Welfare Workers Club provides test day snacks
When it comes to making a difference, Leslie Hill has a saying passed down from one of her grandparents.
“If you can light just one little candle, what a brighter world it will be,” she said.
That “one little candle” was lit last month at Taylor High School. Hill, president of the Welfare Workers Club, some of her fellow club members and Taylor businessman Rick Von Pfeil handed out snacks to students the morning of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test.
Leslie Hill, president of the Welfare Workers Club, is all smiles as students walk through the line to grab goodies prior to taking a state standardized test last month.
The Welfare Workers Club, the oldest Black female organization in Williamson County, was organized in 1935 by the late Magnolia P. Dickey, the wife of the late Dr. James Lee Dickey, a pioneering African American physician.
The STAAR snacks started in 2023 with plenty of motivation behind the effort, according to Hill.
“There was a group of kids a few years ago who did not pass the STAAR test,” she said. “They couldn’t graduate unless they passed the STAAR test.”
Hill took action. She visited Principal Matt Wamble, who invited the Welfare Workers Club to help get the kids in a good state of mind for the test.
“Mrs. Hill came up with this amazing idea as a way to help make a difference in the lives of Taylor High School students,” Wamble said. “Mrs. Hill is the driving force behind this effort and she always provides a positive pep talk on the inaugural first day of STAAR testing.”
Hill said volunteers set up a table with snacks including chips, Pop Tarts, Nutri-grain Soft Baked Breakfast Bars and Cheez-It crackers, to name a few.
“They (students) select what they want to take with them to the test room,” Hill said.
Wamble said the arrangement has been a hit with pupils.
“The students really enjoy seeing the group of volunteers on testing day,” Wamble said. “It provides them extra motivation and lets them know that their community is behind them.”
Von Pfeil, who was approached by Hill to help sponsor the project, loves being a part of the program.
“My favorite part, actually, is working with Mrs. Hill and how much she cares about our Taylor students,” Von Pfeil said. “She has an energy and genuine passion to help these kids do the best they can on these tests.”
One of Von Pfeil’s fondest memories took place two years ago.
“Mrs. Hill gave quite a pep rally speech to the students the morning of the tests,” he said. “It was funny because their faces went from a sleepy gloom to a caffeinated focus in about three minutes.”
As for Hill, her motivation for the program is simple.
“I love children and I feel like I’m doing something for them,” she said.
In addition to the Welfare Workers Club, Brown Distributing and Helping Hands Ministries have assisted with providing snacks.
The state is fading out the STAAR, an annual mandatory exam given to public school students. Under a new law, state House Bill 8, the one-day, high-stakes STAAR test will be replaced by three smaller exams starting in the 2027-28 academic year.
Nell Shaw, (left) and Leslie Hill of the Welfare Workers Club have given snacks to Taylor High School students the day of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test each year since 2023. Courtesy photos
Don Hill (left), Leslie Hill, Rick Von Pfeil and Nell Shaw pose in front of the snacks they gave to Taylor High School students who took the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test last month. Don Hill is a former Taylor mayor.
