Tag Archives: HISD

What your kids have to look forward to in the cafeteria this year

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the first day of school for HISD and other districts around the state. Among other things, this means a whole bunch of kids will be eating school food at least some of the time again. For HISD at … Continue reading →

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Election called to fill HISD open seat

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston ISD trustees unanimously opted today to let voters choose the next school board representative of the city’s east side. A special election will be held Nov. 2 to serve the remainder of former Trustee Diana Davila’s term, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Meet the HISD hopefuls

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The people who are hoping to be appointed to the open HISD Trustee seat made their appearance at Furr High School and made their pitch. Trustees are slated to discuss their options Thursday and must make a decision by next … Continue reading →

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Trustees still dithering about replacing Davila

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Still no action from the HISD Board of Trustees regarding Diana Davila’s open seat. Trustee Larry Marshall called for holding an election in November but his motion failed 3-5, mostly along racial lines. The board plans to screen possible appointees … Continue reading →

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What will the HISD board do with its open seat?

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

HISD Trustee Diana Davila announced her intention to resign on July 16. That became official on the 30th. The HISD Board of Trustees has the option of appointing someone to replace her, or to call a special election. So far, … Continue reading →

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Adolfo Santos

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, HISD Trustee Diana Davila resigned her position. It’s not clear yet whether the Board will appoint a replacement or there will be a special election, but Marc Campos is floating the name of a possible successor. UH-Downtown Political … Continue reading →

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HISD Trustee Diana Davila resigns

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This was unexpected. HISD trustee Diana Dávila said Wednesday she will resign from the school board Thursday, more than a year before her term ends. Dávila, who was first elected to the school board in 2003, said she is stepping … Continue reading →

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Meria Carstarphen

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, the Chron had a profile of HISD Superintendent Terry Grier that looked at what he had accomplished and what people thought of him after 10 months on the job. This week, the Statesman has a profile of Austin’s … Continue reading →

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HISD needs math tutors

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

If you’re a numbers person, HISD needs you. From the inbox: The Houston Independent School District is seeking dynamic college graduates to provide in-school math tutoring to middle and high school students as part of the district’s groundbreaking Apollo 20 … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Opinions mixed on Terry Grier

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So not a surprise. I’ve expressed similar feelings a time or two myself. To [HISD Superintendent Terry] Grier’s supporters, his thick skin, independence and kids-come-first mantra are proving a successful recipe for shaking up the status quo in Texas’ largest … Continue reading →

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HISD strategic direction meetings

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From an HISD press release: HISD will be holding two interactive, live TV shows to gather comments and feedback from the community. The first will be on Monday, June 28, from 7:00–8:00 p.m., on the HISD channel, and will be … Continue reading →

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Response from Randle Richardson regarding the CEP report

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As noted before, Randle Richardson, the CEO of Community Education Partners (CEP), left a comment on the Hair Balls post in which Houston’s LULAC chapter and the Texas ACLU raised concerns about that report evaluating CEP’s effectiveness. He left a … Continue reading →

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Help Hogg Middle School find its next principal

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Hogg Middle School serves my neighborhood. They are in the process of searching for a new principal. The following is a note from HISD to interested parties about a meeting tomorrow related to this: Dear Hogg Middle School Community, As … Continue reading →

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Personality matters

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg, writing earlier this week about longtime teacher Jamie Simmon leaving HISD after 27 years to take a job with YES Prep: The decision, she says, has nothing to do with the daunting challenges of educating Lee’s largely at-risk, … Continue reading →

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Not everyone was impressed by that CEP report

Posted on June 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, a Texas A&M researcher released a report that evaluated the effectiveness of Community Education Partners (CEP), the provider HISD uses for its disciplinary alternate education program. The evaluation was very positive for CEP, saying it did a good … Continue reading →

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CEP gets a good grade

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As reported by Hair Balls, the Texas A&M consultant that was brought in by HISD and Superintendent Terry Grier to evaluate Community Education Partners (CEP), its provider for the disciplinary alternate education program, has now issued his long-awaited report. You … Continue reading →

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HISD to keep CEP

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier has been pushing for months to get HISD out of its contract with Community Education Partners (CEP), its provider for the disciplinary alternate education program. He ran into opposition from HFT President Gayle Fallon, who has … Continue reading →

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Briefly noted

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some interesting things from today that I wanted to note… There are plenty of people who want to be on the Appropriations Committee, so putting some who doesn’t want to be there, like State Rep. Joe Driver of Dallas, doesn’t … Continue reading →

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No tech vendor contributions to HISD trustees

Posted on May 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This seems straightforward enough. Houston school board members can no longer accept unlimited contributions from technology vendors after federal regulators alleged HISD violated competitive bidding and gift-giving rules. The new policy, which board members discussed Thursday, relates to the federal … Continue reading →

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Gallegos versus Grier

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Mario Gallegos is not a fan of HISD Superintendent Terry Grier. He has made this clear through two letters he has released. This one, from April 8, raises questions about Grier’s past record in other school districts, while … Continue reading →

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Where does your school rank?

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

How good is your neighborhood school? Not just in terms of its Texas Education Agency’s rating, but in comparison to other schools? Here’s a way to find out. The greater Houston area is home to some of the best — … Continue reading →

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Who’s using electronic textbooks?

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

According to this DMN story, the electronic textbook revolution hasn’t exactly taken hold just yet, at least not in the Metroplex. The [Texas Education Agency] has budgeted more than $800 million for textbooks in 2010-11, but it’s not clear how … Continue reading →

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Houston, Have Your Say on education

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve had a lot to say about public education and related issues lately, from school finance to HISD and so forth. This coming Tuesday, Houston PBS station KUHT will have another episode of Houston Have Your Say to discuss the … Continue reading →

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Stimulus fight

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, HISD is reducing its workforce, including teachers, due to budget shortfalls. The Houston Federation of Teachers says that this is happening while there are a lot of unspent stimulus funds. Houston Federation of Teachers leader Gayle Fallon … Continue reading →

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Everybody’s talking about Terry

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier, that is. A few things I’ve noticed lately: From Rick Casey: For all his controversies in previous districts, Grier earned a reputation for improving the performance of all children, but especially of low-income and minority children. … Continue reading →

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Property tax values drop

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This budget news is really really bad. Thirty percent of Harris County homes declined in market value this year, as the area’s overall tax base dropped for the first time in at least two decades, officials announced Thursday. The reduced … Continue reading →

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Two trustees speak about CEP

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This week, Carl Whitmarsh forwarded to his list a pair of articles written by HISD trustees on the subject of CEP and the changes that have been proposed by Superintendent Terry Grier. Since that has been such a contentious topic, … Continue reading →

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Interview with HISD Superintendent Terry Grier

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

On Monday I published an interview with HFT President Gayle Fallon in which we covered a number of topics relating to HISD, many of which are a source of contention between the HFT and HISD Superintendent Terry Grier. Yesterday, I … Continue reading →

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More on K12RadioHouston

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron writes about HISD’s plan for an Internet radio station. While the station will be professionally run, students will have a role in producing content. Music will dominate the waves, but school performances, athletic events and news announcements will … Continue reading →

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More on Grier’s alternative to CEP

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a story about HISD Superintendent Terry Grier’s recent proposal to replace Community Education Partners (CEP) with a school swap program for some students with discipline issues. The transfer program, meant to give students a second chance in … Continue reading →

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Interview with Gayle Fallon

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, I’ve been following the news in HISD lately, in particular the political struggle going on between new HISD Superintendent Terry Grier and the Houston Federation of Teachers, over things like the proposal to dump CEP as the … Continue reading →

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HISD disciplinary data

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, I noted some differences of fact between HISD Superintendent Terry Grier and HFT President Gayle Fallon over the cost and use of alternate school CEP, which Grier wants to dump. Fallon left a comment in that post, and … Continue reading →

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Fact check on Aisle 5, please

Posted on March 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier has proposed ending HISD’s relationship with Community Education Partners (CEP), which provides alternate schools for kids with discipline problems. Following that, the Chron editorialized in favor of Grier’s stance. Grier contends that CEP … Continue reading →

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HISD Radio

Posted on March 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This, from the inbox, sounds very cool: K12RADIOHOUSTON: HISD’s NEW SCHOOL OF THOUGHT The nation’s first custom radio station created for a major school district (Houston, Texas) No radio tower or transmitter necessary! The Houston Independent School District (HISD) begins … Continue reading →

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