Pasadena ISD: New York Road Runners Donates 850 Pairs Of Sneakers To Milstead Middle School

Press release from Pasadena ISD:

January 15, 2021

By: Kadey Heidrich

Pasadena ISD Communications

The New York Road Runners, a non-profit organization, through a partnership with New Balance, donated 850 pairs of sneakers to students at Milstead Middle School.

The shoes donation came as part of the NYRR and New Balance “1 for you, 1 youth” program. For each pair of sneakers purchased from select New Balance stores, one pair of youth sneakers is donated to a child participating in the Rising New York Road Runners program, a free program encouraging students to become physically active.

Milstead Middle School has participated in the program for several years with leadership from Physical Education teacher, Deana Garza. As part of the Rising New York Road Runners, teachers log student involvement in activities designed by the program. While Milstead has received donations of t-shirts and other items from NYRR in the past, this is the first time the school has received a donation of this size.

“We’re one of just two schools in the country to receive this donation and we’re the only school in Texas,” said Garza. “New York Road Runners have always been so supportive of us.”

Milstead was nominated to receive the donation by its NYRR representative. Once Garza heard the news that Milstead had won the donation, she couldn’t believe her ears.

“I said wait, repeat that! I just couldn’t believe it,” said Garza.

In order to make sure the students received sneakers in their size, NYRR asked Garza to submit the shoe sizes of each child. However, Garza wanted the donation to be a surprise for the students. Instead, she told them she was applying for a grant to receive the shoes. Several days before the shoes were distributed to the students, Garza spilled the beans and told the students they had won.

“This is such a blessing for us,” said Garza. “Our kids are the top priority.”

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Pasadena Independent School District

Minimize Alerts New Asynchronous Days

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we all know, this has been an incredibly difficult year in our community and across our state for educating our students due to COVID-19. Our teachers have worked tirelessly to meet the needs of both our face-to-face learners and our virtual students. Planning for instruction in both of these delivery methods, one of which has required new learning, has led to many extra hours of additional planning throughout this year. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has recognized this struggle and is allowing districts to request asynchronous remote days so that teachers can have additional time to plan. Pasadena Independent School District requested and was approved, to add three asynchronous remote learning days to the Spring 2021 semester for this additional planning time forteachers.

These days are:• Monday, February 1• Monday, March 1• Monday, April 12Our campuses will remain open for students who may not be able to work remotely from home. Transportation and meals will be provided. For students who work from home on these days, curbside meals will be available. Please look for detailed information to come from your child’s campus.

Please note these three days are not student holidays. All students are required to log in to their learning platform, complete assignments from teachers by 11:59 p.m., and continue to make academic progress in order to be counted present.

Thank you for your continued support and for your willingness to work with your child’s campus during this challenging time to ensure your child continues to receive a quality education.

DeeAnn Powell, Ed. D.Superintendent

This press release was produced by the Pasadena ISD. The views expressed here are the author’s own.