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June 1, 2021
Dear KIPP Texas Families,
June is here and I hope you enjoyed the long weekend and had the opportunity to reflect and honor the sacrifices of military personnel who have served our country this Memorial Day. There are also two month-long observances this month: Immigrant Heritage Month – a celebration of the diversity of peoples, cultures, and backgrounds that make up the United States, and Pride Month – a way to celebrate and honor the gay rights movement that started in 1969 with the Stonewall Uprising in New York.
At KIPP Texas, we are committed to becoming a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all identities, so this month, look for social media posts that highlight how we are working to welcome, accept, and encourage all members of our Team and Family to be their authentic selves! Follow KIPP Texas on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube to join the celebration of our diversity.
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Reminder – Governor’s Executive Order Regarding Wearing Masks – Effective June 4
The Governor’s Executive Order that limits public schools from requiring masks goes into effect this Friday, June 4. For the health and safety of our KIPPsters, Little and Big, we urge you to continue to wear your mask through the end of the school year and during all graduations, even outdoor ones. We know mask-wearing, alongside our other safety procedures which will not change, work and have kept our Team and Family as safe as possible this year. So from a place of care and community, I personally ask that you please, please continue wearing masks through the end of the school year and during our graduations. We are asking our Little KIPPsters and families to do the same.
Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) Application Opens June 2
KIPP Texas families may be eligible for a one-time, state-funded financial benefit you can use to buy food! The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) is for children enrolled in school who may have temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price meals during the 2020-21 school year.
Who qualifies: Those meeting one of the following criteria are encouraged to apply for P-EBT:
- Families with children who may be eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals.
- Families with children who attend a school that participates in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program.
- Families who received state-funded benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the first time during the 2020-21 school year in May or June 2021.
How to apply: Complete the online application at www.yourtexasbenefits.com/Learn/PEBT. For all KIPP Texas cities please select “Travis County” under the County drop down, then select “KIPP Texas Public Schools” and then your child’s school. The P-EBT application is open June 2 through August 13
Communications Survey
Please take less than 5 minutes to complete this Family Communications Survey to help us understand the effectiveness of our communication and plan for next year.
Summer School Reminder
If your child(dren) has been invited to participate in Summer School, please contact your child(ren)’s school to confirm their attendance.
Chromebook and Charger Return
As we prepare for the end of this semester, we want to remind you that our Chromebooks need a summer break also. Beginning June 9, we will be collecting Chromebooks, MiFi devices and chargers / adapters from students so that our Information Technology department can refresh, clean, repair, or replace them in preparation for the next school year.
You can refer to more details for in-person and virtual student technology collection here or email techcollect@kipptexas.org to arrange a drop off location and time if your student is not able to return their device during the collection period.
KIPPTexasCares Connecting Arms to Vaccines
As the COVID-19 vaccine continues to become more accessible to more age groups, KIPP Texas has the opportunity to partner with community clinics, government officials, and other vaccine providers to bring vaccination events to our schools. In Houston, for example, we have partnered with the Harris County Health Department to bring vaccines to our campuses. We also plan to add an educational component around the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program to ensure our school communities have the scientific and medical facts to make sound decisions for their families.
In order to adequately plan for the vaccination demand, we need our Team and Family that has not received the vaccine, but is interested in doing so, to fill out this family interest form if you have KIPPsters who are eligible to receive the vaccine. The results will enable us to show our current and potential partners the distribution opportunities at our campuses.
Thank you for taking 3 minutes to fill out the family interest form by Friday, June 4 at 5 PM if you would like to take advantage of a vaccination event on a KIPP Texas campus in the near future. We will update you once those vaccination events are confirmed.
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With the end of the school year and graduations just around the corner, there will be lots to look back on this year and celebrate, but I want to give you a preview: so far, the KIPP Texas Class of 2021 graduating seniors have collectively received 21,285 college and university admissions and have been awarded over $44 million dollars in scholarships to go to college!
Isn’t that incredible? We are so proud of the Class of 2021 and can’t wait to celebrate with them, their teachers, and KIPP Through College counselors their graduation, commitments to college, careers, and beyond!
With gratitude,
Sehba Ali
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