I’ll bet we all know someone who put themselves through college working a full- or part-time job. Marcy Baez, the principal at Jane Long Academy, did just that working as a pharmacy technician. Now she tells her students, “If I can do it, you can do it.” Students in the School for Pharmacy Technology at Long are earning an associate’s degree while still in high school, and they’re developing skills that will allow them to work as a pharmacy technician just as soon as they earn their diploma. read more…
How advisory committees contribute to our success
Last month, HISD welcomed the newest members of its District Advisory Committee into service. The DAC and other groups like it are critical to our success.
You’ve probably heard the old saying, “it takes a village to raise a child,” and the same could certainly be said to apply to public education.
Educating more than 203,000 children is a big job, and we absolutely cannot do it alone. It takes the support of hundreds of volunteers, generous donors, and many other community partners to make it happen. They provide the time, expertise, and other resources necessary to prepare students for success in college and the workforce after graduation.
HISD also has more than a dozen active advisory committees, many of which include parents, respected business professionals, and local faith-based leaders, in addition to teachers, administrators, and other district representatives.
We depend heavily on these groups for their great ideas and valuable feedback. They help us keep our finger on the pulse of this city, and we are incredibly grateful for their service and insight.
Please join me in welcoming the newly elected 2013 DAC Members: Augustina Brooks, Tabitha Davis, Michael Grahmann, Lisa Harris, Nicole Holdman, Kori Keaton, Howard Oliphant, Shannon Smith, and Andrea Williams, and take a look at the committee descriptions at the link above to learn how you can participate. I look forward to working with you one day.
This morning, I will deliver my annual State of the Schools address, and I am proud to report that HISD is becoming great all over. We have students, teachers, and principals who personify what it means to be great. And, we have a community that not only demands great schools, but is willing to invest time and resources to ensure that, together, we are meeting the needs of every student.
We have made tremendous progress in HISD.
- The graduation rate is at an all-time high
- More students are taking and passing Advanced Placement exams
- Students are outscoring their peers across the nation in reading, math, science, and language arts
- College scholarship offers to HISD seniors have more than tripled since 2009.
- HISD will build schools to support 21st century learning after voters overwhelmingly approved the 2012 Houston Schools Bond.
The State of the Schools program also includes remarks from Board of Education President Anna Eastman and four bright students from some of our neighborhood schools. These children have big dreams and detailed plans to achieve their goals. We owe it to them and every student in HISD to provide a consistent, rigorous education.
Tickets to the State of the Schools are sold out but we will have coverage of the event online. I encourage you to visit www.houstonisd.org to see near real-time updates and photos from the event. We will also post transcripts, videos, and a copy of the 2012 Annual Report. These resources provide a glimpse of just some of the ways we are becoming great all over.
Setting higher standards…for everyone
A couple of weeks ago, I talked about how the HISD Board of Education is committed to holding its members and the district as a whole to the very highest standards. In last week’s entry, I talked about the high expectations we have for every child in our schools, no matter what their circumstances.
And this week, I want to talk about how we apply that same expectation to our teachers.
On Jan. 23, HISD distributed $17.6 million worth of ASPIRE Awards to 7,201 employees for helping students succeed during the 2011–2012 school year. More than 75 percent of those recipients—or three out of every four—were classroom teachers. This is about half the amount of overall money that HISD has paid out in ASPIRE Awards in past years, because we raised the bar for educators to meet in order to qualify. Significant cuts in state education funding also played a role in the decreased award payout.
We eliminated awards based on state accountability ratings and TAKS writing standards, and began awarding campus progress and campus achievement awards to the top 20 percent of schools rather than the top half, to name just a few of the changes.
The goal of the ASPIRE Awards was never to give something to everyone; it was to recognize and reward the teachers whose students showed the most growth or the most value-added measures each year in relation to their peers.
I want to congratulate all of those who earned an ASPIRE award for their hard work toward raising student achievement. You deserve every penny of your award, and then some. I also want to encourage those who missed the mark this year. We know that the tough selection criteria impacted many strong teachers who are doing great work in the classroom. All of you bring real value to your students, and I am grateful to have you on Team HISD.
An important lesson on faith, hope, and the power of community
These are exciting times for members of Waltrip High School’s Ram Band. After weeks of fundraisers, and a nail-biting race to the finish line that featured an unexpected windfall from a United States representative, the students managed to raise enough money to pay for a trip to Washington, D.C., where they have been selected to perform at the upcoming presidential inauguration.
Recognizing the HISD Board of Education trustees
Happy New Year! It’s 2013, and an exciting time across the district. I hope that everyone is well-rested and refreshed after the winter holidays and ready to get back into the classroom and learn.
January is School Board Recognition Month and I would like to recognize the HISD Board of Education trustees who run our district. It’s not an easy job – trustees are elected public servants who are diligent in looking out for the best interests of HISD students, parents, teachers, and staff, and they receive no compensation. The trustees essentially govern our district – they oversee HISD initiatives, policies, and spending, and respond to the needs of their constituents.
This year, our board members were essential in helping pass the 2012 Houston Schools Bond. Thanks to their help hosting school meetings and sharing information with community leaders, voters approved the $1.89 billion bond to replace and repair 40 schools across the district. The trustees always have HISD students’ best interests in mind and work tirelessly to ensure they are getting the best education possible. They are also committed to holding themselves and the district to the highest possible standards; in fact, they recently initiated an overhaul of the ethics in procurement policy to ensure the district awards contracts and makes purchases without conflicts of interest. Board members are also in the process of updating the Board Monitoring System to better align with district goals and objectives.
Below is a list of HISD’s trustees and their corresponding districts. Please take a moment this month to reach out to your district’s trustee and thank them for representing your school. Check out the Texas Association of School Boards’ Planning Kit for ideas on how to recognize board members. You can also learn more about the HISD Board of Education by visiting its website.
Michael L. Lunceford
District V
President
Anna Eastman
District I
First Vice President
Juliet K. Stipeche
District VIII
Second Vice President
Rhonda Skillern-Jones
District II
Secretary
Greg Meyers
District VI
Assistant Secretary
Paula M. Harris
District IV
Lawrence Marshall
District IX
Harvin C. Moore
District VII
Manuel Rodríguez Jr.
District III
Keeping our Kids Well-Nourished with a Third Meal
HISD believes in taking care of the whole child, which means not only giving them the tools to grow academically, but to flourish physically as well — and research shows the two efforts are closely connected. Building on HISD’s successful First Class Breakfast program, which provides a free breakfast to students right in the classroom, a new program is now providing a nutritious dinner to students.
Food Services has partnered with the district’s Twenty-First Century Community Learning Center program to serve the third meal of the day. The program allows students to eat a free dinner on campus during the school week.
Jonnelle Hollins, Manager of HISD After School Programs, says the dinner meal served at these schools may be some students’ only meal until the next school day. It makes a difference in many of our children’s lives. By the end of the 2012-2013 school year, more than 30 campuses will be participating in the new program.
Three cheers for Lamar High School
Texans Fever is sweeping the city, but it’s the Redskins that are all the buzz at HISD this week — the Lamar High School Redskins, that is.
On behalf of Team HISD, I’d like to give a shout out to the Lamar team and Coach Tom Nolen for a spectacular 28-7 win on Saturday against North Shore. Lamar advanced to the 5A semifinals for the first time in school history. What an accomplishment! And it’s the first time an HISD school has moved to the round since Vince Young led Madison there in 2001.
And it’s not just the accomplishments on the field that count. After the victory against North Shore, Coach Nolen talked about all the great things happening in HISD, particularly in the classrooms. This district is committed not only to excellence on the field, but rigor in the classrooms, and it’s great to have our coaches champion that effort.
If you’re ready to cheer on Lamar to a state championship, head over to Austin this Saturday to catch their 5A Division I State Semifinal game against San Antonio O’Connor. It’s at 3 p.m. at Burger Stadium. Go Redskins!
In the course of ensuring a consistent and rigorous education for all of our children at HISD, it’s amazing to witness the help and support we get each day from members of our community.
That kindness was no more evident than this week at Cullen Middle School. Michael and son Stephen Smith, members of the Houston Young Presidents’ Organization, donated 150 new e-readers to the school’s library. The father and son duo were inspired to donate the e-readers after participating in a YPO principal shadowing event in October, in which community business leaders gathered with Houston principals and school leaders to discuss the state of Houston-area schools, teachers, and students.
Stephen said they were impressed with the teachers and the culture at Cullen and wanted to reinforce the work that the school is doing to create an effective learning environment for its students.
It’s great to witness how one of our biggest stakeholders — our community members — are involved in ensuring the best education for Houston kids. We have the best teachers and the best principals, but we know that we cannot do it alone. I salute folks like Michael and Stephen, who view themselves as partners in our children’s education.
There are moments when I am struck by how incredibly fortunate I am to work with some of the best educators and support staff in the country. I had the opportunity this week to acknowledge some of the work our staff at the central office level is doing and the great things they are accomplishing for this district.
We often talk about providing a consistent and rigorous education for the students at HISD on the academic level, but that commitment to consistency doesn’t stop there. In the Food Services Department, consistency applies to serving quality, nutritionally rich meals to hundreds of thousands of students every day. Just meeting the minimum nutritional standards isn’t enough — they exceed them. You can watch a video and learn more about the department here.
