Mesquite ISD Read Play Talk Magazine Spring 2018 | Page 8

T
hanks to the kindness and
creativity of a local church body,
Mesquite’s ReadPlayTalk initiative
continues to pick up steam. Pastors
Aaron and Sara Escamilla of New
Community Church (NCC) recently
heard Superintendent Dr. David
Vroonland speak about the vision
of ReadPlayTalk and decided they
wanted to get involved.
Page 8
A part of the Mesquite faith community for the last
eight years, Lead Pastor Aaron Escamilla said his
church has a “desire to make an impact in the
community.” And when he decided to partner
with Mesquite ISD on ReadPlayTalk, he didn’t
want just the church’s leadership to “own” the
project—he and his wife Sara sought to ensure
everyone in the church got involved.
So, the Escamillas and NCC staff got busy. The
church’s “New Kids” children’s church group chose
ReadPlayTalk as its focus for the 2017 Christmas
giving season and pledged to raise $1,000 in
support of the initiative. Additionally, the church
hosted a ReadPlayTalk Family Night to kick off the
challenge, selling pizza and baked goods at the
event.
Sara, the church’s children’s pastor, helped establish
a Mother’s Day Out program that would incorporate
ReadPlayTalk into the curriculum. The content
is centered around play-based engagement and
learning through discovery.
“NCC is really passionate about empowering the
next generation. We know that when we make
an investment in our children and in our students’
lives, it’s not just improving them—it’s changing the