Nissan and Parents Step Ahead Celebrate “Family Day” in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, TX – On Saturday, April 11, Parents Step Ahead (PSA), in partnership with and title sponsor Nissan, celebrated a “Family Day” at two Northside Independent School District Schools (NISD). Teachers, students and parents came together as part of the efforts to celebrate family union.

For the third year in a row, PSA hosted a “Family Day” dedicated to beautifying Anson Jones Middle School and Cable Elementary School. More than 200 volunteers participated in the school projects, made possible by the sponsorship of Parents Step Ahead and Nissan.

Breakfast was provided by McDonald’s for all attendees. Cable Principal Rosie Siller and Anson Jones Administrator Sandra Soto offered opening remarks, along with NISD Superintendent Dr. Brain T. Woods. John Jay High School’s Mariachi Ensemble performed during the kick-off, under the direction of teacher Alexandra Velasquez.

Northside ISD Superintendent Dr. Brian T. Woods with student volunteers for the beautification projects.
Northside ISD Superintendent Dr. Brian T. Woods with student volunteers for the beautification projects.

“It’s very important to us that organizations like Nissan and Parents Step Ahead help us come together, like today, to show our students that by engaging in the community it can help evolve into a global community union Having companies like Nissan partner with Parents Step Ahead will give this school and the student body a future to look forward to,” said Anson Jones Administrator Sandra Soto.

The schools projects were selected to enhance the learning environment of each campus, which included a repainting of benches, cleanup work, and improvement of an outdoor learning site.

“This is our third year celebrating Family Day here in NISD,” said President and CEO of PSA Lupita Colmenero. “Thanks to Nissan, we have been able to expand our borders outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, in continuation of supporting the community in San Antonio while further promoting family engagement.”

Cable’s project expanded the capacity of a courtyard garden to include outdoor

Student workers at Cable Elementary School.
Student workers at Cable Elementary School.

classroom seating. Parents, faculty members, students, small children and community members helped built outdoor benches and 120 colorful stepping stones. These benches will facilitate outdoor use of the garden area as a classroom. Experts from Home Depot assisted volunteers in the building of the wood benches, while students created colorful stepping stones in the covered courtyard with their parents.

Anson Jones’ project included a repainting of school benches and restoration of the school mascot.

Student & teacher volunteers showcase the newly repainted benches.
Student & teacher volunteers showcase the newly repainted benches.

The day concluded with the announcement of the student’s car drawing contest winners and selection of teacher participants for an educational trip to Washington, D.C., that will take place on September 8-12-2015, thanks to the support of Educational Testing Service (ETS). The “My Future Nissan Car, Innovation that Excites” art contest was an initiative from the participating schools. Nissan provided prizes for five finalists from the NISD campuses. First-place winners of the art contest were: Brooke Flores from Cable Elementary, Isabell Garcia from Anson Jones and Lexi Nevara from John Jay High School.

“Nissan supports a lot of educational programs around the country, and it’s especially gratifying to be here in San Antonio, Texas, working in these schools,” said Vicki Smith, Nissan representative. “These schools may not have the level of resources that other schools have, but what they do have are families that are committed to their students, they are committed to their schools and they are really happy to come out today and support these projects.”

Teachers traveling to DC during in September are: Kevin Vanlanham, History Teacher at Anson Jones Middle School; and Academic Specialist Laura Butterfield and Third Grade Teacher Alexandra Muñoz from Cable Elementary.

Winners of the Teacher Ambassador trip to D.C. Alexandra Muñoz (center left), Kevin Vanlanham (center) and Laura Butterfield (center right).
Winners of the Teacher Ambassador trip to D.C. Alexandra Muñoz (center left), Kevin Vanlanham (center) and Laura Butterfield (center right).

About Parents Step Ahead

Parents Step Ahead is a 501-C3 nonprofit organization with a mission “to recognize, educate, enable and empower parents to take a proactive role in the educational and personal development of their children.” The organization works in partnership with corporations and community organizations to offer a series of programs for parents to demonstrate the importance of parental involvement. Programs are free including dinner and childcare. www.parentsstepahead.org.

About Nissan North America

In North America, Nissan’s operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com, or visit the Americas media sites NissanNews.com and InfinitiNews.com.

About Nissan Motor Co.

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan’s second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 244,500 employees globally, Nissan sold almost 5.2 million vehicles and generated revenue of 10.5 trillion yen (USD 105 billion) in fiscal 2013. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. In 2010, Nissan introduced the Nissan LEAF, and continues to lead in zero-emission.

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