HISD Police Department comfort dog helps ease back-to-school jitters

First impressions are always hard, but Jamaica took the first day of school in stride.

The hypoallergenic Bernedoodle — a special breed that has Bernese Mountain Dog and Poodle parents — welcomed Wesley Elementary School students back to school with her tail wagging and a paw-sitive attitude.

The pup recently joined HISD Police as the department’s first-ever comfort dog, working on campuses across the district to help combat stress and anxiety in students and build trust between police, students, and the community. 

Continue reading →

Wharton Dual Language Academy offers ‘vast opportunities’ for HISD students

As Superintendent Millard House arrived at Wharton Dual Language Academy, he walked toward two young students tasked with welcoming the chief educator and holding open glass double doors leading to the main hallway.

Clad in masks and blue school shirts, the second graders peered quizzically at their special visitor.

“Are you guys doing OK?” House asked, as he approached the pair and asked about their names and grades. “You know, it makes my day when I get to see you all.”

Continue reading →

Learning loss addressed at two HISD middle schools

On the second day of school at Stevenson Middle School in south Houston, as students filed in from parent drop-off with their backpacks slung over their shoulders and arms full of books, one phrase could be heard repeatedly in the main hallway: “It’s Dragon Time!”

It’s a phrase that Principal Christyn McCloskey said is an important part of the 2021-2022 school year.

“One of the initiatives that we put in place this year is Dragon Time; we are the Stevenson Dragons,” McCloskey said. “It’s where students are getting those intensive small-group interventions. Every single teacher on campus has a Dragon Time group, and they’re all working on figuring out where are the students, what are they working on.”

The new addition is a part of the school’s efforts to address learning loss this school year. Dragon Time is a series of small group learning activities that help students to make up for any learning loss that might have taken place over the summer—or even over the course of the pandemic.

Continue reading →

Westside HS honors David Castro with ‘Random Acts Of Kindness’

On Tuesday, the Westside Wolf Band, Westside High School, the Houston Independent School District community, Superintendent Millard House, and family members gathered around a tree to celebrate the life of David Castro. The tree represented more than just life, but optimism on the second day of school, as Paul Castro, David’s father, started the #RAKDavid (Random Act of Kindness) movement.

Continue reading →

Superintendent House visits future healthcare heroes at DeBakey HS

Tucked away on a side street in the shadow of the largest medical center in the world, DeBakey High School for Health Professions is the district’s medical magnet school, where students can learn more about the various career paths involved in the healthcare field, from the typical bedside options to the legislative branch.

Students like Cindy Choi, Paul Daniel, Caitlyn Davies, and David Dzul, all seniors, who gave Superintendent Millard House a tour of the school, which opened its $65 million, state-of-the-art, 194,000-square-foot building on the western edge of the Texas Medical Center in 2017.

 House was visiting the school on its second day of the 2021-2022 school year. As the ongoing global pandemic continues to make headlines, students at DeBakey are preparing to be the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Continue reading →

Superintendent promises data-based decisions in the best interest of students, families

Superintendent Millard House II marked his first day of school in the Houston Independent School District by traveling from campus to campus, welcoming students back and peeking into their classrooms to watch them learn.

But his first stop — though not on his official schedule— held special meaning.

“As I dropped off my fourth grader at school this morning, he told me, ‘Dad, I have butterflies in my stomach,’” House said, referring to the range of emotions many students are feeling as they start a second school year amidst the pandemic. “That’s understandable.”

House told the story while speaking to a room of reporters and district officials who gathered at Parker Elementary School for HISD’s first-day-of-school press conference.

Continue reading →

HISD Virtual Academy vs. Temporary Online Learning: What’s the difference?

HISD Strategy & Innovation Executive Officer August Hamilton explains the difference between the two virtual learning programs offered to students this school year. To learn more about each program, visit the HISD Virtual Academy and HISD@H.O.M.E. Temporary Online Learning websites.

A look at ‘Ready, Set, Go’ protocols with Memorial ES safety tour

HISD Superintendent Millard House, along with district officials, got to see the “Ready, Set, Go” safety initiative in action Monday at Memorial Elementary School.

The “Ready, Set, Go” plan provides students, families, staff, and the community a safe environment for in-person learning with protocols that include required masks in all HISD buildings, constant sanitization of surfaces, COVID-19 vaccination sites, testing, and physical distancing.

Continue reading →

HISD updates COVID-19 dashboard to monitor new school year cases

With the return to in-person instruction for all HISD classes on Monday, Aug. 23, the district’s COVID-19 dashboard will be reset to reflect confirmed cases for the new school year to better inform the community.

The online dashboard will continue to track the number of confirmed COVID-19 student and staff cases by campus as originally designed to ensure transparency. The reset version will go live as the first day of school begins.

“We are in the midst of a pandemic, so we want to assure our parents and the community that all information is provided and updated in a timely fashion,” HISD Superintendent Millard House said. “The dashboard is an effective way to share information to staff members and families.”

The dashboard will continue to be updated daily, allowing users to review student and staff data by location and districtwide. The map showing where cases are throughout the district will also be updated. As new data for the school year is added, current cases will be displayed for the most recent 14 days.

The dashboard will strictly follow all applicable privacy laws as it relates to the release of personal health information.

To view the COVID-19 dashboard, go to HoustonISD.org/COVID19Dashboard.

For more information on HISD’s Back to School Plan, visit HoustonISD.org/ReadySetGo.