For outstanding achievement in leadership, service, and activities that improve the school and community, Eagle Pass High School Student Council has been named as a Sweepstakes Council. Sweepstakes councils must be recognized as an Outstanding Student Council and receive awards in the categories of Drugs, Alcohol, Safety and Health (DASH); Pride and Patriotism; and Energy and Environment as well as submitting a Community Service Report.
The Texas Association of Student Councils (TASC) has 1269 member schools. Of those, Eagle Pass High School is one of only 230 student councils statewide to receive this highly-esteemed honor.
Student Council members develop proven skills in team building, problem solving, project planning, and decision making. Through their co-curricular activities, student council members serve their communities while strengthening their academic and civic skills.
Jacqueline Gonzalez, President of EPHS Student Council expressed her excitement in earning this recognition saying, “We are honored to be named Outstanding Student Council and to receive Sweepstakes recognition which means we excelled in all areas. We would have not accomplished this without the hard work and time our Student Council members invested every day to create a change.”
EPHS Student Council strives to help the campus and the community year-round.
For the 2017-2018 school year EPHS StuCo logged 10,997 community service hours; they donated $52,266.60 to the school and community, $38,000 of which were in blood donations; and $3,500 in cash donations.
“Every year EPHS Student Council tries to help those in need. For example, this year we not only collected items for Hurricane Harvey victims, but we also made two donations of $500 to the high schools most affected by the hurricane; Rockport-Fulton HS and Port Aransas HS,” stated Dolores Rodriguez, Student Council adviser. “We do this because we want our members to develop into kind and empathic citizens. As corny as it may sound, if we hope to make this world a better place we must start by teaching our youth to be better human beings. EPHS Student Council gives them the opportunity to achieve this goal,” she added.
The TASC outstanding school recognition program is designed to set a standard of excellence for Texas student councils as outlined in criteria published in state report forms. The report forms are reviewed annually by the TASC Board of Directors to ensure that the recognition program is rigorous and relevant. Fewer than 20% of TASC member schools are recognized in one or more areas, so this is quite an accomplishment of which Eagle Pass High School is very proud.
TASC is a non-profit serving high school and middle level student councils in Texas. Sponsored by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals, its purposes are to develop leadership abilities in students, promote democracy as a way of life, and uphold high standards for local councils. With over 1200 member schools, it is the largest state student leadership organization in the US.
