College campus visits are an essential part of choosing the right school for higher learning. For HISD students in the EMERGE program, that means a summer vacation full of stops to some of the best universities across the nation for free.
Continue readingTag Archives: EMERGE
HISD students get a jump on college planning with unique summer program at Rice
This summer, HISD sophomores and freshmen are giving college readiness a summer camp spin with Connectrix at Rice University, a program designed to establish comprehensive support for underrepresented early high school students that will prepare them to choose, apply to, and attend college after graduation.
Continue readingWatch as Chavez HS student learns she’s Stanford-bound
As the HISD Class of 2023 approaches graduation, college acceptance letters are rolling in. In early April, Chavez High School senior Tuong Phung learned she’d be going to her dream school—Stanford University.
The heartwarming moment was captured on video.
Continue readingEMERGE applications open for HISD sophomores
Tenth graders in Houston Independent School District are encouraged to apply for EMERGE, a program that empowers and prepares high-performing students from underserved communities to attend and graduate from top colleges and universities across the nation that offer substantial financial-aid packages.
HISD sophomores who want to explore in-state and out-of-state college options and would like to work with a mentor to create a competitive college application can apply to be an EMERGE fellow now through May 15, 2023. The application can be found here.
Continue readingSuperintendent House’s State of the Schools address focuses on the road ahead
During his first State of the Schools at the helm of Houston ISD, Superintendent Millard House II delivered a keynote address focused on his five-year strategic plan and the road ahead for the largest school district in Texas.
Public education supporters from the business, academic, advocacy, and faith communities attended the annual HISD Foundation’s fundraising luncheon on Friday.
Graduating EMERGE seniors to be honored at annual celebration
There are 252 EMERGE seniors graduating in May and heading off to colleges and universities around the country, and they’re on track to receive more than $36 million in scholarships and grants.
This year, students have been accepted to schools such as Harvard University, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr College, Scripps College, Amherst College, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt University, St. John’s University-New York, and Johns Hopkins University. Continue reading
College Readiness wraps up 2015–2016 with resounding success
The HISD College Readiness Dept. works closely with HISD high schools to create and maintain a college-bound culture. The district saw a major increase in college applications and FAFSA completions this past school year, with a 23-percentage-point increase in college applications over last year and a 10-percentage-point increase in financial-aid applications.
[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000TAfxl1Pr42c” g_name=”20160713-College-Readiness-story” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]
Twenty-eight new College Success Advisers (CSAs) and 15 new College Success Managers (CSM) were definitely a factor in the increases. Last summer, thanks to a Houston Endowment grant of $3 million, the college advisers and managers were hired and trained to assist district seniors with applying for college and scholarships.
HISD, mayor to recognize 100-plus seniors headed to nation’s top tier colleges, universities
The Houston Independent School District along with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner will recognize 164 graduating scholars headed to the nation’s top-tier colleges and universities during the third annual EMERGE Senior Celebration on Thursday.
Through EMERGE, scholars from 28 high schools have earned the distinction this year of being accepted to colleges and universities including Yale, Harvard, Rice, Brown, Stanford, Smith, Dartmouth, Duke, Wake Forest, Northeastern, Pomona, and Boston University.
The EMERGE program aims to help low-income, high-potential students gain admission to and graduate from Ivy League and other top tier colleges and universities across the nation. The EMERGE scholars will be recognized for their dedication and hard work during a banquet scheduled for Thursday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Rice University in the Tudor Fieldhouse. Mayor Turner is scheduled to speak at the program along with HISD Interim Superintendent Ken Huewitt. Continue reading
Class of 2015 beats previous year’s scholarship offers by $10 million
Several HISD schools saw significant increases in the amount of scholarship and financial aid offers their seniors received this year. Recent HAIS graduates Karina Barbosa (left) and Rynique Lucas received more than $1.7M in scholarship and financial aid offers between them.
The numbers are in, and HISD’s Class of 2015 has received almost $265 million in scholarship and financial aid offers.
At $10 million more than the Class of 2014, Director of College Readiness David Johnston called the figure “a testament to the district’s college readiness efforts.” A handful of campuses have also seen significant increases in the amount of money their seniors have been offered from last year to this one.
College Success Manager Pamela Joyce Williams attributes Washington High School’s jump from about $2,360,000 in 2014 to more than $7,223,000 in 2015 to a year-long outreach campaign, in which she sent students and their parents regular progress reports and email reminders about deadlines through Naviance. Continue reading
Upcoming EMERGE college tours include Brandeis, Claremont colleges
In the next few months, some of HISD’s brightest young scholars will be visiting the nation’s top colleges and universities as part of the EMERGE program’s summer college tours. The EMERGE program was designed to help low-income, first-generation minority students get into top-notch colleges. Last year, EMERGE helped launch 99 scholars from 24 high schools to colleges and universities such as Stanford, Harvard, and MIT. Five were accepted to Yale University, while three chose to attend Tufts. This summer, students will get to participate in discussions, tour the campuses, and check out dorm rooms and cafeterias as part of the following EMERGE tours:
- Brandeis College tour (78 students)
- Claremont College tour (76 students)
Graduating EMERGE scholars have been awarded more than $20 million in scholarships and financial aid this past year, with the majority of students receiving individual financial packages totaling upwards of $40,000 per year.