LaTonya Hodge has been selected as the new principal for Fondren Middle School. Hodge has been an educator for 14 years and has served in various roles, from teacher to manager. She began her career in HISD as an elementary and middle school teacher before joining Pasadena ISD as a counselor. Hodge also has served as the assistant principal of Burbank Middle School and currently serves as the manager of graduate teaching fellowship at KIPP Houston Public Schools. She earned her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary students and master’s degree in counseling from Prairie View A&M. She earned her doctorate from the University of Houston in teaching and teacher education.
Tag Archives: Fondren MS
Summer STEM Institute helps teachers infuse learning with fun
More than five dozen HISD science, technology, engineering, and math teachers took part in a summer institute recently that was designed to help boost students’ math and science scores by incorporating more fun into their lessons.
The educators came from 23 HISD elementary and middle schools that received part of a TIF4 STEM grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant also provides resources such as equipment and technology, and participating teachers will receive additional training opportunities throughout the school year and share what they have learned with other faculty members at their campuses.
Apollo 20 Fellowship program highlighted on Great Day Houston
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HISD’s Apollo 20 Fellowship program was the subject of a recent segment on KHOU’s “Great Day Houston” with Debra Duncan.
Fondren MS recognized for providing exemplary customer service
A commitment to meeting high expectations in every area has resulted in a big prize for Fondren Middle School. That campus was recently named the inaugural winner of HISD’s Blue Star Award for Service Excellence.
The award was created to honor schools that provide exemplary customer service; a friendly, professional environment; and a culture of positive expectations, and Fondren was selected from a field of 22 nominees and five finalists. As a part of the evaluation, a team of volunteer judges made unannounced, structured visits to each nominated campus, in which they conducted walk-throughs of the facilities and interacted with staff members. They also made anonymous calls to each school to test the clerical staff’s response.
Students become global thinkers in IB programs
Tamokia Thompson, right, poses for a photograph with her daughter, Cienna Alley, left, at Fondren Middle School.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Fondren Middle School challenges students to think globally by grasping skills in design and technology to research, solve problems, and present new ideas on international places, populations, and cultures.
As a district of choice, Fondren is one of several IB schools that HISD families can choose. The rigorous and broad IB program empowers students to become bilingual and biliterate learners who embrace multiculturalism and diversity. The deadline to apply to an IB program is Friday, Dec. 19. Continue reading
‘Newcomer’s’ gratitude for school, home, country recognized by mayor’s office
Salvadorian student wins first place in citywide poetry contest just six weeks after immigrating to U.S.
’Tis the season for feeling thankful, and when the Newcomers Academy at Fondren Middle School student Daniela Fuentes expressed her gratitude, it won first place in the City of Houston’s Citizenship Month Poetry Competition earlier this month.
Although the eighth-grader just moved here from El Salvador in late September, she has already met Houston’s first lady, Kathy Hubbard, who presented her with a plaque in a ceremony held at the Asia Society of Houston. Fuentes read her poem aloud to hundreds of distinguished guests before it was put on display at the University of Houston-Downtown library. Continue reading
Pin Oak MS wins first UIL middle school tournament of year
More than 500 middle school students spent their Saturday at Hamilton Middle School on Oct. 25, competing in the first University Interscholastic League (UIL) Middle School tournament of the 2014–2015 season.
Students from 15 schools competed: Attucks, Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan, Black, Burbank, Clifton, Cullen, Fondren, Hamilton, Johnston, Pershing, Pin Oak, Revere and Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men.
Pin Oak Middle School was declared the sweepstakes champion, with Mickey Leland College Prep winning second place and Black MS taking home third.
Here are the individual results: Continue reading
Fondren Celebrates New IB Status
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Fondren Middle School celebrated its new status as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School on Nov. 21 with music, poetry, art, and special guest speaker James Reilly, a former NASA astronaut. Fondren joins Reagan High School and Hogg Middle School in receiving official authorization in July to offer the rigorous IB Middle Years Programme (MYP).
“IB is a totally new approach to learning for us,” said Fondren MS Principal Monique Lewis. “Teachers are teaching differently, and students are learning differently. There is more collaboration among students and more open-mindedness in general.”
Reagan and Hogg Celebrate New IB Status
Reagan High School and Hogg Middle School are officially celebrating their new status this week as International Baccalaureate (IB) World Schools, the latest HISD campuses to receive official authorization. After receiving approval July 5, the schools were able to begin offering the rigorous IB program when the new school year launched, creating the first continuous IB feeder pattern in the historic Houston Heights. Students begin the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) at Harvard Elementary and progress to the Middle Years Programme (MYP) at Hogg and Reagan.
Reagan HS and Hogg MS Celebrate IB Authorization
Reagan High School and Hogg Middle School are the two latest HISD campuses to receive official authorization to operate as International Baccalaureate World Schools. The announcement, which came on July 5, creates the first continuous IB feeder pattern in the historic Heights neighborhood. Students now can begin the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) at Harvard Elementary and then progress to Hogg Middle School and Reagan High School for the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP).