I45 Project Moving Again

I just received this email from Jim Weston of the I45 Coalition. If you're new to the neighborhood or haven't been following this development, PLEASE READ! 

This project WILL have a major impact on our community. Participating in these meetings is the way we can all decide of that impact with be positive or negative. It's amazing how much work our friends and neighbors have already done and how community involvement has changed the scope of the project, but there is still much work to be done. We can't let TxDot think we have become complacent, so PLEASE join me and your other neighbors for the next round of public meetings!

TxDOT is starting to roll again on the I-45 project! 

TxDOT has just scheduled the 3^rd round of public meetings to be held Thursday, Nov 14 at Aldine Ninth Grade School, 10650 North Freeway & Tuesday, Nov 19 at Jeff Davis High School, 1101 Quitman. Both meetings will be open house format from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

As a brief recap to remind you where we are ... because it has been a while:

TxDOT wants to ‘improve’ the I-45 Corridor to alleviate current traffic and plan for future traffic.

1)      TxDOT held its 1st Public Scoping meeting in November 2011 to hear from the public on what to do in the I-45 corridor. 

After analyzing the input from the public from that meeting:

2)      TxDOT held its 2nd Public Scoping meeting in October 2012. TxDOT broke the project into 3 segments: Segment 1 (Beltway 8 to 610); Segment 2 (610 to I-10); and Segment 3 (Downtown Loop System).

Each segment had 6 Preliminary Alternatives for a total of 18 alternatives for all 3 segments.  TxDOT was to determine the 3 most popular alternatives for each segment (for a total of 9) from evaluating the responses from the public.

Supposedly, “Within 2 months following each meeting, a report from TxDOT summarizing public comments and responses will be made available to the public”.

 After the 1st Public meeting, it took 10 months for the public comments to be available. After the 2^nd Public Meeting, it took TxDOT a full year to post the comments .. it just went up this week!

TxDOT has also just announced the 3^rd Public Meeting  in November 2013 (mentioned above).

3) This 3rd Public Meeting – is where they will announce the 3 alternatives for each segment (for a total of 9) and we, the public, will choose the final “winner” in each segment.  So this is a VERY IMPORTANT MEETING!  The results from this meeting will determine how & where the I-45 corridor will proceed!  Please mark your calendars now & plan to attend in November!  I do not know which 3 alternatives in each segment received the most favorable input at this time.  However, within the next 30 days, the I-45 Coalition will be evaluating all comments to determine which alternatives appear to be most favored.

You can find all the details of the 1^st Public Meeting & the 2^nd Public Meeting on TxDOT’s website for this project -www.IH45Northandmore.com.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE plan on attending either of the two upcoming meetings (they both should be identical) so you can (1) hear firsthand from TxDOT what they say are the 3 favored alternatives in each segment & (2) make an informed decision as to what you feel should be the final alternative!

If you made a comment & submitted it to TxDOT after the 2^nd Public meeting, I would suggest that you check to make sure your comment is ‘on the record’, by going to TxDOT’s website & checking.  All comments are indexed, so it should be easy to find. If it is not recorded, or not accurate, please let me know.

If you are not on the I-45 Coalition email list, please add your name by going to www.I-45Coalition.org and sign up.  You can also find us on Facebook.  Once on our list, we will notify you of any updates, meetings or changes to the project.   Also if you would like to attend our Steering Committee meetings, just let us know!

Please get involved and/or stay involved!  This is important.  These decisions will affect you, your family, your home or business & your neighborhood. If you ever use I-45 or have any concerns about what will or will not be done on I-45 ... you need to be involved!

Thanks.

Jim Weston

I-45 Coalition

jim@I-45Coalition.org

See you then!

Learn Local and Big Changes At Hogg

Well.... this blog has had some trouble waking up from it's summer nap. I can't even say I'm ready to really get back to it but some news is too good not to share!

Hogg Middle School. Photo: edutopia.org

As always, people in the Heights are willing to work to make their community everything they think it can be. Schools have always been a big focus for any neighborhood and the Heights has many urban pioneers who poured a lot of heart and soul in to making Travis and Harvard elementaries outstanding public school options. Middle school, however, has been a struggle. While Hamilton has thrived, Hogg has languished. Low enrollment and administrative turn over have left parents skeptical of the school. There were parents who tried to get involved but had trouble working with the school, especially when there were 3 new Principals in 3 years prior to 2011. 

Finally, in 2011, enter Dr Mina Scnitta. In just two years, Dr Scnitta has started an amazing turn around at Hogg. In addition to the amazing work she has done with her administration, Dr Schnitta has opened the school up to the community and has welcomed their involvement. Personally, I already know families who are ready to send their Harvard/Travis/Helms students to Hogg in a few years. 

Check out this list of what Dr Schnitta and Hogg have accomplished in just two short years:

■ Hogg Middle School recently achieved authorization as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. This makes Hogg, along with Lanier, one of only four authorized IB middle schools in HISD. (read more about IB certification for Heights schools in this THL post)

■ Hogg's enrollment has increased by 100 students over a one-year period. 

■ Applications to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) magnet program at Hogg increased by 72% for the 2012-13 school year. Students in the STEM magnet program learn hands-on by launching hot-air balloons (6th grade), creating straw rockets to learn principles of aerospace engineering (7th grade), and building mousetrap vehicles, catapults, and trebuchets (8th grade). 

■ Work will begin soon on $9 million in renovations, including brand-new science labs and major infrastructure improvements at Hogg. The work will include upgrades to the school's mechanical and electrical systems, improved interior finishes, new lighting, restroom upgrades, and more. Through bond funds, HISD is investing in the future at Hogg.

■ In addition to the general education track, Hogg offers the Pre-Advanced Placement (Pre-AP) curriculum to challenge students and prepare them for the Advanced Placement courses offered in high school. Hogg offers Pre-AP classes for each grade level in the four core subject areas: Math, Science, English Language Arts, and Social Studies. 

■ Hogg offers the following classes for high school credit: Algebra, Concepts of Engineering (the 8th grade STEM magnet class), Spanish, Art 1, and Journalism.

■ An overhaul of the Hogg library is nearly complete. The budget was roughly $30,000 for new books alone. The library also has 16 new computers, and plans are in the works for a relaxed seating area to give students an inviting space for reading and studying. 

Great things are happening at Hogg and Heights families are watching it! A group of parents with Harvard and Travis have started a group to support and facilitate needed changes at Hogg. Creating a group called "Learn Local," these parents have a mission to "Establish a bridge for our children between our successful Heights neighborhood elementary schools and Hogg Middle School, an IB World School and STEM campus, enabling progression within our strong, unique community." The first Learn Local meeting was held on August 20th at the school with Dr. Scnitta. It was an amazing collaboration of over 40 parents from Harvard and Travis. Also in attendance were Anna Eastman, HISD District 1 Trustee; Michele Pola, HISD Chief of Staff; Ms. Berger, Reagan Principal; Mr. Day, Travis Principal; and Mr. Beringer, Harvard Principal. The group discussed the obstacles that families need to over come to make it their "neighborhood middle school of choice," and over the coming months they will work to create a plan "to break down those barriers." 

If you want to keep up with what this group and the school are working on, check out their 'Learn Local' Facebook page to learn more: www.facebook.com/LearnLocalatHogg

Want to see Hogg in action? Learn Local tours are being scheduled now and will eventually take place regularly on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month at 10 a.m. Interested families can also tour at their convenience. Please contact Dr. Schnitta, at 713-802-4700 or mschnitt@houstonisd.org to set something up.

Upcoming tour dates:

■ 'Learn Local.' tour, Tuesday, October 8 at 10 a.m.

For this tour only, RSVP to learnlocal.hogg@gmail.com

■ Tuesday, October 15 at 10 a.m. 

■ November 4-8, HISD Magnet Awareness Week, tours daily at 1 p.m. 

This is such exciting progress for the community. This is not only great for parents of Harvard and Travis kids, but for all kids zoned to Hogg and the students already enrolled at the school. All of our community students deserve an amazing education, so many, many thanks to Dr Mina Scnitta for believing in our school and sticking with it!

Rewind: Proctor Park

Recently, the City Of Houston closed serval park clubhouses and public pools. None were "safe" and any was just as likely to get closed as the next. A group of parents from all over the Heights, as well as State Rep Jessica Farrar, all wrote letter on behalf of the wonderful Pam Foote and Proctor Park. This park is more than just a play place. It is central to life and community in the Proctor Plaza/ North Norhill neighborhood. It is also a favorite of families from all over the Heights and even outside the Heights. There is truly something special about it!

Whether our letters made an impact or not, we can't really know. What we do know is that Proctor will remain open and staffed. In celebration I am bringing back another early post from this blog, which talks about Proctor Park and it's role in the neighborhood.

Before the Proctor reboot, I do want to add that the only other Heights area parks to be effected are Love Pool, which is being closed, and Milroy Park, which will have reduced clubhouse hours. According to this Click2 Houston report, the Mayor based these decisions on usage. I am surprised, then, to see Cherryhurst in Montrose on the list. That is an amazing park that is all well attended when I get south of I10 with my own kiddos.

This little quote also baffles me:

All city-funded youth sports leagues are being eliminated, officials said. However, youth baseball will continue due to funding provided by the Houston Astros.

It's not like sports keep kids out of trouble or anything. Now we'll be spending money cleaning up mischief rather than letting kids do something productive with their summer. Makes perfect sense. Ugh. Well, I digress. Here's Proctor:

When we were house shopping several years ago, we did it with an eye toward raising a family. We found the perfect neighborhood for us- Proctor Plaza. There were so many things that appealed to us about the area. Knowing we would likely sacrifice green space for square footage, public areas were of particular interest. We were thrilled to find a roomy bungalow just 2 blocks from a public park. I knew that I wanted to be near a park, but I had no idea how central the park would become to my life as a stay-at-home mom of a toddler.

Proctor Park is nestled snugly in to the middle of the Proctor Plaza neighborhood, better known to many as North Norhill. The park is a full city block complete with community center and is a hub of activity for our little neighborhood, as well as a destination for families from all over the Heights. Gifted to the neighborhood in 1924, a sign near the path states the purpose: “so that the kids would have a place to play.” Simple enough!

Daily, from morning ‘til the sun goes down, families like mine are making the most of Proctor Park. However, neighbors say this wasn’t always the case. A large covered area, now a learning ground for new bikes and a canvas for sidewalk chalk artists, was once a basketball court. The local lore is the court attracted people from outside the neighborhood- people who didn’t care that this was a quiet subdivision beginning to blossom with young families. The players brought drinking, drugs and general bad behavior, usually leaving the trash of their habits behind. Fights broke out often and the police were often "invited" by neighbors. Parents never felt safe bringing their young children by. Prompted by concerned members of the Proctor Plaza Neighborhood Association (PPNA), the park took the hoops down and change came quickly. Seemingly overnight, it became the park we now know and love.

Spending a lot of time at the park and being active in my neighborhood association, I learned an interesting fact: parks in Houston get funding based on use. While this park has been highly used by families since the hoops were removed, there was no one really working on the park’s behalf. Enter Pam Foote, Proctor’s Recreation Supervisor since 2005.

Pam came to our little park after 15 years at the Mecca of Houston Parks, Memorial Park. Under Ms Pam’s watch, a Park Advisory Council, or PAC, called Friends of Proctor Park was formed. Every park in the city can have one, but Pam is certain Proctor’s is the best. The PAC does fundraising and also hosts events that get the park exposure. In the two years since the PAC was formed, the park has hosted annual events like an easter egg hunt and a fall festival. The park also hosts the neighborhood wide Heights Kids’ Group every Monday, PPNA monthly meetings and other special events. The flurry of activity is generating results- a fresh coat of paint on the playscape and new swing seats are just the beginning of what Pam and the PAC have in store!

In addition to being a fabulous playground, the park offer programs like a free after school program and free t-ball and soccer. For more information on any of these activities, call Pam @ 713.862.6907. [Edit: As stated above, these programs are no longer avaiable due to budget cuts]

Part of what makes this park so appealing to the families from all over The Heights is the air conditioned club house and working bathrooms. As any mom will tell you, access to a restroom can make or break a day at the park! The clubhouse has a small kitchen and can be rented out for events- stipulations include 30 days notice, fee of $90/3 hours use of facilities, plus the cost to hire security. Pam has even charmed a bargain out of one officer, who offers a discounted security rate for regulars at the park. Non-profits can use the facility during the week free of charge.

If you’ve never been by Proctor Park, it’s time for a visit. Play tennis, throw a ball to your dog or just relax in the grass. This is one of the most alive yet peaceful places where you’ll find The Heights at play!