FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: May 20, 2003
Number: nr 03-03
Contact: Nan Powers Varoga, 713-658-1881, ext. 14
nvaroga@houstonaplus.org

8th Graders Looking for Their Niche

Curious about what they could be when they grow up, about 500 8th graders will take a career aptitude assessment on Thursday, May 22 at Hogg and Hamilton middle schools in the Houston Independent School District.

Results of the assessment, called the Strong Interest Explorer, will help the students decide which theme-based academy at Reagan High School they want to enter next year after promotion from middle school.

The assessment will be administered at about 9 a.m. at Hamilton Middle School, 139 East 20th St. and about 10:15 a.m. at Hogg Middle School, 1100 Merrill.

Reagan has restructured its school into academies as part of the district-wide high school redesign initiative underway in all 24 comprehensive secondary schools in Houston ISD. Houston A+ Challenge and Houston ISD began the redesign, called Houston Schools for a New Society, in 2000 to restructure schools to increase personalization of the learning environment for improved instruction and student learning.

Each academy at Reagan includes a four-year course of study, which includes all core academic classes and courses related to the theme. Each academy also has multiple career pathways that each student could pursue after high school. The academies are called themed because they are not meant to lock a student into a major or career. All academy teachers plan collaboratively and integrate the theme into their instruction. The academies are Fine Arts, Business and Technology, Industrial and Engineering Technology, Healthy Sciences Technology and Magnet Computer Technology.

Before taking the assessment, the middle school students will visit with Houston Aeros mascot Chilly, who will meet them in their classrooms and pose for pictures. The Houston Aeros Charities director, Tara Null, has made a donation to Houston A+ Challenge to cover the cost of administering and analyzing the tests. Children and education are the main focus of the hockey teamís charitable giving program.

Houston A+ Challenge is an independent, public-private partnership working to improve student achievement in public schools.