Lane School’s Family Fridays Initiative Receives $600 Donation From H-E-B

Lane School Principal Dr. Brittany Shields, far left, with students, staff and Summerwood Market H-E-B employees.

Lane School students are putting real-world skills into practice through the campus’ Family Fridays initiative, supported by a $600 donation in H-E-B gift cards for Community-Based Instruction.

Lane School, an Aldine ISD transition school, serves students ages 18-22 as they prepare for greater independence, employment and adulthood. Through individualized instruction and real-world experiences, students develop essential life, social and job-readiness skills.

The second Family Friday community experience took place Sept. 11 at Summerwood Market H-E-B, where students worked together to shop for ingredients for meals they would later prepare on campus. Family Fridays will take place every three weeks throughout the school year.

The campus-wide initiative is designed to build relationships, a sense of belonging and campus pride while connecting students to meaningful goals and experiences.

“When I created Family Fridays, we wanted every student at Lane to have a family within our school, a group where they know they belong, where they celebrate one another’s growth and encourage each other to reach their goals,” Lane School Principal Dr. Brittany Shields said. “We are building campus pride, but we are also preparing our students to see themselves as valued, contributing members of the larger community.”

As part of the initiative, students are grouped into Lane Families, creating smaller communities within the campus. The groups come together to participate in activities, celebrate successes, work toward goals and build relationships with their peers and staff.

Community-Based Instruction is also incorporated into Family Fridays, allowing students to apply what they are learning in the classroom in real-world settings.

During the Sept. 11 visit, three families grabbed shopping carts and worked together to purchase their ingredients. Each family planned a different meal: nachos, chili cheese dogs and chicken and waffles with milkshakes.

Before heading to the store, students created grocery lists that included each ingredient, the quantity needed, estimated cost and aisle where the item could be found. While shopping, students used the H-E-B app to compare prices and double-check item locations. They also practiced comparing measurements, including pounds and ounces, as they selected the items they needed.

At checkout, each student had an opportunity to use a gift card to complete a purchase at the register.

After shopping, students returned to Lane School, where they worked with their families to prepare the meals before sitting down to enjoy them with their Lane families.

The experience helped students practice communication, money management, decision-making, problem-solving and other skills connected to their individual transition goals.

“There is so much joy in seeing community partners like H-E-B believe in that vision and invest in our students,” Shields said. “This $600 is more than a donation; it creates real opportunities for our students to practice independence, build confidence and experience success beyond the classroom. Our students are benefiting because our community is helping us turn learning into real life.”

Through Family Fridays and support from community partners like H-E-B, Lane School provides students with meaningful opportunities to build confidence, strengthen their skills and prepare for greater independence beyond Lane.

Click here to see more photos from Lane School’s Family Fridays trip to H-E-B.