Houston Independent School District 316304 219593111 2008-06-16T00:15:03Z WhisperToMe 15708 /* Bilingual education and magnet and Vanguard schools */ [[Image:hisd-hmw-008.JPG|thumb|273px|The Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center]] The '''Houston Independent School District (HISD)''' is the largest [[public school]] system in [[Texas]] and the seventh-largest in the [[United States]].<ref>[http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=6127 Houston ISD automates lunch]. ''eSchool News online''</ref> Houston ISD serves as a community [[school district]] for most of the city of [[Houston]] and several nearby and insular municipalities. In the 2004–2005 school year, HISD had 302 campuses, approximately 209,000 students and over 12,000 teachers. With over 30,000 employees, HISD is one of the largest employers in the city of [[Houston]]. ==History== [[Image:HoustonISDWhiteHQ.jpg|thumb|The first Hattie Mae White Administration Building. It has been sold and has been demolished. The building has been replaced by the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center.]] Houston ISD was established in the 1920s, after the Texas Legislature voted to separate school and municipal governments. Houston ISD replaced the [[Harrisburg School District (Texas)|Harrisburg School District]]. Houston ISD absorbed portions of the [[White Oak Independent School District (Harris County, Texas)|White Oak Independent School District]] in 1937 and portions of the [[Addicks Independent School District]] after its dissolution. Houston ISD was desegregated by 1970. Some [[Hispanic]]s felt they were being discriminated against when they were being put with only [[African Americans]] as part of the desegregation plan, so many took their children out of the schools and put them in "huelgas," or protest schools<ref name="DenverPortReport">"[http://www.slehc.org/HNI/HNI_Reports/upload/DH_PH_Community%20Profile.PDF Community Profile]." ''Denver Harbor/Port Houston Super Neighborhood Community Health Assessment Report''. ''St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities''.</ref>, until a ruling in 1973 satisfied their demands. ===Secession movements=== In 1977, group of citizens in western Houston tried to form Westheimer Independent School District out of a portion of Houston ISD. The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]] rejected the appeals after formation of the district was denied. HISD once served the Harris County portion of [[Stafford, Texas|Stafford]], until the [[Stafford Municipal School District]] was established in 1982 to serve the entire city of Stafford. Most of Stafford was in [[Fort Bend ISD]], with a small amount in Houston ISD.<ref>{{cite web | title =Comptroller Strayhorn to Review Stafford Municipal School District | date =September 16, 2003 | url =http://www.cpa.state.tx.us/news/30916stafford.html | accessdate = 2007-09-07}}</ref> ===Hurricane Katrina=== In 2005, HISD enrolled evacuees from the areas affected by [[Hurricane Katrina]] who were residing in Houston. The [[Houston Astrodome]], the shelter used for hurricane evacuees, is located within the HISD boundaries. Many Katrina evacuees stayed for the long term within the Houston ISD boundaries. [[Walnut Bend Elementary School]]'s enrollment increased from around 600 to around 800 with the addition of 184 evacuees; Walnut Bend, out of all of the Houston-area elementary schools, took the most Katrina victims <ref>"[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/05/katrina/3399167.html Louisiana students distributed unevenly]," ''[[Houston Chronicle]]'', [[October 17]], [[2005]]</ref>. Nearby Paul Revere Middle School, located in the [[Westchase, Houston, Texas|Westchase]] district, gained 137 Katrina victims. Revere, out of all of the Houston-area middle schools, has taken in the most Katrina victims. Houston ISD's "West Region," which includes Walnut Bend and Revere, had about 1/5th of Houston ISD's schools but contained more than half of the 5,500 evacuees in Houston schools. At the start of the 2006-2007 school year, around 2,900 Hurricane Katrina evacuees were still enrolled in Houston ISD schools. Around 700 of them were held back due to poor academic performance. 41% of evacuee 10th graders and 52% of evacuee juniors were held back. According to the October 2006 "For Your Information" newsletter, the eleven HISD schools which took the largest number of evacuees were: * Elementary schools: Bonham, Foerster, McNamara, [[Walnut Bend Elementary School|Walnut Bend]] * Middle schools: Fondren, Revere, [[Sharpstown Middle School|Sharpstown Middle]] * High schools: [[Lee High School (Houston)|Lee]], [[Sharpstown High School|Sharpstown High]], [[Westbury High School (Houston)|Westbury]], [[Westside High School (Houston)|Westside]] ===New district organization=== Prior to Summer 2005, HISD had 13 administrative districts. Originally, the number of districts were to be cut to three, but HISD decided on cutting the number to five in fall 2005. ===New administration building=== Houston ISD's administration building from July 1970 to March 2006 was the Hattie Mae White Administration Building (located at 3830 Richmond Avenue), and was labelled the "[[Taj Mahal]]" due to the confusing layout of the complex. The {{convert|201150|sqft|m2|sing=on}} complex cost six million [[United States dollar]]s. The building had tropical indoor [[atrium (architecture)|atrium]]s, causing critics to criticize the spending priorities of the district. When the district considered cutting a popular [[kindergarten]] program for financial reasons, taxpayers voted many board members out of office. The administration moved into a new complex in northwest Houston (located at 4400 West 18th Street) in spring 2006. The district sold the old complex for $38 million to a company which plans to demolish the site and develop mixed-use commercial property; demolition began on [[September 14]], [[2006]]. Demolition crews demolished the Will Rogers Elementary School, an adjacent elementary school located at 3101 Weslayan that closed in spring 2006. Houston ISD named the new administration building "Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center".<ref>''[[Houston Chronicle]]'', September 15, 2006</ref> ===Declining enrollment figures in the 2000s=== The preliminary fall enrollment for the 2006-2007 school year (203,163) had 7,000 fewer students than the 2005-2006 student enrollment (210,202), resulting in a more than 3% loss; the 2006-2007 enrollment was a 2.5% decrease from the fall 2004-2005 enrollment (208,454). From the preliminary 2006-2007 student count, the West and Central regions lost the most students, with a combined 4,400 student loss.<ref>{{cite news | title =HISD enrollment down by 7,000 for fall semester | language =English | publisher =''[[Houston Chronicle]]'' | date =November 17, 2006 | url =http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2006_4231484 | accessdate = 2007-09-07 }}</ref> The enrollment reported for the year in February 2007 was 202,936.<ref>{{cite web | title = 2006 – 2007 Demographics | publisher = ''HISD Connect'' | date = February 2007 | url =http://www.houstonisd.org/HISDConnectDS/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=62c6757761efc010VgnVCM10000052147fa6RCRD&vgnextchannel=2e2b2f796138c010VgnVCM10000052147fa6RCRD | accessdate = 2007-09-07 }}</ref> ===Micro Systems Enterprises=== In [[2007]] the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], the [[Federal Communications Commission]], and the [[United States Department of Justice]] began an investigation probing business relationships between Micro Systems Enterprises, a vendor, and HISD. Frankie Wong, former president of Micro Systems, and two [[Dallas Independent School District]] administrators received criminal charges.<ref>"[http://www.khou.com/news/local/education/stories/khou080314_jj_hisdinvestigation.54445267.html HISD under federal investigation]." ''[[KHOU]]''.</ref> ==Bilingual education and magnet and Vanguard schools== [[Image:HoustonISDWestOffice.JPG|thumb|Houston ISD West Region Office]] HISD is highly regarded for the [[bilingual education]] of its predominantly [[Hispanic]] student body, including recruiting about 330 teachers from [[Mexico]], [[Spain]], [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[China]], and the [[Philippines]] from 1998 to 2007.<ref>"[http://www.utexas.edu/cee/dec/lucha/index.php?page=news Texas schools increasingly recruit in Mexico, other nations to meet language demands]," ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''</ref> HISD's magnet (Performing Arts, Science, Health Professions, Law Enforcement, etc) high schools are considered a model for other urban school districts as a way to provide a high quality education and keep top performing students in the inner city from fleeing to [[private school]]s or [[exurb]]an school districts. Magnet schools are popular with parents and students that wish to escape low-performing schools and school violence. The members of the administration of schools losing students to higher-performing campuses, such as Bill Miller of [[Yates High School]], complained about the effects <ref>"[http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2005_3900502 Transfer policy hinders schools]," ''[[Houston Chronicle]]'', [[September 4]], [[2005]]</ref>. There are 55 elementary magnet schools, 30 magnet middle schools, and 27 magnet high schools. Some magnet schools are mixed comprehensive and magnet programs, while others are solidly magnet and do not admit any "neighborhood" students. ==Student body== In February 2008, Houston ISD reported a total enrollment of 199,534 <ref>"[http://www.houstonisd.org/HISDConnectDS/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=62c6757761efc010VgnVCM10000052147fa6RCRD&vgnextchannel=2e2b2f796138c010VgnVCM10000052147fa6RCRD Facts and Figures (Updated February 2007)]," ''Houston Independent School District''</ref>. * 120,327 (60.3%) were [[Hispanics in the United States|Hispanic American]] * 57,678 (28.4%) were [[African-American]] * 16,018 (8.0%) were [[Anglo American]] * 6,365 (3.2%) were [[Asian American]] * 146 (.1%) were [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] ==Controversies== ===Reporting of school violence=== A 2003 ''[[The New York Times]]'' report which asserted that HISD did not report school violence to the police created controversy in the community as teachers, students, and parents expressed concern about the district's downplaying of campus violence. <ref>"[http://www.click2houston.com/education/2629076/detail.html Article Critical Of HISD Security Concerns]," ''[[KPRC-TV]]''</ref> HISD officials held a news conference after the publication of the story. During the conference, HISD asserted that ''The New York Times'' published the story in an attempt to discredit the [[George W. Bush administration|Bush administration]]'s new accountability standards for school districts nationwide, which were partly modeled after HISD's system. ===School performance=== A 2003 state audit of HISD's performance caused more controversy. One of the district's most publicized accomplishments during the Paige era was a dramatic reduction in dropout rates. When 16 secondary schools, including [[Sharpstown High School]], were audited, it was found that most of the students who left school from those schools in 2000-2001 should have been counted as dropouts, but were not <ref>"[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/06/60II/main591676.shtml The 'Texas Miracle']," ''[[CBS News]]''</ref> <ref>"[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/topstory2/2073994.html Sharpstown had 'breakdown']," ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''</ref>. It was found that the administrators at Sharpstown deliberately changed the dropout rate at the school. The Sharpstown controversy resulted in a recommendation to label the entire HISD as "unacceptable." Former Sharpstown Assistant Principal Robert Kimball, found by an external investigator to have been involved in the false reporting, asserts that HISD coerced administrators at many schools to lie on dropout rates. HISD asserts that the fraud is only contained to Sharpstown, and that the false statistics at other schools were caused by confusion related to the state's system of tracking students who leave school. To improve data quality and regain its accountability rating, HISD altered its record-keeping training for school officials and sent teams of auditors into schools to check records. The superintendent met frequently with principals to press for improved data quality, and a districtwide data-integrity team monitored results. ==Governance== [[Image:HPComputerHoustonISD.JPG|thumb|A [[Hewlett-Packard]] [[Compaq]] computer and a Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 5740 printer owned by Houston ISD]] As of 2008, the superintendent of Houston ISD is [[Abelardo Saavedra]]. As of 2008 the members of the HISD Board of Education are: * President: [[Harvin C. Moore]] * First Vice President: [[Paula M. Harris]] * Second Vice President: [[Natasha M. Kamrani]] * Secretary: [[Carol Mims Galloway]] * Assistant Secretary: [[Lawrence Marshall]] Other members include: [[Diana Dávila]], [[Greg Meyers]], [[Dianne Johnson]], and [[Manuel Rodríguez Jr.]]. ===Superintendents=== [[Image:Rod Paige.jpg|thumb|[[Rod Paige]], former Houston ISD Superintendent]] Former HISD superintendent [[Rod Paige]] used the PEER Program. Improving scores from its schools have caused a lot of praise from others nationwide. [[Kaye Stripling]] took over when Rod Paige headed to [[Washington, DC]] as part of [[President of the United States|United States President]] [[George W. Bush]]'s [[George W. Bush administration|administration]] [[United States Cabinet|cabinet]]. After Stripling stepped down as the interim Superintendent, [[Abelardo Saavedra]] became the superintendent of the district on December 9, 2004. ==Political divisions== Schools in Houston ISD are organized into "Regional Districts". Each district has its own Regional Superintendent. There are five regional districts in Houston ISD: * Central Regional District * East Regional District * North Regional District * South Regional District * West Regional District ==Houston ISD television channel== Houses in the Houston ISD area get the Houston ISD channel on cable <ref>"[http://dept.houstonisd.org/Media/ Instructional Media Television: The Knowledge Network]," ''Houston Independent School District''</ref>. *Channel 18 of [[Comcast]] *Channel 76 of [[Phonoscope Communications]] *Channel 96 of [[TV Max]] *Channel 18 of [[Cebridge]] == HISD coverage area == [[Image:HoustonLamarHighSchool.JPG|thumb|[[Lamar High School (Houston)|Lamar High School]]]] [[Image:Image-BellaireHigh.JPG|thumb|[[Bellaire High School (Bellaire, Texas)|Bellaire High School]]]] The [[School district|district]] covers most of the greater-[[Houston]] area, including all of the cities of [[Bellaire, Texas|Bellaire]], [[West University Place, Texas|West University Place]], [[Southside Place, Texas|Southside Place]], and most of the area within the Houston city limits. HISD also takes students from the [[Harris County, Texas|Harris County]] portion of [[Missouri City, Texas|Missouri City]], a portion of [[Jacinto City, Texas|Jacinto City]], a small portion of [[Hunters Creek Village, Texas|Hunters Creek Village]], a small portion of [[Piney Point Village, Texas|Piney Point Village]], and a small portion of [[Pearland, Texas|Pearland]]. HISD also takes students from unincorporated areas of [[Harris County, Texas|Harris County]]. The district covers {{convert|300.2|sqmi|km2}} of land. All of the HISD area lies within the taxation area for the [[Houston Community College System]]. ===Cities=== Houston ISD covers all of the following municipalities: * [[Bellaire, Texas|Bellaire]] * [[Southside Place, Texas|Southside Place]] * [[West University Place, Texas|West University Place]] Houston ISD covers portions of the following municipalities: * [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] (the majority of Houston, including much of the inside Loop area falls under HISD) * [[Hunters Creek Village, Texas|Hunters Creek Village]] (areas south of Buffalo Bayou are HISD) * [[Jacinto City, Texas|Jacinto City]] (areas north of Market street are in Houston ISD) * [[Missouri City, Texas|Missouri City]] (Harris County portion only) * [[Pearland, Texas|Pearland]] (A section of the Harris County portion) * [[Piney Point Village, Texas|Piney Point Village]] (areas south of Buffalo Bayou are HISD) HISD also covers unincorporated sections of [[Harris County, Texas|Harris County]]. ==Transportation== [[Image:HISDSchoolBus.JPG|thumb|A Houston ISD CE300 [[school bus]] made by [[IC Corporation]]; the bus is one of 120 newly-manufactured at the time school buses delivered to Houston ISD fleet in 2006.]] Houston ISD grants [[school bus]] transportation to any Houston ISD resident attending his or her zoned school or attending a magnet program who lives {{convert|2|mi|km|1|lk=on|abbr=on}} or more away from the campus (as measured by the nearest public roads) or must cross treacherous obstacles in order to reach the campus Certain special education students are also permitted to use school bus transportation. <ref>"[http://www.houstonisd.org/portal/site/Transportation/menuitem.07af8130beaca75d37ffc96de041f76a/?vgnextoid=8de53f7ca26fe010VgnVCM10000028147fa6RCRD&vgnextchannel=98ba210fa27ee010VgnVCM10000028147fa6RCRD Student Eligibility]." ''[[Houston Independent School District]]''. Accessed [[July 14]], [[2008]].</ref> Prior to fall 2007, [[Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas|METRO]] issued Go Card passes for students enrolled in schools <ref>[http://www.ridemetro.org/Fare_Information/Student_Passes/gocardsite_2006.html Metro's website]</ref>. Since fall 2007, METRO instead issues rechargeable cards called "Q Card"s for students. ==List of schools== * Main article: ''[[List of Houston Independent School District schools]]'' In HISD grades [[kindergarten]] through 5 are considered to be elementary school, grades 6 through 8 are considered to be middle school, and grades 9 through 12 are considered to be high school. Some elementary schools go up to the sixth grade. Every house in HISD is assigned to an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. HISD has many alternative programs and transfer options available to students who want a specialized education and/or dislike their home schools. == Notable employees and teachers == *'''[[Laura Bush]]''', a teacher at Kennedy Elementary School, who later became the [[First Lady of the United States]]<ref>"[http://moscow.usembassy.gov/bilateral/bilateral.php?record_id=biography_firstlady Laura Welch Bush]," ''[[Embassy of the United States]] [[Moscow]], [[Russia]]''</ref> *'''[[Edison E. Oberholtzer]]''', former superintendent, founder and first president of the [[University of Houston]] *'''[[Alberto Gonzales]]''', chair of the Commission for District Decentralization, later became the [[Attorney General of the United States]]<ref>"[http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/gonzales-bio.html Alberto Gonzales Former Attorney General]," ''[[The White House]]''</ref> *'''[[Rod Paige]]''', former superintendent, became the [[United States Secretary of Education]] ==Accidents and incidents== As of 2008, there are two incidents at Houston ISD that have had student fatalities: * [[September 15]], [[1959]]: [[Poe Elementary School attack]] - Paul Orgeron detonated a bomb at [[Poe Elementary School (Houston)|Poe Elementary School]] in Houston, killing three children, two staff members, and himself. * [[October 20]], [[1999]]: At Deady Middle School, 14-year old Estanislao Balderas stabbed 13-year old Samuel Avila in the head with a screwdriver. Avila died of his injuries. Balderas was arrested and prosecuted. The victim's parents, Andres Avila River and Ana Maria Avila, sued the district, asserting that the district violated their son's due process rights. The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]] dismissed the statement of the Avilas and ruled in favor of Houston ISD. <ref>[http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/5th/0320098cv0p.pdf Balderas v. Houston ISD]," ''[[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]]''</ref> Non-fatal incidents include: * [[November 14]], [[1991]]: 18-year old Francisco Contreras received four gunshot wounds in his feet and leg outside of the cafeteria at [[Milby High School]]. Police arrested a 16-year old "disturbed freshman."<ref>"[http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1991_822573 Shooting at school fuels calls for more security]." ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''. [[November 15]], [[1991]].</ref> * [[February 9]], [[2006]]: A 26-year old man named Ronald Walker [[rape]]d a 15-year old girl in a second-floor [[toilet]] facility at [[Westbury High School (Houston)|Westbury High School]]. Walker pled guilty to the charge <ref>"[http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2007_4356130 Man gets 45 years in sex assaults]," ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''</ref>. * [[February 24]], [[2006]]: One male [[Grade 9|9th grade]] student stabbed another 9th grader at [[Bellaire High School (Bellaire, Texas)|Bellaire High School]]. The victim survived the stabbing while the perpetrator was arrested and prosecuted.<ref>[http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou060316_ac_bellairestabbing.2e6568b3.html Bellaire High School stabbing suspect gets plea deal] [[KHOU]].com - March 16, 2006</ref> * [[November 12]] [[2007]]: Larry Paul Newton, a mentally ill man, appeared on the property of [[Lamar High School (Houston)|Lamar High School]] before classes and injured 14-year old Catherine Sullivan, a female Lamar student, by stabbing her arm. Several male students aided Sullivan by beating and holding the attacker. An HISD police officer subdued Newton, leading to his arrest. <ref>"[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5294617.html Man waving knives injures Lamar High student]," ''[[Houston Chronicle]]'', [[November 12]], [[2007]]</ref> Sullivan received [[suture]]s after the attack <ref>"[http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=5756614 Female student stabbed by man on school campus]," [[KTRK-TV]], [[September 12]], [[2007]]</ref>. ==See also== {{portalpar|Houston|Flag of Houston, Texas.png}} *[[List of school districts in Texas]] *[[List of schools in Harris County, Texas]] *[[Houston Area Independent Schools]] &mdash; association of Houston-area private schools. ==References== {{Reflist|2}} ==External links== * [http://www.houstonisd.org HISD Homepage] * [http://www.houstonclassmates.com Alumni Information for all HISD Schools] * [http://vschool.houstonisd.org/info/index.html HISD Virtual School] * [http://www.hisdlibraryservices.org HISD Library Services] * [http://www.hisdtax.com HISD Tax Office] * [https://www.hisdbenefits.org/hisd/ HISD Benefits] * [http://thinkhisd.org/ Think HISD] * [http://dept.houstonisd.org/curriculum/socialstudies/index.html Houston ISD Social Studies] * [http://dept.houstonisd.org/centralregion/ The Central Region] * [http://dept.houstonisd.org/westregion/wren/index.htm The Wren] (West Region Education News) *[http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_district/499/tx//?level=a List of schools in the HISD] from GreatSchools.net {{Houston ISD}} {{Houston, Texas}} {{TEA district rating|AA}} [[Category:Harris County, Texas]] [[Category:Houston Independent School District|*]] [[Category:Houston public education]] [[Category:School districts in Texas]] [[de:Houston Independent School District]] [[es:Distrito Escolar Independiente de Houston]]