Heart Work Q&A with T.A. Sims’ Grecia Flores

Heart Work has teamed up with T.A. Sims Elementary School, a Title I school in Fort Worth, to help with school supplies and volunteers for the coming school year. We reached out to the faculty for a little more in-depth view of the T.A. Sims family. Our first teacher is Grecia Flores.

Heart Work (HW): Tell us a little about yourself and your teaching history.

Grecia Flores (Ms. Flores): My name is Grecia Flores. I am a 1^st grade Dual Language teacher, going into my second year at T.A Sims elementary. I live in Dallas but work here in Fort Worth ISD. I am a UNT alumna and a part of the 2019 DFW Teach for America corps. I have always been interested in education and have taken on other roles in my career, such as teaching assistant and substitute, to better prepare me for my role as a dual language educator.

HW: Tell us about T.A. Sims and your students – the challenges and payoffs, highs and lows, home life and school life, etc.

Ms. Flores: T.A Sims is a wonderful campus that caters to students of various ages here in Ft. Worth ISD. Our staff is very supportive of one another, we have outstanding students, and our families are always supportive and willing to lend a hand whenever possible. We have built a community of inclusiveness within our families and always aim to promote family involvement in all areas. We serve a diverse group of students with diverse needs and work to meet each individual student’s needs at all times. We offer various extracurricular programs to promote student/community engagement such as running club, an after-school program, football, cheerleading, Battle of the Books, and UIL.

HW: We know how challenging it will be for kids to learn virtually for the first several weeks of school. How have you prepared to connect with them as a group and individually?

Ms. Flores: Given the current circumstances, we at T.A. Sims have decided to host a virtual “Meet the Teacher” night to allow those relationships to start flourishing between our families and students. We acknowledge that this isn’t an ideal situation for anyone, and we would love nothing more than to host a meeting in person, and although that might not be an option, we still want families to know that they can count on us staff for whatever they may need during this period of time. We want families and students to feel seen, heard, safe, and supported during virtual/in-person learning.

HW: How has FWISD addressed your students’ particular needs (during the pandemic and before) and what can our community do to fill in the gaps?

Ms. Flores: FWISD has always been proactive and attentive to the needs of their students and families within the community. During the pandemic they have been extremely inclusive and welcoming to any feedback from teachers and families as well, taking it into consideration before making important decisions involving stakeholders.

FWISD also set-up meal pick-up services across the district to ensure that students and families were receiving fresh meals daily, during the pandemic, a service that continued through summer school as well.

HW: We are excited about the mentorship/book buddy program – how do you think this will benefit your students? How much time should volunteers plan to commit to each week?

Ms. Flores: This will benefit our scholars because it will further instill/promote a love for literacy and offer them an opportunity to build relationships with mentors that they wouldn’t have otherwise. Yes, they have their teachers and staff at T.A Sims as systems of support but knowing that they have an extra advocate, and extra system of support will hopefully promote literacy skills in a fun and non-intimidating setting.

HW: What type of work has impacted your students the most, for example, STEM learning, book clubs, community programs?

Ms. Flores: I believe community programs have been the most impactful because they offer students a chance to work alongside others to reach certain goals and give back to the community that they are a part of. I believe it brings our students a sense of ownership and pride.

HW: If you could grant one big wish for your school, what would it be?

Ms. Flores: A big wish that I would grant for my campus would be for all of our students to have the best access to an equitable education, the necessary resources and overwhelming systems of support, to allow their love for school to flourish. I want our students to meet every goal they set in mind, regardless of how impossible it might seem at first. I also hope that they grow up to be outstanding, brilliant, compassionate, curious, and innovative individuals. Overall, I wish for our students to be proud of their community, proud of their campus, proud of their teachers, but most importantly, proud of themselves.