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a quarterly newsletter for Communities In Schools of Central Texas employees
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Message from Suki
Hello everyone!
We are having a real winter this year. Does that mean fewer bugs this summer or just more shivering this month? Although we are well into January, I hope you had a wonderful winter break and celebrated with people you love and who love you.
THANK you to everyone who helped with, shopped for, distributed, collected signatures for, delivered or otherwise helped with holiday assistance. What an effort! Glad we got those Coats for Kids out before the cold snaps and that multiple families with bigger needs got the help they needed through our client assistance fund.
CIS team members Max Casero and Sharon Vigil travelled to DC the first week of January because they were selected to be on CIS National's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion workgroup. That's so exciting, and parallel to work we've gotten started here. Max is chairing our Equity Collective - the standing CISCT committee dedicated to ensuring inclusion at all levels in CIS, and Sharon's master's degree is in multicultural education - so we have two energetic folks helping National which in turn will help us to grow in this area!
I met with a donor the other day and found myself explaining client self determination and empowerment to them. It is just a single word in our mission (
empower
them to stay in school), but a heady concept! Thank you for working with kids, parents and faculty to empower our students. I think it's going to be my word for the year. You know, like a new year's resolution, but more a word to keep in focus. Maybe we will get a third snowfall and I can write it out on my front lawn (be careful what you wish for).
Right alongside empowerment is the word that filled my ears when I first started work at CIS - resilience. All of your relationships, services, supports and engagement with students help to build their resilience and that is the gift of a lifetime. It's why so many of us come to CIS and believe so deeply in this work which pays dividends for generations to come. So, so proud of our mission and our work!!
Next week, I'm going to Houston to a long meeting about putting Students at the Center (through aligned systems) and I'm sure I'll learn a lot. But I also think that we are quite expert at putting students at the center. We do it every single day. Thank you!
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Carolyn Moreau celebrates 10 years at CIS
CIS Program Manager Carolyn Moreau says that o
n a typical day at Rodriguez Elementary, she works with students individually and facilitates groups, including her 5th grade boys lunch bunch group focusing on friendship skills, a Barking Book Buddies group for 4th graders who read to therapy dogs, and the "Stressless" 5th grade group that focuses on coping skills. She says, "In between group and individual work, a parent may call in need of a resource or a school staff member may need help with a student in crisis. Each day is a whirlwind of activity, and fun."
When Carolyn is not working, she enjoys
yoga, hiking, live music, and likes to travel whenever possible.
Carolyn says the one word she would use to describe Communities In Schools is connection, explaining, "No
matter what is going on with the students, making a connection is so important, letting them know you care about them and are there to support them." Thank you Carolyn for your dedicated service!
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CIS XY-Zone Program Kicks off Live In Peace Week at Austin's MLK Day March
On January 15, i
n honor of Martin Luther King Day, and to kick off Live In Peace Week, CIS took a group of students to Austin's annual community march, which celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy while uplifting diversity and multiculturalism in our community.
During Live In Peace Week, XY-Zone students lead service projects on their campuses to raise awareness about violence in schools and communities, and to promote peaceful interactions and safe environments. Activities include campus-wide peace pledges, and events to engage their classmates in a dialogue about preventing and resolving conflict.
Live In Peace Week gives students in the XY-Zone program an opportunity to further explore and demonstrate tenants of the Five R's - Respect, Responsibility, Relationships, Role Modeling, and Reaching Out.
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Board Member Spotlight: Octavious Bishop
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Octavious Bishop received a football scholarship in 1994 to the University Texas at Austin where he lettered four years and started three years on an offensive line that blocked for Heisman trophy winner Ricky Williams. He was an All Big Twelve performer, and received free-agent contracts to play in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders. Octavious was a standout offensive lineman during the 2000 NFL Europe football season, and played for the Chicago Extreme in the XFL.
After retiring from football, Octavious returned to the University of Texas at Austin where he earned both a BA and Masters Degree in the Science of Social Work. Octavious is a PhD candidate in Neuropsychology. He worked for The University of Texas football academics department for three years as an educational mentor and tutor, and is a former CIS volunteer, intern, and XY-Zone Coordinator.
CIS of Central Texas welcomed Octavious to the Board of Directors in 2017. To read more Board Member bios, visit
ciscentraltexas.org.
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Trauma Training at Sims Elementary
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On December 19, Sims Elementary Program Manager Emily Brooke facilitated her first Trauma Training for a group of seventeen faculty members during a professional development day on campus. Emily and her school's interim principal, Renee Conley, worked to schedule the training immediately before a campus climate training so that what teachers learned about working with children who have experienced trauma would offer a lens through which they could view campus climate as well as adhering to the school's Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports expectations.
Ms. Conley incorporated the "window of tolerance" concept from the CIS training when she spoke to teachers. Students can more easily stay in control and within their "window of tolerance" when feeling safe and supported. Otherwise, traumatic experience and triggers can cause a student's brain to perceive danger, kicking in the flight or flight or freeze response. When this happens, students aren't able to think logically and that is why they may suddenly "snap" or lash out in anger. Understanding the window of tolerance and helping students stay in that space can help with classroom behavior management.
Providing trauma training for educators is an example of a school-wide support provided by Communities In Schools to benefit all students on a campus. The training video is also available for free for educators on the
CIS website.
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AmeriCorps Members MLK Day Service Project
On January 13, CIS
AmeriCorps
members participated in Martin Luther King Day of Service projects. Members painted a mural at Cook Elementary, made quilts to give to Casa Marianella, Project Linus, and SAFE, and helped prepare CIS kite workshop materials.
Our AmeriCorps members serve tirelessly each day, making a difference in the lives of Central Texas youth through service. Through each small, individual act, in each hour of service, members improve the lives of those they serve, helping to drive our community toward Dr. King's vision of a world without poverty, hunger or homelessness.
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Introducing the CIS PAL team
Back in August, CIS of Central Texas began the Peer and Agency Leadership (PAL) pilot initiative. A group that includes Program Managers, an XY-Zone Coordinator, and a SmartKids Coordinator were selected to participate - Christy Mitchell, Stephanie Hooton, Mari Gamez, Krista Dusek, Allison Quinones, John Orr and Lindsey Knowles.
Members of the PAL team meet with new Program Managers, XY-Zone Co
ordinators, and SmartK
ids Coordinators to provide training, support, and job shadowing.
PAL team members are also providing agency-wide leadership. Examples of their work include representing CIS on school district committees, developing staff training, facilitating training events, chairing CIS committees, and hosting CIS campus visits.
Initial feedback on this initiative has been very positive. This group has great passion for their work and their unique skills are appreciated by both CIS leadership and by their peers. The CIS PAL team is #allinforkids!
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Do you have a story idea for the next edition of
Staff Connections?
Click here to email photos, story ideas, and suggestions or use
this form to submit a campus/program spotlight.
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