Education
BY JULIANNA WASHBURN
Tomball ISD’s Hope Squad expanding
Stay tuned
Shiels said TISD plans to expand Hope Squad to all intermediate campuses over the next two to three years. “Sadly, we’re seeing more and more fth- and sixth-graders experiencing mental health struggles, including suicidal ideation. That’s a reality we can’t ignore,” Shiels said. Shiels said at the intermediate level, the focus will be on laying a foundation that normalizes conversations about emotions, encourages kindness and helps students recognize when someone needs support. Nguyen also said one of the big changes that will happen this year will be the formation of a cross-school committee of Hope Squad members to discuss and plan bigger projects. “I hope that with this, we can further help to challenge the issue of youth suicide and improve our peer-to-peer manner of reaching out to those in need,” Nguyen said.
Skyler Nguyen, a senior at Tomball Star Academy, won’t forget passing out “secret note[s] of kindness” and seeing the happiness on the students she handed the unexpected notes to. “A lot of them had believed that nobody would write them a note, and to see that their peers had written something for them had, quite literally, lit up their faces with joy,” Nguyen said. This is one of the missions of the Hope Squad, a mental health support program that allows students in Tomball ISD high schools to become trained peer supporters. Hope Squad was created in 2024 amid a growing need to address mental health concerns in youth, according to a November 2024 news release. Now, for the 2025-26 school year, the group is expanding to junior high campuses so it can reach students earlier.
Hope Squad, created in 2024, is expanding to junior high campuses this year. COURTESY TOMBALL ISD “We know that the middle school years can be especially tough ... and if we can help students at that age build the skills to support one another ... it sets a foundation that can carry them through high school and beyond,” Director of School Counseling Steve Shiels said.
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