Tag Archives: Chavez HS

HISD Board of Education hosting meetings to gather input on superintendent search

REMAINING FEBRUARY DATES

Thursday, Feb. 25

  • 4 p.m. Ortiz MS (6767 Telephone Rd. 77061)
  • 6 p.m. Hartman MS (7111 Westover, 77087)

Saturday, Feb. 27

  • 10 a.m. HMWESC (4400 W. 18th St, 77092)

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education is searching for a new superintendent and trustees want input from community members about the qualities and traits they would like to see in their next district leader.

HISD Board of Education President Manuel Rodríguez Jr. and Trustee Diana Dávila have scheduled seven meetings this week to gather feedback from the community that will be used to develop a superintendent candidate profile. The dates and times for additional meetings hosted by other trustees will be announced soon.

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Four more campuses recognized as ‘model’ Family Friendly Schools

DeAnda ES parents (pictured) were able to purchase books at discounted prices from local retailers after obtaining library cards from the Houston Public Library, thanks to a special arrangement made by Principal Erwin Garcia Velazquez.

DeAnda ES parents (pictured) were able to purchase books at discounted prices from local retailers after obtaining library cards from the Houston Public Library, thanks to a special arrangement made by Principal Erwin Garcia Velazquez.

Last month, HISD began honoring district campuses for their successful implementation of the Family Friendly Schools program.

Now, four more campuses have been recognized by the Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Department for their efforts to make parents feel welcome and valued at their children’s schools.

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Lanier MS masters 30,013 words to earn top honors in National Vocabulary Bowl

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Students at Lanier Middle School screamed in excitement as they learned that Lanier came in first in the U.S.—beating more than 16,000 schools—in Vocabulary.com’s December Vocabulary Bowl.

The annual Vocabulary Bowl pits schools against one another in a friendly competition of word mastery. Students log onto the interactive learning game, select their grade level, and learn the meaning of words they may never have seen before. Teachers can also create vocabulary lists based on reading students have done in class.
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Chess students take on blindfolded grandmaster in group competition

Grandmaster Timur Gareev will be trying to break a world record soon by playing the largest number of simultaneous chess games ever while blindfolded — and 10 students from HISD schools recently helped him prepare for that challenge.

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The Uzbekistan native, who became the youngest grandmaster ever from Asia in 2004 at the age of 16, played 10 of HISD’s top chess players on Sept. 19, and defeated them all (along with three students from a local private school) within the span of a few hours, despite not being able to see any of the chessboards. Continue reading →

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 →

Cardboard Boat Regatta keeping girls’ STEM career dreams afloat

Photo courtesy Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

Photo courtesy Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

Chávez HS students build, test their skills through unique partnership with Rice University

Thinking up a concept, executing its design, and thrilling in its success—or learning from its failure—that’s what the Cardboard Boat Regatta at Chávez High School is all about.

Eleven teams comprised of sophomore, junior and senior girls, with mentoring assistance from Rice University graduate students, GE Oil & Gas volunteers, and Chávez HS faculty, raced cardboard boats of their own design on June 25 in the new signature event of the three-year-old Rice University Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering (IBB) Girls STEM Initiative.

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Linked Learning gives recent grads a jump on public works careers

LiLe_PubWksTour_440x230Students from Furr and Chávez high schools tour largest wastewater facility in the city

The source of our water is becoming the source of a career for several HISD graduates. Fifteen students who just graduated from Furr HS and Chávez HS were selected to partake in a three-week class on water maintenance that will result in them gaining Class D water operator licenses as well as eligibility for employment with the City of Houston Public Works Department.

The class is a part of HISD’s Linked Learning initiative, which combines academics and hands-on learning to prepare students for real-world experiences and career pathways.

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Chávez HS scores surprise first-place finish at state chess competition

Coach Robert Myers (far L) with the Chavez HS team at regionals

Coach Robert Myers (far L) with the Chavez HS team at regionals

Students at Chávez High School were thrilled to walk away with a third-place team victory at the State Scholastic Chess Championship in McAllen, Texas, last month, but they were even more excited when they learned that due to an extremely complicated tie-break system, computer results revealed that they were actually the first-place winner among unrated players.

The team had to score among the top five groups at the regional tournament to advance to the state competition, and placing first there qualified them to compete in the national tournament held in Columbus, Ohio, where they ranked sixteenth in the nation in the unrated section.

“Chess is about options,” said Chávez Coach Robert Myers. “The students exercised those options and continued to practice, study, and develop. They have learned through perseverance to never give up, never surrender.”

The team subsequently placed first at a KIPP chess tournament held on April 18.

 

HISD students to learn about finance at Rice Summer Business Institute

Rice University has chosen 21 HISD juniors and seniors to attend the 2015 Rice Summer Business Institute (RSBI). The program is designed to broaden the expectations of students from low and moderate income communities as to possible career paths and to develop business leaders for Houston’s future.

Bryan Davila (Chávez HS); Melissa Guzman (Davis HS); Jacory Bellnamy, Lesbia Espinal, Heili Torres, and Elvis Velazquez (Madison HS); Ernesto Camarillo and Lorena Lara (Reagan HS); Abigail Gonzalez, Ruby Rapalo, and Rosa Tristan (Sam Houston MSTC); Giovanna De Leon, Torrance Hunter, and Estefani Reyes (Sharpstown HS); Dante Perez (Wheatley HS); and D’Arius Jackson, Tiarra Jarmon, Joshua Kirkendoll, Charmaine Nealey, Tanya Owens, and La Tresia Wilson (Yates HS) will gain firsthand experience of the fundamentals of finance and business June 13–27 on the Rice University campus.

RSBI provides students with an insight into the world of business, economics, energy, and finance. Participants learn how the stock market works and how to manage a portfolio. They also learn about branding, inspiring others, making ethical business decisions, and how to start a business.

Chávez HS proves afterschool programming still attractive to older kids

Chávez freshman Edwin Alas lifts weight after school.

Chávez freshman Edwin Alas lifts weight after school.

At 4 p.m. in the hallways of Chávez High School, chatter and laughter exceeds the typical end-of-school day buzz as a new community comes alive. Afterschool is on.

Youth who would normally hit the streets are weightlifting in the field house. A business venture takes shape as the afterschool smoothie shop showcases new recipes. Savvy girls with profit margins in mind construct homemade, designer valentine cards to satisfy schoolyard crushes. A running club is canvassing the community to organize a neighborhood fun run.

At a time when out-of-school time funding is being cut throughout the state and nation, this southeast Houston high school is finding funding for its afterschool ventures. The latest comes from a $550,000, homegrown initiative from the City of Houston City Council called City Connections. Chávez received $15,000 from the initiative organized and promoted by the Center for Afterschool and Expanded Learning for Kids (CASE for Kids), a division of the Harris County Department of Education.

“It’s a misnomer to think that high school students won’t become involved in afterschool,” said Lisa Thompson-Caruthers, director of CASE for Kids. “If afterschool activities are meaningful, teens will readily participate.”

“It keeps me out of a lot of trouble,” said Chávez HS senior Jair Woods, between barbell crunches. “Plus, I’m not sitting home being lazy like a normal teenager. I’m doing something productive with my life.”

CASE for Kids, formerly the Cooperative for After-School Enrichment, was launched by Harris County Department of Education in 1999.