Knitting Together a Framework for School-Wide Support at Clemente Martinez Elementary School in Houston ISD
CIS students showing off their “thankful pumpkins”. Students love to create crafts which promote social-emotional learning.
Communities In Schools of Houston joined Houston ISD’s Clemente Martinez Elementary School for the 2022-2023 school year at the request of the Office of Academics to provide comprehensive support to the campus. Clemente Martinez is located near the heart of Houston and is surrounded by many historic and symbolic landmarks. The downtown skyline is seen walking out the front doors, the historic Moody Park is a walk across the street, and when looking out the school windows you can see students’ homes that neighbor the building. There are two public housing complexes where most students live and whose families have been in the neighborhood for generations. It is a Title 1 school, where 98% students are considered economically disadvantaged and 52% are considered “At-Risk”. The campus’ families are faced with daily adversities that impact students’ livelihood.
Diana Cordova, our CIS Student Support Manager, was excited to enter a new campus and begin laying the foundation for CIS services for her students, teachers, and families. When she arrived at the campus, she discovered that parent involvement was low, largely due in part to two full years of normal campus activities disrupted by the pandemic. Diana first set out to focus on providing a bridge between the various moving parts on campus to better collaborate and ensure students were happy, safe and successful. There are comprehensive supports on the campus such as the HISD Wraparound Specialist, dedicated teachers, and the FACE Department (Family & Community Engagement), and it became Diana’s goal to improve the collaboration of these assets. CIS quickly became a presence on campus that different staff members, students, and parents could turn to no matter what, and Diana would find a way.
A C. Martinez student picks out new books on the Houston Astros Literacy Bus during one of the family night events coordinate by CIS.
Diana set out to connect with parents and promote engagement in their children’s education through family events, meetings with teachers and volunteer opportunities. First, she provided a survey for parents to share what days and times worked the best for them to attend engagements at the school. After a wide consensus in response, Diana began working together with the rest of the campus to coordinate monthly family events at C. Martinez on Friday evenings. Parents became more comfortable visiting the school campus and felt empowered to engage in their children’s education. One special event that CIS coordinated was a family literacy night featuring the Houston Astros Foundation Literacy Bus. Students got to pick out free books to take home and all family members signed a large poster at the school making a promise to read regularly at home. CIS also helped coordinate and facilitate a campus PTO group, and they had their first meeting for the school after many years without a PTO. Even teachers began turning to CIS to help connect with other colleagues and students in different grade levels, as well as get in contact with parents. CIS became the trusted connector to help form relationships throughout their campus community.
“Through their initiatives, they have seen that they are capable of making a difference and want to continue having a positive impact on the campus. the difference.”
The CIS Leadership Power Pack hard at work creating the school newsletter.
Another way Diana was able to make a campus-wide impact for C. Martinez was through the establishment of a 5th Grade Leadership Group. The leadership group met regularly during lunch to discuss different improvement areas on campus they wanted to target. The Leadership Group was even called on by the principal to provide their ideas and initiatives for the campus improvement plan. Their first goal was to improve attendance, so they came up with various incentives such as themed dress up days before or after long weekends when attendance is typically low, as well as throwing a school-wide sleepover party for all students who had perfect attendance. Another initiative the group launched, following the witness of a disagreement between two students in the hallway, was improving the school culture around mental health and bullying. They began a mediation program for students in conflict to resolve their issues in healthy and productive ways. Within the leadership group there is a sub-group called “The Power Pack”. Power Pack students are excelling in their grades and able to work outside of class time to create the parent newsletter that is distributed digitally. They interview teachers and campus administration to obtain content for the newsletter and work together to write it. The leadership group is just one of the many ways CIS has empowered the students at C. Martinez. “They feel seen and valued, and know that their voices are being heard. Through their initiatives, they have seen that they are capable of making a difference and want to continue having a positive impact on the campus”, says Diana.
Houston Boychoir lesson at C. Martinez
Lastly, a creative way CIS has been empowering students and improving the campus culture at C. Martinez has been through an impactful partnership with Houston Boychoir (HBC). When the opportunity arose to have the HBC program on the C. Martinez campus, students, staff, and CIS were overjoyed. Diana worked with the campus to select 25 male students from 2nd-5th grade to participate every Tuesday afternoon. These students were carefully chosen by staff based on the daily challenges that they face. When the HBC Choir Director first met the boys there was an instant connection. A connection made by music— something that the boys and even staff never thought possible. As they sang together, unseen barriers began to disassemble. It became apparent how music positively affected other areas of their lives. Within the next few weeks others around them began to see the growth in their academics, behavior, and social interactions.
The story of C. Martinez Elementary School is just one of the many school-wide impacts made by CIS across the city of Houston. In the 160+ school campuses CIS serves, we implement our evidence-based Integrated Student Supports Model, providing a school-based approach to develop academic success by tackling academic and non-academic barriers for ALL students.
Diana, CIS Student Support Manager, delivering holiday donations to the campus for students and families.
School supplies donated to the campus by CIS partners, TopSpot
Family night on campus featuring the Houston Astros Literacy Bus
CIS has been able to provide grief support groups through our partners Bo’s Place at C. Martinez ES to help heal the hearts of grieving students.