HOUSTON – Houston Independent School District, the largest school district in Texas, is just one week away from the start of school.
The district is scheduled to resume classes online on Sept. 8.
Connecting With Families
HISD wants to make sure every student in the district has what he or she needs to start the fall semester online. When this past school year ended, 207,000 students were enrolled in the district.
About a week and a half ago, close to 198,000 students were registered for virtual learning. District administrators said that is in close comparison to what they would see during a normal school year.
“Every day, we have hundreds of families and students enrolling, so I’m sure it’s up to close to where we need to be,” said Yolanda Rodriguez, HISD’s Interim Chief Academic Officer.
How HISD Is Reaching Out to Families
While it’s unclear how many families HISD hasn’t been able to connect with, educators from each campus are using every avenue possible to connect with parents, including by phone and social media.
“We have billboards around the city with information about how to connect with HISD to make sure your kids are enrolled,” Rodriguez said.
HISD Parent Surveys
HISD recently sent out a survey to parents to see how many plan to send their kids back to the classroom versus the number of families who plan to stick with online learning. Another survey will be sent out in early October, two weeks before in-person instruction is set to begin on Oct. 19.
Parents can always change their minds. District administrators ask that parents commit to a particular learning model per six-week grading cycle.
HISD Parent Hotline
HISD is encouraging parents with questions to use the district’s hotline. That number is 713-556-4636. They can call between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
