The group meets

at the school every Wednesday before the start of classes to talk about

its goals and network to identify those who need their help. The entire

team is responsible for tracking children and gathering information from

various sources.

"Many

times students might talk to someone in the cafeteria about their problems,

but not share them with their teacher. Or someone in the front office

might hear something that the rest of us might not be aware of,"

says Kelly Chapman, counselor at Rising Starr.

One example

is a student who had not returned his reduced lunch form. Diane Hays,

cafeteria worker, alerted the team to the fact that the student had told

another cafeteria worker that he had not been getting breakfast or dinner

at home.

Once the team

was notified of the situation, they found the resources to provide breakfast

for him in the mornings as well as fix additional sandwiches for him to

take home for dinner after school.

"The first

day we fixed him a bag with the sandwiches he couldn't stop smiling,"

says Chapman. "This was a student who had some discipline problems.

What we did for him changed his whole attitude about school."

After students

are identified they are continuously followed. One way the team keeps

in touch with students is by mailing a postcard to their homes with the

words "We CARE about you!"

Not only does

CARE touch the lives of students, but it also reaches out to teachers

­ not just teachers at Rising Starr, but those employed throughout

the system. When a teacher at another middle school went on bed rest due

to significant prenatal complications, money and food were collected to

help her in her time of need.

On a regular

basis, the CARE team helps boost the morale of teachers and staff at the

school by doing thoughtful activities such as putting candy in mailboxes,

providing warm donuts in the morning and baking cookies for an end-of-the-day

snack.

Through a program

called "Stand Up and Take a Bow" staff and teachers recognize

each other for personal accomplishments.

Since there

are no county funds for CARE, the program receives funding through fundraising

activities conducted by the team. Some fundraising activities used by

the team this year include selling Gobblegrams and Snow-man-o-grams to

teachers so that they could send seasonal messages to each other. The

team also started a program where teachers could pay $2 to wear jeans

to work.

In addition

to fundraising, the team also receives financial support from community

business and organizations such as Wal-Mart, Target, Fayette Community

Hospital and Delta Airlines. Items such as eyeglass and school supplies

for needy individuals are just a couple of examples of how Fayette's local

businesses and organizations help support Rising Starr's CARE program.

Rising Starr's

PTO often provides funds for CARE. A parent resource center in the guidance

office equipped with books, video and audio tapes to assist with parenting,

drug and alcohol issues and teen pregnancy is available to all of the

school's parents. The school's counselors utilize PTO and school funds

to supply materials for the center on an annual basis.

Although the

Rising Starr CARE team won the SAPA Georgia Distinguished Award, team

chair Kim Daniel says that team would not have been as successful if it

had not been for the efforts of Spangler who helped the school establish

its team in 1998.

"Karen

deserves an award herself. She goes way above and beyond the call of duty

for all of her CARE coordinators and teams," Daniel comments. "The

CARE program is so lucky to have her. I am impressed with her compassion,

determination and spunk."

The SAPA Georgia

Distinguished Award given to Rising Starr for its CARE team marks the

third year in a row that a Fayette County School has been the recipient

of award.