Tag Archives: elementary

Walnut Bend ES and community raise awareness for National Literacy Month

Celebrity readers share stories, set an example for community involvement

Walnut Bend ES partner Phillips 66, along with the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation and Lone Star Sports & Entertainment, got together at the campus on opening day Monday to raise awareness about the importance of literacy for Houston’s children. The star-studded event kicked off HISD’s Literacy By 3 program, a movement designed to turn around and end the literacy crisis in Houston.

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Districtwide Tryouts for HISD’s Elementary Honor Choir

Fourth and fifth graders from all across the district are invited to audition for the Houston Independent School District Elementary Honor Choir on Saturday, Sept. 15 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at Travis Elementary, 3311 Beauchamp. 

HISD’s Elementary Honor Choir was established in 2008 to provide an additional high-level choral experience for musically talented fourth and fifth graders in the district.  During the 2011-2012 academic year, 19 elementary schools were represented in the choir.

Choir rehearsals are held after school twice a month from October through January.  Music teachers are responsible for teaching the music to students at their home schools, and parents are responsible for transporting their children to and from the rehearsals. 

The HISD Elementary Honor Choir presents a spring concert each year.  Last year the choir was invited to perform at the 13th Annual Invitational School Choral Festival “Hear the Future” presented by the Houston Chamber Choir.  Additionally, the choir has been invited to perform at the upcoming Texas Music Educators Association’s Annual Convention in February 2013.

The audition will consist of a vocalise to determine the singer’s range and a short melody, Jubilate Deo, to be sung alone and in canon with a judge.  Click here to view video samples.  The schools’ music teachers are available to help the students prepare for the auditions. 

To sign up to audition or for more information, contact Katherine Martin at kmartin6@houstonisd.org or call 713-556-6823.

HISD Board of Education to Consider More Elementary School Class Time

The Houston ISD Board of Education today will consider giving preliminary approval to a policy requiring all elementary schools to adopt a minimum 7 hour and 15 minute daily schedule.

 The proposal is intended to provide schools more flexibility to meet their students’ academic and developmental needs.  Earlier this spring, the Board of Education approved a resolution encouraging all elementary principals to offer their students daily recess, and this proposal would further enable them to do so.

Currently, the length of school days at HISD elementary campuses ranges from 7 hours to 7 hours and 40 minutes, meaning no school’s day would be lengthened by more than 15 minutes under this proposal. Schools that already exceed the minimum time requirement would be able to continue doing so.

Other items on the agenda for tonight’s meeting include:

  • Adoption of a resolution calling on the Texas Legislature to “reexamine the public school accountability system in Texas and to develop a system that encompasses multiple assessments, reflects greater validity, reduces the number of instructional days affected by state-mandated standardized tests, and uses more cost efficient sampling techniques and other external evaluation arrangements, and more accurately reflects what students know, appreciate and can do in terms of the rigorous standards essential to their success, enhances the role of teachers as designers, guides to instruction and leaders, and nurtures the sense of inquiry and love of learning in all students.”
  • Expanding newcomer programs at Liberty High School and Las Americas Middle School.  These schools are designed to meet the unique needs of students who have recently immigrated to the United States.
  • Approval of a new set of performance criteria, the HISD School Leadership Framework, to be used in the appraisal instrument for principals, assistant principals, and deans of instruction. For more than a year, leaders from across the district have been working together to make recommendations about the design of this new appraisal system, including the appraisal process and timelines and the performance criteria used to assess school leader performance. With the right supports and standards, principals will be best positioned to improve the quality of instruction within schools and strengthen parent and community engagement.

The board’s regular monthly meeting begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 10, 2012 in the board auditorium of the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 West 18th St., 77092).

The board is scheduled to receive status updates on a number of projects and vote on several programs, contracts, and grants. For a full copy of the Board meeting agenda, click here.  The board meeting will be carried live on HISD’s website and on the HISD Channel, which can be found on Comcast Channel 18 or AT&T Channel 99.