Houston ISD classes to begin on Sept. 11
Houston Independent School District
HOUSTON (FOX 26) - The first day of school for Houston Independent School District students will be Sept. 11, if weather and facility conditions permit. Houston ISD is the largest public school district in Texas and the seventh largest in the U.S. with more than 216,000 students and 283 campuses.
Principals and administrative staff are scheduled to report to their schools on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Teachers and other support staff will report to their schools on Friday, Sept. 8 to prepare to receive students. Houston ISD administrative buildings will reopen on Tuesday, Sept. 5 and employees will return to work on that day.
The district also announced it would be relaxing its school uniform policy until January 2018.
The Houston ISD Board of Education will conduct a special meeting at 4 p.m. Friday to discuss items related to Hurricane Harvey. Trustees will meet in the Manuel Rodríguez Jr. Board Auditorium at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center. The purpose of the special meeting is to discuss the district’s response in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Trustees will vote on the following three agenda items:
- Authorization for HISD for purchasing during crisis
- Approval of current and future donation to the HISD Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund
- Authorization for Superintendent Richard Carranza to accept a $1 million donation for the HISD Foundation from a private donor
- Approval for hourly workers to be compensated for the time Harvey forced schools to be closed
“We want to thank our community for coming to the aid of our students and being patient while we start the recovery process,” says HiSD Board president Wanda Adams. “We also want to thank everyone from around the country that has reached out to see how they can help HISD. It’s not about HISD right now. It’s about our community that’s stepping up to make sure the district is whole. There’s much work to be done. We want to ensure that the Superintendent and his team have all the resources they need to lead the district in recovering from this crisis."
“We are eager to get our students back into the classroom and learning. We want to provide the stability of a routine, as well as the three nutritious meals a day that so many of our families depend on,” said Houston ISD Superintendent Richard Carranza. “But we also need to be sure that our campuses are safe and that Houston’s infrastructure and roads are ready to handle transporting our students safely to school. Our team is currently assessing any damages to our more than 280 schools from Hurricane Harvey, and I want to thank them for their efforts.”
“Team HISD is working hard to get our campuses ready to accept students, and we greatly appreciate all the work they are doing for our children -- for Houston’s children,” added Adams. “We are a family, and together we are working to welcome our students back with open arms and provide them with a safe, nurturing learning environment in the wake of this devastating storm.”