Tag Archives: Eastwood Academy

Brandi Lira named new principal of Eastwood Academy

Brandi Lira, Eastwood Academy (Houston Independent School District)Brandi Lira has been selected as the new principal of Eastwood Academy, where she has been the dean of students for the past three years. Growing up, she attended HISD schools and graduated from the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (now the High School for Law and Justice). 

Mrs. Lira has a bachelor of arts in philosophy from the University of Houston. After teaching English at Austin High School, she returned to school and earned a masters degree in educational administration. Three years later, she became the ninth-grade assistant principal at Austin.

 

HISD boasts half of 8-county region’s top elementary, middle and high schools

District is home to No. 1 schools at every level in statewide rankings

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Houston Independent School District campuses occupy half of the top 10 slots on the 2016 Children at Risk public school rankings of the region’s best public schools.

Additionally, HISD schools took the statewide No. 1 ranking in every category, with River Oaks No. 1 among elementary schools, T.H. Rogers No. 1 in the middle school category, and DeBakey High School for Health Professions No. 1 at the high school level.

The rankings were publicly released Monday at a ceremony conducted at HISD’s Pilgrim Academy, which received special distinction as a Gold Ribbon school, recognizing the region’s highest-performing, high-poverty campuses. Continue reading →

Five HISD students win coveted Gates Millennium Scholarship

Five Houston Independent School District students are among more than 1,000 high school seniors from across the country to be selected this week to the final class of the Gates Millennium Scholars program.

The students — Nofisat Babajide and Esther Brown from Bellaire High School, Janeth Rodriguez from Carnegie Vanguard High School, Leslie Benavides from Eastwood Academy, and Sheighlah McManus from Jane Long Academy— will be awarded a scholarship that can be used to pursue a degree at accredited colleges or universities of their choosing. Continue reading →

Carnegie Vanguard ranked 10th best high school in nation

Carnegie Vanguard High School has been ranked as the 10th best high school in the country, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 Best High Schools rankings.

Three additional Houston Independent School District schools were ranked in the top 100 — DeBakey High School for Health Professions, which was ranked 29th, Eastwood Academy, which came in at the 50th spot, and Challenge Early College High School, which was ranked 78th. Continue reading →

7 HISD schools named winners of SAT promotional campaigns

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Representative from HISD’s College Readiness department and The College Board spent most of Friday driving across Houston to surprise 11th-grade students at seven high schools who were named winners of the School Day Incentive program.

The purpose of the program is to increase student participation and scores for the School Day SAT on April 12, thereby increasing student access to higher education and money for college. Two contests were introduced through the incentive: the You Khan Do It Scholarship and the Best SAT Campaign Ever. Students were encouraged to participate in taking the SAT for a chance to earn scholarships toward college-bound materials or activities.

Continue reading →

55 HISD students from seven schools named National Merit finalists

Fifty-five seniors from seven Houston Independent School District high schools have qualified as finalists in the 61st annual National Merit Scholarship Program and will now vie for more than $32 million in college scholarships.

The students are among about 15,000 from across the country to advance to the finalist level, allowing them the opportunity to continue in the academic competition. Continue reading →

Update on Eastwood Academy bond project

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Eastwood Academy will receive a new facility that incorporates the new two-story classroom wing to accommodate 500 students.

Site plans for the school include a new student dining and multipurpose area, a career and technical education center, library, an athletics facility, and a SPARK park open to students and the neighborhood. The addition will be built on a field neighboring the school and will connect to the school’s existing building.

The project will be split into two phases, beginning with construction of the south building, followed by the north building addition to be completed at the end of 2017. Students will continue to attend the existing school during construction.

Photo gallery of HISD building projects

Students win prizes in video contest for demonstrating web savvy

Harvard ES fifth-grader Callie Bream took home a gift card for $150 as the inaugural first-place prize winner of a new monthly video contest sponsored by HISD Education Technology and the Future of Privacy Forum.

Harvard ES fifth-grader Callie Bream took home a gift card for $150 as the inaugural first-place prize winner of a new monthly video contest.

Keeping email accounts secure with strong passwords is an important aspect of responsible digital citizenship, and students from two HISD schools have demonstrated their mastery of this concept by winning the top prizes in a video production contest co-sponsored by the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and HISD’s Educational Technology team.

Harvard Elementary School students won four of the five prizes available (first and second, as well as two honorable mentions), while a student from Eastwood Academy took home the third-place prize.

The competition was created as a part of Digital Awareness Month in October to increase students’ web savvy while also giving them an opportunity for creative expression. Continue reading →

Eastwood Academy community gets update on plans for new building

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Eastwood Academy students, staff, and community members attended the second community meeting on Thursday night to hear about proposed site and construction plans for a new building being constructed under the 2012 bond program.

Continue reading →