Killeen ISD’s ‘Men in Black say Welcome Back’ program looking for volunteers

KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) -As students prepare to head back to class, Killeen ISD is looking for people to make their return more special.

After submitting an application and passing a background check, volunteers with the program wear black shirts on the first day of school to greet kids as they walk in.

Community Relations Director of KISD, Angenet Wilkerson, says that the program encourages volunteers to connect with students and become mentors.

“Men in black are there to welcome students, to greet them, to plant seeds of positivity... we recruit, we train, and we monitor and we’re helping students through the areas of academics behavior and attendance,” Wilkerson said.

Impact Mentor, Justin Hartsfield, says he was encouraged to do better in school by mentors who guided him, and says that the black shirts can make volunteers easily identifiable.

“There are a lot of adults who walk on campus, from parents to administrators to teachers, but us being in solidarity wearing black says ‘hey these are the guys who are here to pump us up for the day!’” Hartsfield said.

Wilkerson says they have around 135 volunteers now, but are looking to recruit a total of 250 people before the first day of school to be at their 52 campuses.

The first day of school for KISD is August 14th.

To fill out an application, click here.

For more information, click here.

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