Tag Archives: Houston ISD

Worthing HS celebrates new building with grand opening ceremony

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Clad in gold glitter leotards, Worthing High School’s Prancing Dolls danced to the rhythmic beat of the band as cheerleaders chanted, energizing the crowd of students, staff, and alumni gathered in their sleek two-story commons area.

The crowd gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the new school, rebuilt under the 2012 Bond Program.

“This moment, this celebration today, does indeed represent a fresh beginning for Worthing High School,” HISD Board of Education Trustee Wanda Adams said. “This building has the state-of-the-art resources that our young scholars need and deserve to realize their most ambitious dreams.” Continue reading →

Worthing HS students start the new year in new building

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Students at Worthing High School gathered in the new cafeteria before class on Monday, comparing class schedules for the spring semester and discussing the new building.

Worthing Principal Khalilah Campbell-Rhone said the school’s new home has been a long time coming for the Sunnyside community.

“They have been waiting for about 12 years for a new building to be erected,” Campbell-Rhone said. “So, there’s obviously a lot of excitement to see this finally happen.” Continue reading →

New year, new school for Madison HS students

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Students at Madison High School chattered excitedly about their modern surroundings Monday as they made their way to class on the first day of the spring semester.

Madison Principal Paolo Castagnoli said fun activities were planned to welcome back the students, including a virtual tour of the school and several food trucks for lunch.

“Everything’s great,” Castagnoli said. “We love our new facility.” Continue reading →

Austin HS celebrates groundbreaking ceremony for new campus

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Austin High School students, staff, alumni, and community members gathered Tuesday to show their appreciation for the 81-year-old campus and celebrate the start of construction on their new school.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held just beyond the site where the current school is undergoing demolition and adjacent to where construction crews have started work on the foundation for the new school.
Continue reading →

HISD Trustees to host ceremony naming board auditorium after Trustee Manuel Rodríguez Jr.

The HISD Board of Trustees continues to mourn the loss of longtime Board of Trustees member Manuel Rodríguez Jr. In an effort to celebrate his life and memory, the board voted unanimously during its monthly agenda review session to name the board auditorium at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center the Manuel Rodríguez Jr. Board Auditorium.

Prior to the monthly Board of Trustees meeting Thursday, Aug. 10, the board will host a reception to commemorate the renaming. That celebration is open to the public and will include a proclamation by Trustee Rodríguez’s longtime friend, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, and other presentations.

“Trustee Rodríguez spent 14 years fighting in this auditorium for the students in District III and across the district to have access to the highest quality education HISD could provide for them,” says Board President Wanda Adams.  “We remain saddened by his loss, but it was only fitting that we do this small gesture to remind everyone of the warrior that fought here for so long.”

“The decision the board made to name the auditorium after Trustee Rodríguez shows the level of respect they all have for the work he did throughout his tenure to make HISD a better place for all students,” said Superintendent Richard Carranza. “From now on, every time anyone walks into the board auditorium, they will be reminded of a man who dedicated years to helping our students.”

The ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. in the lobby of the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center. There will be a ribbon-cutting around 4:30 p.m., and a brief video presentation inside the newly-named auditorium. The board will proceed with its regularly scheduled meeting immediately following the ceremony.

Please RSVP to ywences@HoustonISD.org by Aug. 8.

 

Thousands turn out across the district to learn more about rightsizing classrooms

Parents get answers to questions about proposed changes to attendance boundaries

Thousands of parents and community members turned out at a series of community meetings this week to provide parents with an overview of proposals designed to reduce classroom overcrowding at certain elementary schools.

The proposal for each school was discussed during regional meetings that took place on Tuesday, Feb. 17, and Thursday, Feb. 19. District officials will use the feedback to finalize the proposals and present them to the HISD Board of Education in March. If approved, the changes would be implemented for fall 2015.

Options under consideration include attendance boundary adjustments, program enhancements, and limiting the number of students each school may accept from outside its own neighborhood. District officials are also considering ways to improve internal practices such as adding a layer of additional scrutiny to the waiver request process and eliminating waivers for district charter schools.

The proposals would primarily affect new, incoming students. Current students would be grandfathered and allowed to stay at their current schools when possible.

The move is a result of a directive from the Texas Education Agency, which requires kindergarten through fourth-grade classes to have no more than 22 students per classroom. Classes that exceed that number must request a state waiver.

This school year, HISD had to submit nearly 1,500 class-size waiver requests to the TEA. District officials aim to cut that number in half by the 2015-2016 school year, with plans to continue the decrease incrementally through 2019.

Here is a list of the meetings that took place and the schools that may be affected by proposed boundary changes:

Tuesday, Feb. 17, 6 to 8 p.m.
Briar Forest Area Community Meeting
Location: Revere MS, 10502 Briar Forest
Affected Schools: Ashford, Askew, Bush, Daily, Emerson, Shadowbriar, Walnut Bend

Northwest Area Community Meeting
Location: Waltrip HS, 1900 West 34th St.
Affected Schools: Crockett, Highland Heights, Love, Memorial, Sinclair, Smith, Stevens

288 Corridor Community Meeting
Location: Attucks MS, 4330 Bellfort
Affected Schools: Bastian, Kelso, Young

Thursday, Feb. 19, 6 to 8 p.m.
Northline Area Community Meeting
Location: Sam Houston MSTC, 9400 Irvington Blvd.
Affected Schools: Burbank, Lyons, Northline

Tinsley and Halpin Area Community Meeting
Location: Tinsley ES, 11035 Bob White Dr.
Affected Schools: Anderson, Tinsley, Halpin ECC

Medical Center Area Community Meeting*
Location: Pershing MS, 3838 Blue Bonnet Blvd.
Affected Schools: The Rice School, Roberts, Twain, West University
*Only programmatic changes  under consideration.

The proposals for each school are available online: http://www.houstonisd.org/Page/125328

Student laptop distribution underway as part of PowerUp initiative

More than 18,000 students to receive computers this month to use at school and at home

More than 18,000 students are receiving laptops this month as part of HISD’s one-to-one initiative that will eventually give every high school student a computer. The initiative, called PowerUp, not only will offer students 24-hour access to a laptop and a variety of software, but to digital-age instruction that will transform teaching and learning both inside and outside the classroom.

“PowerUp is not about the device,” said Superintendent Terry Grier. “This is about creating anytime-anywhere learning for our students so they can have the world at their fingertips. We want to make sure they learn the skills that complement technology so they aren’t replaced by technology.”

Continue reading →

Houston Endowment to release remaining $3 million in Apollo funds to HISD

Houston Endowment informed the Houston Independent School District this week that it will release a $3 million payment for the district’s Apollo school turnaround program in January.

The Foundation deferred the final payment on its three-year, $6 million grant to the HISD Foundation pending its review of the project’s third year report by Dr. Roland Fryer of Harvard University.

Continue reading →

Community Input Sought on Rebuilding of High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice

Meeting will focus on schedule, site needs and next steps for project

What: Community meeting to discuss the upcoming project to relocate and rebuild the High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice. The meeting will discuss the project schedule and site considerations, as well as the next steps for creating a 21st century facility.

Who: High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice Principal Carol Mosteit, HISD administrators and Project Advisory Team members

When: Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013; 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Where: Auditorium at the High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice, 4701 Dickson

Longfellow Elementary Students Reveal Top 10 Toys for this Holiday Season

Separate lists provided for boys’ and girls’ most desired gifts

Every year, HISD’s Longfellow Elementary students take it upon themselves to find the top gifts for children to help parents tackle their holiday shopping. Today, after more than a month of research, the fifth-grade students revealed this year’s top 10 most-wanted holiday gifts for boys and girls.

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“My favorite part about the toy survey was working in teams,” said fifth-grader Dasani Godfrey.  “We got together and came up with the different toys we thought students would want for the holidays.”

Continue reading →