Excitement was in the air at Oak Forest Elementary School on Monday, June 3, and not only because it was the last Monday of the 2023-2024 school year. Annually, the Astros Foundation and Reliant Energy team up for Slide into Summer Reading, a program intended to help students avoid the “summer slide,” or the loss of academic knowledge and habits formed over the school year. The schools with the most students registered for the program by May 13 were rewarded with a Slide into Summer Reading party at their schools, and Oak Forest won in the category of large public/charter school with more than 300 registrations.
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HISD partners with the Astros Foundation to encourage student re-enrollment
A quiet meeting room on the third floor of Minute Maid Park became a command center of dialing phones on June 28 and 29 as HISD employee volunteers rallied to contact unenrolled students and encourage them to come back to school in the fall.
Continue readingHISD student gets dream opportunity to interview Astros superstar Altuve
While many students aspire to be a famous YouTuber one day, Challenge Early College High School senior Maanav Gupta is already living the dream.
Gupta’s “Maanav’s Sports Talk” YouTube program doesn’t look like it would be out of place on any primetime sports TV program. Gupta’s program has the feel of a professional show. Recently he interviewed ESPN alum Rich Eisen, and then he was able to score an in-person interview with Astros all-star Jose Altuve.
Scroggins ES students enjoy ‘cat-seañera’ courtesy of Castro’s Kids
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Students at HISD’s Scroggins ES recently enjoyed a literacy-themed “cat-seañera,” thanks to Castro’s Kids, a literacy foundation started by Houston Astros catcher Jason Castro and his wife, Maris.
Scroggins librarian Jo-Anne Reed won a $1,500 grant from that organization for the school, which she used to stage a feline-themed celebration that plays off the quinceañera, a traditional celebration for Hispanic 15-year-old girls marking their transition into adulthood.
HISD Names Outstanding Hall of Fame Partners During Annual Appreciation Breakfast
The Houston Independent School District paid tribute on Friday to four of its long-standing, dedicated partners during the Annual Partnership Appreciation Breakfast.
The Houston Astros, Houston Food Bank, IPAA/PESA Education Center and Target each received a 2013 Hall of Fame award for their exemplary service to HISD students. The award is presented to businesses and organizations that have an impact on multiple schools and serve as a model for other partnerships.
Houston Astro Rewards Moreno ES Students for Summer Reading
School library and students with highest participation in Millionaire Club receive more than 3,000 books
Houston Astros catcher Jason Castro and his wife, Maris, pose with prize winners after handing out books and prizes to students at Moreno ES for their participation in the Millionaire Club summer reading program, September 12, 2013.
Students at Moreno Elementary were treated to a special visit from Houston Astros player Jason Castro on September 11. Nearly 300 students not only got to visit with the major-league ball player but also received a bag of four books to add to their home library. Moreno ES had the district’s highest participation in the Millionaire Club summer-reading program. Castro not only congratulated the students but talked about his love of reading and why he and his wife Maris started Castro’s Kids, which encourages children to embrace literacy.
Houston Astro Pitches In To Help With District Literacy Efforts
He may be a catcher for the Houston Astros, but Jason Castro is pitching in to help HISD with its comprehensive literacy efforts. Castro and his wife, Maris, have created a new literacy initiative called Castro’s Kids which will be providing funds, books and incentives to supplement HISD’s Name that Book competition and the district’s successful Millionaire Club Summer Reading Program.
“Maris and I couldn’t be more dedicated and excited to launch Castro’s Kids,” said Castro during HISD’s Name that Book Fair event on May 11, 2013 at the Bellaire Barnes and Noble. “We attribute not only meeting each other, but many of the opportunities we have been given throughout our lives, to education. By promoting literacy in the Houston school districts, we hope to make an impact in the area that we are proud to call our home.”