Donation to Student Intake Center to help welcome immigrant children to district

Fernanda smiled widely as she got her hands on the big, white stuffed teddy bear on Monday, a little something to take the edge off of moving into a new country and entering the second grade at an unfamiliar school.

The teddy bears were part of a donation delivered to the Margaret and Gilbert Herrera Student Intake Center this week by World Vision-North Texas. The organization delivered three pallets stacked with boxes of shoes sized for children of all ages and personal kits that include a blanket, hygiene items, school supplies and books.

Since August, the intake center has welcomed about 1,700 students new to the United States into Dallas ISD schools. The center welcomes students and their families, evaluates school-age children for placing in the appropriate grade levels and offers information about community resources to help families feel more at home.

After the boxes were unloaded, intake center Director Amanda Clymer led World Vision representatives on a tour of the center. Phyllis Freeman, director of Domestic Disaster Response, and Rafael Muñoz, World Vision engagement officer, got a glimpse of the welcoming process and distributed some of the items they had delivered.