FORT BLISS SCHOOL LIAISON SERVICES
BUILDING 503B, ROOM 224
PERSHING ROAD, FORT BLISS, TX 79916
(915) 569-5064
10 September 2010
MEMORANDUM FOR: ENGLISH 1311, T&R 0730-0850
SUBJECT: ANALYSIS OF DISCOURSE COMMUNITY
The Fort Bliss School Liaison Services Office serves military families with school aged children and El Paso area school districts. The School Liaison Offices are composed of four officers and one administrative assistant. All of the members of this organization are trained and have an educational background with years of experience in education. They dedicate their time and energy to provide information on school policies, programs, as well as addressing the concerns of parents. They also coordinate a volunteer program, Partners in Education, with military units and El Paso school to enrich the children's academic atmosphere. They provide Soldiers the opportunity to tutor, mentor and be involved with school events. Another service this program provides in training to counselors and teachers on sensitivity and resiliency since many of the children have parents who do deploy. This program has been active on Fort Bliss engaging with the El Paso community for over 23 years.
There are many forms of communication used by the School Liaison Office. The Parent/Student Handbook is a resource that includes information on all nine districts of the El Paso area. The Handbook includes important contact information, website links and assists with providing in-processing procedures. They also use items such as flyer's and banners to broadcast to the community upcoming events such as an education fair and pre-registration for the upcoming school year. Parents are also able to communicate through e-mail with any questions or concerns they might have on any of the school in the El Paso area. The Parent/Student Handbook is a professional document used to provide factual information. They do not endorse specific school or districts within the community. Graphics are included to get the attention of the audience such as the school bus logo, maps on school district boundary zones, and pictures of past events.
The Fort Bliss School Liaison Services Office creates awareness of the policies used in the El Paso School Districts to prevent confusion and stress for an easier transition of military families. If parents have a problem that cannot be resolved directly through the school, the School Liaison Office can alleviate these issues by contacting certain departments within the district that governs over a particular issue. School Liaisons often become more informed on current issues within the district. The School Liaison Office recently created a Process Action Team, which is a group composed of Representatives from each school district. This is a group that meets quarterly to discuss reoccurring incidents that may possibly be resolved at the lowest level. This group was created to not only create awareness over all nine school districts of these concerns, but also to share their best practices in ways to solve these incidents. The School Liaison Services are essential to the military family in hopes that while transitioning from one location to another the children's education will not be hindered.
Gregorio Simmons
English 1311 T&R 0730-0850
