Tag Archives: Houston Innovative Learning Zone

HCC Professors Teaching at HISD Schools (w/ video)

At first glance it may look like a typical classroom at Scarborough High School, but at the head of the class is a college professor. “I tell them that when they enter this room it is not Scarborough High School but Houston Community College,” said HCC Professor Suni Diaz.

Diaz and other professors from HCC are teaching HISD students this summer as part of the Houston Innovative Learning Zone (HILZ) academies that opened this month at Scarborough and five other campuses, including the Long School, Furr, Kashmere, Sterling, and Booker T. Washington high schools.  The new academies offer students career training as well as the opportunity to earn career certifications and a college associate’s degree.

“It has all the benefits of college and it’s free,” said James Jackson, who is taking his first college class this summer as part of Scarborough’s HILZ Academy for Network and Computer Administration. “It was an amazing opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”

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Board unanimously approves creation of HILZ campuses at six HISD high schools

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.

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Board of Education votes today on career-training program for six HISD high schools

The HISD Board of Education is scheduled to vote today on a plan to draw students back into six neighborhood high schools with strong Career and Technical Education programs.

The meeting begins at 5 p.m. at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, 4400 W. 18th Street.

Under this proposal, the School of Pharmacy Technology at Long would prepare students for the growing pharmaceutical industry by providing them with the clinical and business skills needed to work successfully alongside pharmacists and physicians.

If the program is approved, students at Furr, Kashmere, Long, Scarborough, Sterling, and Booker T. Washington high schools would 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.

“These HILZ programs take traditional vocational education to a higher level,” said HISD Superintendent Terry Grier. “HILZ graduates will leave our high schools with certifications that Houston employers seek when filling high-paying job vacancies. HILZ graduates will also have 45 to 60 hours of college credit from our Houston Community College partner. These credits will transfer to articulated programs at Texas universities, positioning HILZ graduates for success in a four-year college if they choose to forego an immediate career.”

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