News

Project GRAD Fine Arts students invited to display artwork during urban street festival.

These amazing kids represent the outstanding Fine Arts Programs of Houston's own Project GRAD and Crockett Elementary School. Read more...

Project GRAD Houston receives 2012 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders® Award

Bank of America Houston & Texas Market President, Kim Ruth and Project GRAD Houston Executive Director, Ann B. Stiles

Project GRAD Houston was honored as a recipient of the 2012 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders® award. Bank of America hosted a reception on March 19, 2013 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston to announce the 2012 award winners.

The Neighborhood Builders® award recognizes high-performing nonprofits that have made a significant impact in the community working in the bank’s priority funding areas of housing, jobs and hunger relief. The program pairs leadership training for executive directors and emerging leaders with a $200,000 unrestricted grant.
As we look to provide our community with important educational outcomes for low-income students and ensure universal, long-term results, Bank of America’s investment in our organization will enable us to continue performing our vital work. We change lives. By providing the keys to open doors of opportunity, over 1,550 children from Houston’s most challenged communities have graduated from college with the help of Project GRAD Houston.
Bank of America started Neighborhood Builders in 2004, and since that time, has awarded more than $165 million, recognized over 730 nonprofits, and trained nearly 1,500 nonprofit leaders.

Project GRAD Houston Scholars Visit Campus

"Project GRAD Houston gave me a great incentive to make excellent grades, graduate from high school and pursue higher education,” said Garza. “I am very ...
Read more...

Project GRAD Scholar wins national essay contest

Wheatley High School 11th grader and Project GRAD Scholar Juan Segura is one of 2 Houston area winners in The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America Congressional Seminar Essay Contest. Read more...

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) Glassell Art Program:

Generously sponsored by The Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation, this unique experience provides Project GRAD Fine Arts students with special visual arts classes that help develop advanced artistic abilities. Visit our Facebook page to view some pictures of the event.

2013 Sam Houston MSTC College & Financial Aid Night

Sam Houston MSTC's first College & Financial Aid Night on January 23 was a HUGE success! Close to 400 parents and students came out to the event. For most parents and students, the evening served as an introduction to higher education and afforded them the opportunity to speak with representatives from different colleges and universities. Parents also received valuable information on how to start preparing their children and their finances for college with the help of Project GRAD and Advise TX presentations. Read more...

THE 7TH ANNUAL CHILDREN'S SUMMIT: A Global Perspective on Texas' 83rd Legislative Session

Read more...

AT&T Provides Nearly $10 million in Funding to "Best of the Best" Organizations Across the Country including Project GRAD Houston

After a rigorous and competitive process, 47 schools and non-profits were selected from among thousands nationwide to share in nearly $10 million from AT&T. Read more...

Education Reform Conference: Extending Learning Time in Our Schools

CHILDREN AT RISK is proud to present our seventh annual education reform conference, with this year’s focus on extending learning time in our schools. This day-long summit brings together outstanding leaders in the field of education to discuss the strategy of extended learning time for public school reform. Read more...

Technology and Scholars Academy Host Career Expo for Project GRAD Students

The UHD Department of Engineering Technology and the Scholars Academy hosted a Career Awareness Expo on July 19 for students from Reagan High School and Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center.

Project GRAD’s STEM Engineering visit to UHD, arranged by Project Grad’s Regina Gee, Dr. Laurie Ballering, and Dr. Weining Feng, Associate Professor in Engineering Technology, and the Scholars Academy saw students actively involved in many major fields of study available within the College of Sciences and Technology. Students were given a tour of the Control and Instrumentation, Fire Protection, and Structure Analysis and Design labs with demonstrations and hands-on experiments. Read more...

Project GRAD Scholarship Recipient Wins New Car During Houston ISD's "Cool to be Smart" Celebration

Watch the video

KTRK Channel 13 Interview with Project GRAD Executive Director Dr. Ann B. Stiles and GRAD Scholar Francisco Rodriguez

Watch the video

Summer gives students jump on college

Outside, the Texas summer hangs thick and hazy, inviting indolent afternoon naps and languid laps in backyard pools. But inside windowless college classrooms, some students are building up a sweat in a more cerebral fashion. Read more...

A grand boost for Project GRAD

Franci and Jim Crane opened their swankienda for an educational evening on the benefits of Project GRAD complete with students working the room to shed light on the educational program. Founders Kathryn and Jim Ketelsen, H-E-B president Scott McClelland and Project GRAD executive director Ann Stiles welcomed guests to the cocktail party. Read more...

200 Project GRAD students to attend upcoming production of NPR's From The Top in Houston for free: http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/1334953726-Houston-Public-Radio-Raises-$1,170,864-in-Spring-Fundraising-Campaign.html

Project GRAD Houston receives CollegeKeys Compact Innovation Award

Awards recognize exemplary practices that expand options for low-income students. Read more...

L to R: Jaime Castaneda, Davis High School Principal, Dr. Ann B. Stiles, Project GRAD Houston Executive Director, and Paul W. Sechrist, College Board Board of Trustees Chair

GRAD Fine Arts program Participates in Houston PBS Channel 8 Pledge Drive

Project GRAD Houston Helps Propel High School from "Dropout Factory" to National Model

Jefferson Davis High School in Houston TX – the original GRAD site – has rocketed from last place in high school graduation rates to first among the district’s comprehensive high schools. The data, released this summer by the Houston Independent School District’s “Completion Status and Dropout Analysis,” records a dropout rate for Davis High School of 18% in 2006. By 2010, that rate had fallen to 3.4%, the best among 23 comprehensive high schools in the region. Few schools in the nation have seen those kinds of turnarounds. What happened?

Project GRAD Awards $3.1 million in Scholarships to over 775 HISD High School Seniors

In the photo L to R: Yates HS Senior Jalen McGhee, Davis HS Senior Linda Narvaez, Wheatley HS Senior Ja'Markus Jacobs,
Project GRAD Co-founders Kathryn and Jim Ketelsen, Project GRAD Executive Director Ann B. Stiles,
Sam Houston MSTC Senior Alicia Luna, and Reagan HS Senior Markus Sophus.

College scholarships were awarded to over 775 Houston Independent School District (HISD) students. For the 21st consecutive year, Project GRAD Houston awarded college scholarships to seniors from the 2012 graduating classes of Davis, Reagan, Sam Houston, Wheatley, and Yates High Schools. This year's graduates join over 6,000 other qualifiers who have enrolled in college with the Project GRAD scholarship since the program's inception in 1992, an investment of more than $24 million from Project GRAD Houston, the El Paso Corporate Foundation, the James P. Grizzard Foundation, LINN Energy, the Edgar and Mary Frances Monteith Education Fund, the Fayez Sarofim Education Fund, the U.S. Department of Education - GEAR UP Trust, and other community partners. "With 56 percent of all jobs in Texas requiring some sort of college education by 2018, and only 34 percent of adults in Texas currently having a degree, our students' college pursuits are an investment in not only their own futures, but also in the future of Texas," says Dr. Ann B. Stiles, Project GRAD Houston Executive Director.

Summer gives students jump on college

Outside, the Texas summer hangs thick and hazy, inviting indolent afternoon naps and languid laps in backyard pools. But inside windowless college classrooms, some students are building up a sweat in a more cerebral fashion. Read more...

Project GRAD celebrates 20 years

Supporters of Project GRAD Houston gathered at the sensational new Mediterranean-style home of Franci and Jim Crane to celebrate the milestones of the 20-year old organization founded by Jim Ketelsen, which has graduated 6,000 HISD students with scholarships. Read more...

A grand boost for Project GRAD

Franci and Jim Crane opened their swankienda for an educational evening on the benefits of Project GRAD complete with students working the room to shed light on the educational program. Founders Kathryn and Jim Ketelsen, H-E-B president Scott McClelland and Project GRAD executive director Ann Stiles welcomed guests to the cocktail party. Read more...

Project GRAD Houston receives CollegeKeys Compact Innovation Award

Awards recognize exemplary practices that expand options for low-income students. Read more...

L to R: Jaime Castaneda, Davis High School Principal, Dr. Ann B. Stiles, Project GRAD Houston Executive Director, and Paul W. Sechrist, College Board Board of Trustees Chair

GRAD Fine Arts program Participates in Houston PBS Channel 8 Pledge Drive

UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Each summer, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) hosts high school students who have been identified as being at risk for not completing high school, but who have expressed an interest in science. Read more...

Shell Advanced Math and Kenedy Foundation Liberal Arts College Institutes Inspire Reagan HS Student to Attend the University of St. Thomas

Students from Project GRAD Houston Fine Arts Program assist Mayor Parker as she officially opens ticket sales for Museum’s King Tut Exhibition

The world-class musicians of The Houston Symphony Orchestra take Project GRAD musicians behind the scenes:

Watch the Ch. 39 News story from our field trip on Friday to Miller Outdoor Theater
and...

the story from Fox 26.

Fewer college grants, scholarships due to budget cuts
HOUSTON (KTRK)

Governor Rick Perry praised lawmakers Tuesday for making what he called tough choices to keep Texas living within its means. We look at just one of those tough choices -- big cuts to college financial aid. Read more...

Project GRAD Celebrates 20 Years of Helping Students Live College Dreams
More than $20 million in scholarships have been given out since program’s inception

Since Project GRAD-Houston gave out its first set of $4,000 scholarships to 82 Davis High School students back in 1992, the 20-year-old program has contributed more than $20 million to making HISD students’ college dreams come true. Read more...

Scholarships Encourage College Enrollment

Several hundred students from Houston Independent School District will be rewarded with scholarships to attend college after graduation. Select 2011 graduates from Davis, Reagan, Sam Houston, Wheatley, and Yates high schools will be recognized at an awards ceremony Monday evening at the Cullen Theatre in Wortham Center. Read more...

Nonprofit Takes Aim at Graduation Rate
by: Bill Stamps

Tens of thousands of Houston area 12th graders are just days away from graduation. Unfortunately, too many won't be walking down that aisle. Bill Stamps talked with one group that's aiming to change that.

Project Grad Houston is a nonprofit group that basically has one goal: to put as many local students in college as possible. They do it with scholarship money, but they also work with the schools and the students.

Irving Reyna is a senior at Reagan High School in the Heights. He says project grad worked with him going back to his first day as a freshman. "Even before school started they were already telling you to work hard so that way you can get your four year scholarship. They also helped me fill out scholarships (and) the application to the University of Texas. I probably wouldn’t have made it through if it weren’t for Project Grad." Read more...

Speak Up: Tell the Senate to save Pell Grants

Once again, the U.S. House of Representatives has voted to balance the federal budget on the backs of low-income Americans. Read more...

April 6th: Public Education: A Mid-Session Report

Join ChildBuilders, CHILDREN AT RISK, Collaborative for Children, Houston A+ Challenge, One Voice-Texas, Project GRAD Houston, and United Way of Greater Houston on April 6th at the United Way of Greater Houston for A Mid-Session Report featuring the latest budget news from Austin, how school districts are responding, and what it means for children and families in the Houston region. Read more...

Teach Houston - Unlocking the Future

Mega 101 FM “Mi Comunidad”- Project GRAD Houston’s 7ma Convención Anual para Padres

Children advocacy groups lobby legislators
By Shamoyita DasGupta, Daily Texan Staff

Members from Children at Risk collaborated with other organizations to give a voice to children who are too young to vote for themselves, group members said. The organization hosted Children’s Advocacy Day for the first time at the Capitol on Thursday to allow participants to meet with legislators and encourage them to make children a priority this legislative session. The organization hosted the event to educate the community about children’s health, education, food and nutrition, human trafficking and access to health care. Read more...

Texas Association of Partners in Education Honors Project GRAD Houston and its Innovative Partnerships with the Alley Theatre and Shell Oil
Partnerships Improve Educational Outcomes for Public School Students

The Texas Association of Partners in Education (TAPE) honoured Project GRAD Houston, the Alley Theatre, and Shell Oil as leaders in developing innovative partnerships serving students from low-income communities in Houston Independent School District (HISD). The GRAD/Alley Theatre and the GRAD/Shell Oil partnership were both Crystal award winners, the highest award level. Read more...

Joe Angel Babb, Alley Theatre Director of Education & Community Engagement and Ann B. Stiles, Project GRAD Houston Executive Director Karen Labat, Shell Oil Social Investment Manager, Education and Ann B. Stiles, Project GRAD Houston Executive Director

Project GRAD Houston Develops Mentoring Program for First Generation College-Going Students. Read more...

Project Graduation Really Achieves Dreams (GRAD)

Project GRAD works to provide a quality public school education to at-risk children in low-income communities with the goal of increasing high school and college graduation rates. In order to achieve this goal, Project GRAD works with students beginning in kindergarten and throughout college by focusing on five programs that are implemented within and outside of the classroom. Read more...

HISD Alumni to Host College Conversations at Five Local High Schools
Former students’ return is part of Project GRAD Houston’s annual college awareness push

Alumni from five HISD high schools will be returning to their former campuses this week to share stories of their experience at college with current district students. “College Conversations” are a part of Project GRAD Houston’s annual college awareness push, and they will take place at five high schools: Davis, Reagan, Sam Houston, Wheatley, and Yates. Read more...

Project GRAD Houston Hosts 11th Annual College Awareness Activities at Five HISD Schools
Former Students Return to High School to Share College Experiences

For the eleventh consecutive year, Project GRAD Houston is hosting college awareness activities at five Houston Independent School District (HISD) partnering high schools: Davis, Reagan, Sam Houston, Wheatley, and Yates. Developed to promote college going habits for students, College Week supports GRAD’s mission to ensure a quality public education for students in economically disadvantaged communities, so that high school and college graduation rates increase. Read more...

Project GRAD Students Learn Advanced Mathematics at Rice University

The Rice University SchoolMathematics Project conducted a three-week advanced mathematics institute during June on the Rice University campus for high school students attending Houston-area Project GRAD high schools: Davis, Sam Houston, Reagan, Wheatley, and Yates. Read more...

Project GRAD Institutes Giving Students a Glimpse of College Life
On-campus experiences include career-planning and academic preparation

More than 1,300 HISD high-school students are getting a closer look at college life this summer, thanks to Project GRAD's College Institutes. Read more...

HISD Students Receive $2.8 Million in Project GRAD Scholarships
700+ graduating seniors come from Davis, Reagan, Sam Houston, Wheatley, and Yates

More than 700 graduating seniors from five HISD schools (Jefferson Davis, John Reagan, Phillis Wheatley, and Jack Yates High Schools, as well as the Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center) walked away with $2.8 million in college scholarships from Project GRAD Houston this year. Read more...

Project GRAD in the News...


Joe Angel Babb, Alley Theatre Director of Education & Community Engagement and Ann B. Stiles, Project GRAD Houston Executive Director		Karen Labat, Shell Oil Social Investment Manager, Education and Ann B. Stiles, Project GRAD Houston Executive Director