Seven district teachers and the Houston Federation of Teachers have sued the Houston Independent School District in Federal District Court, charging that the district inappropriately uses standardized test scores in teacher evaluations. The lawsuit has national implications as federal education policy encourages districts to increase their use of standardized evaluations.Read More

Eleven schools in the Houston Independent School District were ranked in U.S. News and World Reports prestigious list of Best High Schools in the United States.  The rankings include more than 4,700 of the top high schools in the country. Carnegie Vanguard, the district’s flagship high school for gifted andRead More

Students interested in enrolling in a specialized program for the 2014-2015 school year and their parents can examine the offerings at the Houston Independent School District Choice Fair this weekend. The fair will take place this Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Northwest Mall, 9500Read More

The process to reconstruct Lamar and Bellaire high schools with proceeds from the Houston Public School District’s 2012 Bond Issue is proceeding smoothly. “Plans are currently on schedule,” HISD Spokesperson Sheleah Reed wrote in an e-mail to Thesis on April 17. Project Advisory Teams (PATs), made up of students, parents,Read More

Update: This article describes the graduation requirements applicable to students graduating in 2017 or before. For more information on the new Foundation High School graduation requirements, which are applicable to all students matriculating after 2014 and available on an opt-in basis to students graduating in 2015-2017, see our comprehensive guideRead More

As of April 1, Berry Elementary School became the latest campus of the Houston Independent School District to attain coveted LEED silver status for the environmentally friendly features in the school, which was reconstructed using $14.9 million from the district’s 2007 bond issue. Berry, which opened in 2011, is aRead More

At a March 13 meeting packed with community members, the Houston Independent School District Board of Education voted to close Dodson Elementary School and repurpose Jones High School. The vote to close Dodson divided the board 5-4, with board members Anna Eastman, Rhonda Skillern-Jones, Wanda Adams and Paula Harris opposedRead More

In 2014, the Houston Independent School District Superintendent will be drastically increasing the number of dual-language programs in the district, adding 14 schools to the existing programs, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier announced during his Feb. 25 State of the Schools Address. HISD currently has two dual language programs. One, atRead More

At the beginning of January, the Texas Education Agency issued its new statewide summary of schools that failed to meet state standards for 2013 and whose students are eligible to seek transfer under the state Public Education Grant program. The feature of the summary that grabbed the most headlines wasRead More

On January 31, the Houston Independent School District announced annual instructor bonuses through its ASPIRE program, a merit pay program for teachers funded through state and federal grants and partly through local funds. Statistical analysis suggests that schools with the highest bonuses on average were wealthier, whiter and more selectiveRead More

The 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress Scores for math and reading are in, and the results for Houston are definitely mixed. Locally, the conventional wisdom is that Houston continues its steady improvement in math, but lags behind in reading. HISD Superintendent Terry Grier is working with administrators and (presumably)Read More

When the Houston Independent School District Board of Trustees tentatively voted to ban the use of racially based mascots and nicknames at its schools during its Dec. 15 meeting, its actions joined a several-decade old trend of American schools and sports franchises de-emphasizing or eliminating logos and nicknames associated withRead More

Founded in 1898, Harvard Elementary began with 30 students in five grades, serving students in the Houston Heights and is still at its original location.  Before it was officially named after the street on which it is located, it was known as “Houston Heights School No. 2.”  The school’s missionRead More

Founded in 2002, Pin Oak Middle School is an “application only” school, meaning that no students are zoned for it; every student must apply.  Pin Oak includes a Vanguard program for Gifted/Talented students and a foreign language magnet.  Pin Oak also has a house system where students are assigned aRead More

Bellaire High School started in 1955 and was the first International Baccalaureate School in Texas.  With its IB program and its World Languages magnet program,.  Bellaire’s goal is to create “…active learners, well-rounded individuals, and engaged citizens, who gain the practical experience of being part of an international community.”  TheRead More

HSPVA started in 1971 as a way for young artists and performers to study their disciplines and to prepare for the challenges of competitive arts programs at universities and colleges.  As one of the first magnet schools in HISD, HSPVA paved the way for other non-comprehensive high schools to emergeRead More