Community Partnership
An exceptional project funded from the grant was started in Chapel Hill ISD this year. “Bulldog Bonding Boxes” created by Parent & Family Coordinator, Crystal Binning, sent home 1,700 educational boxes over Thanksgiving break. This took an incredible amount of organization and coordination with staff and the community. More boxes are set to go out during Spring Break. The boxes include supplies and directions for completing an experiment or activity. The Bulldog Bonding Boxes serve several purposes including strengthening family bonds, encouraging creativity, and reinforcing learning.
The Bulldog Bonding Boxes have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from parents. Many parents appreciate the program’s focus on family engagement and said the activities were easy to implement and enjoyable. Not only do the boxes provide an avenue for the students to continue to learn during school breaks, but the families are also spending meaningful time together.
or more information regarding the Community Partnerships grant, please visit the TEA Community Partnerships website or email communitypartnerships@tea.texas.gov.
Carroll Sadler: Community Partnerships Specialist
Safe and Supportive School Program
Each public school district and open enrollment charter school is required to ensure that each campus is served by a Safe and Supportive School Program (SSSP) team and that the team develops and implements a SSSP. This month we are spotlighting the Data Reporting component of the SSSP. In accordance with TEC §37.115(k), SSSP teams are required to annually submit a report of their activities to the TEA for each campus the SSSP team serves. Until the TEA Sentinel system is fully deployed, it is strongly recommended that LEAs have procedures in place for the collection, maintenance, and storage of data regarding the activities of the Safe and Supportive School Program team(s) for each campus. Data for the 2024-2025 school year will be reported through the TEA Sentinel system during the reporting window. A copy of the data reporting questions can be found on the TEA Safe and Supportive Schools webpage.
Questions regarding the Safe and Supportive School Program can be addressed to safeandsupportiveschoolprogram@tea.texas.gov.
Hank Weikert: Director of Student Supports Implementation Team
Stronger Connections
Quarter two data for the SCG FOI is available on the ESC’s data dashboard. We encourage awardees to use this data to drive FOI check-ins, implementation evaluation, and as a method to capture data that can drive sustainability conversations with your district leadership and school boards. TCSS is on the road visiting all 20 ESCs delivering Student Support Framework (SSF) Diagnostic feedback sessions with the 99 awardees. This will position awardees to engage in the SSF readiness check or diagnostic pilot beginning March 2025. Finally, the TEA and TCSS are working to develop post-climate survey supports based on the data collected November 2024, namely pathways to bullying prevention.
The ESCs have hosted incredible roadshow sessions for their regional awardees! It has been very valuable hearing from campus and district leaders their feedback on the SSF diagnostic. Your insights and expertise are incredibly valuable.
For more information about Stronger Connections workstreams, please visit the TEA webpage and the Texas Center for Student Supports webpage. Questions can be sent to sarah.mccaslin@tea.texas.gov.
Sarah McCaslin: Stronger Connections Grant Specialist
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