DVIDS – News – Partners in Education Program Kick-off

FORT BLISS, TX –The Partners in Education Program for school year 2024/25 kicked-off at the Centennial Banquet and Conference Center at Fort Bliss, Sep. 13.

The PIE Program has been active on Fort Bliss for the past 34 years. It’s a project that supports local school programs.

Fort Bliss military leadership redesigned the program so Soldiers could partner in educational enrichment and academic success programs that benefit students at the schools’ districts they partner with.

“We have about 100 partnerships with 10 El Paso school districts,” said Ms. Simone Hendricks, School Liaison Officer and PIE Coordinator. “We have military units that do great things for the schools they partner with.”

Several military personnel and school representatives attended this year’s kick-off event.

Col. Brendan Gallagher, the Fort Bliss Garrison commander served as the guest speaker for the event. He thanked everyone who participated in the program last year and invited unit representatives to spread the word and try to get more Soldier involvement in this year’s program.

The first portion of the event featured an award ceremony for the winning programs during school year 2023/24. Several military units were presented with trophies and certificates thanking them for all their hard work with their partner schools.

The second portion of the event was where military, and school representatives were paired-up with their corresponding partner school, to begin the planning phase for this year’s program.

“We can’t do all we want to do without the support from our Soldiers,” said Hendricks. “Soldier support is critical; for the kids to be able to see Soldiers in uniform around their schools, it’s a win-win for us and the districts.”

Schools that signed up for the program but couldn’t have a representative attend the event will be notified of their military unit that will be partnering with them so they can get together and begin the planning process for this year’s program.

“It’s a two-fold partnership,” said Hendricks. “Units invite their school representatives and their students to attend events on post and in turn, the schools invite members of their partner Army units to attend events at their schools. It’s a give and take.”