In last night’s meeting, in addition to approving the plan for the Arabic immersion magnet school, the HISD board also addressed a proposal that could impact students across the district. The board voted 7-0 to recognize a group called the HISD Student Congress as a representation of the voice ofRead More

In American high schools, dropout rates are at an all-time low, and graduation rates are at an all-time high. 86% of the class of 2014 graduated successfully, while 7% dropped out. Graduation rates for Latino students, in particular, have risen dramatically. In yesterday’s The Atlantic, writer Janie Boschma discussed thisRead More

UPDATE: As of 11/14/2014, HISD is officially moving forward on plans for an Arabic immersion magnet school. The Houston Chronicle has more. HISD is well-established as a hotspot for excellent programs in world languages. A combined total of 11 languages are offered in HISD schools, starting as early as PreKRead More

On Tuesday, voters in some areas of Greater Houston will decide whether to accept their school districts’ bond proposals. Bonds – securities issued by school districts with taxpayer consent, to be paid back with interest using tax revenue – are a common means of funding school facilities projects throughout theRead More

On Thursday, HISD Superintendent Terry Grier was given the 2014 Green-Garner Award for outstanding contributions in public education. This award is presented annually by the Council of Great City Schools to a superintendent or school board member from a Council school district; there are 67 member districts, and Grier wasRead More

On Monday, the massive open online course (MOOC) platform edX opened registration for AP Biology: Part 1, the first course on the site which explicitly focuses on preparing students for an AP exam. The course has been made available in partnership with Rice University’s Center for Digital Learning and ScholarshipRead More

Last week, Rice University announced the creation of a new Office of STEM Engagement as a part of its Priorities for the Second Century. The office, called R-STEM for short, will serve two functions. It will facilitate K-12 outreach events, and it will serve as a one-stop resource for parentsRead More

For parents of high school juniors and seniors, the prospect of sending their proverbial babies out into the real world may seem daunting. Never fear, Thesis sat down with General Academic’s College Admissions Prep Counselor Annekah Hall, former Assistant Director of Admissions for Claremont Graduate University, to answer some ofRead More

Magnet programs – specialized academic offerings open to any student living in the district – are one of HISD’s notable strengths. More than 40% of HISD schools have schoolwide or school-within-a-school magnet programs. Some magnets focus on STEM; some on the arts; some on world languages; some on specific careerRead More

HISD’s annual Ivy Plus event – to be held at Reagan High School on Monday, October 6, from 5pm to 8pm – is a great opportunity for high school students to learn more about their prospective colleges. The major highlight of Ivy Plus is a college expo featuring some ofRead More

Khan Academy has taken the world by storm in the eight years since its inception. The online video library hosts a wealth of subjects with video tutorials allowing its users to learn at their own pace. The non-profit organization is backed by some of the largest and most influential foundationsRead More

When deciding on how to best utilize the skills she gained as a bioengineering undergraduate at Rice University, the possibilities seemed endless. But for Rachel Alexander, there seemed to be no better fit than teaching high school students how to use engineering and computer science principles in their everyday life.Read More

University of Texas at Austin Present Bill Powers has agreed to step down next year, ending a years-long struggle between him and the UT-system’s governor-appointed Board of Regents. Powers offered to resign next June 2 after UT system’s Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa threatened to force him out during a July 4Read More

As part of the $1.74 billion budget, a sharply divided Board of Education approved a new magnet school funding formula for the Houston Independent School District. The board split 5-4 over the program, with board members Juliet Stipeche, Harvin Moore, Michael Lunceford and Anna Eastman voting against the proposal. TheRead More

As part of its $1.68 billion budget unanimously approved by the Board of Education last week, the Houston Independent School district allocated $30 million to increase pay for teachers. A new teacher with the district will earn $49,100, a raise of 4.9 percent over the current $46,805 paid to newRead More

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) posted mixed results on the latest standardized test results. According to a district press release, HISD tended to show more improvements on the math sections of the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test, particularly for grades 3 through 8. Scores on theRead More