Caleb Jolibett works on a project at the Houston Community College Minority Male Initiative STEM Academy
Ninth grader Caleb Jolibett is hoping to have an edge over his classmates this coming school year after spending most of the summer honing his math and science skills. “I think I will know a lot more than the kids who stayed home and didn’t take the initiative to learn something new,” said Jolibett, who will be attending Lamar High School in the fall.
North Early College High School graduates and Principal Angela Lundy-Jackson
Many members of the Class of 2013 earned more than their high school diplomas this year—nearly 200 of them also earned associate’s degrees from Houston Community College.
Challenge Early College, East Early College, Empowerment College Preparatory Academy, Houston Academy for International Studies, and North Houston Early College high schools all offer students the opportunity to take college courses along with high school courses. This year, a total of 179 students from all of those campuses combined left high school with a two-year college degree.
The inaugural class of students inducted into the Kashmere High School Futures Academy on May 30, 2013.
One couldn’t fault observers for thinking a group of students at Kashmere High School were graduating. Students’ names were called and cherished items were bestowed upon them while the crowd cheered and cried. Except these students have to accomplish a lot more than good grades to get the diploma.
More than 50 students received a red hard hat and blue safety glasses – the school colors – in Kashmere High School’s inaugural induction ceremony on Thursday, May 30, into its’ newly-christened Futures Academy with a focus on chemical process technology.
The HISD Board of Education on Thursday unanimously approved a plan to draw students back into six neighborhood high schools with strong Career and Technical Education programs.
The Board endorsed the plan after hearing from several parents who voiced support for the strategic investment that will strengthen community high schools.
Students at Furr, Kashmere, Long, Scarborough, Sterling, and Booker T. Washington high schools will be able to enroll in the newly created Houston Innovative Learning Zone (HILZ) programs beginning this summer. By the time these students graduate high school, they will have earned a college associate’s degree and valuable career certifications to help them immediately land lucrative jobs in some of the region’s most in-demand professions.