Father Tom Ponzini, Prince of Peace Catholic Community Church pastor, signs an Adopt-a-School partnership agreement after the community partner announced its official partnership with Hancock Elementary School on Aug. 24. Looking on are Hancock Principal Tamera Felder, left, and Scott Morgan, Prince of Peace director of administration.

Sept. 1, 2023—Representatives from Prince of Peace Catholic Church visited the staff at Hancock Elementary School on Aug. 24 to officially announce their Adopt-a-School partnership with the campus.

CFISD’s Adopt-a-School program pairs schools with community organizations and business partners to utilize resources of the community to strengthen and enrich the quality of education for students.

Prince of Peace is less than a mile from Hancock and a number of church members already serve the campus and CFISD as volunteers. As a token of appreciation for Hancock staff, volunteers delivered snacks and refreshments to precede the adoption announcement.

Father Tom Ponzini, Prince of Peace Catholic Community Church pastor, and Tamera Felder, Hancock Elementary School principal, hold commemorative Adopt-a-School certificates and pose with church representatives after the campus and community partner announced on Aug. 24 they entered an adoption partnership.

“As a church, it’s important to us to give back and reach out,” said Father Tom Ponzini, Prince of Peace Catholic Community Church pastor. “There’s a joy in giving that you can’t get any other way, and this is an opportunity for us to reach out and serve. We’re not sure how that will actually look or take place, but we’re sure that spiritually, we can be supportive of this school.”

Tamera Felder, Hancock principal, expressed her gratitude for Prince of Peace and its members for their commitment to helping play an integral part in the education process. Entering her first full school year, Felder said having a community partner step up to support students and staff alike is invaluable.

“Especially since we do not have a PTO, this is a huge deal for us,” she said. “Our students need that motivation and reinforcement to affirm their efforts. So we want to be able to say to them, ‘We see you and everything is OK.’ And we want to build up our staff, affirm them too and love them as well.”

Father Tom Ponzini, Prince of Peace Catholic Community Church pastor, speaks to the Hancock Elementary School staff after the community partner announced its official partnership with the school on Aug. 24

For more information on the Adopt-a-School program, contact Dawn Tryon, director of community engagement, at 281-894-3950 or dawn.tryon@cfisd.net.