Texas Border Business
Mission, Texas- As a part of efforts to combat the so-called COVID Slide, and also focus more on the social-emotional needs of students, Mission Consolidated Independent School District will be Capturing Kids Hearts as the 2021-2022 school year starts. Capturing Kids Hearts had been implemented years back in a few campuses.
“This is just the start of a journey that we plan to continue district-wide,” explained Dr. Carol G. Perez, superintendent. “This is about inspiring us to change our world through service and a culture of excellence in our district to help students and all of us be better versions of ourselves.”
Dr. Perez says Capturing Kids Hearts is about taking teachers who are passionate about what they do, and giving them the tools they need to engage and challenge students, and raise them to a higher level of performance. She says this will go well beyond just the teachers.
“We have been providing all our instructional staff, campus staff, and administrators with the first part of professional development over the summer,” said Dr. Perez. “As we begin the school year, we plan to provide professional development for all Mission CISD employees. While the core of Capturing Kids Hearts is about providing emotional support for students through our teachers, we are looking to make this part of the culture of our entire organization. Ultimately, we all serve students, no matter what position we hold in the district.”
The approach for teachers provides them with tools to build meaningful relationships with every student and colleague, create safe and effective learning environments, along with techniques for dealing with conflict and behaviors. For all other employees, the training focuses on supporting those efforts while also building more meaningful and productive working relationships.
Dr. Perez said this is just the start of the journey. We will continue to provide more professional development during the school year and then during future school years.
“We are so appreciative of the support given to us for this program by our Board of Trustees,” Dr. Perez said. “Their backing is instrumental in fostering and supporting our culture of excellence.”
