunrise Center in the District. Currently offered at 88 campuses, Hazel Health services will be available Districtwide beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year, giving all HISD students access to no-cost telehealth care conveniently coordinated through their school.
Continue readingBoy Scouts and HISD Dyad partnership honored at Houston Sports Breakfast
HISD’s Dyad classes are an innovative educational tool designed to expose students to unique skills taught by members of the community. The beauty of Dyad is its versatility and the one-of-a-kind opportunities it allows students to experience.
The Boy Scouts of America have stepped in to partner with HISD and bring Scouting to Shadydale Elementary School and Key Middle School in a special Dyad course called ScoutReach. These students and this partnership were lauded at the Houston Sports Breakfast on May 1 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Continue readingHISD Valedictorians and Salutatorians honored at Scholars Recognition Ceremony
HISD’s highest achieving high school seniors gathered at Delmar Fieldhouse on April 30 to celebrate the 2023-2024 valedictorians and salutatorians at this year’s Scholars Recognition Ceremony. These students have worked hard to reach the highest echelon of high school academics and were recognized in front of friends, family, and educators in a touching sendoff to their high school careers.
Continue readingEarth Day brings volunteers to HISD’s Mykawa Farm for day of service
Since its inception, Mykawa Farm has been the beating heart of the mission of HISD’s Nutrition Services Department. The headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Literacy Center (FALC), Mykawa Farm is a working educational farm where students gain not only foundational knowledge about agriculture and the environment, but have an opportunity to volunteer or work for pay, developing skills they will take with them into adulthood.
Nutrition Services welcomed more than 70 volunteers from local organizations The Mission Continues and CarMax to the farm on Saturday, April 27 (a make-up date after unexpected rains upended the original planned date, Earth Day). The volunteers set to work building arbors and trellises in the Mykawa Sensory Garden, a new fence to protect crops from scavenging animals, and new ADA-compliant picnic tables.
Continue readingFresh Fruit and Vegetable Program wraps up successful year of nutrition education in HISD
The USDA’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, more commonly known as FFVP, provides fresh fruit and vegetable snacks and nutrition education to elementary school students. Schools can request accompanying educational programs taught by chefs and registered dieticians with HISD Nutrition Services aim to teach students where their food comes from, what a balanced diet looks like, and how they can incorporate more fruits and vegetables into common recipes at home.
Continue readingHISD celebrates community volunteers at 53rd annual VIPS Awards Ceremony
Each year, HISD celebrates its Volunteers in Public Schools with the annual VIPS Awards Breakfast Ceremony. This year, on April 25, volunteers including parents, teachers, community members, and students gathered to celebrate their accomplishments with a breakfast catered by HISD’s Nutrition Services Department.
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