As the school year wrapped up in June, rising Lamar High School senior Ariana Valdez pondered her future.
The 17-year-old had been tapped in the spring for a financial internship sponsored by the Smart Financial Credit Union branch on the Lamar campus. As she embraced the program, her perspective shifted.
Continue readingAmongst the blooming plants and swarming insects that lay claim to a sprawling green space in Southwest Houston, stood the youngest of instructors who was developing a buzz all her own.
In her final weeks as a senior at Lamar High School, Lisa Rollinson was tapped to lead educational workshops for nearly two dozen students at the Food and Agriculture Literacy Center at Mykawa Farm.
As one of just five experts selected for the job, Rollinson received the honor after being designated by the Texas Department of Agriculture as one of 12 Health Ambassadors for a Ready Texas. The designation recognizes teens who advocate for healthy lifestyles.
Continue readingA record nine Houston Independent School District students from six campuses won prestigious national gold medals in the 2020 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
This is the first time HISD has had nine national gold medal winners in a single year. The winners competed against more than 80,000 students who submitted nearly 230,000 works of art and writing to the Scholastic Awards. Only 2,000 entries received national medals.
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The newly built Lamar High School was named the winner of the Houston Business Journal 2021 Landmark Awards for Education.
The annual awards program recognizes outstanding real estate projects that make a significant impact on the Houston landscape and help sculpt the look, feel, and image of the city.
At Lamar, judges scored the project on innovative interiors, best use of land, visual plan, and being environmentally friendly.
Continue readingLamar High School and Barbara Jordan Career Center have both been named education finalists in Houston Business Journal 2021 Landmark Awards.
The annual awards program recognizes outstanding real estate projects that make a significant impact on the Houston landscape and help sculpt the look, feel, and image of the city.
Both schools were built under the 2012 Bond Program.
Continue readingFor Principal Rita Graves, it is impossible for her to pick a favorite part of the construction project at Lamar High School.
The $122 million project, part of the 2012 Bond Program, brings several improvements to the campus, including a new, state-of-the-art academic wing, renovations to its historic original building, and enhancements to the athletic fields.
Continue readingConstruction at Lamar High School is continuing, as allowable under the public health guidelines, with renovations to the original building now 80 percent complete.
The renovation work, designed to preserve the building’s historically significant architecture, included the construction of a new child care wing, welcome center, and updated ROTC and Career and Technical Education classrooms.
The athletic fields — including football, baseball, softball, soccer practice fields — and tennis courts also are underway.
Continue readingLamar High School 11th-grader Mackenzie Wilson is an active student. She plays volleyball and serves as student body president while also working on her International Baccalaureate diploma. After graduation, she hopes to study pathology or constitutional law.
Although she is confident in her academic endeavors, Wilson said it was easy to get lost in the crowd at Lamar — a sprawling campus home to about 3,000 students.
But when the school introduced its academic neighborhoods concept at the start of this school year, everything changed.
Continue readingGathered outside Lamar High School’s new main entrance, cheerleaders, Rangerettes, and the color guard shook their pompoms to the beat of the music played by the band, welcoming students back to school.
Inside, the hum of conversation filled the grand hall as hundreds of students peered around the two-story room, admiring the tall glass walls and massive, blue staircase, as they waited for the first bell to ring.
“The kids walked in wide-eyed saying, ‘It’s beautiful,’” Lamar Principal Rita Graves said, recalling how eager students had been to see the school during last week’s Texan Prep Days. “They’re just really excited to be learning in such a cool place.”
Continue readingInterim Superintendent Grenita Lathan walked into the new academic building at Lamar High School on Thursday and stopped for a moment to take it all in.
Standing in the grand hall, Lathan’s eyes widened as she scanned the two-story, glass-paned entry way and massive, bright blue staircase leading to upper floors.
“This is wonderful,” Lathan said, smiling as she greeted Lamar Principal Rita Graves.
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