JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
The Lackland Independent School District at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, one of 16 San Antonio-area ISDs, was recognized for the month of March as the Go Public Cool Schools winner contest.
The Go Public Cool Schools program, part of the Go Public initiative, is a marketing strategy Bexar County schools uses to share the special work that public schools do.
Lackland ISD primarily consists of military families constantly transitioning in and out of the district, according to Emily Duron, a Lackland ISD teacher. There are approximately 1,000 students attending school at the district’s elementary, junior and senior levels.
“Our main focus is to help new kids transition into a new school easily and quickly so they make friends and feel welcome and adjust so they can academically be successful,” said Duron.
Students, faculty and staff at Lackland ISD had a week to gather up votes about the district’s programs that make a difference for its transitioning population.
They used social media, texted potential voters and made a lot of phone calls, according to Jania Nicholson, a school counselor with the district. Each year about 25 to 30 percent of their population is new.
“Anything we throw their way, they just embrace it,” said Nicholson. “They love the challenge. They love to represent this school.”
The votes focused on three of the district’s programs: Student Council, Student to Student (s2s) and the Let’s Talk program. The Student to Student program received 1,100 votes, while the other two programs helped bring in a total of 1,945 votes for the district and the contest win.
“The three programs that they showcased showed how they care about each other,” said Lisa Jackson, executive director of the Go Public program.
The campaign began four years ago with a focus of getting positive stories about school happenings to a larger audience.
The goal of the Student to Student program is to make sure each student from a military family feels right at home, according to Madison Wright, a fifth grader at Lackland ISD.
“We basically bring them in; don’t make them feel like they are left out or don’t belong,” said Wright. “We make them feel like they’re part of us.”
“Our school has a comradery so we really know how to look out for each other and make sure that everyone at the school is well taken of,” added senior student Raul Rosales.
The students are being treated to something special for all their efforts.
“They work hard all year long so they’re definitely getting a spaghetti dinner,” said Duron.
Lackland ISD was featured on SA Live on local television station KSAT 12, who partners with the Go Public Cool Schools program.