12-02-2025
Alternative Center reaches CREST with award
Feb. 11—With a fluctuating number of students in grades kindergarten through 12, the Alternative Education Center has been consistent in its counseling earning the CREST Award two years in a row.
CREST stands for Counselors Reinforcing Excellence for Students in Texas.
Sponsored by the Texas School Counselor Association, the recognition celebrates school counseling programs that demonstrate excellence in communication, continuous improvement, and commitment to supporting student success.
The counseling team is made up of Brenda Creear and Reynaldo Duran with support from Teena Castillo with Communities in Schools, Principal Amanda Warber and Assistant Principal Steve Parker. They received the award in Galveston.
Creear is the mental health counselor and Duran is the academic counselor. Both are licensed professional counselors in Texas.
There are currently 81 students at the center.
Duran said he also volunteers to provide mental health counseling.
"I'm super proud. I know our counselors work so hard to meet the individual needs of our students," Warber said.
Parker added that they are the best group around.
"We're very blessed to be able to provide wraparound services ... so that families can get that support. We're really trying to target everybody, whoever needs help within that family environment; we're there," Warber said.
Duran said the award was a great validation that they are doing what's expected by the Texas Education Agency.
Castillo said the secret to their success is being united and being a family.
"We come together. There's no 'I' in team. We all work together," Castillo said.
Warber added that they all want what's best.
"There's no ego involved. If Mr. Duran needs to take the lead, if he tells me this is going on, then we follow his lead. If a situation comes up and she (Creear) comes and tells us this is what needs to be done, we do it," Warber said.
She added that they trust each other.
"We know each person's capability and we trust it," Warber said.
They transitioned one of their teaching positions to a behavior interventionist. Her name is Pasha Cornish.
"When the kids want to fight, she does peer mediation with them," Warber said.
The peer mediation gives the students an opportunity to talk. Modeling positive behavior has also been crucial, she said.
All schools are eligible for the award, he said.
"We have started this conversation with the district counseling department to spread the implementation of the Texas counseling model so that other schools will also be on the same page," Duran said.
He added that it's not something the Alternative Education Center does differently than other schools.
"We document what we do ... which is the same thing they're doing in terms of activities. They even probably do more. They're just not documenting, so that's kind of the gap," Duran said.
If everyone documented what they were doing they could get recognition as well.
"We're happy that we have maintained that," Duran said.
Creear said there are different regions and the AEC is in Region 18.
Duran said he discussed going for the award as a new counselor and Warber went for the idea.
"It's also a way for us to advocate. Our counseling program here at the alternative (center) is not really ... a separate ... entity. We are providing services to literally the community, not just our school; it's literally the whole ECISD population ... One because kids are coming here from different schools. Second, because we know it's not a solo act. Our community needs to be part of this journey, supporting our kids, because in the future they are the ones who are going to be leading us and who is going to be helping us except us," Duran said.
He added that the AEC has a lot of networks.
"That's one thing that I'm very proud of. We invite anybody to come over and then they're very, very supportive of us. ... We have a lot of organizations coming in," Duran said.
Crossroads Fellowship is starting to provide services to the students. Harmony Home Children's Advocacy Center offers their program every year.
They also have Saturday school for students who need to earn credit hours. Also during Saturday school, they invite people in to talk to the students. That includes students from other schools and adults who volunteer.
Medical students from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center have come to talk to the students about drugs.
Creear said there is also an organization of businessmen who speak to the kids and encourage them.
Also, the Permian Basin Regional Council on Alcohol and Drugs, a suicide prevention organization and the 1:11 Project.
Parker said the counselors also work with the teachers.
"They work well with the teachers, the staff. They're here for you. Mr. Duran is always checking on us. Every morning I see him talking to teachers, making sure they're OK. He even checks on me sometimes. That's not something you see in other schools. I've worked in a lot of them and you just don't see that," Parker said.
"The counselors are always there," he added.
