The United Independent School District is located in Laredo, Texas. Laredo is the fastest growing city in the state and the second fastest growing city in the United States. Known as the “Gateway to Mexico,” Laredo is located on the north bank of the Rio Grande River. It is only 150 miles south of San Antonio, 150 miles west of the port of Corpus Christi , 150 miles north of highly industrialized Monterrey, Mexico and just across the Rio Grande from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. WHAT PEOPLE SAY: “Friendliest people…small town feel with the conveniences of a modern city…the heart of the transportation industry…the best white-tail deer in Texas…haven for those seeking warm weather…a city with vision…historically rich community.”

Community involvement benefits teachers, students, parents, and volunteers. 
Because everyone works together, partnerships are established and lessons are learned.

Click on the channels at the left for links to Community Resources.

Community Involvement:

·      Community/Partners Dialogue - Leaders of each campus meet on a monthly basis by feeder patterns and invite parent and community members. The purpose of these sessions is to discuss educational issues and programs and brainstorm solutions/ideas for improvement.
 

·      The district invites parents from every campus to participate in “feeder school” public meetings to discuss educational issues. Feeder schools are identified as ( Alexander High School , United High School , United South High School and Lyndon B. Johnson High School ).

• The Title I, Part B Even Start Family Literacy Program - Provides family literacy services in adult education, early childhood and parenting education, parent and child together (PACT time). The program goals are to: 1) assist parents in becoming full partners in their children’s education, 2) assist children receiving early childhood education to reach their full potential, 3) assist families with parenting strategies in child growth and development and education process for children birth through seven years, and 4) provide adult education literacy training for parents in family units participating in the program.
   

  The Even Start Family Literacy Program - In collaboration with Laredo Community College, the program provides ESL, Pre GED, and GED classes to more than 80 parents of children attending elementary school in the southeast part of the district. The Early Childhood Component of Even Start provides services for over 75 students, ages 0-3.
   

  All Title I, Part A campuses in the district provide parental training sessions in academic and non-academic areas. The following campuses have a Community Liaison Aide (CLA) whose role is to provide communication between home, school and community: Juarez/Lincoln Elementary, Perez Elementary, Zaffirini Elementary, Kazen Elementary, Salinas Elementary, and Muller Elementary.
   

  The 21 ^st Century Community Learning Centers Program - In collaboration with Laredo Community College and Job SER/Jobs for Progress provide adult education and literacy at the following campuses: Los Obispos Middle School (46 participants) and Juarez/Lincoln Elementary (11participants).
   

  Parent Night - Provide academic information to parents in the areas of the different graduation plans available to students, Financial Aid Nights, and TAKS/Nights to explain requirements of such tests.
   

  Drug Awareness and Prevention - Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors (LCDC) provide parental training sessions in the areas of Drug Awareness and Prevention and Gang Awareness at the Middle and High Schools. Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors (LCDC) provide parental training to S.T.E.P. Academy parents and students in the area of Drug Awareness by means of a power-point presentation, pamphlets that assist parents on how to talk to their children about drugs, and Q&A participation.
   

  The district maintains a database of parents that have applied to volunteer. Principals are provided with lists of parents that have complied with criteria and are eligible to volunteer. (All requirements have been met.)
   

  Partnership with Webb County Head Start program – The district provides parent-training sessions during a two-day conference. For several years, United ISD personnel have provided parent trainings in the bilingual program.
   

  Special Education – The program provides training for parents of students receiving special education services. Meetings provide information that explains the specific rights and responsibilities of the parent in the special education process. In an effort to ensure that parents can attend, the district provides childcare and conducts several meetings in the evening.
   

  United ISD provides meetings that are specifically designed to meet the needs of parents of children with certain disabilities.  Two in particular are for parents of children with visual impairments and for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders.
   

  The district conducts support group meetings and trainings for the parents of visually impaired children. These meetings are on weekends and conducted by Dr. Cristina Fernandez, teacher for the Visually Impaired.
   

  The district conducts quarterly meetings for the parents of children with autism and related disorders. Wood Coston, behavior strategist, and Mike Daniels, consultant for students with autism and related disorders, meet with the parents individually and provide training to help parents understand their child’s educational and behavioral needs.
   

• Computer Literacy Classes for Parents were implemented through Project Millennium in the fall of 1999. The classes are offered each semester at approximately 15 campuses throughout the district and are held twice a week in two-hour sessions. Parents are given the opportunity to learn skills such as keyboarding, word processing, spreadsheets, databases, Internet research, and English Language Acquisition in this 40-hour program. Childcare is provided for the parents’ children between the ages of 4–10. To date, the Computer Literacy Classes for Parents has served over 1,600 parents.

• Project Millennium Tech-Mobile provides adult education and literacy opportunities to parents and community members at various community center sites.  The tech-mobile offers basic computer literacy skills and ESL computer based programs for parents to improve their literacy skills. The mobile unit promote parental involvement in rural areas of our district.