Nacogdoches County Schools’ SSA

05/29/2026

Whitney Alvarez

As the school year wraps up, we must say goodbye to an incredible member of our team, Whitney Alvarez. 🥹🫶

As a Diagnostician, she brought organization, dedication, and excellence to everything she did. She consistently went above and beyond for students, staff, and families, always striving to learn more, grow professionally, and discover new ways to better support the students we serve. Her passion for helping others and commitment to doing what is best for kids has left a lasting impact on our team and our districts. She is truly like family and an important part of our dream team 🌈

🥹While it is difficult to see her go, we are so thankful for the time we had with her. Her contributions, positive attitude, and heart for students made her time with us truly special.

🫶Although we will miss her greatly, we are also excited for her as she begins a new chapter and pursues new opportunities. We know she will continue to do amazing things wherever she goes.

Whitney- Thank you for everything you brought to our team. You will always be a valued part of our story, and we wish you nothing but success and happiness in the future. 💙

05/27/2026

👂🗣️May is Better Hearing and Speech Month!
Better Hearing and Speech Month is a month-long observance aimed at increasing awareness of communication and swallowing disorders and the life-changing services that speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and those within related fields provide. 👏👏👏
This month we will highlight each of our speech team members here on our page!
🤩Kaitlin Berry is a Speech Language Pathologist serving Chireno ISD and Garrison ISD. Kaitlin’s smile and compassion has made an unforgettable impact on the students she works with!
We have been blessed to have Kaitlin on our team and working with our students. If you see her out and about give her a BIG THANK YOU 😊
Lacy Cain, Director
💜Pictured-Kaitlin Berry, SLP, Kaitlin Berry

05/27/2026

💙May is Better Hearing and Speech Month!
May Is Better Hearing and Speech Month is a month-long observance aimed at increasing awareness of communication and swallowing disorders and the life-changing services that speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and those within related fields provide.
This month we will highlight each of our speech team members here on our page!
💙Ashley Good is a Speech Language Pathology Assistant serving Chireno ISD and Garrison ISD. Ashley’s love of her career and her love for helping children truly shows!
We are so blessed to have Ashley on our team and working with our students. If you see her out and about give her a BIG THANK YOU 😊
Lacy Cain, Director
💙Pictured-Ashley Good, SLP-A , Ashley Good

05/23/2026

😊Please help us welcome our newest Speech-Language Pathologist to the Nacogdoches County Schools’ SSA team, Makenzie Ray🎉

She is entering her first official year in education and is excited to begin making a difference in the lives of students and families across our districts.

She shared:
“I’m looking forward to helping students become better communicators and giving back to the communities that have supported me.”

Born and raised in East Texas, she is also a proud recent graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, where she earned her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology.

We are excited to have her join our team and cannot wait to see the positive impact she will make by supporting students in building communication skills and confidence throughout the upcoming school year! 💙 Welcome Makenzie 🌈🫶

05/23/2026

😊Please help us give a warm welcome to our newest team member, Jocelyn Zertuche, our School Psychology Intern! 🎉

She may officially have one year of experience in education, but her passion for working with children began long before that. Since the age of 14, she has been dedicated to supporting and caring for children and families. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2023, she continued working with young children and families while pursuing her master’s degree in School Psychology.

She shared:
“I’m so excited to start my internship and continue growing in this field, gaining hands-on experience, and supporting students academically, socially, and emotionally this upcoming year.”

As a first-generation Mexican American, this accomplishment holds special meaning for both her and her family. Their sacrifices, encouragement, and unwavering support have helped make this journey possible.

We are excited to have her officially joining the Nacogdoches County Schools’ SSA team and look forward to the positive impact she will make for our students, families, and districts! 💙 Welcome Jocelyn 🫶🌈

05/23/2026

📣 Help us welcome a new member of our Dream Team, Tannah Hughes!

We are excited to introduce our newest ARD Manager for the Nacogdoches County Schools’ SSA! 🎉

She will be starting her 5th year in education this August and brings a passion for learning and growing within the field of special education. She shared that she is especially looking forward to learning a different side of special education and gaining new experiences in her new role.

Outside of work, she and her husband will celebrate four years of marriage this July! 💙 They also have two precious puppies and love traveling together. So far, they have visited 13 states and even traveled out of the country once — and they are excited to see where their next adventure takes them! ✈️🐾

We are thrilled to have her joining our SSA family and cannot wait to see the positive impact she will make for our students, staff, and districts! Welcome Tannah 🌈 Tannah Hughes

-Lacy Cain, director-

05/23/2026

💙May is Better Hearing and Speech Month!
May Is Better Hearing and Speech Month is a month-long observance aimed at increasing awareness of communication and swallowing disorders and the life-changing services that speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and those within related fields provide.

🌈This month we will highlight each of our speech team members here on our page!

👋Shelby McBride is a Speech Language Pathology Assistant serving Martinsville , Garrison & Excelsior ISD. Sadly Shelby won’t be returning for the 26-27 school year but we feel so blessed to have her on our dream team the last two years! Shelby is truly one of a kind & we wish her all the best 🫶

Lacy Cain, Director

💙Pictured-Shelby McBride,SLPA
Shelby McBride

05/22/2026

We celebrated our SPEECH team yesterday for Speech & Hearing month! We truly do have THE BEST SPEECH team ever 💕 and are so thankful for all they do! 🌈
Pictured left to right: Ashley Good, Taylor Reid, Erin Keeling, Lydia Richardson, and Shelby McBride
Front row: Sarah Cunningham and Makenzie Ray (new to our team)
Not pictured but loved as much: Kaitlin Berry

05/21/2026

School-Based Behavior Supports: A Guide for Families

In this recorded webinar, staff from the Texas Education Agency joined SPEDTex and Partners Resource Network for an informative presentation on school-based behavior support. This webinar provides practical tools and insights to help families and schools work together to support students. You can view the webinar recording and presentation slides to learn more.

05/21/2026

Talking Book Program Summer Reading Program
The Talking Book Program (TBP) provides free library services to qualifying Texans with visual, physical, or reading disabilities that prevent them from reading standard print. The TBP collection consists of more than 100,000 titles, including hundreds of titles in Spanish, and some in French, German, Russian, and other languages.

Registration for the TBP Summer Reading Program is FREE and is open now through August 9.

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