Tag Archives: Austin HS

2015 Grads Within Reach walk recovers more than 80 students

HISD’s annual Grads Within Reach walk took place on Sept. 12, 2015, and volunteers convinced more than 80 students to come back to school and continue their education.

Almost 500 volunteers fanned out across the city, visiting the last-known residences of students who had not shown up for class this year and leaving information on how to re-enroll if no one came to the door.

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Austin HS stakeholders learn about design plans for new school

Members of the Austin High School community came out this week for the first of three community meetings to hear about plans for the school’s new campus. As part of HISD’s current bond program, Austin will receive a new $68.4 million building that will accommodate 1,800 to 2,000 students.

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STEM fields come to life for ELL, migrant students at Rice

Twenty-eight students in HISD’s English Language Learner and migrant programs spent two weeks of their summer participating in hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities at the STEM Leadership and Design Fabrication Academy at Rice University.

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The students, who attend Austin, Chávez, Davis, Furr, Kashmere, Liberty, Lee, Sam Houston, Sharpstown, and Waltrip high schools, got a taste of what careers in a STEM-related field could be like. Continue reading

Austin High School alumnus now gives back as a teacher

In this week’s I am HISD, which features district students, graduates, employees, and other team members, José Saenz explains why he just can’t stop coming back to his high school. Saenz attended Austin High School and participated in the school’s teaching program. He graduated in 2003, and is now a teacher there. Given the fact that he also met his wife there in the ninth grade, it is clear that for Saenz, all roads lead to Austin.

Jose Saenz

Jose Saenz

You graduated from Austin HS in 2003, and you have returned as a teacher. What did you do after graduating, and what brought you back?

I had made up my mind to become a teacher towards the end of my senior year. I began attending the University of Houston in the fall of 2003 and majored in history. I went through the education program at UH as well. Students were required to do a set number of observation hours and a semester of student teaching. I requested Austin as the location for both. Since graduating, I was very interested in coming back to Austin to teach and having the opportunity to student-teach there helped me make that decision. I felt that I could connect with the students coming from the same neighborhood and having many of the same life experiences. I began working at Austin in 2008 and even returned to UH while working in 2010 to obtain my master’s in curriculum and instruction in social studies education. Continue reading

Austin HS maritime program christens navigation simulator

AustinHS_BridgeSimul_400While navigating rough water is a tough job, actually learning the finer points of navigation is even tougher. Students at HISD’s Stephen F. Austin High School for Maritime Studies have a new tool that will make that learning process a little easier—and certainly more comprehensive. Students, faculty, staff, and members of HISD administration and Houston’s maritime industry christened the school’s very own navigation simulator on April 24. Continue reading

Top six JROTC cadets in HISD Class of 2015 honored at awards ceremony

The top six Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) cadets, who were named earlier this month, were honored on April 25 at the Annual HISD JROTC Final Review and Awards Ceremony.

All were promoted to the rank of Cadet Colonel (Army) or Cadet Captain (Navy), which are the highest ranks in the program. The top seniors were chosen from among all the graduating seniors in HISD’s 25 JROTC programs.

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Magnet Spotlight: Austin HS navigating maritime and teaching profession pathways

Campus is fourth in a series of articles on magnet schools with space still available

AustinHS_Tug_440x230Students who attend Austin High School have two enticing study pathways available to them. They can embark on a path to becoming educators themselves through the school’s well-established teaching professions program, or they can explore careers in the thriving maritime industry.

When the school’s teaching program was created in 1982, it was the first high-school teacher preparation program of its kind in the nation. Today, the program benefits from a partnership with the University of Houston that prepares students both for life on a college campus after graduation, and life in the classroom as professional educators afterwards.

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SBOE rep visits Austin HS Mexican-American studies class

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Ruben Cortez Jr., a member of the State Board of Education from District 2, visited Stephen F. Austin High School today to check on the progress of a new history class that is near and dear to his heart – Mexican-American studies. Cortez, who is from Brownsville, Texas, advocated for the new course and convinced the board to approve it in April of last year. The vote included asking the Texas Education Agency to draft new state standards (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, better known as TEKS) in Mexican-American history.

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Austin High School students take a bite out of “Shark Tank” competition

Houston Community College Professor Catherine Smith’s Business Dual Credit/College Credit students at Austin High School made “business dreams and ideas come alive” twice this past year when they participated in two high-level collegiate business plan and business development competitions. Continue reading

Retired brigadier general to speak at Austin HS’s fourth annual White Rose Dinner

BrigGenRamirez_250The commandant of Texas A&M University’s Corps of Cadets will be returning to his alma mater on Thursday, March 12, 2015, when Brigadier General Joe E. Ramirez Jr., U.S. Army, Ret., presents the keynote speech at Austin High School’s fourth annual White Rose Dinner.

After graduating from Austin, General Ramirez attended Texas A&M University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in science in 1979. He obtained a master’s degree in management from Webster University, St. Louis (1993) and a master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania (2000).

General Ramirez has earned numerous awards during his 31 years of military service, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, and the Parachutists Badge.

The dinner will take place at 6 p.m. at the University of Houston’s Hilton Hotel (4800 Calhoun, 77004) and the public is invited. Tickets are $50 each, and there are three premium sponsorship levels available. To reserve a seat or arrange a sponsorship, please call 713-924-1600.

All proceeds from the event will be used to support Austin High School programs. The white rose, symbolizing truth, purity, and honesty, appears on the Stephen F. Austin family’s coat of arms.