Partnership builds strong community at Fort Cavazos

FORT CAVAZOS, Texas - Throughout the year, Fort Cavazos Soldiers, surrounding school districts' staff and the Child and Youth Services School Liaison Office engage, connect and collaborate to foster support for military and transitioning students. Serving as a vessel for successful partnerships, positive impacts and meaningful experiences is the Fort Cavazos Adopt-A-School program.

"The Adopt-A-School program gives Soldiers a chance to mentor, teach and act as role models to students across Central Texas," said Kristine Caparco, a school liaison officer for CYS and the lead AAS liaison. "The program also helps build an alliance between the military, schools and neighboring communities and provides resources to educate our youth and help military families as they transition to the area."

To strengthen ties between Fort Cavazos and neighboring school districts, the CYS School Liaison Office hosts meet and greets at the beginning of the school year for 83 military units and 122 schools across ten school districts.

"The meet and greet sessions are a great opportunity for commanders and Soldiers to connect with their schools and gain insight on the do's and don'ts of the program and how to maximize their impact," said Terri Jones, a school liaison officer for CYS.

At the Belton Independent School District meet and greet, Rebecca Vaughn, principal of Joe M. Pirtle Elementary School, said the program provides a mentorship opportunity.

"Our students have so much respect for our Soldiers who serve as role models they can look up to," Vaughn said. "It's been refreshing for our campus to have this partnership and Soldiers who understand our students' military background and experiences."

Since July 2022, 1st Lt. Kevin Dineen, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, has played a role in his unit's involvement of the Adopt-A-School program.

"The program gives our Soldiers an opportunity to harness their relationship with the community, engage with the students and apply the leadership skills they have learned from the military," he said.

Dineen added units can help implement and sustain a successful program and partnership with effective communication, transparency and an understanding of the program's mutual benefits.

"Number one: we have great higher leadership on our command team who are constantly effectively communicating, which allows for deconfliction with our schools," he explained. "Number two: our units are forward so we have a limited amount of Soldiers in home station, but that doesn't mean that we can't put in an effort at these events. And number three: not only what we can do for the school, but the school can also effectively impact our families, and give the opportunity to get out to those events and participate."

During the recent meet and greet sessions also held at Temple and Lampasas ISDs, Cen-Tex Sustainable Communities Partnership staff members from Harker Heights and Fort Cavazos attended to encourage participation in the partnership's Youth Environmental Ambassadors! program, also known as YEA!.

"For the past nine years, the Cen-Tex Partnership has worked together with the School Liaison Office to encourage volunteerism, promote environmental and community stewardship and empower youth to be difference makers," said Yvonne Spell, staff committee chairperson of the Cen-Tex Sustainable Communities Partnership.

Opened to prekindergarten 3 through 12th grade, students compete in a variety of initiative that includes a poster contest, recycled art contest, recycle competition, school beautification challenge, litter cleanup, energy conservation and composition-notebook and pull-tab recycling.

Spell concluded, "Together, through YEA! and the Adopt-A-School program, we can build impactful partnerships to inspire, motive and empower youth."

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