By Sion Firew
As the holiday season approaches, it’s wonderful to recognize the joy within one’s own life through family, community and giving. It’s also the perfect time to share personal blessings with others who may be less fortunate. During this week, National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, there are many opportunities to give back to the community and spread light to those who may not be looking forward to the holiday season. One opportunity that has changed the lives and filled the stomachs of many for the past 30 years is the Food For Families Food Drive on Nov. 22. This one-day food drive happens all over Central Texas and gives members of different counties and communities the chance to donate non-perishable food items to their local food pantries.
The Longhorn Council, Boy Scouts of America, H.E.B. Grocery Company and KWTX News 10 sponsor Food For Families annually the week before Thanksgiving, that way food pantries throughout Central Texas have plenty of food to offer the people during the holiday. In McLennan County, Caritas of Waco helps facilitate volunteer and donation services, making sure there are enough people on Nov. 22 to help collect the food items that were donated. The staff of Caritas also prepares their warehouse to receive a large influx of donations.
According to the KWTX website, the first Food For Families Food Drive in November 1990 collected 84,435 pounds of food. As this operation has grown over the past 30 years, Food For Families has become a collaborative effort bringing prominent organizations and businesses in Central Texas together. According to the KWTX website, in 2018 alone, 2,221,369 pounds of food were raised all over Central Texas. In McLennan county, 498,000 pounds of food were collected in 2016. This goes to show the power of community, caring and collaboration.
Buddy Edwards, the executive director of Caritas of Waco, talked about the importance of the food drive for his organization’s successful community engagement.
“Food For Families is really a critical aspect for operations of several food pantries here in our area,” Edwards said. “It helps us in terms of our direct assistance to people in need, [with] Waco having a very significant poverty rate, 25 to 30% of the Waco population living in poverty.”
He explained how the food drive has grown significantly since he started working at Caritas 10 years ago, and how this initiative allows his organization to reach members of his community personally. Edwards also emphasized the importance of teamwork in order to make this food drive grow throughout his time with Caritas. Through the efforts of the sponsors and other organizations, they have been able to spread awareness about not only Food For Families, but also the hunger and homelessness situation that Waco faces. While it’s important for the leaders of different counties and communities to support this event, it’s up to the members of these communities to donate, spread the word and volunteer.
This holiday season, share a blessing with the members of your community and take part in the Food For Families Food Drive on Nov. 22. While grocery shopping, you can purchase any number of non-perishable food items (canned meats, tuna, cereal, rice, peanut butter and more) and leave them at the doors with the volunteers. Help fight food insecurity by contributing to the food drive and filling the shelves of your local food pantry. When people come together for a common cause, lives can be changed for the better.
For more information, visit: https://www.kwtx.com/content/misc/Food-For-Families-448669003.html
Sion Firew is a communications intern at Prosper Waco. She is a Journalism and International Studies major at Baylor. She is the president of The East African Student Association and an Ambassador for the Baylor Journalism Department.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
Triple Win Apprenticeships build on authentic learning to create success for students and businesses
By Clay Springer
Following the wildly successful partnership between Rapoport Academy and Waco Pedal Tours, a new collaboration emerged to formalize the process of non-traditional apprenticeships and provide the space to reach more students. The Triple Win Apprenticeships pilot program is a collaboration and joint venture between Rapoport Academy Public School, Connally Career Tech High School, and Triple Win Apprenticeships. While earning a stipend, students from both schools are working through a rigorous 24-week internship on Thursday nights to gain hands-on experience in a variety of disciplines including entrepreneurship, fabrication, electronics, sales, and marketing. The internship is a hybrid program of both hands-on shop time and online training and professional learning to earn the OSHA 30 industry certificate for general fabrication, as well as Solidworks for CAD design and blueprinting, CAM programming for plasma CNC tables.
Several businesses and individuals approached the schools about partnering to bring their products and ideas to market including the latest project with Waco Axe Company to build a mobile axe throwing trailer. Triple Win has also partnered with HomeHarvest, an agrotech startup company that recently won the first place $5,000 prize in Extraco Banks Big Idea Challenge. HomeHarvest’s signature product, the GreenPod – a modular, hydroponic growing environment, will move from paper designs to market with the help of Triple Win students.
Two pieces of legislation, Texas House Bill 5 in 2013 and House Bill 3 in 2019, have fundamentally changed the funding and accountability models for Texas students and provided new avenues for our next workforce to move quickly and efficiently through training into career. Under the new state accountability rating system, the state assigns a letter grade to each district. The standardized testing scores are considered at the same rate as student completion of industry-based certificates making them workforce ready. Industry-based certificates include professional certificates like welding CWS 1.1-6, Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Solidworks CAD Associate, Drone Pilot Part107, Adobe Products Associate, OSHA30 construction and many more. The district can also earn up to $7,000 per student for students that become College, Career, and Military ready, or CCMR ready, as an Outcomes Bonus from the state in the following fiscal year.
School districts are quickly seeking highly-qualified instructors needed to meet the qualifications required for students to meet the CCMR requirements for accountability grade and funding bonus. This means retraining current teachers and enabling paid time off for teachers to obtain the clinical hours required for licensure through externships.
What is Triple Win?
Triple Win is a startup company owned and operated by teachers and students together. The modern workforce demands a multidisciplinary learner that has deeply experienced the process of learning. No longer will a classroom full of students following a set of instructions to make the same product prepare our workforce for unknown problems with unknown solutions. Students, educators, and employers together need real experiences, real dollars, real successes and real failures to form a team dedicated to learning together and becoming confident problem-solvers. When students work with local businesses to authenticate classroom learning and receive mentorship, high-wage and in-demand careers become an attainable endgame. Triple Win serves as the bridge from education to workforce through training, consulting, and fiscal agency by leveraging local, state, and federal funds earmarked for workforce development.
Triple Win apprentices show up early, stay late, thrive on hard work and ambiguity, and believe that learning how to learn is a lifelong investment. Triple Win is a noun and a verb; it’s a concept, but more than that, it is students, education, and business sticking their hand in the middle of the team huddle and saying, “together we can achieve more.”
Triple Win evolved from a group of high school students and their teacher while working with a local start up business, Waco Pedal Tours. The team of four students and a teacher were asked to build a new pedal bike from scratch after the company’s bike had failed leaving the business stranded and its owner’s emotionally drained. WPT hired the team from Rapoport Academy Public School as W-4 employees, provided workers’ insurance, an hourly wage to students during class and even rented a shop for the team. After six grueling months of design, fabrication, and testing, the team had produced its first prototype ready for customers. The new bike was bigger, more powerful, and full of custom touches like laser engraved Waco themed pieces, LED lights, air-ride suspension, and many more technical attributes. The owners could not have been more excited; they considered the new bike a masterpiece. Since that time the company has thrived. The new bike project was a major win and has been featured in local and statewide media coverage as a cutting-edge workforce development program. The Waco Pedal Tours owners and students realized, even with the wild success of the product, the process of authentic learning experienced by everyone involved outweighed the success of the new bike. The teacher moved from in front of the class to working alongside students, addressing individual student learning needs and passions. Together, a local startup, students, and a teacher formed a three way mutually beneficial partnership – they formed a Triple Win. Triple Win Apprenticeships formalizes the concept discovered during the pedal bike build into a consulting agency that school districts can partner with to reach more students.
We cannot expect public educators to train for pedagogical expertise and yet still be experts in the trade careers, neither will be executed well for our next generation. Triple Win was formed by students, teachers, and business owners who recognize that the weight can be taken off the shoulders of teachers and administration by working together for workforce training.
Triple Win has four community directives:
- Modern workforce development through non-traditional apprentice programming ( Often this programming will happen outside of regular work hours to allow students to earn wages and finish school. Triple Win’s current joint venture takes place on Thursday nights ).
- Act as a fiscal agent for student start-up businesses.
- Act as a consultant to bridge the communication and skills gap between K12, higher education, and employers by developing and employing highly trained instructors that have extensive knowledge of both industry and education while also holding industry certificates.
- Let teachers be teachers.
Triple Win Apprenticeship programs are offered at no cost to each school district beyond the extra funds the school district receives from placing students in the CTE course. A Triple Win instructor is placed on faculty at each partnering district as an adjunct instructor and paid a stipend. Local school districts are thrilled about a program that pays for itself and fulfills the new requirements for state accountability and funding bonuses from workforce ready students. School districts will not be the constraint of scaling the Triple Win model.
Triple Win will continue to cultivate partner businesses to ensure lasting pipelines to career, and publicly celebrate every complete project. Partner business are expected to contribute financially to each student’s experience through providing training, materials, and work space. To scale, Triple Win must prove concept through strategic publicity and well directed marketing strategies to increase awareness.
The program sells itself to educational entities and business, but Triple Win must work closely with families to gain trust and respect to support a clear bridge to career for each student. To better market the program to new families, Triple Win will ensure that appropriate wrap-around services are provided to apprentices for a successful launch into a career.
Clay Springer currently serves as STEAM and Career and Technical Education Director for Rapoport Academy Public School. Clay started his educational career at Rapoport Academy in 2010 as a teaching assistant for Quinn Middle school before becoming a classroom teacher and advocate for STEM and Authentic education. Clay and his wife, Joi, welcomed their first child, Shepherd, on Thanksgiving day 2018. They enjoy spending time on the Brazos River on old boats that Clay boldly claims someday will be as good as new.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email a[email protected]for more information.
*Identifying information has been changed due to confidentiality.
In January 2019 I, Amanda, went with my close friends to a Children’s Pastor’s Conference in Florida. The conference was very inspiring and informative. Curiously, every speaker mentioned foster care or adoption in relation to how to minister to our families and children. They talked about how families have changed so much and the need for people to come alongside and support and encourage these families and children.
My husband and I had pursued foster care in the past but had such negative experiences with the process and frustrations with their requirements that we really weren’t interested. But the desire to help children in need wouldn’t go away… so much so that I asked my husband what he thought about it. Unbelievably, he agreed to do the online interest meeting, and he wasn’t completely turned away.
In January of 2019, I had a dream about a young boy. This young boy was running up to my car as I was driving out of the grocery store parking lot. The boy was yelling, “Please take me home with you. Are you taking me home? Please don’t leave me here.” I woke up undone! In tears, crying my eyes out. Although the boy in the dream resembled my own son Matt, I had never seen a child of my own cry with such desperation! From that point on, I felt convinced that for some reason God had us on this path. I wasn’t sure if the dream was just to awaken my senses to a deep need in our community, or for me to be a part of the foster care system, or if indeed I had a son that was waiting for me to take him home.
After many conversations with my husband, we began the process to become a licensed foster/ adoptive family. We continued with the classes but frequently thought about dropping out of the process. We second guessed our decision at least twice a week. It was weird and awkward talking to friends and family about what we were planning on doing because I’m 60 and Mark is 62 and it’s like … Abraham and Sarah … we’re a bit old to start parenting again. And yet … the effects of the dream would not go away.
We finished all our classes, paperwork, inspections, and then home-study in May and we were simply waiting for them to finalize the paperwork for licensing. We told them we weren’t in any hurry because we weren’t going to take a placement before our vacation in June. We had by this time decided that we were just willing to do respite. The stories our friends were telling us regarding their placements, and the trouble the kids were, and just all the stuff … we simply had too much going on in our lives to deal with it for more than a week. But we could certainly help someone else out and give them a break. Babysitting without all the commitment.
On a Sunday in June 2019, I got the call asking if I would do respite for an 11-year-old boy who was coming from a failed adoption placement. From here, we took our first [and only] foster respite placement. Jay was a neat kid from the beginning. Eager for life and connection. After a being with us a few days, I asked if he could come with us to a preteen camp. By the end of the first week, I told the case workers that Jay really needed to stay put for a while. We were the 7th place he had stayed in 2.5 years. [only three actual placements, but 7 different stays, 7 different adults, 7 different rules and situations, 7 different everything]. Praise God Arrow’s case managers were thinking the same thing and worked overtime to get us officially licensed so that Jay could stay with us as his new foster placement.
Since the time Jay had been placed in foster care going to school was challenging. Obviously, he was frustrated with being separated from his brothers, and then moving to a new place, not knowing what was going to happen and being forced to behave socially when he was unsure of what was going to happen to him.
Jay began dropping hints that he wanted us to adopt him. But my husband wasn’t truly convinced we should adopt. Our age, my parents living with us, Jay’s energy and anger issues. How would we be able to handle all of this? And what would happen when he was older and stronger?
One day we got an email stating they were presenting Jay’s case to 3 families who were interested in him, and that IF we were interested in adopting Jay, we would need to let them know right away.
Suddenly, we were faced with a dilemma. We didn’t feel ready to adopt but we were already attached to Jay and unwilling to let him go. Plus, the dream kept compelling us. So, we said yes; we wanted to adopt him! We began the adoption process. We worked hard to complete the process quickly because we wanted to complete the adoption before the holidays.
During this time, we began discussing his name. Naturally we wanted him to have our last name. And because of the dream we wanted him to know that God saw him and heard him and so God spoke to me in a dream revealing to us his new middle name, Derek. But we also wanted to change his first name from Jay, which was associated with so much pain and suffering, to a character he had begun to admire who was bold and courageous. *Adoptive Name*. We prayed and we asked our friends to pray that he would be receptive to the change.
We had planned to wait to tell Jay until we had a court date so that he wouldn’t be so anxious. But in September, we received the papers from the lawyer and included was a statement Jay had to sign in front of a notary public stating he wanted to be adopted and he approved of the name change.
So, on that day, [8 months from the morning of the dream] we formally asked Jay if he would like for us to adopt him. We took him out to IHop for breakfast, and after ordering our food we asked.
Mark, “We would like to adopt you. Would you like that?”
Jay, “Yes! Yes!”
Amanda, “Jay, back in January I had a dream about a little boy who came running up to my car and beating on the windows begged ‘Please don’t leave me here! Please take me home!’”
Then I handed him a card which read:
Would you be our son?
*Adoptive Name*
We love you Mom and Dad.
Jay looked up at us with wonder in his eyes and said, “Is this my new name?” We nodded. “I love it! My name is going to be *Adoptive Name*, like the man in the Bible. You’re really going to adopt me?” “Yes!” “I’m going to be your son!”
Our family has been blessed through the process of adoption. This was a journey our family could have never fully prepared for. We are thankful for the people who helped us through this process. Jay, you are loved, you are worthy, and we are blessed by you joining our family.
A note about Arrow Ministries from Ashley Seidl:
Arrow Child and Family Ministries is a foster agency whose goal is to help kids and strengthen families. Arrow serves and impacts over 4,000 children, teens and families each year. We were founded in 1992 by a former foster youth who believe that Christian foster care was the answer to the ever-growing crisis of foster care.
One of our beloved families has been so kind to share their story with you! This was written by a foster mom who will be becoming an adoptive mom on November 22nd, National Adoption Day. Their lives have been forever changed through the foster and adoption process. She and her husband have been a blessing to Arrow Child and Family Ministries. If you are interested in becoming a foster/ adoptive family, or would like to receive more information on how to serve these families in the area, please reach out to me, Ashley Seidl at [email protected] or call (254) 752-2100.
By Jessica Attas
Fall is here and what is MORE exciting than even pumpkin spice?! Policy!
For that reason, the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce our fall State of Series! This four-part series is aimed at educating and engaging folks in the important policy discussions at the local, state, and federal levels, with a special event focused on one of the Chamber’s top priorities: a strong workforce and education pipeline.
The series kicks off with State of the City and County with Mayor Deaver and Judge Felton, Wednesday, November 13at 11:30 a.m. at Ridgewood Country Club. As if Judge Felton’s humor isn’t reason enough to attend, Mayor Deaver is not running for reelection, so this is a wonderful chance to come thank him for his faithful service and hear about the last year’s accomplishments in his tenure.
The State of Public Education is next in the lineup (registration closes Nov. 11), and will be a breakfast event on Wednesday, November 20 starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Baylor Club. This exciting event, brought to you in collaboration with our area P20 Council, will provide updates from Midway ISD and Waco ISD Superintendents Drs. Kazanas and Kincannon, followed by a keynote by Commissioner Mike Morath. The 86th Legislative Session saw the passing of House Bill 3 and an additional $11.3 billion for public education! Commissioner Morath will walk through the many strategic goals afforded by this bill and we’ll have the chance to hear from two of our area superintendents on how their districts will utilize these funds. Doors will open at 8 a.m. and attendees will have the chance to visit with area students and educators, as multiple school districts – and the Waco Chamber’s own LEAD Mentorship Program – will be in our School Spotlight booths around the periphery of the room. Schools will showcase the unique ways they are educating our youth and preparing them for post-secondary success: career & technical education, apprenticeships, mentoring, teacher externships, and more! This year we are also very excited to welcome other organizations from around the state who will have booths with research information about their work and how you can get involved. From Raise Your Hand Texas to the Coalition for Apprenticeship Partners in Economic Development to the Texas Education Grantmakers Advocacy Consortium and more, you won’t want to miss the chance to learn about the great work being done across the state to strengthen our education systems and how you can engage!
State of the Nation follows on Monday, December 2 at 11:30 a.m. at the Baylor Club. While U.S. Congressman Bill Flores has announced he is retiring, he will continue to vote for our district for the next sixteen months! This is a great chance to share our priorities for these remaining months, and hear his thoughts and observations on federal policy in 2019 and what lies ahead. Additionally, we are thrilled to welcome famed economist Dr. Ray Perryman to join this conversation and share his perspectives on economic trends and forecasting as we go into 2020. Perryman was recently recognized at the International Economic Development Council conference with the Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement award. Our Chamber is excited to welcome such a distinguished speaker and guest!
The series will conclude with State of the State on December 12 at 11:30 a.m. Baylor Club. At present, we have three fantastic panelists confirmed: Representative Kyle Kacal; State Demographer Lloyd Potter; and Texas Workforce Commissioner Julian Alvarez. We’ll have a great discussion about demographic and workforce trends in the state and how the state is responding with policy to meet our opportunities and challenges. A legislative panel will follow with our elected state officials who join us!
These are ticketed events, open to the public and registration is closing soon! We hope you will join us and come to learn more about the opportunities and challenges for our community, state and nation, and how you can be a part of influencing policy for good!
Visit us online at wacochamber.com/state-of-events/ for more details, ticket prices and registration.
Jessica Attas is the vice-president of public policy for the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce. She works with key state and federal elected and appointed officials to advocate on key issues of community and economic development. Attas loves thinking about solutions for big challenges, and when her schedule allows, enjoys serving as a professor in the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core Honors College. Attas has two sons and a pup who keep her busy during “down time.”
By Lindsey Breunig
Next time you are sitting with friends and family I challenge you to play a game of ‘who can think of the most pumpkin spice products on the market’ – I imagine you will have a very extensive list! For many, pumpkins are a sign of cooler weather, fall colors, and the holiday season approaching. Pumpkins may attract all the attention, but the gourd family includes more of these seasonal vegetables called winter squashes. Available in multiple shapes, colors, and unique characteristics, one may see them as a table decoration; however, today we are moving the decorations into our diet!
According to the USDA dietary guidelines it is recommended we consume 2 ½ – 3 Cups of vegetables daily. To maximize the benefits of vegetables we are encouraged to vary our veggies. The squash’s deep colors are a great indication of being high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, while also being low in calories. Common varieties seen are butternut, delicata, spaghetti, kabocha (find at the Waco Downtown Farmers Market!), acorn, and sugar pumpkins.
The common characteristic and the reason I avoided cooking squash for so long is the tough skin. You can be very mean to a squash and still couldn’t ruin its day! (A little fall humor for everyone) The skin of a squash is very thick and becomes thicker as the produce matures; however, you want the firm exterior because soft skin can indicate an unripe squash or a spoiled squash. Test by knocking on the squash with your knuckle: if it sounds hollow, it is ripe! Now, there sits a squash on your counter with the only thing coming between the delicious vegetable inside is the tough outside. Below we are going to discuss ways to safely handle and overcome the squash fear.
Click to see How to Prepare Winter Squash or read below!
Start with washing the squash under running water, remove excess dirt with a vegetable brush & dry with a clean towel. A vegetable peeler works well to remove the skin from butternut squash or sugar pumpkins but microwaving first will soften the squash for easier handling.
Pierce the squash several times with a sharp knife. Place on a microwave safe plate or dish. Microwave the squash on high for 5-8 minutes (depending on use for recipe). Allow squash to cool enough for touch. Once cooled, cut off the top inch of the squash (including the stem).
For texture like mashed potatoes: Cut the squash in half. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Place the two halves face down on the microwave safe plate or dish with 1/2 cup of water. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Check if the squash can be easily scooped with a spoon. If not, cook another 3-5 minutes or until the flesh is the texture of a cooked potato. Set aside to cool. Rather than boiling you can use this technique and use winter squash in these Mashed Sweet Potatoes.
For texture like roasted potatoes: *You may want to microwave less to ensure squash is not too soft* Cut squash in half. Dice the squash with a knife without cutting through the skin. Scoop out the diced pieces or scoop out the flesh and lay evenly on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil & spices. Roast at 400 degrees until tender. Or try this recipe for Spicy Baked Squash!
Other ways to use winter squash!
Pinched on time? Check out the grocery store for precut squash. Always compare the unit price to see the best deal. See the example below, what would you choose?
Using frozen? Try this tasty recipe! Savory Bread Pudding with Kale and Butternut Squash
Enjoy!
Lindsey Breunig is a graduate of Baylor University and currently works as the Better Living for Texans Educator for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. She is originally from Grapevine, TX and now calls Waco home. Here in Waco she loves to venture out to Cameron Park, visit the local Farmers Market, and try out the awesome eateries in Waco. If you see her and hear a loud bark, that’s her pup Lucy just saying hello.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. This material was funded by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — SNAP. To learn more about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or to apply for benefits, visit www.yourtexasbenefits.com
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
Resources: Winter Squash, Prepare Winter Squash
By Stacy Burger
Student loan debt is a national crisis, reaching its highest levels ever in 2019.
Student debt is the only consumer debt with continuous cumulative growth since the Great Recession, according to Bloomberg. And according to Forbes, student loan debt totals over $1.5 trillion with 45 million people across the U.S. having some type of student loan debt.
Both millennials and baby boomers deal with student debt, and studies show Generation Z is looking to avoid it.
Many students take to less expensive alternatives when it comes to the soaring costs of tuition at public and private universities. Community colleges provide students a financial advantage. Students can prepare for the financial demands of a four-year university in their first two years at a community college.
The University Center at McLennan Community College is committed to students looking to earn their bachelor’s degrees without debt. University Center Director Annette Scott helps students combat student loan debt.
“In general, I see students that get out of college and they end up getting a wonderful job with that college degree,” Scott said. “But they end up spending 15 to 20 years, some of them, paying for their college debt.”
Scholarships play a large part in avoiding that debt. Scott encourages students to be proactive in finding scholarship opportunities and to apply for all the scholarships they can.
“There’s aid out there that goes unclaimed simply because people don’t apply for it,” Scott said.
Attending community college can alleviate that financial burden, as well.
“If you can get your freshman and sophomore level classes from a community college, that’s always the best thing to do. You save a lot of money,” Scott said.
Most students work to pay for expenses throughout college. Some employers will award tuition assistance based on certain criteria the company decides on.
Companies like Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Smuckers, Verizon, Bank of America, Oracle, UPS and Fidelity among others, offer tuition reimbursements to employees.
“If you have an employer, go to the human resources desk and see if they reimburse for college debt,” Scott said.
Despite rising tuition costs of four-year universities, there are alternatives to avoid student loan debt altogether. Seeking out scholarships, attending community college or finding an employer that will reimburse for tuition costs are some ways to avoid the student debt.
“It’s nice when people can finish their college degree and walk across that stage debt free,” Scott said.
Stacy Burger is a Marketing and Communications Intern at McLennan Community College. She is a senior at Baylor University studying Marketing & Public Relations and hopes to work in sports or entertainment. As a Colorado native, she enjoys all things outdoors.
By Ricky Galindo
The Hispanic Student Association at McLennan Community College is comprised of two co-leaders, Aranza Torres and Ruben Salazar. The rest of the members are students, who largely lead the organization. Essentially our purpose or our drive for this organization is to be inclusive of people of all kinds, and that’s not something one tends to see these days. As much as people preach about being inclusive, there is still some sort of bias as to what people should be included. We really want to bring that awareness of inclusiveness. Because everyone is different, we all have our own strengths and weaknesses. Ruben and Aranza do a great job at picking up on these things that the students themselves might not realize.
The students are the voices of this organization. They are nurturing their minds and sharing what they have learned either from school or through their own research. It’s minds like these that will drive this world. As kids—and I think I speak for everyone on this—we have questions about any and everything and we look to our parents who often don’t have an answer other than, “Because I said so.” That answer can only work for so long, until the child starts to look for other sources of information and begins to educate themselves. There’s a certain point of “adulthood” or life after college where that desire for learning starts to fade away. Our hope is to keep this drive for learning beyond this organization and life after college. During our meetings we usually talk about a variety of subjects ranging from things like the environment, culture, society, etc. But HSA isn’t always so serious, we like to have fun at these meetings as well and can discuss topics like movies, tv shows and even food.
I am proud to announce to you that this great organization is working on a project that will include the whole community! We are hosting a Waco Ciclovía!
What is a Ciclovía and where did we get the idea?
It all began, in Bogota, Colombia. Each Sunday and public holiday from 7 am until 2 pm several main streets are blocked off for cars and runners, skaters, and bicyclists take over the streets. The event takes on the feeling of a fun health festival with different groups setting up spaces for aerobics, yoga and other fitness and health activities. In Bogata, the weekly Ciclovías are used by over 2 million people. (about 30% of the population). (Ciclovía)
Ciclovía began in Bogota in December of 1974. It was started by a man named Jaime Ortiz Mariño. In 1976, the city officially adopted the program, which was promoted by the city government and the transportation department. In 2007 a Colombian congressman proposed a law banning Ciclovías, stating that they caused traffic jams. Many cyclists, Ciclovía users, city council and congress members protested this law and the law was soon defeated. Since then, every Sunday Bogota closes down ten of their busiest roads for the Ciclovía.
Our hope for this event is that through true social networking – human interaction – we can strengthen our community and stress the importance of things like our environmental impact. It is also to show how easy and fun it can be to exercise for just minutes a day. Another hope of ours is to expand this event beyond the campus of McLennan Community College and make this a city-wide event. We believe what we are doing matters and our event is just as important as many of the other festivals and events that have gained popularity around town.
The Hispanic Student Association is currently accepting donations for this event and will continue to accept contributions during the event —anything and everything helps. We are also looking for volunteers, so if you would like to help follow the link below. Our Ciclovía will take place on November 9th at 8am-12pm, in the center of MCC Campus. I hope you and your family and friends will join us!
Volunteer: https://volunteersignup.org/Q7Y3Q<https://volunteersignup.org/Q7Y3Q
Donation: https://commerce.cashnet.com/mclennanem1pay?ITEMCODE=EM1-HSA
Ricky Galindo graduated from McLennan Community College with an associate’s degree in the visual arts. He is a photographer and has won two awards for his photos. He has appeared in three of MCC’s literary magazines and in one in Florida. He photographs bands, people and things on the street he finds interesting. He has also helped with photography for Analog Waco. He loves reading books and having good conversations with people and doing normal people things.
By Hilary Yancey
It’s an exciting time at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church! This fall, we opened a new playground on our campus on Wooded Acres Drive, just behind the Target. The playground, geared towards developmental ages 2-6, is not only well-shaded and features fun musical instruments but it is also disability-inclusive and accessible. The turf is anti-static, which means that unlike some other turfing or playground surfaces, it does not interfere with cochlear implants or other hearing aids. It’s also fall-safe from a height of 6 feet. Children can play on the small hill (complete with tunnel) in safety and the turf is easily learnable for anyone with vision differences. The space has high-contrast colors for visual cueing, is completely level for wheelchairs, scooters or other mobility devices to access directly from the accessible parking in front. There are ADA-compliant bathrooms on site. The last feature – picnic benches that include cutouts for wheelchair roll-up, went in just a couple of weeks ago.
I’m a mom of a son with disabilities, and in the four short years I’ve been privileged to parent him, I’ve often longed for spaces where his needs can be not only heard but also anticipated. The playground is a space, we hope, that anticipates the needs of children with disabilities from the very beginning. My Jack loves the drum and the big xylophone at one end of the playground, and riding the tricycles that are available during the church’s business hours to ride around the trike path. With my son’s visual differences, I worry in some playgrounds that he won’t be able to safely navigate the drop into the play space or the distance between some of the structures. This playground is a space where I am confident he can learn the space through all of his senses – the turf, the hill, the other color contrasts, the sounds – and play freely.
I’m also a philosopher, finishing up my PhD in philosophy at Baylor. Over the past few years, I’ve spent more and more time trying to better understand and appreciate how we can think better about the nature of the human person. It is all too common to think of disability as merely bad or unfortunate, or to think that individuals with disabilities must have a worse quality of life than others. But these conclusions are too hasty. Like so many features of our lives, disability is—from what I understand from listening to the testimony of individuals with disabilities—complex, many-faceted, often both beautiful and difficult. What makes many disabilities particularly difficult is not a person’s bodily situation but the structures of his or her society. Are there accessible bathrooms or doorways? Is there a quiet space nearby where someone can reset after being sensorily overwhelmed? Are the places and activities that we create in our communities aware of and appreciating how all members of our community might need to access them?
Part of our mission at Holy Spirit over the next several years is to create a space where we live out our core belief that all people are made in the image and likeness of God. For too long, individuals with disabilities of varying kinds have suffered injustice, from lack of access to shared and communal spaces, to lack of understanding and listening to their experiences, to lack of opportunity to lead in our communities according to their gifts and callings. We hope, in small and concrete ways, to begin righting these injustices by creating new spaces for our communities where individuals with disabilities to be welcomed and their needs to be listened for, understood, and met.
As I continue to live in and make Waco my (and my family’s) home, I am grateful and excited by the things happening to create more spaces of welcome and inclusion for individuals with disabilities: from the No Limitations sports organization to the sensory friendly Trunk or Treat at Elite Therapy Center, to the community life at Friends for Life. We hope to see the playground at Holy Spirit become such a space of welcome and inclusion.
This fall we also marked the start of our inclusive recreational ballet class – a weekly class, free to parents, open to students with or without disabilities to come and enjoy ballet together. We meet in our Parish hall on Wednesdays from 4:45 – 5:30, and we are always welcoming new students ages 3-12 to come and try it out! If you have any questions, contact Hilary Yancey at [email protected].
Hilary Yancey loves good words, good questions, and sunny afternoons sitting on her front porch with Pinewood coffee. She and her husband, Preston, and their two children, Jack and Junia, live in Waco, Texas, where Hilary is completing her PhD in philosophy at Baylor University. Her first book, “Forgiving God: A Story of Faith” is on shelves now!
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected]for more information.
By John Jenkins
Transformation Waco is now accepting applications for the Transformation Waco Urban Educator Residency Program (TWUERP). Click www.transformationwaco.org for more details and the application.
Transformation Waco is a nonprofit, in-district partnership within Waco ISD. They manage and operate five schools within the district: Alta Vista Elementary, Brook Avenue Elementary, G.W. Carver Middle School, Indian Spring Middle School, and J.H. Hines Elementary. The goal of the partnership is to dramatically improve outcomes for students.
We are seeking highly committed and dedicated individuals who want to make a positive impact with Waco students by becoming teachers. The state, the region, and Waco are dealing with a teacher shortage, particularly for high need schools. To attract, train, and retain high quality teacher applicants we are offering a tuition free path to teacher certification and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Tarleton State University.
The Transformation Waco Urban Educator Residency Program (TWUERP) is an innovative partnership between the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL), Tarleton State University (TSU), and Transformation Waco (TW) to provide participants with the training they need to be prepared to teach in the challenging, fast-paced environment of today’s classrooms.
The TWUERP is an alternative certification pathway for experienced professionals or recent graduates seeking to become highly effective teachers through hands-on training. This highly selective program will only accept and certify the highest-potential candidates who have the time and energy to fully commit to a rigorous graduate program and the necessary focus to learn and apply best practices in pedagogy.
Over the course of the two-year program, participants in TWUERP earn a master’s degree and teaching certification through a cohort-based learning experience while leading a classroom at one of the five Transformation Waco campuses. Participants receive personalized support from AUSL and TSU experts to gain the skills needed to become highly effective educators and to join an elite group of educators who learn, teach, and inspire in Waco. The TWUERP requires commitment, so aspiring educators must commit to serving in a TW school for at least 5 years in order to be eligible to enter the program of study.
Participants will earn a M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction from Tarleton State University (TSU) through the Tarleton Model for Accelerated Teacher Education (TMATE) program. TMATE provides a program of study where participants will earn a master’s and alternative certification through a cohort-based learning experience in a hybrid online and in-person environment. The full cost of tuition is covered for participants who successfully complete both years of the program.
The process for this second cohort will be:
Applications will be reviewed by the Transformation Waco team on a rolling basis. Qualified candidates will receive an invitation to interview no later than January 31, 2020.
During your interview, you may be asked to deliver a sample lesson and speak with program representatives about your experience, qualifications, and passion for teaching.
If accepted, the first phase of the program is an internship. Interns will participate in a yearlong urban teacher training program facilitated by the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL). During the training year, participants will work with a carefully selected and trained mentor teacher in the classroom and receive intensive professional development from AUSL and TSU that will enhance effectiveness.
Interns will be invited to participate in either spring or summer programming (this does not guarantee a teaching placement).
- Spring Programming: Early accepted and qualified interns will be eligible to start working in January 2020. Up to eight interns will be invited to start substitute teaching full-time in Transformation Waco schools for the spring semester. This will allow interns to develop practical teaching skills while networking with campuses to secure fall employment opportunities.
- Summer Programming: Summer Internships are a full-time (8am-5pm) commitment over the course of 8 weeks, starting June 1, 2020 with a break for the week of July 4th. Selected interns will receive high-quality professional development, practical teaching experience in summer school, and support for passing the certification content exam. Interns will receive a $640 weekly stipend for summer programming.
Upon successful completion of spring/summer programming, and passing the content exam, interns who have performed well will be eligible to be hired as “residents” and invited to lead a class at one of the five Transformation Waco schools. They will start with an annual teaching salary of $49,000, competitive health benefits and an opportunity to earn additional stipends after the first year of teaching.
You can apply to be a part of the second cohort to TWUERP at: www.transformationwaco.org or contact the residency director at: 254-754-9448 for more information.
Dr. John Jenkins is a Talent Developer for Transformation Waco. He has been in public education since 1995 with multiple Texas school districts. His role experiences include Student Initiatives Director, High School Principal, Alternative and Virtual School Principal, DAEP and District Training Principal for Administrators and Teachers, Middle School Principal (Waco ISD), Academic Dean, Assistant Principal, Special Education Coordinator, and Teacher. This is John’s sixth year at Waco ISD and is currently working with the Alternative Teacher Certification Program to increase teacher retention in Waco. He lives by the motto that “work is not work if you love what you do.” John is grateful for his time in Waco and working alongside the many caring and supportive family, organization, and teaching partners who put children first.
By Michaela McCown
Several times a year, but especially in October, my husband and I make an effort to get out of Waco for a weekend and enjoy the scenery at one of our local state parks. We hike, kayak, watch birds and wildlife, camp, stargaze, and use the time out in nature to decompress from the busyness of our jobs and reconnect with the environment around us. This time is particularly essential for my sanity, and I appreciate having such beautiful public parks around Texas to go visit!
Studies have shown the benefits of spending time outdoors – nature experiences may reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and attention deficits (Kellert, 2005; Louv, 2005, Buzzell & Chalquist, 2009). With over 80% of North Americans living in urban areas, it is essential to have public spaces for people to go out and enjoy nature. In Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is one of the main organizations that fills that niche through the Texas State Park System.
TPWD maintains 80 state parks across the state – from Big Bend Ranch and Franklin Mountains State Park in West Texas to Caddo Lake State Park on the Eastern Texas border. We have our own selection of beautiful state parks within an hour’s drive of Waco: Mother Neff, Meridian, Lake Whitney, and Fort Parker State Parks. Parks across the state keep getting busier as more people move to Texas and discover these gems. Unfortunately, TPWD has not been able to keep up with the higher demand and traffic in these parks: more parks have experienced damage to facilities that they have not had time or funding to repair, and parks across the state have become overcrowded. During the upcoming election on November 5th, you can vote for Proposition 5 to help direct more funding towards Texas State Parks to address maintenance concerns, facility upgrades, and even develop new state parks altogether.
Voters may be concerned that Proposition 5, though great for the state parks, would mean more taxes for Texans. However, there is actually no increase in taxes through Proposition 5 – it just ensures that funding that has already been allocated for TPWD actually goes where it is supposed to! The U.S. and Texas have a long history of setting aside funding for the management of wildlife and public lands – starting in the 1930s with the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act. This act, also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, was approved by Congress in 1937 and implemented a tax on hunting goods to fund wildlife conservation across the nation. This became one of the main tools to help fund wildlife conservation across the nation, and the effort was expanded in 1950 with the addition of the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, which taxes fishing goods.
In addition to the funding TPWD receives from these two pieces of legislation for wildlife conservation, TPWD also has to manage its state parks, which do not fall directly within the bounds of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration or the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Acts. Our state parks, to ensure that they are available to individuals of all income levels, are not self-supporting and rely on outside funding sources. Before 1994, a minor tax on cigarettes helped to fund our state parks. In 1993, the Texas Legislature decided to expand the idea of the Federal Aid Acts described above and devote the portion of taxes already collected on sporting goods back to state parks and historic sites. This is called the Sporting Goods Sales Tax Allocation, and, when it was created, had great potential to contribute a consistent amount of annual funding to our state parks and historic sites.
Unfortunately, since its establishment in 1993, most of the Sporting Goods Sales Tax Allocation has not been used for state parks and historic sites but instead has been used to balance the state budget. This has made it incredibly challenging for TPWD to maintain a consistent budget for the state park system and has led to budget shortfalls and almost $800 million in deferred maintenance (Tatum 2019).
If passed on this upcoming ballot, Proposition 5 will ensure that the intention of the 1993 Sporting Goods Sales Tax Allocation is actually followed – that the money already set aside for state parks will, in the future, always be allocated towards state parks. Proposition 5 will not raise the current tax rate that Texans pay, and it will have immeasurable impacts for the public wild spaces we so dearly love. If you want to know what specific projects will benefit from this additional funding, TPWD has a list of current projects on their website at TexasStateParks.org/BrighterFuture. So please, get out and vote for Proposition 5, and then go visit a state park to appreciate how your voting decision will help keep Texans wild for generations to come.
Michaela McCown is a native Texan whose passion for wildlife and conservation stemmed from her experiences growing up on a ranch outside of Dripping Springs. For the last several years, Michaela has been teaching biology and environmental science at Vanguard College Preparatory School in Waco, TX. In addition to teaching, Michaela serves on the Sustainability Board for McLennan Community College and on the Board of Directors for the Texas Land Conservancy. In her spare time, Michaela enjoys spending time with her husband and dog while they explore Texas by foot, bike, and kayak.
The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.