Tag Archives: Career and Technical Education

HISD Announces New Health Science Futures Academy at Westside High School

Provides students chance to earn an associate’s degree and technical training

The Houston Independent School District, in partnership with the Houston Community College and the University of Texas MD Anderson School of Health Professions, announces a new Futures Academy of Heath Science Careers at Westside High School.  Press conference will be on Tuesday, July 30 at 10 a.m. at Westside, 14201 Briar Forest Drive.

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Board of Education votes today on career-training program for six HISD high schools

The HISD Board of Education is scheduled to vote today on a plan to draw students back into six neighborhood high schools with strong Career and Technical Education programs.

The meeting begins at 5 p.m. at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, 4400 W. 18th Street.

Under this proposal, the School of Pharmacy Technology at Long would prepare students for the growing pharmaceutical industry by providing them with the clinical and business skills needed to work successfully alongside pharmacists and physicians.

If the program is approved, students at Furr, Kashmere, Long, Scarborough, Sterling, and Booker T. Washington high schools would be able to enroll in the newly created Houston Innovative Learning Zone (HILZ) programs beginning this summer. By the time these students graduate high school, they will have earned a college associate’s degree and valuable career certifications to help them immediately land lucrative jobs in some of the region’s most in-demand professions.

“These HILZ programs take traditional vocational education to a higher level,” said HISD Superintendent Terry Grier. “HILZ graduates will leave our high schools with certifications that Houston employers seek when filling high-paying job vacancies. HILZ graduates will also have 45 to 60 hours of college credit from our Houston Community College partner. These credits will transfer to articulated programs at Texas universities, positioning HILZ graduates for success in a four-year college if they choose to forego an immediate career.”

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