Elementary Education

Houston Roller Derby

The Whipping Boy

How did class size limits become the symbol of an unnecessary luxury in our schools?

Children in Hiding

Juarez kids surrounded by violence, dead bodies.

Cold Hard Cash to Fifth Graders in HISD Who Do the Math

You did your homework? Cha-ching​Students at 25 Houston ISD schools -- and their parents -- will have a chance to earn cash by, get this: Doing their homework!"Why not?" was the consensus reached today by the seven trustees at a workshop meeting. Equipped with a $1.5 million private donation from ... More >>

Game Time: Shaq And Dwight Howard Battle Over Who Is The Real Fruit Of Jor-El's Loins

​Back when I was a little kid on the mean streets of Austin (Yep, I lived there for two years during my youth) in the mid-`70's, me and a few of my fellow second-graders would play Star Wars during recess. We would pretend the jungle gym was the Millenium Falcon, the area behind the rocks was Tato ... More >>

Divisive or Not, HISD Board Approves New Way to Target Failing Teachers

​This is the tale of two teachers. Each of them inherit fifth-graders who test out at the start of the school year, on average, at third grade, fifth month. The kids are from the same neighborhood. They have identical demographics: roughly the same number come from single-parent homes, live in ... More >>

Magna Charter

Right in the middle of the Gulfton Ghetto, one school is putting on a grand experiment.

Here's The Latest On School Closings Due To The "Don't Call It Swine" Flu

Hamilton Middle School, which was closed Thursday and Friday over swine flu concerns, has reopened, HISD and city officials said.Hamilton had been closed because an individual "had exposure to a known case" of the flu, Health and Human Services spokeswoman Kathy Barton tells Hair Balls. "And subsequ ... More >>

Houston's Best Recipe for Success

Chef Monica Pope at MacGregor Elementary School. Photos by Carlos Meltzer There's alot of talk these days about problems and solutions. The economy, the environment, healthcare, education. But as we all know there appears to be a lot more problems than there are solutions. And alot more talk th ... More >>

Current Television Shows That Premiered When I Was Still A Virgin

The other day I had a random thought: When "COPS" first aired, wasn't, like, Jimmy Carter the president? Dang. I just went back and checked. That show premiered when I was in junior high. JUNIOR HIGH. Do you know how long ago that was? I'm not ashamed to say I'm 32 and lookin' fine, but my God ... More >>

Free Nameless Sound Youth Classes Start Today

Houston experimental/improvised music nonprofit Nameless Sound begins its spring session of classes for young people this evening. The classes are free of charge and open to area youth from kindergarten through high school, offering instruction in three ensembles: Nameless Sound Youth Ensemble: Imp ... More >>

Houston Teacher May Be Miss Black USA

Enough with the Houston-area teachers and principals and all their dope-smoking and having affairs with kids. What about something good about the teachers around here? Okay -- there's Andrea Hill, a sixth-grade teacher at Patrick Henry Middle School. What's she done lately? Gotten herself ch ... More >>

New York Prof Says KIPP Isn’t a Magic Bullet; KIPP Founder Says, Hey You’re Right

The Cutest Fifth Grader Ever!

Spanish Only at Spring Branch Schools

TEA Releases Ratings, Houston ISD Has Some Hits, Some Misses

The Year the Smurfs Attacked

Chess Masters at UT-Brownsville

An open-admissions university has become a national powerhouse in the collegiate game.

Toxic Town: Contamination in Somerville Schools

Somerville's schools continue to show elevated toxins, but are the health risks bad enough to shut down the schools?

The Apple of Her Eye: Pimp C’s Sixth Grade Social Studies Teacher Remembers Chad Butler

Poor Substitute: MacGregor Middle School Teacher Does More Than Pass Out Worksheets

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie: the Key Middle School Saga Continues...

Where in the World Is Sheila Jackson-Lee?

Let Me Clear the Fleming From My Throat

Girl in a Coma

Monday, August 21, at the Engine Room, 1515 Pease, 713-654-7846

Girls Gone Wild

It's a regular bacchanal in one small town

Career Opportunities

HISD's ideas on advancement

Alien-ated Youth

They're the next step in human evolution. But they're just like everybody else.

Wake-Up Call

The TAKS field test results were so gawd-awful they may become a catalyst for good

It's About Time

Fort Bend is putting an end to racing teachers and kids through half-day kindergarten. But too many other districts still haven't wised up.

Backing Off

HISD cuts $2 million from CEP's lucrative deal and adds more controls.

Secrets of a Vanguard Parent

How can anyone tell whether a four-year-old is gifted?

Best Science Teacher

Jamie Scott

Tongue-tied

HISD's bilingual policy can leave Spanish-speaking kids in a language lurch

See George Educate

A Texas journalist gives George W. Bush his due

Grade Charades?

After the cheating scandal, some HISD schools take a TAAS test dive

News of the Weird

Adding It All Up

What does it really mean to pass the TAAS?

The Fix Is In

Are educators cheating on TAAS? Is anyone going to stop them?

(Pay)checks and (Im)balances

Fat starting salaries! Hefty raises! HISD says its administrators deserve them.

Why Johnny Might Someday Be Able to Read

When Eldo Bergman confronted his son's reading problems, he took the scientific approach. Now he is trying to convince schools to do the same.

After-School Limbo

Middle schoolers are often left to their own devices

Peer Pressure

At Anderson Elementary, students are packed into classrooms, hallways and portable buildings as educators struggle to manage a school with too many kids

The TAAS Buster

For years, Harriet Ball miraculously boosted the test scores of academically at-risk kids in Houston. Finally, educators across the country are taking note.

What Went Wrong at the Rice School?

The Rice School/La Escuela Rice was a much-touted experiment by HISDand Rice University. So far, the results haven't been encouraging.

A Question of Competence

State Comptroller John Sharp has suggested that HISD needs to fire more incompetent teachers. But as the case of Beverly Goodie shows, it's not that simple. Just how do you tell who's incompetent? And what happens when you try?

Bitter Lesson

For 27 years, math teacher Phyllis Landes had a spotless record. Then the Texas Education Agency accused her of making racist remarks, and nearly ruined her school and her life.

Ritalin on Trial

While some Houston parents fight what they charge is "a river of Ritalin" running through the schools, one father has gone to court to try to prove that, for his son, Ritalin use is Ritalin abuse.

The Curriculum Question

Businessman John Privett thought he had a solution to the problems of some of Houston's troubled schools. The parents wanted to try it. The teachers wanted to try it. But HISD administrators said no.

Goodbye, Mr. Smith

A 41-year-old man says he just wanted to teach, but age and gender worked against him