$250k grant to help school kids deal with feelings
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Students at eight local schools are a lot more in touch with their feelings these days, and they know how to deal with stress. Now, due to the success of the program that taught the kids these life-changing skills, it's expanding to even more schools.
The initiative launched last year to reimagine and transform El Paso schools just received a hefy grant of $250,000 to expand and help even more students. The $250,000 grant was secured by CREEED and the El Paso Community Foundation from the Prentice Farrar Brown and Alline Ford Foundation. The El Paso School Design Collaborative, launched by CREEED and El Paso Community Foundation in partnership with the national education organization Transcend, previously brought together eight El Paso elementary schools to build student-centered programs that help support the social emotional needs of students, while improving their academic growth.
This year, with support from the Prentice Farrar Brown and Alline Ford Foundation, the El Paso School Design Collaborative will help sustain programs at O'Shea Keleher Whole Child Academy, Congressman Silvestre & Carolina Reyes Elementary School, Jose Alderete Middle School, Carroll T. Welch Elementary School, Gonzalo & Sofia Garcia Elementary School, and Jose H. Damian Elementary School and expansion to Clint Junior High School and Clint High School.
As with the first cohort of the El Paso School Design Collaborative, the second cohort began with listening sessions that included parents, students, administrators, educators, counselors and college advisors, former students, and other community members to discuss the issues impacting the social and academic outcomes of students in local schools and brainstorm solutions to support the wellbeing of all students.
The schools have embarked on a 10-month journey of gathering data about the needs of their students, imagining and re-imagining solutions, and implementing a model that involves every adult on campus in student success. At Carroll T. Welch Elementary for example, kids aren't just seen by their teacher, but every dault on campus gets involved.
"Cafeteria managers! They know every single student! Your security guards, attendance clerk. really it was learning how do we learn these things from students///help regulate a student from the time they get on the bus to the time they leave, says Nadia Tellez, with C.R.E.E.D.
Clint ISD Director of Student Counselors Angie Bailon says ,"When they're feeling big feelings, we can't access the brain. If they're coming with all this baggage we can't reach the goal. We've figured out the formula, and we don't want to keep the secret here."
That's why the community is taking notice. The rest of the country will soon, as well.
"We're very excited that within the next year, the school that we're standing in today will be a lab school and the exemplary model across the country, says Stephanie Otero, with the El Paso Community Foundation. "We need to make sure that both our students are successful and we have happy healthy successful teachers and this school announced it has 100% retention, which is amazing."
Clint Junior High and High School will be starting the program soon.
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