Officials from Humble ISD’s Woodland Hills Elementary celebrated the school’s 50th anniversary with a reception at the campus Nov. 12, according to a Nov. 8 post on the school's Facebook page.

Per the post, Woodland Hills Elementary alumni, current students and parents, and former faculty members were invited to tour the halls of the school for the celebration.

Some context: According to the school's website, Woodland Hills Elementary first opened in November 1975. The campus serves students in grades K-5, and Cindy Barker has served as the principal since June 2019. The school mascot is the raccoon and the school colors are red and white.

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Humble ISD trustees received an overview of the district’s turnaround plan for Jack M. Fields Sr. Elementary School after the school received its second consecutive unacceptable score in the Texas Education Agency’s A-F Accountability Ratings.

The details: Director of Accountability Sherita Wilson-Rodgers presented trustees with the overview during the board’s Nov. 11 meeting. According to previous reporting by Community Impact, Fields Elementary received a “D” rating for the 2023-24 school year and an “F” rating in the 2024-25 school year.

A closer look: Based on the guidelines given to the district by the TEA, Wilson-Rodgers said the district’s improvement strategy will focus on instructional leadership, data-driven practices and the implementation of high-quality instruction. Wilson-Rodgers said campus officials have already implemented Bluebonnet mathematics across every grade level to improve state testing scores.

What’s next: The district is required to submit its turnaround plan to the TEA by Nov. 21.

At the Nov. 13 meeting, Harris County commissioners are expected to vote on the county’s worksite safety policy that aims to standardize safety protocols countywide in order to reduce injuries and strengthen worker protections on authorized construction sites. 

Also on the agenda: Two agenda items on the docket are related to how the Harris County engineering department handles its permitting department. The commercial permitting process in Harris County is meant to ensure public welfare and safety, according to county officials. The engineering department will discuss utilizing artificial intelligence to increase efficiency.

Digging deeper: The agenda items come as some new Cy-Fair business owners have told Community Impact the road to opening a business is often paved with unexpected delays in the Cy-Fair area.

Also of note: Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey will also seek discussion and possible action to implement metrics on the permits division.

Harris County Commissioners Court meetings are now being held at 9 a.m. in Downtown Houston. 

A new mobile bookstore is rolling into communities across Greater Houston, offering readers a joyful way to shop, owner Christie Hopson said.

A closer look: Enchanted Chapters hosts weekend pop-up events at breweries, festivals and other local gatherings, Hopson said. The mobile bookstore carries a variety of genres from romance to fantasy, thriller, mystery and children's books.

For November, Enchanted Chapters will appear at events in Cypress, Tomball, Seabrook, Katy and Conroe. Hopson said the goal is to bring the joy of discovering books directly to readers.

Texas is the nation’s largest energy producer, leading other U.S. states in both natural gas production and renewable energy generation, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows. Yet as people, businesses and data centers continue to move to the state, experts say Texas leaders need to harness new strategies to make energy more affordable and ensure the state power grid remains reliable.

The details: Amid high inflation nationwide, energy prices are on the rise in Texas, and residents are feeling the strain, experts said at the Texas Energy Summit, which ran from Nov. 4-6 in Austin.

In a June 2025 report, the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute, a nonprofit research organization, found that 65% of low-income Texans recently engaged in “energy-limiting behaviors,” such as turning off their air conditioning to reduce electric bills or underheating their homes in the winter. 

What they're saying: Experts said state lawmakers and officials could invest in energy efficiency and residential demand response programs to tackle affordability and grid reliability issues.