Tag Archives: HISD

Annual ‘Hooray for Neff’ Event Showcases Young Students’ Musical and Artistic Talents

Event in collaboration with the Houston Grand Opera

What: HISD’s Neff Early Learning Center, in collaboration with the Houston Grand Opera, continues its tradition of displaying the young students’ artistic and musical talents at the annual ‘Hooray for Neff’ performance and exhibition on Thursday.  Throughout the academic year, with the support of the Houston Grand Opera, the students create art, learn how to use technology, and practice singing, dancing, and performing in preparation for this grand event.  The Houston Grand Opera provides the school with supplies and resources, as well as guest performers that work with the students on their artistic projects.

The Houston Grand Opera collaborates with the Rice University’s Center for Education for support to fund this project at Neff Early Learning Center.

Who: Neff Elementary students, parents and community members

When: Thursday, March 28, 2013; 9a.m. – 10a.m. (Performance), 10a.m. – 1p.m. (Exhibits)

Where: Neff Early Learning Center, 8200 Carvel Lane, Houston, TX 77036

32 HISD Schools Now Serving Free Dinner to Students

With more students spending most of their day at school, HISD’s Food Services has partnered with the 21st Century Community Learning Center program to serve dinner at various campuses to ensure students have access to healthy meals each day.

Continue reading →

HISD Introduces New Law Enforcement Mentoring Program at Parent Night

The Houston Independent School District will introduce a new law enforcement mentoring program during the upcoming Parent Night event.  HISD’s Parent Engagement Department has partnered with the HISD Police Department, METRO Police Department, and Houston Police Department to create a mentoring program for at-risk students.   The officers will serve as mentors at Peck Elementary School, and Attucks, Cullen, Deady, Jackson, Key, McReynolds, Sugar Grove, and Welch middle schools.  Former NASA astronaut Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr. will serve as the keynote speaker.  In 1995, Dr. Harris became the first African-American to walk in space.

 Who:         HISD Parent Engagement Department, HISD Police, METRO Police, and the Houston Police departments, former NASA astronaut Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr., HISD students, parents, and administrators. 

What:           The HISD Parent Engagement Department will announce a new law enforcement mentorship program in partnership. 

When:        Wednesday, December 5, 2012: 6p.m.-8p.m. 

Where:       Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center , 4400 West 18th Street

Houston ISD Seniors to Receive $150,000 in Broad Foundation Scholarships

This spring’s Houston Independent School District graduates will receive $150,000 in scholarships from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

Update, May 29, 2013: The Broad Foundation increased its scholarship giveaway to $165,000 in an effort to distribute more financial assistance to HISD students.

The scholarships are a result of HISD being among the four national finalists for the 2012 Broad Prize for Urban Education, which was awarded today to the Miami-Dade County Public Schools.  This was Miami-Dade’s fifth time to be a Broad Prize finalist.  HISD won the inaugural Broad Prize in 2002.

“We were honored to be among the final four of 75 urban school districts for the most prestigious award in education,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said.  “The consistent progress that our students have made over the past several years is a direct reflection on the hard work put in by the teachers, principals, and every member of Team HISD.” Continue reading →

Roosevelt Elementary celebrates official dedication

Near the finale of Wednesday’s official dedication ceremony for Theodore Roosevelt Elementary, at least one parent in the crowd let out a grito — a celebratory yell — during the final performance of a visiting mariachi band comprised of students.

It certainly wasn’t the only rave review at the school this morning.

Roosevelt Elementary, a Vanguard school for gifted and talented students, opened the doors to its new campus building in late November 2011, more than 80 years after the school originally opened.

The two-story school serves about 750 students, and most, if not all of them, Roosevelt principal Armando Lujan said, really enjoy learning with the new technology the school now uses.

“The students love this building,” he said. “They love the SMART boards, they love the technology. They love the fact that we are able to broadcast news over the SMART boards.”

During the celebration, attendees were entertained by three different musical groups, including songs by the school’s Pre-K students and its new choir team, as well as bookended performances by the mariachi band from Jefferson Davis High School.

Inside the school, students have access to a central library and large multi-purpose room, one Lujan said was nearly unusable in the old school. The design of the school allows for more natural light inside the hallways and classrooms, results in a nearly 20 percent reduction in energy use from the previous building.

“It’s come a long way,” said Mary Morales, president of the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization and mother to two students currently at Roosevelt. “It’s like the best thing they could give these kids nowadays that we didn’t have when we were younger.

“It’s wonderful,” she said. “It helps (students) out a lot more. It expands their minds a lot more. I remember when I was little, I wasn’t doing projects. Now they are.”

The school was built with approximately $16.5 million from the bond program approved by voters in 2007. Roosevelt is one of 20 new schools built with funds from that bond program.

23,000 Backpacks, 2,500 Uniforms: Back to School Fest, By the Numbers

HISD partnered with the City of Houston to host the Back to School Fest on August 11that Reliant Center. Here’s a look at the event and its impact:

  • More than 40,000 students and their families attended the event
  • 40 sponsors and 33 in-kind sponsors
  • An estimated 500 immunizations were administered to children
  • More than 500 individuals volunteered for this event
  • The event showcased 100 exhibitors
  • More than 23,000 backpacks with school supplies were distributed
  • 2,500 uniforms and 725 uniform vouchers were distributed
  • 52,049 pounds of food were distributed by the Houston Food Bank
  • 12 organizations/companies hosted school supply drives to support the Back To School Fest
  • 8,000 socks and underwear for children were distributed

HISD teachers gear up for beginning of 2012-13 school year

Teachers and staff across Houston ISD are decorating rooms, preparing supplies and finalizing their plans for the upcoming school year. There’s a little more than one week until school starts for most HISD students (Apollo 20  secondary students begin on Monday, Aug. 20), and while students are enjoying the last few days of summer vacation, our teachers and staff are working hard to be ready for the 2012-13 school year.

Many of us have been working over the summer to prepare for this year, too. Learn about some of our new schools and programs beginning in a few weeks.

What’s New at HISD for the 2012-2013 School Year

About 200,000 Houston Independent School District students are expected to return to school for the first day of classes on Monday, Aug. 27.  Students from five middle schools and four high schools in the district’s Apollo 20 school turnaround program will get a one-week head start on Aug. 20 when their school year begins.

The 2012-2013 school year brings many exciting improvements to Houston schools as HISD continues its work to offer a consistently rigorous education in a safe learning environment at all 279 campuses.

 New Schools

Four new school buildings funded by the 2007 voter-approved bond program will open on the first day of school. 

  • Carnegie Vanguard High School– (1101 Taft) – The Carnegie Vanguard Magnet program serves students who have been identified as gifted and talented in intellectual ability. In 2002, the Vanguard school moved to the former Carnegie Elementary campus which was originally built in 1963. The new building is located adjacent to the Gregory-Lincoln Education Center. 
  • Billy Reagan K-8 Education Center-(4842 Anderson Road) – The school will offer a two-way dual English and Spanish language program to its kindergarten class in an effort to develop full bilingualism and bi-literacy for all students.  The center will implement this program in one of the kindergarten classes during the 2012-2013 academic year and will add one grade per year until there is a complete two-way dual language program in grades K-8.
  • Lockhart Elementary School – (3501 Southmore) – The replacement school will now serve pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.  Students from the former Lockhart and Turner Elementary schools will attend the new campus. 
  • Neff Elementary School – (8301 Neff Street) – The replacement campus will serve students in grades 2-5.  The former Neff campus is being converted into an early childhood campus for students in pre-kindergarten through first grade.

New Programs

 Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion Magnet School – (6300 Avenue B, Bellaire) This is HISD’s first Mandarin Chinese language immersion school. The school will initially serve students in kindergarten through second grade, with additional grades to be added in subsequent years. Core subjects including language arts, math, science, and social studies will be taught primarily in Mandarin Chinese with a certain amount of English language development instruction incorporated each day.

 

Houston Innovative Learning Zone program- Students at six HISD campuses (Furr, Kashmere, Scarborough, Sterling, and Booker T. Washington high schools and Long middle school) will have the chance to earn associate’s degrees and career training in high-demand technical fields.  The HILZ program was created in partnership with Houston Community College. In addition to taking the standard core credits required of all high school students, HILZ students will take courses taught by college professors using a blend of face-to-face and online instruction. In addition, credits earned by HILZ graduates will transfer to any public Texas university.

More Tools for Principals and Teachers

 Curriculum Changes- HISD has a new and improved curriculum designed with the input of thousands of teachers. The new curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and will prepare students for the rigor of STAAR and other standardized tests.  The new curriculum also places an emphasis on every child reading at or above grade level.

  • New literacy plan- The new literacy plan serves as a guide for teachers and leaders as they prepare students to be proficient readers, independent thinkers, and effective communicators. The plan is called CLASS (Curriculum and instruction, Leadership, Assessment, Support for families and communities, and Sustainability).
  • Revamped K-5 English Language Arts curriculum: The curriculum was designed in partnership with teachers and training provided by the Neuhaus Education Center.   Teachers at all grade levels have received Neuhaus training on literacy intervention strategies.  In the 2012-2013 school year, sixth and ninth- grade students who are reading below grade level will receive an extra daily class period of reading instruction using a specially designed curriculum from Neuhaus.

 

  • Continuing Leadership Training for Principals:  HISD has formed new partnerships with Rice University, the University of Texas, and St. Thomas University to help develop skills of current principals and to help train new talent. New and aspiring principals can attend an intensive four-week Emerging Leaders Institute.  Ongoing monthly training is available for first-and second-year principals and assistant principals.  There are also six new courses for principals related to decision-making in the area of staffing.

 Bond Election Proposal in November

Houston voters will decide in November whether to approve a proposition to build modern high schools in neighborhoods across Houston, and improve safety and technology district-wide. The $1.89 billion plan would address facility needs in 38 schools. For a complete overview of the proposal and the schools that would be rebuilt or renovated, click here.