48 Principal n March/April 2010 www.naesp.org

H-town, as Houston is affectionately called, has recently been featured in several lists of the best U.S. cities to live and work, citing a strong job

market, affordable housing, and the plethora of res-taurants, shops, and museums that make up its cultural scene. But a city is only as good as its schools. Here’s what we found out about how students fare in the Bayou City.

Spotlight on Houston Schools

49www.naesp.org Principal n March/April 2010

District Demographics• Thoughtherearemanypublicschooldistrictsthatserve

Houston and its suburbs, the largest is the Houston Independent School District (HISD), which is the largest publicschoolsysteminTexasandtheseventhlargestinthe U.S.

• Servingmorethan200,000students,theurbandistricthasastudentpopulationwitharacialbreakdownthatis27.8percentblack,3.2percentAsian,61.1percentHispanic,and7.8percentwhite.Despitethecity’soveralleconomy,HISDservesahighnumberofstudentsofpoverty;93.14percentareTitle1students.About31percentofthe district’s students are categorized as Limited English Proficiency,8.2percentarecategorizedasESL,and 8.45percentqualifyforspecialeducation.Atotalof 12.4percentofthestudentsaregiftedandtalented.

• HISDoffersmagnetandvanguardprograms,charterschools, and alternative programs that use innovative instruction to help students who are at risk of dropping

outofschool.Therearealsoprogramsinearly-childhoodeducation, special education, multilingual education, career and technology/vocational education, and dual-credit/advanced academics.

Student Achievement and Professional Development• Eighty-twopercentofHISDschoolsmetthefederal

accountabilitystandardforadequateyearlyprogressin2008.Arecord200HISDschools(outof295)achievedTexas’topratingsofExemplaryorRecognizedin2009.

• Thegraduationratecontinuestoincrease,standingat68.2percentin2008,anincreaseof3.9percentagepointsfrom the previous year. One of the district strategies for improving dropout and graduation rates is the Online CreditRecoveryInitiative,whichwillcreateschool-basedcomputer labs for high school students that will operate withflexiblehoursandprovideSATandstatetesttutoringas well as access to online courses.

Enrich your world and beyond during NAESP’s Annual Convention and Exposition.

50 Principal n March/April 2010

• Thedistrict’sAlternativeCertification Program offers thePrincipalAcademy,whichis a two-year state-approved certification program for individuals seeking principal certification.

• HISDprincipalsandschooladministrators created a pro-fessional learning community where they study Spanish so they can better communicate with students and parents and build more positive relation-ships with the communities they serve.

Local and National Influence• KIPP(theKnowledgeIs

Power Program) was founded inHoustonin1994bytwoformerTeachforAmericaeducators.TheKIPPmodel,with campuses in inner cities across the nation, has fueled the charter school movement. Thereare82KIPPschoolsnationwide,15ofthemareinand around Houston.

• HISDleadsthenationinperformance pay for teach-ers,developing,in2006theAcceleratingStudentProg-ress,IncreasingResults&Expectations(ASPIRE) program.Theprogramrewards teachers for improve-ments made in students’ test scores and operates on a complexsystemthatawardsteachers for value-added campuswide improvement, value-added teacher perfor-mance, and campus improve-mentandachievement.TheASPIREawardforprincipalssimilarly rewards princi-pals for improving student achievement.

Interested in visiting one of Houston’s schools? Come to convention and participate in the community service project.

Special EventsTherewillbemoretoNAESP’sconventionthanengaginggeneralsessionspeakers

andinformativepresentationsontopicsofimportancetoK-8principals.We’vealsoplannedanumberofspecialeventstoroundoutyourconventionexperience.

A National Discussion on Transforming Schools. Learn from seven talented princi-pals who successfully turned around academically struggling schools in their respec-tivedistricts.Theirmissionsincludedraisingtestscoresandnarrowingtheachieve-mentgapseparatingstudents.Theseprincipalshaveaprovenrecord,havebeenrecognizedfortheirsuccess,andwillsharetheiruniquetalentsandcompellingstories on a panel presentation and through individual workshops with an in-depth studyofimplementingthebestpracticesthatallprincipalscanachieve.ThepanelwilltakeplaceSaturday,April10,andeachoftheindividualworkshopswilloccuronSunday,April11.

Volunteer Opportunity. DuringNAESP’ssecondannualCommunityService Project,twoHoustonpublicschools—WhartonK-8DualLanguageAcademyandDodson Elementary and Montessori School—will be the sites where principals from around the country will have the opportunity to give back to students and principals in the local community.

NAESP’s2009CommunityServiceProjectinNewOrleanswasahugesuccess,withmorethan100conventionattendeesparticipatingatthreeworksites.Let’skeepupthe momentum of principals giving back by helping out Houston-area schools on Thursday,April8.

Silent Auction. TheNAESPFoundationwillholdasilentauctionduringtheconven-tion.BiddingwilltakeplaceFridayandSaturday,April10and11duringexhibithallhours.AllproceedsfromthesilentauctionwillgotowardtheNAESPFoundation(www.naespfoundation.org),whosemissionistoadvanceexcellence,innovation,andequityinschoolsbyendowingleadershipandlearningforprincipalsforthebenefitofallchildren.Foralistoftheitemsbeingauctioned,visitwww.naesp.org/2010.

www.naesp.org

51Principal n March/April 2010FLIgHT SImuLATorS: ALAN TowSe; ecoSceNe/corBIS

Take a Break, Explore the City

A century ago, few could have predicted that the humid flatlands

around Houston would one day house one of the most advanced metropolises intheworld.Today,HoustonisthefourthlargestcityinAmericaandthehome of a high-tech, entrepreneurial-driven economy and a multicultural populationthatspeaksmorethan90languages.FromhistoriclandmarksfromthebattlefieldwhereTexanswontheir independence to the center where

NASAconductedmuchofitsearlyresearch,attendeesofNAESP’sAnnualConventionandExpositionshouldmaketimetoexploresomeoftheattractionsthismodernAmericancityhas to offer.

Houston was the first word spoken when astronauts landed on the moon, and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space center (above) is the location of NASA’scenterforhumanspaceflightactivities.ItsLivinginSpaceexhibitfea-tures computer simulation that allows guests to try their hand at landing the space shuttle or receiving a satellite.

“For years I have seen people try to bring educators together with health specialists, or either with researchers. I have never seen any effort work as well as what you put together in Vancouver.”

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT & LEARNING CONFERENCE:

MAKING SENSE OF THE SCIENCE

July 16-20, 2010 Vancouver, BC Canada

For Info & Registration: www.interprofessional.ubc.ca/bdl.html

A conference that takes exciting, cutting-edge research in neuroscience, developmental science, & mental health out-side of academe & puts it in the hands of educators in ways they can understand, see the immediate relevance of, & use.

Topics include:

Math Education Reading Interventions that Work Autism & other Developmental Disorders Cultural Diversity Neural Bases of Learning & Memory Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Scholarships available Continuing Education Credits offered for US & Canada

- Prof. Michael Meaney, McGill University

98% approval rating for the previous 2 meetings!

52 www.naesp.orgPrincipal n March/April 2010

Visitors can also tour the historic Mis-sion Control Center and get updates on current space flights and astronaut training activities.

Houston’s museum District (below) givesvisitorsaccessto18museumsalllocatedwithina1.5-mileradiusof Herman Park and the gorgeous Mecom Fountain.TheBuffaloSoldiersNationalMuseum is the only museum in the United States primarily dedicated to honoring the legacy of black soldiers; theMuseumofFineArtshousesacol-lectionofmorethan56,000pieces,includingRembrandt’sPortraitofaYoungWoman;andtheJohnP.McGov-ern Health Museum contains Houston’s only four-dimensional theater.

Houston also boasts the second largest theater district in the United States in terms of the number of theater

seats in a concentrated downtown area, anditisoneoffiveAmericancitieswithpermanent professional resident com-panies in each of the four performing arts disciplines: opera, ballet, music, and theater. Nine performing arts orga-nizations, including the Houston Symphony (top left) and Houston Ballet (right), are located within this17-blockarea.

AccordingtoThe New York Times, Houstonians spend more per capita at restau-rants than residents of any othercity.Theirpredilec-tion for dining out may stem from the fact that Houston has 8,000-plusrestau-

rants that serve a range of cuisines from traditionalTexasbarbecuetovariousethnic fare that has been brought to the city by its robust immigrant population. TheneighborhoodofMontrose,oneofthe city’s most demographically diverse regions, provides visitors with locations to sample this diverse cuisine and also featuresanantiquemallthatoffersexcellentvintageshopping.

Downtown Houston has been revitalized in recent years with clubs, sports facilities, and other entertainment venues such as the

130,000-square-footBayou Place (top right).AtthedowntownHistoricDis-trict, visitors can peruse streets lined with cafes and listen to live music. Downtown is also the location of the Downtown Aquarium (above), whichfeatures500,000gallonsofvisible underwater tanks and more than200speciesofmarinelife.TheaquariumisalsoequippedwithaFer-ris wheel, an observation tower that offers breathtaking views of Houston, and a well-reviewed restaurant.

Sources:www.visithoustontexas.com

www.away.com www.houston.com

www.about.comwww.houston.world-guides .com

*With the paid attendance of any staff member, an administrator may attend an equal

number of days of the same conference for FREE.

Principals—here’s an opportunity to stretch your professional development dollars by attending any of these acclaimed conferences TUITION-FREE.*

Join staff members as they fi ne-tune their teaching methods with the latest research-based strategies!

Principals Ride FREEAll Summer!

July 6-9, 2010 • Chicago, IL

July 12-15, 2010 • Las Vegas, NV

July 12-15, 2010 • Las Vegas, NVNational Kindergarten Teacher Conference

To learn more and sign up today, visit www.SDE.com/FreeRide or call 1-800-462-1478 and mention “free ride!”

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NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

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