News and Information

New programs in store at Cameron ISD
July 12, 2007, Cameron Herald, Cameron, TX

New programs ranging from tightening campus security measures to after school care are coming with the new school year at Cameron ISD.

School board members approved the district's first extended day program and a free breakfast program for students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

Superintendent Rodney Fausett explained the extended day program will be a service to parents who cannot pick up their children until after work.

After school each day, participating children will be transported to the Ben Milam Elementary campus where they will have a snack and participate in activities supervised by CISD instructional aides. Students will have a play time and assistance with their homework. In addition, the time may be utilized for tutorials as needed, Fausett noted. The student to supervisor ratio will be 10 to 1. The program will operate from the time school is out until 5:30 p.m. on school days and will not operate on days when school is not in session such as holidays, in-service days and early dismissal days.

Cost to the parents will be $20 per week per child. Families with more than one child may qualify for reduced costs for each additional child.

A free breakfast program for the same age group, pre-k through fifth grade, will also start with the new school year. Fausett said he had met with the district food service staff about the program, which can qualify for state funding reimbursement based on participation.

Fausett said the meetings included sessions with food service staff from a district where the program is currently under way. “We shared some menu ideas as well as discussed how the program operates,” he said.

School board members also approved Fausett's proposal to allow school district personnel to enroll their children in the pre-school program.

“We have an excellent pre-school program,” Fausett said, “and eligibility is based on economic standards; however, we propose to allow district employees to enroll their children in the program as well, as long as space is available.” He added that several families had already expressed interest.

“Programs like these will help us recruit and retain teachers - especially young teachers with families,” Fausett noted.

Also new to the district this year will be the V Soft computer software program, an addition to campus security measures.

More than 120 Texas school districts already use the program that allows school officials to conduct an instantaneous background check on visitors who check in at the offices on each of the campuses. The system will also print out a visitor's badge for the visitor to wear while on campus.

“All that is required to check in is any kind of state-issued ID, such as a driver's license, state identification card, passport, a green card, birth certificate or concealed hand gun permit,” Fausett said.

Once the card is swiped and information entered, the system alerts if the person has any kind of record, he explained. The program was designed to restrict the access of predators and persons who are under court order not to approach schools or children.

New Yoe High School Principal Thomas Hooker said the program had been very valuable at the Huntsville ISD where he was ninth grade principal. He said that district, which is much larger, had several alerts each month.

“You can enter your own information for alerts,” he said. An example would be someone (not a student) expelled from a school athletic function for fighting or some other infraction that was not a criminal offense. The district could use the alert system to restrict that person from coming on a campus later.

“Checking in will only take a matter of seconds,” board member Mike Zajicek said. “It won't be a major inconvenience.”

Fausett also noted the system will not be used in instances when parents come to check out their children for a doctor's visit or similar instance; only for visitors who plan to go to different locations on campus.

“This program highlights our efforts to make our schools more safe for students and teachers,” School Board President Mike Watkins said.