The palpable anticipation and excitement for the first snip into the future of the residents of Texarkana ISD is heavy in the air as teachers and administrators collect in downtown Texarkana.
On Thursday, Jan. 16, community members gathered at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly introduced Family Resource Center.
Texarkana ISD’s staff’s dedication to their students is public for all to see. After collecting data from staff members throughout all TISD schools, administrators worked behind the scenes to meet as many needs as possible for students and families of all ages.
“Principals and assistant principals on our campuses have been identified as team members,” project director Rebekah Wagner said. “They delegate out information, ‘students are needing resources, their families need help’, and that information is communicated back to me.”
From employment assistance and computer trainings to parenting classes and counseling services, TISD formulated several amenities to equip the public with.
“Baby resources are available, [along with] children’s rooms, pregnancy resources, case management, and support groups,” Wagner said. “In the future, we hope to expand and be able to provide more to the community.”
This long anticipated project was made possible through collaboration.
“A couple of years ago, a grant was introduced from the Texas Education Agency that made some of these services available,” superintendent Doug Brubaker said. “The power of collaboration is put on display throughout this entire process: the writers of the grant, those budgeting the funds, the organization that went into this resource center, and all of our community partners who are here today.”
The grant itself in name perfectly states the mission of the Family Resource Center.
“It’s funded by a grant called the Stronger Connections Grant, that gave us close to a million dollars, and that allows us to offer the services that we have here,” director of communication and marketing Kelly Bixler said. “The work everyone has put in shows our commitment to our families and community. When you take all of our community members as well as our district employees, our families, our volunteers, board of trustees and our students, we all join together and work towards a common cause.”
Although newly opened and moved in, board members and district staff plan to only locate in the current building temporarily and transition into a bigger space in the future.
“We’re renting this place for a year, and that is because all of the new schools that are being built, [will create space in] some of the old schools, and next year, the plan is for us to move into one of those,” Wagner said. “We didn’t want to wait to start a family center for a whole year and not be able to help people [for such a long time].”
TISD covers a large portion of Texarkana, therefore providing an option for a massive amount of families in need.
“We want the grant to benefit everyone, and we want to benefit the whole community, but we feel like the best way for us to do that is to focus on our families and our students,” Wagner said.
Not only does this new application provide assistance in a socioeconomic manner, it also forms a foundation that sets students up for success in an academic setting. The simplicity of providing to those in need is the first step towards forming an ideal community, where everyone involved collectively agrees that stronger connections make stronger families.
“If your basic needs are met, you can focus on learning and growing more effectively. If you have food to eat and feel good [about your situation], or have an opportunity to get a job and support your family, [you are empowered and therefore in a better situation to begin],” Brubaker said. “Stronger families produce stronger kids, and that extends so that they’re able to achieve more academically.”
