Author Archives: HCDE Communications

Hogg Foundation for Mental Health is a long-time supporter of Harris County Department of Education’s annual Head Start Healthy Minds, Healthy Families Conference and recently awarded a $20,000 grant to HCDE to supply counseling services to Head Start children and their families. The Hogg Foundation envisions a future in which all people in Texas thrive in communities that support mental health, achieve health equity and promote well-being. As a result, they work to ensure that communities are informed.

Harris County Department of Education provides a myriad of programs and services including School-Based Therapy Services, serving more than 7,000 students each year who struggle with autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities and other challenges. Working on school campuses throughout Harris County, HCDE’s team of therapy specialists are highly trained to meet the unique educational challenges faced by these students—and help them achieve.

Typically, in this section of “The Link” we acknowledge a current member of the Education and Enrichment team; however, HCDE recently lost a champion of children’s mental health late this past year. We thought it fitting to recognize someone who spent 27 years at HCDE supporting children’s mental health needs.

Here is a list of upcoming events.

June 8, 2021 – 13015 – Capturing Kids’ Hearts!

June 23, 2021 – 13092 – Youth Mental Health First Aid Training

June 23, 2021 – 13037 – The Grant Budget: It’s Not Just About the Math

We created a feature section in the Link just for you. Tell us what you are reading and why. Post a picture on Twitter of you and the book that you are reading along with the title, author, and your district and tell us why you chose it!

Each month we will feature a few businesses where educators can stretch their dollars. This month we feature Museum of Natural Science Houston – find their customized field trip packages. It’s easy to visit any of their three locations – Hermann Park, Sugar Land, or the George Observatory – and customized field trip packages allow you to theme your day based on what you’re studying.

In this issue, we would like to recognize Orlando Reyna, the principal of S.F. Austin High School in Houston ISD and a 2014 graduate of HCDE Educator Certification and Advancement (ECA) Principal Academy. Principal Reyna is an innovative, transformational leader always laser-focused on his students and community. We caught up with Orlando to get his insights on leadership.