Tag Archives: Magnet

National STEM Day: Project-based learning at HISD’s Energy Institute

Nov. 8 is National STEM Day, but at Energy Institute High School, every day is about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The STEM-focused magnet follows an interdisciplinary instruction model that blends science, math, and language arts into project-based learning. This year, students are learning about ancient architecture and civilizations in English and history and using that as inspiration to create their own modern “world wonders” that exemplify Houston culture.

Continue reading

Gregory Lincoln Education Center receives $10,000 in library upgrades through community partner

HISD is helping turn young readers into leaders, thanks to a partnership with KPMG’s Family for Literacy (KFFL). The organization donated $10,000 to refresh the library inside the Gregory Lincoln Education Center, and Wednesday, Oct. 18, was the big unveiling.

Continue reading

HISD celebrates Gifted and Talented Awareness Week, April 4-8

The Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented has designated April 4-8 as Gifted and Talented Awareness Week to encourage support for gifted education in Texas.

HISD is celebrating by highlighting how the Gifted and Talented programs are benefiting some of the district’s more than 29,000 G/T students.

Continue reading

Magnet school applications for 2018-2019 available

Applications for magnet program for the 2018-2019 school year will be available starting on Friday, Sept. 22. HISD offers a robust portfolio of magnet programs at more than 100 schools to best meet your child’s academic needs and interests. The magnet programs within the district include:

Continue reading

Still looking for a magnet program for next school year?

If you are looking for an HISD magnet school for the 2017–2018 school year, you will have an opportunity to learn more about dozens of schools with openings firsthand at the HISD Spring School Choice Fair. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 22, at Gregory Lincoln Education Center, located at 1101 Taft St, Houston 77019.

Continue reading

Magnet school applications for 2017-18 are now available

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G00001vCflhIkBgY” g_name=”20160917-Choice” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]

It’s time to apply to a magnet program for the 2017-18 school year. HISD has more than 119 magnet programs at 111 schools throughout the district in:

  • Fine Arts/Performing & Visual Arts
  • College & Career Readiness
  • International Baccalaureate
  • International Studies
  • Dual language
  • Literature
  • Montessori
  • STEM
  • Technology
  • Vanguard (Gifted and talented)

Ten new magnet programs have been added at Atherton ES, Crockett ES, Hartsfield ES, Kashmere Gardens ES, Stevens ES, Lawson MS, Key MS, Ortiz MS, The Rusk School, Kashmere HS and Westbury HS. Continue reading

Last school choice open house on Saturday and first magnet deadline approaching

One of the great things about HISD is that parents have a wide variety of choices regarding where to send their students to school, but time is running out to be in the first round of consideration. Parents who still aren’t sure which school they want their child to attend should go to the final school-choice open house this weekend from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12, at Northwest Mall. Representatives from HISD magnet schools will be there, and attendees can even get help submitting their application.

The deadline to apply is Dec. 18 for guaranteed consideration in the first round. Any applications received after the Dec.18 deadline will be considered only for schools where there is still space available.

Completed applications can be submitted in the following three ways:

* Submit it online at hisdchoice.com (online applications provide more options for tracking and staying up-to-date)

* Hand-deliver or send by U.S. mail to the Office of School Choice at 4400 West 18th Street, Houston, TX 77092

* Scan the paper application and e-mail it to magnet@houstonisd.org, along with the required documents

The big day is March 24, 2016. That’s when parents will learn the status of their application – results will be available online and also sent by mail. If a child has been offered a seat in a program, the parents have two weeks to provide proof of residence and sign an entrance agreement.

If their student is placed on a waiting list, parents can monitor changes in application status throughout the summer, at which time they may be able to submit additional applications to programs with available seats.

For more information on the magnet application process, please contact HISD’s Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947.

Magnet Spotlight: M.C. Williams Middle School – ‘STEM’-ulating innovation

M.C. Williams Middle School is preparing students for the most in-demand jobs of the 21st century.

[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/89115102″ ]

The school’s engineering academy, which serves students in grades 6–8, offers students three pathways related to engineering: science, mathematics, and technology. Key components of the program include offshore technologies, green energy, geosciences, underwater robotics, and environmental engineering.  Continue reading

Still looking for the perfect school for next school year?

If you are looking for an HISD magnet school for the 2015–2016 school year, you will have an opportunity to learn more about dozens of schools with openings firsthand at the HISD School Choice Fair. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 25, at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, 4400 West 18th Street, Houston 77092.

“This event will provide an opportunity for parents and students to visit with representatives from HISD schools to learn more about exceptional programs that still have space available,” said Mark Shenker, assistant superintendent of School Choice. “These include magnet schools, multilingual programs, neighborhood schools, and preschool programs.” Continue reading

Yates HS communications students begin massive video archiving project

Students in the magnet communications program at Yates High School recently launched a massive archiving project that will one day result in the digitization of more than 30 years of video footage.

Phase one entails the ingestion of hundreds of video tapes from the Yates magnet program dating back to 1980, containing footage of the school and its history, events, faculty, and students.

The ultimate goal of the project is to produce a digital archive on Blu-Ray discs that can be displayed at the school’s new facility and will be ready in time for the 40th anniversary of the School of Communications in 2018.

Yates’ new chapter of the Student Television Network is using the latest in digital content acquisition technology to ingest the legacy analog video into an updated iMac system. Students involved are acquiring skills that can be used in the media archiving industry, film and television non-linear video editing, and metadata management, which is an introduction to meta-tagging and understanding aggregate data for social media careers.