Subject: Norm Uhl

• Lower-Income HISD School Gets Prestigious Program

  August 18, 2008

• HISD Cancels Games, Trips This Weekend

  September 10, 2008

• HISD Closed Tomorrow

  September 11, 2008

• No Bus Left Behind

  September 17, 2008

• Some HISD Campuses Operating On Generators

  September 23, 2008

• More HISD Schools Open Tomorrow

  September 24, 2008

• Saavedra Is Safe For Now, Spokesman Says

  September 30, 2008

• Selling Kids to HISD

  October 9, 2008

• Still Hiring – the Houston School District

  October 22, 2008

• Teacher Of The Year And Hero To Drunk Drivers

  October 28, 2008

• HISD No Longer Looking To Kill All Busing To Magnets

  November 6, 2008

• Cinderella Time At Mount Carmel High

  November 10, 2008

• HISD Gets A New Media Guru

  November 12, 2008

• More HISD Middle-School Staffers Nabbed For Pot

  What is it with HISD teachers and pot these days? A month ago, a middle-school assistant principal gets nabbed for growing dope in his home. Now, a pair of teachers at Williams Middle School (Northwest side represent!) are making friends in county due to a meddling tipster and a drug-sniffing dog.

  November 20, 2008

• HISD: Home Of The World's Busiest Drug-Sniffing Dog

  Houston school officials want to be very clear -- the latest employees arrested for drugs were not teachers at a northwest side charter school.Their desire to make the point clear is understandable, given that so many teachers and staffers have been nabbed for pot lately.So let's emphasize -- the two people arrested for drugs today are not teachers at the charter school.Instead they were a teacher and an administrator working at the neighboring North Region Office of HISD.Who were working there

  November 24, 2008

• Couple Sues Over Background Checks At Their Kid's School

  You can hardly visit your kid's school these days without handing over your license to have a background check done to make sure you're not some child-raping murderer.It can be a bit of a hassle if you're, say, a conscientious parent who may not be the most legal resident of the US but still wants to participate in your kid's education (Cue outraged response of the "Send `em back to Mexico" crowd).Or, we guess, if you actually are a child-raping murderer.An Austin couple, who are both legal and

  December 1, 2008

• Riding To The Rescue Of HISD's Pot-Smoking Image

  The bad news: Another Houston teacher has been busted for pot.The good news: Let's look at the media alert from interim spokesman Norm Uhl -- Based on an anonymous tip, HISD PD's K-9 unit searched the parking lot at Woodson MS. One teacher has been arrested for possession of marijuana. I am on my way to the scene now.Quick, Robin!! To the Spin-Mobile!!Actually, Uhl's a nice guy who responds quickly to media questions, even nasty ones. And we're sure he's desperate to head off any TV stories abou

  December 5, 2008

• Fort Worth's School Superintendent Has A Bigger Salary Than Houston's

  Houston, you have been dissed by Fort Worth. Fort Worth.That cowtown up north has gone all big-time, paying its school superintendent the highest salary in the state. Abe Saavedra here in Houston has been relegated to the poverty line.Fort Worth ISD superintendent Melody Johnson received a 1.4 percent pay raise last night; it brought her salary to $328,950. That is just above Saavedra's salary of $327,010.We know what you're up to, Fort Worth. Tossing around money like you're Jerry Jones. We can

  December 17, 2008

• HISD Teachers Now Have The Cleanest Cars In The World, Apparently

  Even though our noble effort to get the drug-addled teaching corps of HISD free detailing at Bubbles Car Wash ultimately failed, it appears the need for clean ultimately got through.HISD spokesman Norm Uhl reports that Cracky the drug-sniffing dog (our name for him this week) has searched 58 school parking lots since Tuesday and has not come up with a single hit.Assuming Cracky hasn't been paid off, or has a terrible doggy cold, that means either HISD teachers have wised up as to how to hide the

  December 19, 2008

• Travis Elementary -- A/K/A Swine Flu Central -- Reopens

  Travis Elementary's swine-flu heyday came just as the topic was losing its national cachet, but the school made the most of it -- closing completely after days of frantic parents keeping their kids home, leaving the school a ghost town.At first HISD said a weekend scrub-down would be enough to set things right, but eventually officials threw in the towel and closed the school completely for the few remaining days of the year.It's now re-opened, for summer school, but it's not exactly back at 100

  June 4, 2009

• HISD Explores its Alternatives With CEP

  Next week's Houston Independent School District Board meeting coincides with its self-imposed January 15 deadline for whether it will continue to fork over $17 million a year to the private Community Education Partners for its two alternative schools here. CEP and HISD agreed to a contract extension last August 15 (the first deadline). At issue: the cost of the program, as well as a groundswell of criticism that the facilities don't do a good job of teaching anything and are warehouses for unwan

  January 9, 2009

• HISD's Drug-Sniffing Dog Ends Its Slump

  It's been a tough time for HISD's drug-sniffing dog (today's name: Cocainey).Even though he's been out every school day since December 11 -- district spokesman Norm Uhl tells Hair Balls more than a third of HISD's parking lots have been searched in that time -- he's been coming up empty.Today, though Cocainey triumphs once again!!Nabbed: A teacher at Roberts Elementary, one of the district's swankiest locations, just south of Rice University.Drug of choice: Unnamed prescription pills, without a

  January 13, 2009

• The Drug Sweeps Are Ending At HISD (For One Reason Or Another)

  The Houston school district is coming under heavy fire for its "no-tolerance" drug-dog searches of school parking lots, mostly because they nabbed a popular West U teacher who is very likely to be proven innocent.West U residents, when they get up in arms, tend to get results. HISD superintendent Abe Saavedra told KHOU -- and spokesman Norm Uhl confirms to Hair Balls -- that the searches are ending.Not, though, because of any uproar from well-connected parents pissed off over a very weak case. D

  February 20, 2009

• The Mean Spirit of Texas?

  April 30, 1998

• Obama Follows Yet Another Bush Policy: He Praises HISD

  Photo courtesy White HouseThe Houston school district got a shout-out from President Obama this morning.In a major speech on education, Obama urged a raft of reforms "to finally make No Child Left Behind live up to its name."Among the reforms he urged districts to adopt: Houston's method of keeping track of how students are faring.Here's what he said: Of course, raising standards alone will not make much of a difference unless we provide teachers and principals with the information they need to

  March 10, 2009

• The Texas Fitnessgram Idea May Not Be As Awe-Inspiring As Our Governor Would Have Us Think

  Photo by mikebairdEarlier this week, Governor Rick Perry called a press conference to announce the results of last spring's statewide Fitnessgram assessment of Texas public-school students. According to a press release, the results were based on six tests "taken by more then two million students in grades 3-12, representing 85 percent of the state's school districts." Students were measured as they ran, jumped, and proved how flexible they were. The results weren't exactly something to crow over

  March 13, 2009

• Going To Summer School At Lamar? You're Buying A Brand-New Uniform

  Lamar High School, like several HISD schools, has a mandatory uniform for its students -- polo shirt with the school's name, khaki pants or shorts. Parents are expected to pay for the clothing, although we're sure there's some program that helps those who can't afford it.Some Lamar students, because of the vagaries of class availability, have to go to summer school even if they aren't making up a failed grade. Signing up for summer school at HISD ain't cheap, but to some degree it is "optional,"

  June 3, 2009

• Drug Education

  HISD has the world's busiest sniffer dog

  December 4, 2008

• Let the Record Reflect

  June 4, 2009

• Houston Chronicle, Virginia Tech massacre, HISD, George Michael

  The Chron's blog obsession leaves taste behind

  April 26, 2007

• One for the Geezers

  Former staffers line up to testify against KHOU

  August 23, 2001

• Insider

  Unhappy Talk TV. At KHOU, the hit tune is "Take This Job and Shove It!"

  September 16, 1999

• Swine Flu Closes Three HISD Schools, Episcopal High -- And All Of Fort Worth ISD (UPDATED)

  HISD has announced two schools have closed until further notice because of possible -- but not confirmed -- cases of swine flu.Harvard Elementary and Hamilton Middle School, both in the Heights, are the schools."Late last night the City of Houston Health Department informed HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra of two probable, but not confirmed, cases of swine flu and advised the district to immediately close both schools as a precaution," HISD spokesman Norm Uhl said. "The principals of both s

  April 30, 2009

• Swine Flu 1, Lyons Elementary 0

  Photo by Paul KnightAlejandra Bravo and Alejandra ReyesHISD is working on its first swine flu evacuation, which started with about an hour left of TAKS testing. The students at Lyons Elementary will have to take the whole thing over again, according to district spokesman Norm Uhl. The infected child that caused the evacuation wasn't at school today, but this morning, the district received a call from the city alerting them of a confirmed flu case from Lyons, and the city suggested the school clo

  April 30, 2009

• Harvard Elementary Kids, Get Your Butts Back To School

  Another HISD school has declared total victory in the battle against swine flu (No political correctness here, pork industry!!). Harvard Elementary in the Heights, one of the first district schools to close down, will reopen tomorrow.The city's health department has given the OK for the move, HISD spokesman Norm Uhl says. So blame them if anything goes wrong.And we're betting the Harvard kids will be hearing a lot tomorrow about washing their hands.

  May 4, 2009

• Travis Elementary Gets Hit With A Wave Of...Something

  The hallways are pretty empty today at Travis Elementary near the Woodland Heights. Of the 712 students there, 242 are out sick.It can't be a Senior Skip Day, so what is up, HISD?"Twenty-six additional students at Travis were sent home sick today bringing the total to 242," spokesman Norm Uhl tells us. "We are working closely with the City Health Department which has identified seven cases of type A (REGULAR) flu. It is suspected, however, that the majority of the students are being affected by

  May 14, 2009

• Travis Elementary: Flu Central (For Kids, Not Teachers)

  Even more kids are out at Travis Elementary today, HISD spokesman Norm Uhl tells Hair Balls -- of the 712 registered, 378 stayed home today. Another dozen felt sick at school, went to the clinic and were sent home.Oddly, teachers don't seem to be affected: Only two are out sick. (Another two are home with sick kids.)Two cases of swine flu have been confirmed."We don't know how much of the kids staying out is the concern parents have caused by seeing stories in the media," Uhl says. "But we under

  May 15, 2009

• School's Out For Summer: Travis Elementary Closes For Rest of School Year

  Photo courtesy of WikipediaTravis Elementary, the school where one kid after another was coming down with or thinking he was coming down with swine flu, was supposed to open next Tuesday to finish out the year in some sort of style. That's not going to happen now, Norm Uhl, spokesman for the Houston Independent School District just announced. "The state and city health departments have asked us to keep Travis closed for up to ten more days, so it will not re-open on Tuesday, but we anticipat

  May 22, 2009

• Travis Elementary Gets Water

  Photo courtesy of WikipediaWe told you last week that Travis Elementary, the school that was so afflicted with swine flu and/or the fears thereof, was starting its summer session of classes. This morning we heard from Houston ISD spokesman Norm Uhl who tells us the "water samples tested last week are clear. Travis Elementary is back on city water." And most importantly: "Water fountains and bathrooms are back in operation."

  June 8, 2009

• Saavedra Tells HISD When His Last Day Will Be, By E-Mail

  Turns out, Houston ISD superintendent Abe Saavedra sent out an e-mail to district administrators last Friday, giving them his last day news. HISD spokesman Norm Uhl found out about it Friday afternoon and planned to release the news today, "but the Bellaire Examiner got a tip and scooped me. Good work on their part. In his farewell notification, Saavedra gave himself and his administrators a pat on the back before cutting to the chase. The full e-mail is after the jump.

  June 15, 2009

• Learn Valuable Skills At Home!! Through HISD!!!

  HISD is expanding its at-home learning program, whereby kids from across the state (mostly home-schoolers) can get a tuition-free educational curriculum monitored by a certified teacher via computer and phone.The district partners with the Texas Connections Academy to offer the program, which is the only one of its kind in the state, HISD spokesman Norm Uhl tells Hair Balls.The release from the district says the program, which began with 100 kids in grades three through eight, will expand to 1,0

  June 24, 2009

• HISD Takes Back Some Of Its Objection To A Critic's Numbers

  Last week when Hair Balls reported that LULAC (the League of United Latin American Citizens) had sent letters to the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts saying it should investigate Houston ISD for the amount of money it spends on two private alternative schools, we were told our figures were incorrect by HISD spokesman Norm Uhl.   The precise figure Uhl objected to most was 811. That represents the number of HISD students who have graduated from the two

  July 16, 2009

• HISD To Announce It's Done Better Than Ever In State Rankings

  ​HISD has broken its record for schools ranked as "exemplary" or "recognized," spokesman Norm Uhl says.Last year 57 percent of its 296 schools achieved that ranking; this year 70 percent of its schools have."This is one for the HISD history books and a highlight for me as I end my career at HISD," outgoing superintendent Abe Saavedra said in a release. "Once again there has been tremendous academic growth across the district, but the story of Sam Houston really puts a face on the story. Sam Ho

  July 30, 2009

• HISD's Customer-Service Survey: Some Highlights

  ​The Houston school district has released a new "customer satisfaction" survey, where parents and the general Houston population were asked to rate various aspects of the district.Officials are crowing because many of the ratings increased -- "The results of a new survey conducted earlier this year show a marked increase in the percentage of people whose impression of the Houston Independent School District is positive," spokemsna Norm Uhl said. "The overall opinion among parents and the gener

  August 10, 2009

• HISD Set To Pick Old White Guy For Next Superintendent?

  ​The Houston Chronicle is reporting that HISD seems to have settled on Terry Grier, of the San Diego school district, to be its next superintendent. They have the sources over there, so we're inclined to believe it.Earlier this afternoon HISD spokesman Norm Uhl sent out word that the supe pick would not be announced today or at the board's morning meeting tomorrow, but he said "it is anticipated that the board WILL take action either tomorrow afternoon or Monday." So the process was clearly co

  August 19, 2009

• HISD About To Hire Its Superintendent, And Some Critics Emerge

  ​We have word from HISD spokesman Norm Uhl that the district might officially name the new superintendent at 2 o'clock. If the choice is Terry Grier, as it's been reported, some people are already unhappy. (Update: It is.) "I'm very disappointed in the board," State Sen. Mario Gallegos, who serves on the state's Committee on Education, told Hair Balls. "It makes me wonder what kind of kool-aid they're drinking over there when they interviewed him."Gallegos says that Grier's history at his prev

  August 20, 2009

• How Many Brave HISD Parents Refused To Let Their Kids's Brains Be Rotted By Obama? Not Many

  ​HISD is releasing some scattered statistics on how many parents sent in "opt-out" forms so their children could remain God-fearing Americans instead of becoming Communist by listening to a president tell them to stay in school.District spokesman Norm Uhl  says no survey of the district's 300 or so campuses will be conducted, but he has gathered some anecdotal evidence."Opt-outs range from none at Carnegie Vanguard, Mading Elementary, Frost Elementary and Thomas Middle School to 300 opt-o

  September 8, 2009

• One More (Depressing) Statistic On That Very Controversial "Stay In School" Presidential Speech

  ​The Houston school district provided some anecdotal evidence of how many parents ordered their kids not to watch President Obama's speech on education (Westside represent!!), but we wondered if there was a little more info to be gleaned.The district put up on its website a link to a form that could be printed, filled out and taken into school. Of course, parents not aware of the online form could probably have simply sent in a note to school officials saying "I'm a closed-minded Fox viewer an

  September 10, 2009

• Millions & Millions On School Improvements Getting Voted On Today: You Getting Any?

  Photo courtesy HISD​The Houston school board plans to vote later today on $121.5 million in school improvements over and above the projects approved in the 2007 bond election.Because each of the nine trustee districts has exactly the same amount of overcrowding/undercrowding and facilities in need of repair, the tubful of cash will be evenly divided. Each trustee is getting $13.5 million for his or her district.How are they spending it? Here's what HISD spokesman Norm Uhl says are the highligh

  September 10, 2009

• Opting Out on Obama

  September 17, 2009