The top six Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) cadets, who were named earlier this month, were honored on April 25 at the Annual HISD JROTC Final Review and Awards Ceremony.
All were promoted to the rank of Cadet Colonel (Army) or Cadet Captain (Navy), which are the highest ranks in the program. The top seniors were chosen from among all the graduating seniors in HISD’s 25 JROTC programs.
Priority deadline for FAFSA/TASFA is March 15 for first-round consideration by many colleges, as well as a few Texas scholarships and loans
Six HISD high schools could win up to $750 for having the largest percentage of students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 15.
Thanks to Advise TX and Texas A&M University, 13 HISD high schools have college graduates on campus year-round advising low-income students on what is required to get into a good school and how to pay for higher education.
“HISD is very happy to partner with Advise Texas to ensure that our students receive additional support in navigating the college and financial aid process,” said Assistant Superintendent of College Readiness Rick Cruz. “They are one of our strong continued partners that do great work alongside our staff to support our students.”
These college graduates are working hard right now to get seniors at their schools (see list of schools below) to complete their FAFSA by the March 15 deadline. Submitting the FAFSA or Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) by the priority deadline is highly recommended for students seeking to qualify for any of the following: Top 10 Percent Scholarship, Texas Grant, and Texas B-On-Time Loan.
Advise TX College Advising Corps is similar to Teach for America or the Peace Corps in that it places graduates in a position for one to two years after graduation and pays them a salary. Advise TX is part of College Advising Corps, a national organization that works to increase the number of students who enter and complete higher education.
Five HISD boys’ basketball teams will play Monday and Tuesday in the University Interscholastic League regional quarterfinals.
Defending state champions Yates will see the tipoff for their games against Pflugerville at 6 p.m. Monday at Rudder High School in Bryan. The game was postponed from the weekend because of weather that made driving hazardous.
Teams from 12 Houston ISD high schools — including last year’s state champion Yates HS — launch district basketball playoffs this week.
North Forest, Sharpstown, Madison, and Sterling all have their first games Monday, with Yates, Sam Houston, Bellaire, Lamar, Westside, Scarborough, Worthing, and Wheatley seeing action Tuesday.
Their subjects ranged from starry nights and galaxies to water lilies and sunflowers, but the one thing all the orbs had in common was their inspiration: a desire to show how HISD is putting a “global” spin on education for all of its 215,000 students.
Children from 28 different campuses decorated Styrofoam balls this year to serve as the table centerpieces at the State of the Schools luncheon, and participating students were eager to share their artistic visions with guests.
Designs are also available for purchase by the general public through Friday, Dec. 5
Each winter, HISD sends out holiday greeting cards to hundreds of people and organizations, including school principals, board members, legislators, local leaders, parent groups, and community partners. Since 2003, these cards have featured the artwork of district students, and this year, three designs were chosen to showcase their creative talents.
Administrators are recommending that the HISD Board of Education authorize the district to negotiate design contracts with 13 firms on the remaining 14 projects within the 2012 bond program.
The latest round of contract recommendations comes ahead of schedule in response to the booming construction market in Houston. Although architect selections for schools in Groups 3 and 4 of the program weren’t slated to take place until next year, the district wanted to move forward as quickly as possible to minimize the impact of escalating construction inflation.
SHMSTC seniors Giovanni Figueroa and Emily Duarte pose with counselor Ana Zamarippa and debate coach Ken Ogden.
Emily Duarte and Giovanni Figueroa, rising seniors and debate team members at the Sam Houston Math, Science & Technology Center, were two of just 40 students nationwide to be selected to participate in the National Hispanic Bar Foundation’s Future Latino Law Leaders Camp.
The students will work with Latino politicians, government officials, and lawyers during the eight-day workshop, which takes place at American University in Washington D.C., July 12–20.
Emily and Giovanni received full scholarships to attend the camp, and their airfare was generously underwritten by the Hispanic Bar Association of Houston, Sugar Hill Recording Studio, and Zenobia Harris, director of the Houston Urban Debate League.
Almost 19,000 HISD students are receiving laptops this month as part of the district’s one-to-one initiative that will eventually give every high school student a computer. The initiative – PowerUp – will not only give 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 skills that complement technology so they won’t be replaced by technology.”
Last year, almost two dozen HISD students became members of the city’s inaugural group of “Posse Scholars,” after a national non-profit called The Posse Foundation expanded its programming to Houston.
That organization will be sending its second group of students off to higher education this fall—and the majority (70 percent)—come from HISD.
The Houston branch of the Posse Foundation announced the 61 members of its Class of 2014 at a special celebration held on Jan. 6, and 43 of those students will be graduating from 18 HISD high schools this spring.