Trinity Charter Schools receive
$40,000 grant from Texas Education Agency

March 12, 2008

CORPUS CHRISTI - Trinity Charter School, which provides educational services at the Bokenkamp Children’s Shelter in Corpus Christi and children’s residential treatment centers in Texas, was awarded a $40,000 Texas Educator Excellence Grant because of the high quality of academics provided to abused, neglected, troubled and at-risk children.

The grant is part of the Governor’s Educator Excellence Award Program which was established to help achieve higher levels of student academic performance. The schools receiving the grant were rated "academically acceptable" by the TEA, the highest possible rating alternative schools can receive.

Trinity Charter School works in partnership with Lutheran Social Services to provide a quality education for students at LSS children's centers who have severe emotional and behavioral problems, most stemming from past abuse and neglect. The other TCS campuses that received the grant are located at the New Life Children's Center at Canyon Lake and the Nelson Children's Center in Denton.

The schools were eligible for the grant because of their rating from the TEA and because of the high level of commitment to students by the teachers and principals.

Bokenkamp is an emergency shelter for unaccompanied refugee children from Central and South America, ranging in age from infants to teens as old as 17. These children have all experienced some form of traumatic separation from their families. Many are victims of the sex trafficking trade. Others are fleeing civil war and armies that draft boys as young as 12 to fight. Still others are searching for parents who are in the United States. Bokenkamp provides shelter for these children as they await the disposition of their immigration cases.

"The road to achieving the state and national ratings is challenging. This accomplishment demonstrates our commitment to high academic performance," Vice President for Educational Services Donna Nicholson said. "These ratings reflect promises made and kept to our students."

Teachers and principals at each campus worked together to create an incentive plan that measures and rewards student and teacher performance. Teachers who meet at least two criteria of the incentive plan will receive grant funds.

Trinity Charter Schools are public open enrollment schools. Each of LSS' residential treatment centers for children has a TCS campus.

Trinity Charter School began partnering with LSS in 2004. The charter school was created to allow educators and therapists to develop a curriculum specifically to address the educational needs of the students at the centers.