Educate Midland

MY PLAN IS A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONCEPT THAT SHEDS LIGHT ON THE CULTURE OF SCHOOL READINESS. A SURPRISING PORTION OF EDUCATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING PARENTS, STUDENTS AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE DO NOT HAVE A WELL-ESTABLISHED VIEW OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE "READY" FOR DIFFERENT GRADE LEVELS AND DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES THROUGHOUT THE LEARNING PROCESS. THERE ARE EDUCATORS AND SCHOOL CAMPUSES IN MIDLAND COUNTY THAT EXEMPLIFY EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE TO STUDENTS AND THEIR COMMUNITY. AFTER A LENGTHY PROCESS OF IDENTIFYING AND NOMINATING SUCH REPRESENTATIVES, THE MIDLAND COUNTY EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION AWARDS EVENT WAS HELD TO PUBLICLY RECOGNIZE THEM WITH AWARDS SPONSORED BY LOCAL BUSINESSES AND FOUNDATIONS. IN A RECENT STUDY, WE FOUND THAT NEARLY HALF OF THE KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS AT MIDLAND ISD WERE NOT DEVELOPMENTALLY PREPARED FOR KINDERGARTEN. OF THE FIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DOMAINS ASSESSED, STUDENTS WERE MOST VULNERABLE IN THE DOMAINS OF SOCIAL COMPETENCE AND EMOTIONAL MATURITY. THESE SOFT SKILLS

NO PROGRAM SERVICES WERE CARRIED ON IN 2022

EDUCATE MIDLAND ACTED AS THE INTERMEDIARY FOR THE TEXAS REGIONAL PATHWAYS NETWORK (TRPN) BETWEEN MULTIPLE PARTNERS IN THE MIDLAND AREA THAT WERE AWARDED TWO CTE PERKINS RESERVE GRANTS. THESE GRANT FUNDS WERE USED FOR THE ENERGY INDUSTRY AND THE PUBLIC SERVICES SECTOR. THE ENERGY INDUSTRY IS THE DRIVING MECHANISM FOR THE ECONOMY IN THE PERMIAN BASIN WITH MANY COMPANIES HEADQUARTERED IN THE MIDLAND AREA. THROUGH COORDINATED COMMUNITY WORK OVER THE LAST YEAR IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PERMIAN STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AND PRIORITY MIDLAND, INDUSTRY AND EDUCATION PARTNERS HAVE RECOGNIZED OPPORTUNITIES TO ALIGN AND IMPROVE THE SYSTEMS THAT TRAIN AND PREPARE YOUNG PEOPLE FOR ENERGY CAREERS. THE "PETROLEUM ACADEMY" MODEL THAT IS CURRENTLY DEPLOYED IN MIDLAND ISD AND MIDLAND COLLEGE WAS ENHANCED/EXPANDED TO BETTER MATCH THE TEA ENERGY PATHWAY AND ALIGN WITH INDUSTRY STANDARDS. THE RAPIDLY GROWING ECONOMY IN THE PERMIAN BASIN REQUIRES A STRONG PRESENCE IN THE PUBLIC SERVICES SECTOR. LOCAL COMMUNITIES ARE EXPERIENCING CRITICAL SHORTAGES OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS (EMT), LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, AND FIRE FIGHTERS. COMPETITION BETWEEN OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE REGION HAS LEFT MANY OPENINGS IN THE SECTOR. MANY OF THOSE CURRENTLY FILLING POSITIONS ARE LOCALS WITH ROOTS IN THE AREA, SO A "GROW OUR OWN" PROGRAM IS FITTING. THE PUBLIC SERVICE PATHWAY IS FOCUSED ON MEETING PERMIAN BASIN EMPLOYMENT NEEDS BY INCLUDING ELEMENTS FROM THE LAW AND PUBLIC SERVICES PROGRAM OF STUDY.ACCORDING TO THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY (TEA) A 2019-2020 STUDY SHOWED ONLY 56% OF STUDENTS GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL NATIONWIDE ARE "READY" FOR COLLEGE, CAREER, OR MILITARY SERVICE. FOR THIS REASON, EDUCATE MIDLAND SERVED AS A CENTRALIZED HUB OF INFORMATION, RESOURCES, COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND MORE. THE MIDLAND COUNTY EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION AWARDS EVENT THAT IS TYPICALLY HELD ANNUALLY WAS REPLACED WITH A DRIVE-THRU FORMAT DUE TO COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS. EDUCATE MIDLAND STILL WANTED A WAY TO BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE EDUCATORS AND CAMPUSES THAT EXEMPLIFIED EXCELLENCE. THE AWARDS WERE SPONSORED BY LOCAL BUSINESSES AND FOUNDATIONS. THE EVENT WAS ORGANIZED BY VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY LEADERS IN COLLABORATION WITH EDUCATE MIDLAND AS IT SERVED AS FISCAL AGENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL PARTNER. IN A RECENT STUDY, WE FOUND THAT NEARLY HALF OF THE KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS AT MIDLAND ISD WERE NOT DEVELOPMENTALLY PREPARED FOR KINDERGARTEN. EDUCATE MIDLAND SERVED AS THE GUIDING INTERMEDIARY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TWO NEW SEL PILOT PROGRAMS, REINVENT: CHOOSE TO SUCCEED AND MINDFUL CLASSROOMS. REINVENT: CHOOSE TO SUCCEED IS A COLLABORATIVE MENTORING PROGRAM THAT EDUCATE MIDLAND HELPED TO DEVELOP AND NAVIGATE THROUGH COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS, ADOPTED BY AGAPE COUNSELING AND SUPPORTED BY MIDLAND HEALTH, MISD, UTPB, & WES PERRY TO PROVIDE MENTORING, GUIDANCE, AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT TO STUDENTS AT COLEMAN HIGH SCHOOL, AN ALTERNATIVE CREDIT RECOVERY SCHOOL OF MIDLAND ISD. THIS PROGRAM WAS AWARDED THE 2019 BEACON AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN COLLABORATION (COLLEGE, CAREER, & MILITARY READINESS). MINDFUL CLASSROOMS WAS IDENTIFIED AS A NEEDED PROGRAM IN OUR LOCAL SCHOOLS THROUGH THE MISD SCHOOL HEALTH ADVISORY COUNCIL, WHICH WAS CHAIRED BY OUR PROGRAM DIRECTOR. MINDFUL CLASSROOMS WAS FOUNDED BY JAMES BUTLER OF AUSTIN ISD AND IS IMPLEMENTED THROUGHOUT AUSTIN ISD. THE EQUIPPING OF OUR EDUCATORS WITH MINDFUL LEARNING TECHNIQUES WILL HELP CLASSROOOM MANAGEMENT BY REDUCING STRESS AMONG BOTH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. MINDFUL LEARNING HAS BEEN PROVEN TO ENHANCE STUDENT FOCUS, SELF-AWARENESS, AND SELF-DISCIPLINE, AND TO REDUCE STRESS AND ANXIETY. CURRENTLY, ALL MIDLAND ISD COUNSELORS, NURSES, AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS HAVE BEEN TRAINED IN MINDFUL CLASSROOMS. EDUCATE MIDLAND SPONSORED THE FOUNDER OF MINDFUL CLASSROOMS TO SPEAK AT THE MISD ELEVATE CONFERENCE IN AUGUST WHERE SEVERAL HUNDRED TEACHERS PARTICIPATED IN HIS PRESENTATIONS. THIS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP HAS RESULTED IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MINDFUL CLASSROOMS AT BOTH TRAVIS ELEMENTARY AND FASKEN ELEMENTARY CAMPUSES AS WELL AS THROUGHOUT MOST PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASSES IN MISD.