Tag Archives: House Bill 5

National School Counselor Week shines spotlight on changing role

Dean of Students Tiphaine Shaw works with Furr HS student Javeona Sudduth.

Dean of Students Tiphaine Shaw works with Furr HS student Javeona Sudduth.

National School Counselor Week runs from Feb. 2–6 this year, and HISD encourages students and parents to take time out to express their appreciation of these hard-working professionals.

The role of the school counselor has evolved quite a bit in the wake of House Bill 5, which began requiring freshmen to identify their areas of interest this school year so that they could choose a high school with the endorsement they desired. 

“The main thing that’s happening is school counselors are doing a lot more guidance in terms of leading kids to careers and post-secondary options,” said Furr High School Dean of Students Tiphaine Shaw. “It’s about connecting them with their goals a lot earlier, so that instead of just recruiting kids to come to our campus, with the new career pathways, we’re showing them how coming to our school would connect them with their future.”
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Good ‘turnout,’ lively discussion at HISD’s HB 5 Tele-Town Hall

More than 2,000 of HISD’s 12,000 eighth-grade families “met” Tuesday, April 29, in two Tele-Town Halls in English and Spanish to hear a panel of experts answer their questions about how recent state legislation is changing their students’ planning  for high school graduation, higher education, and careers.

The district placed automated calls to families, who could then participate in an informative discussion without attending a formal meeting. From the convenience of their homes, offices, cars – or wherever they received the calls — they learned about new pathways of study that will personalize students’ high school experience as mandated in the package of state legislation known as House Bill 5.

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Next year’s seniors can get help getting college-ready

Juniors who have been identified as needing a boost toward college readiness are being offered the chance to sign up for preparatory classes in mathematics and English language arts in their senior year.

The courses are being developed through a partnership between HISD and the Houston Community College System as part of recent state legislation, known as House Bill 5.

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No meetings required: Eighth-grade parents can learn about HS changes through Tele-Town Hall

Parents of current eighth-graders will be receiving a phone call from HISD at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 29 that will allow them to participate in a live “Tele-Town Hall” meeting to learn about changes coming next school year to high school courses, graduation requirements, and college and career pathways.

A surprise caller will invite parents to click in to a live “meeting,” conducted by ABC-13’s Cynthia Cisneros in English and a separate meeting in Spanish, to learn more about how the state legislation known as House Bill 5 will affect their students’ planning for high school, higher education, and careers.

HISD principals will be on hand to discuss HISD’s 26-credit Distinguished Level of Achievement graduation plan that requires Algebra II and the choice of an “endorsement” – the equivalent of a college major.

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Board president Stipeche’s broadcast answers questions on new high school pathways

Board of Trustees President Juliet Stipeche’s premiere broadcast on HISD-TV is streaming online, and she tackles the complex and looming issue of major changes to high school, starting with this year’s eighth-graders who are now planning their educational pathways.

Stipeche interviews Lupita Hinojosa and Mark White about what HISD is doing to implement the package of state education legislation known as House Bill 5.

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Plan Your Path with our new, improved website

With all the big changes coming to high school this fall, HISD is working diligently to make sure parents and students have the latest information in the most easy-to-navigate means possible.

That’s why we’ve streamlined our “Plan Your Path: House Bill 5 and You” website that gives you critical facts and tells you where to go to learn even more details about things such as graduation plans, course and school selection, college readiness, and shares frequently asked questions.

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Plan Your Path Tip No. 2: You win! Complex requirements are made simple on HISD game board

Changes in STAAR exams and end-of-course tests. Personal Graduation Plans and Endorsements. Naviance, career interest inventories, requirements and schedules.

All the new terms and requirements brought by the Texas Legislature’s House Bill 5 regulations can be daunting, to be sure – but they become much clearer and simpler to understand with HISD’s unique “Plan Your Path” gameboard.

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Campus meetings put families in-the-know about upcoming changes in high school

Reagan, Washington HB 5 sessions show what’s in store for next year’s ninth-graders

High school is changing in a big way for next year’s ninth-grade students, and dozens of HISD families got a jump on finding out how at two community meetings Monday night at Reagan and Washington high schools.

The changes are coming as a result of state legislation known as House Bill 5 – and HISD has rebranded the process for its students and their families as “Plan Your Path.”

“Plan Your Path” is all about guiding students to “dream big,” explained Alejandro Morua, HISD’s general manager of Family and Community Engagement, by combining career awareness and selection with a rigorous academic curriculum from pre-K through graduation.

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Plan Your Path Tip No. 1: It’s never too early to communicate with colleges

Grady students show off their letters to colleges and universities.

How are you Planning Your Path – or guiding your children or students along their way to higher education and careers? We’re anxious to share your activities with others, as HISD moves into implementing the exciting changes brought by House Bill 5. Here’s the first in our series.

Grady Middle School eighth-graders have taken the first step on the path to college and career readiness. In their English class, the students wrote letters to a favorite college or university to request information regarding programs the schools offer in fields that interest them.

“Even though these students have not yet started high school, it is not too soon for them to start thinking about what they’ll be doing after high school,” said Grady Middle School’s eighth-grade IB Language A instructor Dorothy Leahy.

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HISD Hears Final Report on Education Legislation by Texas Lawmakers

HISD trustees heard a detailed update Thursday of dozens of new laws from the 83rd session of the Texas Legislature, but the focus was on one new measure – House Bill 5 – that will make huge changes in Texas graduation requirements beginning with current ninth- and 10th-graders.

The session was presented by HISD counsel David Thompson, who serves as one of the district’s legislative liaisons.

HB 5 reduces the number of STAAR end-of-course exams that must be passed for graduation from 15 to 5 and requires students to select a personal graduation plan between a basic “foundation” course of study and a more rigorous “distinguished” diploma that increases their chances for admission to four-year Texas public universities and state grants.

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