More than a dozen students from six HISD high schools are $16,000 closer to achieving their dreams of higher education, thanks to an organization founded by the descendant of an HISD school’s namesake and her husband. Continue reading
Tag Archives: DeBakey HS
Reagan HS grad’s perfect attendance achievement a miracle twice over
Kody Ford
For recent Reagan High School graduate Kody Ford to even be alive today is nothing short of a miracle.
The Class of 2014 member not only confounded doctors by proving virtually every grim prognosis about him wrong as a baby, he also managed to graduate last month with a perfect 12-year attendance record—less than nine weeks after being ejected through the sunroof of his own car during a collision with a drunk driver.
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Class of 2014 sets new HISD scholarship record with more than $233M in offers
Scholarship offers and financial aid awards for the Class of 2014 are still coming in, but this year’s graduating seniors have already shattered last year’s record by nearly $50 million.
10 HISD seniors win National Merit Scholarships
Ten seniors from three Houston ISD high schools received a little help paying for college, thanks to National Merit Scholarships worth $2,500 each.
The winners were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors who appraised the finalists’ academic records, scores from two standardized tests, contributions and leadership in school and community activities, submitted essays and recommendations from high school officials.
More students headed to college this fall as members of 2014 ‘Posse’
Last year, almost two dozen HISD students became members of the city’s inaugural group of “Posse Scholars,” after a national non-profit called The Posse Foundation expanded its programming to Houston.
That organization will be sending its second group of students off to higher education this fall—and the majority (70 percent)—come from HISD.
The Houston branch of the Posse Foundation announced the 61 members of its Class of 2014 at a special celebration held on Jan. 6, and 43 of those students will be graduating from 18 HISD high schools this spring.
22 acceptances — including 3 at Yale — for HISD EMERGE seniors
To familiarize them with life on the campus of a select school, HISD’s EMERGE program took a group of rising seniors on a tour of northeast campuses over the summer. Here, they’re at Harvard University.
The acceptance letters for select colleges and universities are rolling in for HISD seniors working with the district’s EMERGE program – 22 letters so far, as of Dec. 18. On Dec. 16 alone, three HISD seniors were notified they had been accepted to Yale University.
All students are either receiving full rides or are having 100 percent of their financial need met by the school accepting them, according to Rick Cruz, assistant superintendent of college readiness and co-founder of EMERGE.
Got holiday cards? Order yours from HISD through Dec. 6
Every year, HISD students from across the district create original artworks in the hopes of having their design chosen to grace the district’s annual holiday card. This year, Superintendent Terry Grier selected three students’ designs–one from Park Place ES, one from Johnston MS, and one from DeBakey HS. The winners were announced during a special reception for the finalists on Nov. 8. You can learn more and see a gallery of all of the finalists’ submissions in this related article.
Furniture Expo Sets Stage for 21st Century Learning Spaces
Sitting down at flexible tables with swivel chairs and tablet compartments, students, teachers and parents moved quickly from one piece of furniture to the next to see which ones were the most comfortable and collaborative.
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More than 70 people tested out furniture on display Tuesday at Houston ISD’s first furniture expo showcasing 21st century learning environments. The event allowed Project Advisory Teams (PATs) to explore different learning spaces and provide feedback to help guide the design for the new schools being built and renovated under the district’s 2012 bond program.
HISD Graduate Comes Full Circle to Train Teachers on PowerUp Laptops
Elvira Salazar
Cramming a towel under her bedroom door to hide the light, Elvira Salazar defied her father’s orders and studied late into the night to keep up with her high-school homework. Now a dedicated PowerUp instructional technology specialist with HISD, Salazar understands how giving every HISD high school student a laptop for both home and school use will help them to work more effectively and efficiently, not only in the classroom, but after school as well.
“This is going to transform how teachers teach and how students learn,” Salazar said. “I want to help integrate technology into their lesson plans to make sure that these laptops are an effective learning tool.” Salazar left teaching in another district and writing curriculum for Rice University to work with HISD teachers on the digital transformation currently underway.
Bond Community Meetings Offer Another Chance to be Involved
A student at Booker T. Washington High School explains a design schematic for the new school.
More than 150 people turned out for HISD’s first two community meetings on Tuesday to hear about the progress to rebuild Booker T. Washington High School and DeBakey High School for Health Professions under the district’s $1.89 billion bond program.
“The community was impressed with the work our project advisory team has done and the ideas they presented,” said DeBakey Principal Agnes E. Perry about the meeting at DeBakey, which drew about 75 people. “They liked being able to walk around to different stations to see the design drafts and to meet with the designers.”