Energy Institute High School

Energy Institute High School

Energy Institute High School, the former Dodson Elementary School
Location
1808 Sampson Street
Houston, Texas 77003
United States
Coordinates 29°44′19″N 95°21′00″W / 29.738585°N 95.350070°W / 29.738585; -95.350070Coordinates: 29°44′19″N 95°21′00″W / 29.738585°N 95.350070°W / 29.738585; -95.350070
Information
Type Public high school
School district Houston Independent School District
Principal Lori Lambropoulos
Faculty 62
Grades 9,10,11,12
Enrollment 705 (2016-2017)
Website http://www.houstonisd.org/Domain/644
The HISD Central Region Office, the former Holden Elementary, initially housed Energy Institute (it is now the Arabic Immersion Magnet School)

Energy Institute High School is a magnet high school in East Downtown in Houston, Texas. It is a part of the Houston Independent School District. It is the first high school in the United States that has a focus on the energy industry.[1]

The district announced that the school would be created in the northern hemisphere spring of 2013. It opened in the former Holden Elementary School in the Houston Heights. There was 650 applicants for about 217 slots in the 2014-2015 9th grade class. In 2014 many area corporations offered assistance to the Energy Institute.[1] The Independent Petroleum Association of America is one such organization that has partnered with the school to provide mentors, field trips and monthly guest speakers.[2] The school is currently located in the former Dodson Elementary School in East Downtown.[3] It had moved there in the summer of 2014.[4] Dodson Elementary was formerly the second-largest elementary school serving the Third Ward.[5] The Arabic Immersion Magnet School opened in the former Holden/Energy Institute facility in the fall of 2015.[6]

Operations

Students are permitted to use smartphones during class time. This practice differs from most high schools. The school also permits students to listen to music during class as long as it does not impair the learning environment.The school focuses on project-based learning. This basically means that the learning style is all based on projects. Students practice their presentation skills, leadership skills and team-working skills.[1]

Current Campus

In order to emulate a corporate setting, the school district arranged for the school-style desks at Dodson Elementary to be replaced with group tables. Each classroom has a 70-inch (1,800 mm) television that is connected to the internet.[1]

New Campus Construction

Construction for Energy Institute's new school building has began in late-2016 and is expected to be completed in mid-2017. This 110,000-square-foot building will be built to hold over 800 students on 12 acres of land located along Southmore Boulevard at Tierwester. VLK Architects Inc. planned and designed the $37 million school based on professional corporate and industry settings. The school is designed for collaboration and focused study with three main multi-level buildings for project-based learning areas as well as a main courtyard to enlarge learning and social space.[7]

Corporate Partnerships

As a 21st century school, Energy Institute focuses on maintaining corporate partnerships to host field trips, provide guest speakers, and fund student activities. Partnerships include:

Curriculum

In order to earn the STEM and Multidisciplinary endorsements, all students are required to complete four years of engineering coursework as part of their elective credits. Students are offered 16 Pre-AP/Honors courses and 19 AP courses. Every subject taught in the school includes topics related to energy. The school is a project-based learning school meaning that it does not rely on standard school testing but instead, it relies more heavily on the use of group work projects. Each student has a laptop for his or her use.[1]

Student body

As of the 2016-2017 school year, 25% of the students are female. As of August 2016, there are 705 students enrolled at Energy Institute. Grade 9 currently has 198 students, Grade 10 has 209 students, Grade 11 has 157 students, and Grade 12 has 140 students. Of the student body, 61% are Hispanic, 22% are African American/Black, 13% are Caucasian, 3% are Asian or Pacific Islander, and 1% are other. The first graduating class will graduate in 2017. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Radcliffe, Jennifer. "Energy Institute thrives in inaugural year." Houston Chronicle. February 24, 2014. Retrieved on March 16, 2014. Available in The Indiana Gazette
  2. ↑ Abrahams, Tom. "New magnet school hopes to foster interest in energy industry at young age" (Archive). KTRK-TV. May 15, 2013. Retrieved on August 13, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Home." Energy Institute High School. Retrieved on March 19, 2015. "1808 Sampson Houston, TX 77003-5434"
  4. ↑ Blum, Jordan. "Debate over where to build Houston's energy high school flares up" (Archive). Houston Business Journal. July 3, 2014. Retrieved on March 19, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Elementary Schools (A-J)." Houston Independent School District. Retrieved on June 15, 2016.
  6. ↑ "HISD Board of Education approves creation of Arabic Language Immersion Magnet School" (Archive). Houston Independent School District. November 13, 2014. Retrieved on March 19, 2015.
  7. ↑ "New Energy Institute HS construction to start in first quarter" January 5, 2016. Retrieved on October 18, 2016.
  8. ↑ "COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS" Retrieved on October 20, 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.