Tag Archives: HIPPY

Your child’s first teacher is you: Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters enrolling now

Early childhood education puts great emphasis on setting up children for success in their academic journey. HISD parents have the option of helping their little scholar get a head start with HIPPY, an evidence-based, at-home learning program for children ages two through kindergarten.

HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) is a free program for future HISD students, designed to train parents to teach their toddlers the educational cornerstones that they need thrive once they grow into a traditional classroom.

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‘Week of the Young Child’ addresses the needs of our littlest learners

 

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The week of April 10-16 is the Week of the Young Child, an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to put a public spotlight on the needs of young children and address those needs through early childhood programs and services.

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HISD seeking families and home instructors for HIPPY program

HISD’s Family and Community Engagement department is still recruiting families and part-time home instructors to work with the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program for the 2015–2016 school year.

HIPPY is a school readiness program for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children that helps parents prepare their preschoolers for academic success. Instructors visit parents in their homes for an hour a week over a 30-week period during the school year, and model research-based learning activities designed to help Pre-K children develop skills in reading, math, and science. Parents then practice the activities with their children over the week until they learn a new activity during the next lesson. Children whose parents participate in the program consistently outperform their peers in reading and math in kindergarten and first grade.

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Up Close: See the latest videos from HISD Board President Rhonda Skillern-Jones

In the newest edition of Up Close, President Rhonda Skillern-Jones looks at HISD’s preschool program, how digital transformation is improving student learning, and the Pro Unitas Youth Council’s volunteer work at Kashmere High School.

Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY)

In this video about the HIPPY program, Skillern-Jones talks with members of HISD’s Family and Community Engagement department about how parents can help prepare their young children for the rigors of learning before they start school. Parents are provided simple educational activities that they can do with their children ages 3-5 at home. Members of the HIPPY work with parents in their home at no charge.

“We want to build the capacity of our parents as partners,” said Jorge Arrendondo, assistant superintendent of Family and Community Engagement. “We want to empower them to be their child’s first teacher at home.”

The benefit for children is a boost to their confidence, which affects their attitude and enhances their learning. Statistics confirm that students who have gone through the HIPPY program outperform their peers. More than 600 HISD families are receiving free lessons in their homes. To learn more, call 713-967-5298.

Digital Transformation in HISD

Skillern-Jones talks with HISD Secondary Director of Instructional Technology Angela Borzon, Westside High School Principal Peggi Stewart, and Sam Houston High School chemistry teacher Nichole DuPaul about HISD’s digital transformation in this video and how the growing variety of digital resources is increasing student achievement.

Pro Unitas Youth Council

In this video, Skillern-Jones visits with members of the Pro Unitas Youth Council, which serves the Kashmere High School neighborhood. The young people serving on the organization’s Executive Youth Council discuss the importance of living a life of service.

HISD Up Close and the HISD Board of Education meetings are broadcast on HCC TV and HoustonTV.

HISD home visiting program to help hundreds of families prepare children for preschool

The Houston Independent School District this week will begin offering in-home lessons to hundreds of new families from across the district in an effort to help parents better prepare their children for preschool.

The lessons are part of the district’s Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters — or HIPPY program. As part of the program, HIPPY home instructors models simple educational activities for parents to practice with their 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds.

The one-hour, weekly lessons span 30 weeks and cover early literacy skills, mathematics, science, fine and gross motor skills, and language development. Research shows that HISD kindergarten students whose parents have participated in the HIPPY program significantly outperform their peers in reading and math. Continue reading →

HIPPY program launches districtwide for 2015–2016 school year

In early October, nearly 600 families across the Houston area began receiving free lessons in their homes to prepare their children to succeed in HISD schools, before they ever set foot in a classroom.

Parents began participating in the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program, which models simple educational activities for parents to practice with their three-, four-, and five-year-old children. Forty-four HIPPY home instructors are assigned to communities across the district to enroll families and deliver the HIPPY curriculum. The one-hour weekly lessons span 30 weeks and cover early literacy skills, mathematics, science, fine and gross motor skills, and language development. Research shows that HISD kindergarten students whose parents have participated in the HIPPY program significantly outperform their peers in reading and math. Continue reading →

Leaders issue call-to-action for parents: Stay involved in education

In many ways, parents act as their children’s first teachers, and local leaders want that influence to continue even after young people start school.

Representatives from HISD, Children at Risk, Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, Early Matters, and Collaborative for Children joined forces during a press conference at Cunningham Elementary School on Sept. 3 to promote that message and encourage parents to make the most of the resources available to them.

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State grant to expand reach of home visiting program for parents of preschoolers

HISD’s Family and Community Engagement (FACE) team has been awarded a $5,880,967 state grant that will help the district significantly expand the reach of its Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program.

The five-year Texas Home Visiting Program grant, a project of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, will provide funding for the district’s Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program to support an additional 500 families with children ages three to five. The grant will also support services for parents of newborns to three-year-olds via Collaborative for Children’s Parents as Teachers program and provide funding to support Adult Education classes offered by Houston Community College for parents who wish to further their education. Continue reading →

HIPPY parent turned home instructor describes experience as ‘great opportunity’

As fall approaches, the Family and Community Engagement Department is busy recruiting 15 part-time home instructors to work with the HIPPY program for the 2015–2016 school year. The program was recently awarded a $6.5 million grant from the Health and Human Services Texas Home Visiting program to expand to schools across the district, serving almost 1,400 families.

Home instructors play a vital role in delivering the program. Over 30 weeks, home instructors visit the parents of preschool-aged children, delivering research-based curriculum in reading, math, and science to ensure students are ready to start kindergarten and succeed in school. We spoke with Veronica Herrera, a former HIPPY parent turned home instructor, to find out more about the job. Continue reading →

HISD seeking home instructors for HIPPY program

HISD’s Family and Community Engagement department is recruiting 15 part-time home instructors to work with the HIPPY program for the 2015–2016 school year.

Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is a school readiness program for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children that helps parents prepare their preschoolers for academic success. Instructors visit parents in their homes for an hour a week over a 30-week period during the school year, and model research-based learning activities designed to help Pre-K children develop skills in reading, math, and science. Parents then practice the activities with their children over the week until they learn a new activity during the next lesson. Children whose parents participate in the program consistently outperform their peers in reading and math in kindergarten and first grade. Continue reading →