TJJD News & Announcements

The annual National Day of Prayer on May 3 prompted multiple gatherings across TJJD campuses. McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility held a prayer breakfast with several speakers and a bounty of food delivered by volunteers. Eligible youth attended, bowing their heads in prayer along with Mart Chaplain Larrye Weaver and other pastoral leaders who visited and spoke. At the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Facility, a large group of volunteers arrived to lead a service in the chapel and also provide one-on-one prayer with youth who asked to participate in this very personal moment. Other secure facilities received volunteers and mentors, who organized events and prayed with youth. At Giddings State School, more than a dozen youth participated in a balloon release outside the chapel. At the Gainesville State School, an Epiphany group visited with youth. PHOTO: Youth at the Giddings State School release balloons.

Gainesville staff are proud to announce that one of their school’s basketball players, KA, was named to the All-State Basketball, Second Team, in the TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) League. This same student was named Offensive Player of the Year in the district, where he averaged 18 points per game, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. He led the Tornadoes Basketball Team to a 13-6 record overall, and 7-3 in the district. The Tornadoes tied for second place in the district during the regular season. But they lost in the state playoffs to Colleyville Christian, the #1 ranked team in the state. KA has been “a great example in both football and basketball this year,” said Henry Thomas, Athletic Director and Basketball Coach for Gainesville’s Lone Star High School North. This student athlete also excelled off the court, making the A/B honor roll multiple times and completing his GED (high school equivalency diploma) in  October 2017, Coach T