HISD is partnering with Discovery Education, a branch of the media company Discovery Communications, as the district begins its journey to transform all classrooms into 21st century learning environments. Principals, assistant principals, and deans from the PowerUp one-to-one campuses recently attended a hands-on workshop with Discovery Education to explore some of the digital content and interactive lessons that teachers and students will have access to as part of the district’s digital transformation.
Tag Archives: Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy
A load of code: HISD schools take part in digital literacy exercise
Many tech-savvy people—including Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and HISD’s own Adam Stephens—believe that in the not-too-distant future, knowing how to create computer code will be considered as basic a skill as knowing how to read, write, or perform basic math calculations.
That’s why students at several HISD campuses participated in a challenge issued by Code.org as a part of Computer Science Education Week.
PowerUp Schools Learning Best Practices From Mooresville, N.C.
HISD principals and administrators from the 11 high schools involved in the district’s PowerUp initiative now have a better understanding of what effective digital instruction looks like, thanks to a recent trip to Mooresville, N.C. The Mooresville Graded School District has had a one-to-one program in place for six years and is partnering with HISD to offer guidance and best practices as the district prepares to distribute more than 18,000 laptops to students next month.
In mid-November, PowerUp principals along with members of HISD’s High Schools Office, the Curriculum, and Professional Support and Development departments, spent several days inside Mooresville secondary classrooms observing teaching and learning using computers and digital technology. Principal Delesa Odell Thomas from the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy found the trip was eye-opening.
Teachers Getting a Jump Start on Using Digital Tools
Teachers at the schools involved in the district’s one-to-one initiative aren’t waiting until January, when nearly 18,000 students will be assigned their own laptops, to start using digital resources in their classrooms. Instead, many teachers at the 11 pilot schools in PowerUp are already integrating web 2.0 tools they have been learning at recent training sessions.
Students at Three PowerUp Schools Receive Laptops
A thundering round of applause broke out at the Energy Institute High School this past week as nearly 200 students received their own laptops to use at school and at home as part of PowerUp, the district’s one-to-one laptop initiative.
‘’It was really touching and emotional for me to see these students get so excited as they were handed their computers,” said Instructional Technology Senior Manager Beatriz Arnillas. “This program is really going to change our students’ lives and prepare them for a successful future.”
PowerUp Parent Meetings Begin at Three Schools
Hundreds of HISD parents came out to the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy on October 3 to learn more about digital citizenship and the district’s one-to-one laptop initiative. YWCPA is one of 11 HISD schools where students will be given laptops to use at home and at school as part of the PowerUp initiative.
“I really think is a great idea,” said YWCPA parent Charlotte Goins, who attended the meeting with her teenage daughter. “Students today need certain skills to succeed in the work force, and by using computers they can develop and sharpen these skills.”
Students Dig in to Mock Drilling Exercise at PetroChallenge
More than 150 sophomores from Milby HS, Westside HS, and the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy (YWCPA) in Houston ISD and Southwest HS in Fort Worth ISD competed in the fifth annual PetroChallenge held Sept. 20.
The computer simulation exercise, which took place this year at the Houston Community College’s Alief Campus, asks teams of students to form an energy company entering a new oil and gas field. Starting with $200 million in funds, their goal is to achieve the highest company value by finding oil or gas and investing in other teams’ opportunities.
Meetings With Parents, Colleagues Helping New Teachers
Two new HISD teachers are finding ways to get feedback from parents and support from experienced teachers.
District Getting Ready to PowerUp
Boxes and boxes of green wire line the halls of Sam Houston Math, Science & Technology Center, as workers perched on ladders string together cable and carefully tuck it inside the campus’ ceiling tiles. After several weeks of back-breaking work, Sam Houston is ready to power up, literally, as one of the pilot schools in phase 1 of HISD’s PowerUp program, a districtwide initiative that will eventually provide every high school student with a laptop.
YWCPA Officially Dedicates Revitalized Campus Courtyard
Students at HISD’s Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy didn’t want much—just an outdoor space on the grounds of their 88-year-old campus to take an occasional break from their studies.
Now, they have it, thanks to an organization called The Links, Inc. and the seven Houston chapters’ joint community service project.
Representatives from that organization came to the campus on June 19 to celebrate the unveiling and official dedication of the newly renovated courtyard, which is shaded by a huge oak tree, graced with a tiled fountain, and paved with 207 bricks sold for $100 each and engraved with the names of their benefactors.