HTX-TOM: Impact 9/12/2025

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Skyler Nguyen, a senior at Tomball Star Academy, won’t forget passing out “secret note[s] of kindness” and seeing the happiness on the students she handed the unexpected notes to. This is one of the missions of the Hope Squad, a mental health support program that allows students in all three Tomball ISD high schools to become trained peer supporters. 

What you need to know: Hope Squad was created in 2024 amid a growing need to address mental health concerns in youth, according to a November 2024 news release about the squad. Now, for the 2025-26 school year, the group is expanding to junior high campuses so it can reach students earlier.

About the program: Steve Shiels, who oversees Hope Squad districtwide, said the peer-nominated group of students are trained to recognize signs of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation in their peers.

Stay tuned: Shiels said they plan to expand Hope Squad to all intermediate campuses over the next two to three years.

Need something to do this weekend? See this list of events going on throughout the Tomball and Magnolia area this weekend. This list is not comprehensive. Events are subject to change.

17th Annual Hummingbird Festival: Celebrate hummingbird migration with the Piney Woods Wildlife Society. Attendees can view hummingbird banding, enjoy live raptors with WildBird Adventures and take a guided nature walk.

• Sept. 13, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Free 
• 20303 Draper Road, Tomball

• Sept. 13, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Free (general admission), $100 (vendor tables)
• Magnolia Event Center, 11659 FM 1488, Magnolia

Austin-based private school Alpha School is aiming to expedite learning for more students using artificial intelligence at new academies opening across the country.

What happened: On Sept. 9, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited Alpha School in Austin alongside Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath. Alpha School co-founder MacKenzie Price highlighted how the school is using AI to personalize and improve students’ education.

What they're saying: “It's the most exciting thing I've seen in education in a long time,” McMahon said about Alpha School. “I'm incredibly enthusiastic about this.”

How it works: Students complete their academic learning in two hours each day using an AI platform known as 2 Hour Learning. Price said the Alpha School model enables students to learn twice as fast as they would in a traditional school setting.

The update: Alpha School opened several new academies across the United States this school year, including a K-3 school in Plano and K-8 school in Fort Worth. The company is planning to open an academy in Houston this winter.

The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office has entered a multiyear partnership with the Human Trafficking Institute to expand local efforts to combat human trafficking, child exploitation and commercial sexual exploitation, according to a Sept. 9 news release. 

Montgomery County is one of the first five counties in Texas to partner with Human Trafficking Institute, per the release.

What you need to know: The initiative will provide law enforcement, prosecutors and frontline agencies with training, investigative tools and subject-matter expertise aimed at improving victim identification, case outcomes and long-term enforcement strategies, according to the release. 

Diving in deeper: The partnership began with a two-day training Sept. 8-9 at the Lone Star Convention Center in Conroe. Sessions covered Texas legal frameworks, proactive victim identification, advanced investigative techniques, digital evidence and cross-agency collaboration.

What’s next: The District Attorney’s Office and Human Trafficking Institute plan to continue hosting technical training sessions for law enforcement and prosecutors throughout the county. Officials said these efforts will build long-term capacity to better identify victims, investigate cases and hold traffickers accountable.