The sun strained through high, wispy clouds, beaming bright yellow warmth onto the windows of school buses that streamed into the bus terminal, returning from safely transporting students.
At all district locations, HISD Transportation Services is observing National School Bus Safety Week to raise awareness among students, staff, and the community about the importance of school bus safety – inside and outside the school bus.
Continue readingOn the rare occasion that Houston temperatures drop to freezing, it’s not just people who may struggle to get going in the morning. HISD schools and buses need extra time to warm up, too.
But for every cozy classroom or bus ride, there is a team that has braved the weather in the dark and early morning hours to make learning environments comfy and safe for students’ arrival.
They are the cold-start crews – the ones who are called in when temperatures drop to 32 degrees and below.
Continue readingFor a lot of families, the holiday table doesn’t feel complete without a turkey as its centerpiece.
Nutrition Services will be able to provide that holiday hallmark — and a little extra holiday cheer — for up to 5,000 HISD families thanks to a partnership with and generous donation from No Kid Hungry, a nonprofit organization that aims to end child hunger.
Up to 5,000 turkeys will be distributed to Houston families just ahead of HISD’s winter break during Neighborhood Supersites scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 12 and Wednesday, Dec. 16. The turkeys are funded by an $80,000 donation from No Kid Hungry.
Continue readingFrom the moment a severe storm is predicted to make landfall along the Texas Gulf Coast, Facilities, Maintenance, and Operations staff are among the first to spring into action.
Crews place sandbags around flood-prone campuses. Generators are checked and filled with fuel. Pump systems are inspected to make sure they are operational.
“As long as we don’t have a power outage in the area, the pumps should carry all the water that could cause more damage down the road,” said North Maintenance Plumbing Team Lead Kenneth Wesley, who oversees the dispatch of plumbers to campuses when faced with a severe weather threat.
Continue readingAs clouds of monarch butterflies migrate south for the winter, many of them pass through Houston, where a special program allows HISD students to provide nectar-rich flowers and milkweed to nourish them.
Twenty-one HISD schools are participating in the Monarch Heroes program this school year, allowing students to create monarch habitat gardens to reverse the decline of the species.
The two-year program is part of the National Wildlife Federation Eco-Schools USA Program, the nation’s largest comprehensive green school program.
Continue readingThe Security Maintenance office looks like any other, with computers, cubicles, and conference rooms. You might never know that it houses HISD’s first line of defense against burglars, fires, floods, and natural disasters.
Part of Facilities Services and Fleet Operations, Security Maintenance is responsible for ensuring safety and security systems and equipment are fully functioning.
The department provides routine maintenance and emergency repairs on all safety equipment, such as cameras and alarm panels. It oversees and coordinates annual fire alarm, intercom, and fire extinguisher inspections. The team also works closely with HISD Construction Services to bring safety systems online in new and renovated schools.
Continue readingHISD’s Facilities Services and Fleet Operations department has been working hard this summer to ensure students have clean, comfortable learning spaces and reliable transportation to and from school.
The department cleaned schools, made renovations to several campuses, worked on climate control systems, serviced cars, took care of the grounds, welded metal, and maintained security.
Facilities Services and Fleet Operations Officer Alishia Jolivette said the department’s new tagline — We solve. We serve. We maintain. — guides their daily efforts.
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With more than 7,000 employees, Business Operations is the largest division in HISD. But what exactly do we do?
Before students can ever file into their classrooms, bus drivers and crossing guards must get them safely to school. Cafeteria workers must make them a nutritious breakfast. Custodians, police officers, and construction crews must make sure they have new, clean, safe spaces in which to learn.
The breadth of our work touches all facets of the district, and support is at the heart of everything we do. We help lay the foundation for student success — most of the time behind the scenes.
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As one of the longest-serving employees in Facilities Services and Fleet Operations, Sherry Jones’ career is fueled by a desire to be of service and to help wherever she can.
Jones – an administrative assistant – has been with HISD for 47 years. In that time, she’s worked with 15 managers and under the leadership of 11 superintendents, working hard to ensure her department is always properly supported.
According to Jones, her strong work ethic and desire to be of service was instilled by wise words from her mother that she carried with her throughout her career.
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Sterling Aviation High School is preparing its students for success beyond high school through a unique program that couples classroom instruction and real-world automotive work experience.
In partnership with HISD’s Facilities Services and Fleet Operations, students from Sterling’s Automotive Technology program spend a full school year working alongside HISD employees, gaining valuable industry experience and becoming equipped to successfully enter the workforce upon graduation.