5 minute read
South San Antonio ISD
▲ A counseling room awaits students at South San Antonio ISD’s CARE Zone.
CARE Zone brings wraparound support to San Antonio’s south side
by Dacia Rivers
Aschool district is often the backbone of its community, not only providing a basic education to students, but supporting families whenever possible. In South San Antonio ISD, they’ve taken that role to new heights. In 2019, a group of high school students in the district addressed the school board, voicing their concerns about mental wellness not just in their neighborhood, but across the city and beyond. The district jumped to action, and two years later, the CARE Zone is up and running, providing mental health and wellness services to students, families and faculty in the district. Housed in a building on the Athens Elementary School campus, the CARE Zone is home to numerous mini programs — a one-stop shop for support. Full-time counselors have offices in the building — cozy rooms with comfortable seating, calming lighting and various age-appropriate toys and comfort items. Through a partnership with the San Antonio Mobile Wellness Collaborative, these counselors are available free of charge to families and staff in the district. On-campus counselors can refer students to CARE Zone counselors. SSAISD staff can refer themselves to the counselors through a confidential system that ensures their doing so is private. Mobile support is also available, and counselors will travel to meet students and their families at individual campuses when necessary. For many folks living in South San Antonio, this is
South San Antonio ISD
County: Bexar ESC region: 20 Superintendent: Dr. Marc Puig 2020 enrollment: 8,527 Number of schools: 16
▲ The CARE Zone is home to a satellite location of local thrift shop San Antonio Threads.
the first time mental health support has been available in their neighborhood. “You’re not going to see many LPCs or psychiatrists on the south side of San Antonio,” says Charlie Gallardo, director of guidance and counseling in the district. “We’re a lot closer to our families.” Well-appointed meeting rooms at the CARE Zone function as spaces for bereavement groups, substance abuse and intervention meetings and evening GED and ESL programs. Also housed in the building are a food pantry and a satellite location of the San Antonio Threads thrift store. Families in need can visit the food pantry by appointment to pick up groceries. The thrift store provides brand-new clothing to students in need. Before COVID-19, and hopefully again soon, students could come in to try on new clothes, many for the first time in their lives, and take home name-brand pants, shirts, shoes, backpacks and more. “It’s good for the kids to come, it’s enjoyable,” Gallardo says. “Some of our students only go to thrift stores or get hand-me-downs from their older brothers or sisters, so it’s a great sight to see.” During COVID-19 restrictions, the CARE Zone didn’t stop providing services. Counseling sessions went virtual, and San Antonio Threads loaded up backpacks with clothing and delivered them to students’ campuses. Another program housed at the CARE Zone is called Baby Paws. Through a collaboration with Texas A&M UniversitySan Antonio, the district hosts events where education students meet with parents of early education students who might have unique needs. The program serves to help these new parents and
▲ The CARE Zone welcomes students, staff and families in
South San Antonio ISD. ▲ Through the Baby Paws program, SSAISD connects education students with the district’s newest families.
▲ The CARE Zone is home to a food pantry, where SSAISD families can pick up donated staple goods.
the district understand what services might benefit these students as they enter the classroom. Whatever the community might need, the CARE Zone is ready to make it happen. The building holds monthly vaccine clinics, and recently provided 98 COVID-19 and 28 flu shots to community members. “The CARE Zone is the first of its kind in the nation,” says Marc Puig, superintendent in SSAISD. “And they’ve brought a collection of counselors here who love kids, understand our population and are making a dramatic difference.” Ron Flores is the lead licensed social worker at the CARE Zone, and says that feedback from the South San Antonio community has been great. “Our families have been in the community for several generations,” he says. “We’re part of those families now. And it’s easier for them, distance wise, but also culturally, it’s easier for our families to engage us in the process.” It’s clear the CARE Zone is a true community-supporting installation. The idea came from the minds of SSAISD students. The hallways are lined with murals painted on-site by middle school art students. In the thrift store, shop class students from SSAISD high schools built dressing rooms that rival any you’d find in a mall department store. “This was a student-led innovation in mental health services,” says Puig. “It goes beyond awareness. It goes beyond erasing the stigma of mental illness. This speaks to doing, to taking action, igniting action in our students and in our community to make a difference in the kids who are the most fragile.” Staff at the CARE Zone are right to be proud of the gem they’ve created for their community. But for them, the recognition isn’t about patting themselves on the backs. It’s about getting the word out, so they can continue to meet the needs of students and their families. “We want to always do better, do more,” Flores says. “It’s all based on student needs. The well-being of our students is what’s important to us at every level.” While there have been costs associated with creating and running the CARE Zone, Gallardo says they’re negligible considering the support the district is able to provide. “The cost of the program is not anywhere near the services we’re providing our students, families and teachers,” he says. “Just a doctor’s visit is, what, 50, 60, 80 bucks, if you have insurance? We’re saving our families not just in the travel, but with the payment as well.” While the CARE Zone might be the first of its kind in the country, Flores, Gallardo and Puig all agree that any district could implement a similar program and benefit. At just two years old, the effort is already being recognized in the community and beyond. “I would give this advice to any school district that’s considering this sort of endeavor: You can’t think small. Think big, think positive, and think forward,” Puig says. “This really is filling a need for this community, and it’s a wonderful, hardworking, familyoriented, blue-collar community. And they deserve this so much.”
DACIA RIVERS is editorial director of Texas School Business.
