“The mission of Uvalde CISD, a progressive rural community with a heritage of inspiring and growing leaders, is to ensure each student has an excellent foundation to reach his or her goals through personalized, rigorous instruction, global experiences, a dedicated staff with high expectations, community pride, and achievement of all students,” says Ashley Chohlis, Superintendent.The district’s approach rests on three pillars: empowering all learners to thrive, building student agency so every child believes they can succeed, and disrupting the trajectory of trauma. Chohlis emphasizes the deliberate language behind their mission. “We worked really hard on this with our stakeholders. We want to empower all learners to thrive. That means we’re not just talking about academic success. We’re talking about socialemotional growth, career readiness, and helping students discover who they are and what they want to become.” The district’s vision reaches further than traditional metrics, focusing on creating conditions where students develop resilience and self-determination despite the weight of collective grief that continues to shape their community. HEALING THROUGH PARTNERSHIP Uvalde CISD partnered with Collegiate EduNation, a technical assistance provider specializing in trauma-informed educational frameworks, to build comprehensive support systems across the district. Dr. Rachael McClain, President of Collegiate EduNation, explains their approach goes beyond traditional trauma-informed practices. “We’re implementing what we call a healing-centered framework. Trauma-informed is reactive, it’s about responding to what happened. Healing-centered is proactive. It’s about building resilience, creating safe spaces, and giving students the tools they need to process their experiences while moving forward.”” The partnership includes grant writing and strategic planning, plus support for the Moving Forward Foundation, a nonprofit that fundraised entirely for the new replacement school opening in fall 2025. Dr. McClain’s team helped secure a $1 million Texas Education Agency grant split between two campuses, indicating how external expertise can unlock resources for districts undertaking complex recovery. 383 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 12 UVALDE CONSOLIDATED INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
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