GCCISD Corporal Jannette Cardenas helps a district student shop during the Education Foundation’s “Brighten Your Day in a Giant Way” event at the Baytown Wal-Mart.

By: Erika Foster, Director of Education Foundation

The Goose Creek CISD Police Department does so much more than ordinary police work. One of its major goals, according to Chief of Police Davis Smith, is to change the public’s perception of what they believe law enforcement to be and what they do. He and his team can be often found in and around local neighborhoods, establishing meaningful relationships with students, staff and families inside and outside of the district.

The Goose Creek CISD Education Foundation applied for a grant entitled, “Brighten Your Day in a Giant Way,” during spring 2022. The Partners in Education Project is funded by Harris County Department of Education, in collaboration with the Education Foundation of Harris County. The grant’s goal was to improve the bond between students and police officers by providing 100 students with a $100 gift card to go shopping with a police officer. 

Three students from each campus were selected to take part in the event, held on Oct. 24 at the Wal-Mart on Garth Road in Baytown. District police and security officers, members of the Education Foundation and district employees were paired with students and their parents, as they shopped for gifts for themselves and their family members. The event allowed students to see their local law enforcement officers as “real” and not someone they should fear. The program helped to remove barriers between police officers  and students, which will enable them to focus more on learning and academic achievement.

Often students only have an interaction with police officers when a crisis arises at their home or at school. This event taught students that they can trust police officers and can look up to them outside of the unfortunate situations they may face.