Students in Rebecca Millhench's class at Young Men's College Preparatory Academy use iPads to take a quiz.

In a world where Facebook messages, tweets and text messages have become the language of the 21^st century for many students, HISD is working to transition its curriculum to online, interactive content.

“The district is identifying effective strategies that allow teachers to use technology to further learning along with the resources that will support that kind of blended, online learning,” HISD’s Director of Secondary Curriculum Michael Dorsey said.

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A crowd of about 60 people gathered at Neff Elementary School in southwest Houston on Friday to dedicate its new 750-student campus built under the district’s 2007 bond program.

“This school has laid a tremendous foundation academically for our students,” HISD District VI Board Member Greg Meyers said. Chief School Officer Sidney (Chip) Zullinger also praised the new school and the progress students have made since the new building opened.

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Members of Sterling High School's Project Advisory Team discuss plans for a new school under the 2012 bond program.

When Sterling High School students, teachers and community members joined the school’s Project Advisory Team, they already had an idea of what they wanted their new school to look like.

They envisioned state-of-the-art technology, customized coursework and flexible learning spaces as the southeast Houston school begins the planning and design phase under the district’s $1.89 billion 2012 bond program.

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Lamar High School was built in 1937 in a distinctive Art Deco style.

Lamar High School is known as a school that has graduated award-winning journalists and authors, and Nobel laureates and professional athletes over the years. While Houstonians embrace the school’s rich alumni culture, few realize that the building’s structure has its own legacy with a deeply rooted foundation in its surrounding community.

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Atherton Elementary on the city's northeast side is scheduled to open for students in August.

The school year is winding down for students, but for architects and construction companies working for HISD, the summer promises to be busier than ever.

More than 60 construction projects are slated to be in full swing when the school year ends June 6. The work will mark another milestone in the 2007 bond program, which has included more than 180 expansion, renovation and maintenance projects across the district.

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HISD’s Bond Oversight Committee heard a detailed update on the district’s 2012 and 2007 bond programs during its inaugural quarterly meeting on Tuesday that included the latest steps in planning, renovating and building dozens of schools across the district.

The independent committee was established to monitor the district’s bond programs, which includes ensuring that bond revenues are spent appropriately and evaluating the risks and controls of the bond program.

The district recently reorganized the group’s charter to give it more oversight responsibility, via independent and periodic reports to the superintendent, the Board of Education and the general public.

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HISD is soliciting qualifications from construction companies interested in supplying Construction Manager at Risk services on four schools being renovated or built under the 2012 bond program.

The projects include Waltrip High School, Worthing High School, North Early College and South Early College high schools.

“This is great opportunity for companies that want to work with the district and the architects as we plan and design these schools,” said Robert Sands, Officer of Construction & Facility Services.

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Prospective mentors and protégés exchange information at an information session last Thursday at Metro downtown.

HISD is kicking off a program to help small and minority-owned businesses develop the skills needed to compete for government contracts as part of an Interagency Mentor-Protégé Program sponsored with the City of Houston, Metro, and the Port of Houston Authority.

“Programs like this are going to help you take advantage of all the opportunities,” said Bernard Willingham, HISD’s team lead for Supplier Diversity, at an event last week to help introduce the initiative.

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