The 2023 Parent Organization Expo, held on Feb. 4, was met with explosive enthusiasm by HISD PTO and would-be PTO members. Nearly 600 people attended the expo at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center which was the first of its kind to be held in person. PTOs from across the district gathered to network and learn how to be more effectively involved in their child’s education.
Tag Archives: Tijerina ES
HISD elementary schools compete in Read to the Final Four Literacy Program
The NCAA and the Houston Local Organizing Committee have teamed up with HISD to help promote and inspire reading growth for third grade students.
Continue readingHISD celebrates SPARK Week 2022 with the opening of new sustainable parks
SPARK Week 2022 marks the 40th birthday of the SPARK School Park Program which works with communities and schools to develop sustainable community parks throughout the Houston area.
This year, eight new and improved SPARK Parks are being unveiled at HISD schools, beginning Monday, Nov. 14.
Continue readingHispanic Heritage and History lives on in campus namesakes throughout HISD – Week Four
Hispanic Heritage Month kicked off September 15 and runs through October 15.
District wide, Hispanic descendants are honored by having schools carry their namesake allowing their rich history to live on.
HISD has 22 schools that recognize the contributions of Hispanic civic and community leaders who range from educators and civil servants to local restaurateurs, newscasters, Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, and even Nobel Prize-winners.
Each week throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, we’ve been featuring schools who carry on these important legacies.
Continue readingSanjuanita Mottu named new principal of Tijerina Elementary School

Sanjuanita Mottu has been selected as the new principal of Tijerina Elementary School. Mottu is a product of HISD schools and has served as a teacher at Lyons Elementary, magnet coordinator at Burbank Middle School, and for the past 3 years as the Assistant Principal at Tijerina Elementary, her childhood school. In 2019, she was awarded the East Area Elementary Assistant Principal of the Year.
Mottu earned her bachelor’s degree at Texas A&M University, and her master’s degree from the Concordia University-Austin.
Alesander Olaizola named new principal of Tijerina Elementary School
Alesander Olaizola has been selected as the new principal of Tijerina Elementary School. Olaizola began his career in HISD in 2005 as a fifth-grade teacher at Burnet Elementary School, where he also served as a Campus Educational Technologist and Instructional Specialist. In 2014, he joined the leadership of Scarborough Elementary School as an Assistant Principal. Olaizola earned his bachelor’s degree in Geography and History and master’s degree in Art History from the Universidad de Oviedo, Spain. He earned his Master in Business Educational Administration (MBEA) from University of St. Thomas.
Hispanic Heritage Month continues with four more HISD school namesakes
The Houston Independent School District is observing Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs through Oct. 15, by honoring the Hispanics for whom many of the district’s schools are named.
Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month by recognizing the contributions made to this country by people of Hispanic descent, including those whose ancestors immigrated from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
Richard Peña named new principal of Tijerina Elementary
Richard Peña has been named the Principal of Felix Tijerina Elementary School. Peña has been in education for 18 years and has been serving as the assistant principal at Dunn Elementary in Aldine ISD since 2013. He began his career as a bilingual teacher in Houston ISD, where he taught for six years before becoming the instructional specialist at Allen Elementary. He served four years as the instructional specialist before moving to Spring ISD as a fifth-grade bilingual teacher.
He earned his master’s degree in Educational Administration from Lamar University in 2009 and soon after, was promoted to the role of assistant principal.
Four HISD campuses recognized as ‘model’ Family Friendly Schools

Fondren MS held a Thanksgiving food and clothing drive to help boost parent and community engagement.
Making sure that parents feel welcomed and valued at their children’s schools is a key component of HISD’s Family Friendly Schools program, and that’s why the district’s Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Department recently recognized four campuses for their successful implementation of that program.
Academic Parent Teacher Teams (APTT) set the stage for student success
This year, in nearly 200 classrooms at nine HISD elementary schools, parents are experiencing a new kind of parent-teacher conference that gives them the tools both to expand their children’s learning and to monitor their progress.
Schools in their second or third years of implementing the Academy Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT) program are continuing to perfect and expand the new model of meetings to empower parents to help their children learn outside of school.
Eliot, Gallegos, Kennedy, Mitchell, Piney Point, Shadowbriar, and Tijerina elementary schools, as well as Fonwood Early Childhood Center and the Wharton Dual Language Academy, all recently completed their first round of fall APTT meetings.
The model replaces traditional parent-teacher conferences with three 75-minute group meetings involving all parents in the class, and one 30-minute individual session with the student, teacher, and parents. During group meetings, teachers share student performance data and expectations for the class, review skills, and model hands-on activities parents can do at home to help their children master skills. Parents practice the activities at home with their kids over a 60-day period until their next meeting, when they can again review the data and see how their child has progressed. Continue reading