HISD’s African American Advisory Committee heard firsthand Tuesday the latest updates on the 2012 bond program, which includes an ongoing pledge to keep Houston’s minority community informed on opportunities to do business with the district.
“We’re here to stand as a community, and we want to provide as much opportunity as we can,” said Robert Sands, the district’s officer of Construction & Facility Services. Continue reading
More than two dozen people turned out to Milby High School Wednesday to learn about doing business with the Houston Independent School District, with a special emphasis on how to avoid costly errors.
Those in attendance Wednesday afternoon included architects, engineers, other professional service providers and construction contractors.
“It’s an opportunity for the community to learn how to do business with HISD and to learn more about our 2012 bond program,” said Alexis Licata, general manager of Business Assistance. “We want to ensure that all vendors understand the procurement process and the bidding opportunities.”
A new wing of learning space, laboratories, and a large lecture hall was dedicated recently at Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center.
The new wing has a footprint of more than 29,000 square feet and was built with about $11.6 million in funding generated by the 2007 bond program.
“Teachers can have the up-to-date resources they need to lead students on their road to success,” said Mariana Mendoza, former president of the Sam Houston Parent-Student Association. “We remind the parents and students in this community of the importance of being involved and voting in the upcoming election.”
The school, located at 9400 Irvington, is among 38 schools that would be affected should voters approve the 2012 bond program, which is the last item on the general election ballot. Sam Houston would receive about $101.4 million to build a new school that would incorporate the new wing.
“It is our partnership with the community that ensures Sam Houston is on the verge of the 21st Century,” said Orlando Riddick, HISD’s chief school officer. “I appreciate the efforts put in here to keep us going.”
The new area also includes more parking area and the latest safety features for its advanced learning labs.
Near the finale of Wednesday’s official dedication ceremony for Theodore Roosevelt Elementary, at least one parent in the crowd let out a grito — a celebratory yell — during the final performance of a visiting mariachi band comprised of students.
It certainly wasn’t the only rave review at the school this morning.
Roosevelt Elementary, a Vanguard school for gifted and talented students, opened the doors to its new campus building in late November 2011, more than 80 years after the school originally opened.
The two-story school serves about 750 students, and most, if not all of them, Roosevelt principal Armando Lujan said, really enjoy learning with the new technology the school now uses.
“The students love this building,” he said. “They love the SMART boards, they love the technology. They love the fact that we are able to broadcast news over the SMART boards.”
During the celebration, attendees were entertained by three different musical groups, including songs by the school’s Pre-K students and its new choir team, as well as bookended performances by the mariachi band from Jefferson Davis High School.
Inside the school, students have access to a central library and large multi-purpose room, one Lujan said was nearly unusable in the old school. The design of the school allows for more natural light inside the hallways and classrooms, results in a nearly 20 percent reduction in energy use from the previous building.
“It’s come a long way,” said Mary Morales, president of the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization and mother to two students currently at Roosevelt. “It’s like the best thing they could give these kids nowadays that we didn’t have when we were younger.
“It’s wonderful,” she said. “It helps (students) out a lot more. It expands their minds a lot more. I remember when I was little, I wasn’t doing projects. Now they are.”
The school was built with approximately $16.5 million from the bond program approved by voters in 2007. Roosevelt is one of 20 new schools built with funds from that bond program.
Following are updates from the bond discussion at the Board of Education workshop this morning. For live updates, follow us on Twitter, @HoustonISD.
Click here to access the 2012 Facilities Capital Improvement Program Proposal, campus facility assessment data and other bond resources.
In 2007, Houston voters passed a $805 million bond referendum to build new schools, renovate and repair others, and upgrade and improve campus safety and security districtwide. Since then, HISD crews have been hard at work building over 15 new campuses and renovating over 100 others.
DeChaumes Elementary School is one of 15 new HISD schools that have opened since 2011 as part of the $805 million HISD Bond Construction Campaign passed by voters in 2007.
Every week, a different campus based construction project will be featured here to showcase some of the amazing facility upgrades happening across HISD and to demonstrate the district’s commitment to taxpayers.
DeChaumes Elementary moved into a new campus in the fall of 2012. The HISD neighborhood school serves over 750 students in Pre-k to grade 5. The new building features lots of open spaces, state-of-the-art technology, and is designed to meet LEED standards.
Click here for a video tour of DeChaumes Elementary.
Click here for more information on the DeChaumes bond project.
Peck Elementary, at 5001 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., is LEED certified, with a projected energy savings of 16.5 percent per year.
HISD Superintendent Terry Grier and Chief Elementary Schools Officer Sam Sarabia joined a host of community notables, activists, elected officials, and former teachers on Jan. 20 to dedicate the new Lora B. Peck Elementary School.
Dr. Grier thanked Peck Principal Carlotta Brown for her dedication and leadership, citing recent challenges with flooding during the weeks leading up to the ceremony. “She was supposed to be celebrating her anniversary, at dinner with her husband,” he said, “but she was here at Peck, making sure each student was safe.”
The dedication program, entitled “Dreams Do Come True,” featured performances by Hanq Neal, minister of music at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, and Ballet Folklorico by Compania Alegria Mexican.
The new Peck campus, which was built with funds from the 2007 Bond Program, is considered a “high-performance” or “green” building, built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.
Key features in LEED schools include the installation of water-conserving plumbing, energy efficient systems and controls, improved air quality, and use of natural light. Peck, which will use 38 percent less water than a similarly built, less-energy-efficient elementary school, is projected to have an energy savings of 16.5 percent per year.
| New Campuses, Renovations Across the District Major facility upgrades are happening at schools across the city thanks to the $805 million bond proposal that voters approved in 2007. Thousands of students at 15 elementary schools are enjoying newly constructed campuses, and many more students will have the same opportunity as HISD works to complete six new campuses in 2012 and expands an additional 10 campuses in time for the 2012-2013 school year. To see what’s changing in your neighborhood, visit hisdprojects.com. |