Christmas arrived a bit early for students at Martinez Elementary School after they received new bikes from HISD community partners Wish for Wheels and Oxy.
Continue readingTag Archives: Atherton ES
Teach Plus names 11 HISD educators to its state policy fellowship cohort
The national nonprofit Teach Plus has selected 45 Texas teachers to be a part of its 2022-2023 Policy Fellowship cohort, and 11 of them are from HISD.
Continue readingHISD receives high ranks from Children at Risk for being pandemic resilient
HISD is home to some of Houston’s most pandemic resilient schools according to Children at Risk’s annual list of best public schools.
The research and advocacy organization evaluated 1,347 schools in the Houston area to identify those that were most resilient during the pandemic. This year’s rankings focused on analysis comparing academic performance during the 2020-21 school year with the 2018-19 school year to identify the impact of the pandemic on children in Houston.
Continue readingAtherton Elementary, Reliant pair to provide back-to-school supplies
On Wednesday, Atherton Elementary hosted a drive-thru distribution / meet the teachers event where Reliant provided 500 back-to-school kits to students in anticipation of the start of the school year.
The kits included classroom basics like pencils, notebooks, folders, and more, which is part of a larger drive from Reliant to donate 10,000 kids state-wide. Atherton got involved through HISD’s Community Partnership program.
“At Reliant, we believe that investing in the future of young people pays dividends – in the lives of students, their families and our community,” Reliant said in a news release. “We’re excited to partner with Houston ISD. Today we are donating 500 school packs for all students at Atherton Elementary School in Greater Fifth Ward.”
Continue readingAlynthia Curtis named new principal of Atherton Elementary School

Alynthia Curtis has been selected as the new principal of Atherton Elementary School. Curtis has served as the assistant principal of Atherton for the past 10 years. During her tenure there, the school earned a Texas “A” Rating along with numerous distinctions.
She has advised and supported students with the “Girls and Pearls” and “Boys with Bow Ties” mentorship programs. She began her educational career 27 years ago as a first- and second-grade teacher and also has served in middle school as a literacy coach. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston-Downtown and her master’s degree at Prairie View A&M University.
Condit ES selected as finalist for Texas school architecture competition
Designs for three additional bond schools honored with ‘Stars of Distinction’
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Constructed as part of HISD’s 2012 Bond Program, Condit Elementary School has been selected as one of five finalists vying for the highest honor offered by the 2017-18 Exhibit of School Architecture Competition.
Three additional bond campuses — Atherton Elementary School, Mandarin Immersion Magnet School, and Sterling Aviation High School — received Stars of Distinction.
The annual school architecture competition showcases new and renovated Texas schools and recognizes excellence in their planning and design. It is sponsored by the Texas Association of School Administrators and the Texas Association of School Boards.
Rooftop garden inspires learning and excitement at Atherton ES
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Students and staff at Atherton Elementary are excited about the newest addition to their campus – a rooftop garden. And they have big plans for it.
“We can learn how plants grow and change over time,” said fifth-grader Nathaniel Alvarenga.
“It’s helping our ecosystems,” added his classmate Isacc Solis. “Birds and bees come, and the bees pollinate the plants.”
Atherton received a new building as part of the 2007 bond program, but plans for the rooftop garden were put on hold as other items took priority. Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones supported the garden, which is receiving its finishing touches this month. The project also got a boost from IDG Architects’ Ben McMillan, who donated funds last October. Continue reading
HISD to announce winning school of NCAA Read to the Final Four literacy challenge

Carrillo Elementary School students learn they are in the lead for the Read to the Final Four challenge in November 2015.
Nearly 10,000 HISD elementary school students will fill NRG Stadium (Reliant Parkway, 77054) on Friday, April 1 for the district’s announcement of the winner of the NCAA Team Works Read to the Final Four Literacy Program at Reese’s Final Four Friday event.
The program begins at 11 a.m., but prior to that, Waltrip HS’s band will play as students arrive, and Atherton ES’s drum line will perform before the announcement of the winning school at 11:40 a.m., which will receive a $5,000 cash prize, Final Four trophy, and campus celebration. The final four elementary schools in the competition are Browning, Carrillo, Dogan, and Janowski. Additionally, the top readers from each of the 68 schools will receive a bike from CYCLE. Attendees are welcome to stay for the remainder of the day and watch special practice games and tributes. The day’s activities are free and open to the public, including parking in the stadium’s Blue Lot beginning at 9 a.m. Anything brought into the stadium during all Final Four events must be in a clear bag, due to security. Some 125,000 clear bags are being given away at Houston hotels and the George R. Brown Convention Center, as well as on METRORail platforms. Find full details here.
Atherton ES wins music scholarship from gospel association
Students at HISD’s Atherton Elementary School students will soon have more reasons to toot their own horns, after the Gospel Music Heritage Month Foundation (GMHMF) awarded that campus a $750 scholarship to support its fine arts programs.
Dr. Albert Lemons, who serves as Atherton’s principal, accepted the award on behalf of his school on Sept. 14, during the GMHMF’s annual show at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
“I’m very seldom speechless,” said Dr. Lemons. “But this came as a complete surprise. Every year, I work backstage at this event, helping the artists, making sure they have refreshments, and getting other people who don’t belong back there out. This year, nobody was saying anything, but they treated me like a guest and seated me in the front row. I thought, ‘Well, I guess they just want me to rest. And for the first time, I’ll get to see the show.’ But near the end of the last number, they sent someone out to say they needed me, and that’s when Sheila Jackson Lee told me my school was being honored.” Continue reading
Lockwood-area schools receive thousands of dollars in community grants
Comerica Bank awarded a total of $20,000 in community grants to five HISD schools in the Lockwood area to commemorate the bank’s 20th year of operation in Houston’s culturally rich Fifth Ward.
Pugh Elementary School was the big winner, with $10,000 for its proposal to put a tablet in every one of its classrooms. Wheatley High School received the second-place award of $4,000 and plans to invest in spirit incentives, as well as instructional improvements. McReynolds Middle School also took home $2,500, while Atherton Elementary School won $2,000, and N. Q. Henderson Elementary School won $1,500. The grants were awarded to these schools because they are located near a newly constructed Lockwood Banking Center.