Results tagged “houstonfederation”

Good morning, Houston. Seriously, what is it with North Texas these days? Yesterday we had the story of the 18-wheeler full of human heads, and today there's the Fort Worth man who accidentally shot himself in both legs in his cubicle at work. According to police, the 47-year-old man put his .45-caliber gun into his jacket pocket Tuesday morning, then draped his jacket over the back of his chair at an insurance office. When...

Good morning, Houston. If you've ever been to Rich's, the dance club in midtown, you probably won't be surprised to hear that the crowd there Saturday was sporting "feather boas, glittering hair accessories, sparkling dresses and tutus." But exactly who was in the crowd might take you by surprise: It was a bunch of kids there for Baby Loves Disco, part of a national series of dance events that benefit childhood cancer research. (In...

Good morning, Houston. These days, when everyone and their dog has a computer, it's getting harder to remember the days when all "official" writing was done on typewriters. The practical modern typewriter was invented in 1868 by an engineer named Christopher Latham Sholes, but it wasn't until 121 years ago today — Sept. 14, 1886 — that George K. Anderson of Memphis got a patent for the typewriter ribbon. They were originally made of...

Good morning, Houston. Interested in cheering on the University of St. Thomas sports teams? Now you know what to call them: the Lions, the mascot university officials settled on last week. Actually, the lion isn't the mascot — that would be the Celt — but the lion will represent the Celt. Get it? The lion was chosen over the Irish Wolfhound and the Celtic helmet. Good choice, we'd say — though we'd like to...

Could perception of HISD's merit-based bonus program get any worse? Yes, of course: Today, most of the district's principals will be getting bonuses, with Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra taking home a whopping $67,000 in extra pay. As you might imagine, the news isn't sitting well with teachers and staff members who already feel slighted by the bonus scheme. At least 250 principals — that's 83 percent of the principals in HISD, according to the Chronicle —...

We're sure HISD officials are feeling like they've had enough problems with the district's merit bonus system — but here's one more they're having to deal with: Because of a computer glitch, teachers were overpaid an average of $745 in bonuses. And now district officials are asking them to give the money back. Oops! The computer error led 99 part-time teachers and instructional personnel to be paid as though they were full-time employees, meaning they...

So the $14 million performance-based bonuses handed out this week to HISD teachers and staff aren't going over so well, apparently — some teachers are hinting that they'll call in sick next week to protest what they say are inequalities in the bonus system, and Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra had to apologize yesterday for calling teachers who got big bonuses "the cream of the crop."

Tonight's 6 pm retreat-ish HISD board meeting will be mostly cholesterol and no visitors, since it is being held in a private dining room at Vic and Anthony's downtown. This doesn't cause much surprise, since the second item on the agenda is to "deliberate the duties of the Superintendent, staff, and Board members, Superintendent’s performance evaluation and consider compensation and contractual position, and Board/Superintendent relations." So amidst the famous Texas Ave. olfactory-awkward blends of rotting...

HISD trustees unanimously approved a new do-it-yourself cell phone policy yesterday that will allow each of the district's 305 campuses to make its own rules on whether or not mobile phones are allowed. The district hopes the policy will let schools set appropriate rules for phones, which they say are a distraction and an academic problem: "What we've seen with the use of cell phones is it's made principals and teachers equally miserable," said Gayle...

HISD will give annual bonuses to teachers whose students test well under an incentive pay program the school board adopted yesterday — one of the most aggresive such plans in the country. The bonuses could end up being over $3,000 for teachers whose students do exceptionally well on state and national standardized tests. "The eyes of the nation are upon us," Saavedra said after the vote, which followed a visit from University of Texas quarterback...