HCC Central’s Early College High School principal named Outstanding School Leader by U. S. Department of Education
By HCC Central Public Relations
Dec 4, 2014
Melissa Jacobs-Thibaut, (pictured second from the left) principal of HISD’s Houston Academy for International Studies (HAIS) and one of HCC Central’s Early College High Schools, is the recipient of the prestigious Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership from the U. S. Department of Education.
Thibaut is just one of eight principals nationwide - and one of only two principals of high schools - to receive the Bell award. She was selected from principals of more than 300 National Blue Ribbon Schools, which the U. S. Department of Education annually recognizes as America’s top-performing public and private schools.
“I am honored,” says Thibaut, who has been principal of HAIS since 2009. “It’s all due to the hard work of our team of students and staff and the no-excuses attitude focused on student learning and success.”
“Congratulations to Principal Thibaut on this wonderful achievement,” said Dr. Cesar Maldonado, HCC chancellor. “She has demonstrated leadership, dedication to academic success and commitment to the goals and vision of Houston Community College.”
HAIS was named a National Blue Ribbon School in September 2014. To be selected as a National Blue Ribbon School, HAIS students met at least of the three following criteria: they tested in the top 15% in Texas in both reading and math; subgroups of students tested in the top 40% in the state, or HAIS students have a graduation rate in the top 15% of all high schools in Texas.
The HAIS curriculum includes Pre-AP, AP and college-level courses at HCC Central. As an early college high school, HAIS students have the chance to complete an Associate’s degree through HCC while simultaneously earning their high school diploma. Its 440 students, almost all of whom are African American or Hispanic, are required to take four years of a foreign language (Spanish or Mandarin Chinese), take a course in Model United Nations and create a portfolio of projects with a global perspective. The school offers students opportunities to study abroad.
“Thirty percent of our students receive an Associate’s degree before they receive their high school diploma. They travel around the world, and every kid has a laptop,” says Thibaut, a career educator who worked for the U. S. Peace Corps in Cape Verde and Mozambique from 1996 to 2001. “It’s all going on at this little place.”
To receive the Terrel H. Bell award, applicants had to go through a lengthy application process. First, the Bell award is only open to principals of National Blue Ribbon Schools. Recipients had to be nominated at the state level, then write three personal essays. Awardees also had to supply three supporting essays from a parent and a teacher at HAIS, as well as a school administrator from their school district.