In a high school auditorium, a Dallas ISD police officer wore a blue Santa hat and blasted white fluff into the air as flakes of fake snow fell onto a crowd of chattering students.
His real name is Omar Sepulveda, but for more than a decade, when the holiday season swings around, they call him Officer Claus.
“Ready to get some toys?” Sepulveda called out. “Raise your hands if you’re ready!”
At a toy giveaway at Seagoville High School on Monday morning, about 50 students with special needs huddled into the front rows. They eyed a plethora of toys on the stage — dolls, stuffed animals, shiny cars — with excitement.
The Education Lab
Student Ever Valerio looks in awe at the fake snow during Operation Officer Claus at Seagoville High School on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Dallas. The toys come from donations.
Christine Vo / Staff Photographer
Freshman Brieosha Owens picked up a radio and a pair of Bluetooth earphones. She plans to jam out to her favorite holiday song, “O Christmas Tree,” on her new devices.
When junior Chance Roberson walked into the auditorium and caught a glimpse of the toys, he felt instantly delighted. Though he has participated in the giveaway before, this time still felt new and exciting, Roberson said.
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At tables, student volunteers cut gift-wrapping paper and packaged the toys neatly (and sometimes, a little crumply) in festive red paper. High school senior Karime Estrada skipped her Entrepreneurship class to volunteer.
Estrada, wearing a spunky elf costume fit for a runway, learned to wrap gifts from her mother. She admits her mother, a gift-wrapping guru, beats her in the art of parceling a toy.
“Since I started my high school, I have just been all about community, getting together,” she said. “Seeing their happy faces really brings joy.”
On the stage, students and staff members snapped flicks with a holly and jolly Santa, against a backdrop made up of red, green and gold balloons. The Dallas Morning News considered preserving the magic of Christmas by granting anonymity to Santa, but unfortunately, St. Nick was a security officer named Jacob Cuevas.
“It’s a little warm [in the costume] but I mean, it’s worth the smiles,” he said behind a fluffy white beard.
Students take a photo with Santa during Operation Officer Claus at Seagoville High School on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Dallas. DISD police officer Jacob Cuevas dressed up as Santa.
Christine Vo / Staff Photographer
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Instead of nine flying reindeer, Officer Claus has a contingent of officers, like Cuevas, help him deliver the toys. The man at the helm, Omar Sepulveda, has worked in Dallas ISD for about 14 years, and started the toy drive more than a decade ago.
In 2014, he asked ROTC cadets to help him organize a toy drive at Dr. L.G. Pinkston Sr. High School for students with special needs and children at the Children’s Medical Center Dallas.
“It started there and from there, it just got bigger,” he said in an interview. “We liked it, so we kept doing it.”
Since then, the toy drive has expanded with collection boxes around Dallas ISD schools. Now, he distributes about 1,000 toys. This year, he started the giveaway at Seagoville High School, which is considered the main event, and then will visit more schools to spread holiday cheer.
It takes creativity to run the toy drive. Before Monday’s event, he hosted a taco pop-up at the Dallas ISD Police Department headquarters Dec. 5. In exchange for a plate of steaming goodness, people donate toys or money.
Inspired by his childhood experiences, he wants every child to have access to gifts. That’s a message that resonated with staff members, like Rebecca Perez, a teacher assistant at Seagoville High School.
Perez said the event means “everything to the kids.” For some, it may be the only gift they receive this holiday season, she said.
“We’re so blessed that we have an officer who was able to come on our campus and bless the kids with a gift,” she said.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.