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Mesquite ISD highlights early-childhood and family-engagement programs, reports grants and volunteer growth
Summary
District family engagement staff reported expanded early-childhood outreach and community partnerships, funding secured for LENA Start and summer Camp Excel growth, and more than 3,000 volunteer hours across campuses.
Lindsay Perez and Cynthia Patiño, coordinators of family and community engagement for Mesquite Independent School District, reported April 14 on expanded family-facing programs, new partnerships and funding that district staff say support student readiness from birth through elementary school.
Perez said the district’s LENA Start parent-education program has served 438 families since its 2021 launch and participants now read an average of 16 more minutes per day. LENA Start will be fully funded for the 2025–26 school year by a grant from the Mesquite ISD Education Foundation, Perez said.
Perez and Patiño described Read Play Talk community events (including a festival and expo) and said the district estimated attendance at the Read Play Talk Festival at about 5,000 people this year, the Read Play Talk Fair at more than 1,000 attendees, and roughly 50 families per pop-up event. The district said it distributed free books and resources at these events and partnered with the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce on the festival.
New and continuing programs: - Little Readers: launched districtwide this school year; 28 elementary campuses participated and sessions average five families; families leave with a free book. - Free little libraries: 30 campus libraries in place now; Vanguard students are rebuilding Henry’s Little Free Library and a downtown library; the district expects 34 by next year. - Camp Excel (summer): in 2024 the program served 395 students in 51 classes; registration for Camp Excel 2025 opened April 1 and had more than 150 sign-ups at the time of the board report. Perez noted grants of $5,000 from the TI Foundation and $20,000 from the Bass Foundation to help keep costs low for families.
Patiño highlighted family workshops, feeder-pattern facilitators, empowerment groups such as Empower You, Promise League parent representatives at each campus, and a new “Dads and Difference Makers” initiative to increase male participation in schools. She said the Promise League contributed to volunteer coordination and that the district logged more than 3,000 volunteer hours last semester. The family engagement team reported receiving more than $350,000 in donations supporting families this year.
Both presenters said the program faces challenges including time constraints for parents and continued work to secure more community partnerships; they invited trustees to visit the Family Engagement Center and future pop-ups.
"Everything that we do is with the student in mind," Perez told trustees, summarizing the department’s goals for early learning and family supports.
