San Antonio Educational Opportunities Committee Meeting - June 16, 2026
San Antonio Educational Opportunities Committee Meeting - June 16, 2026
The meeting, chaired by Councilmember Galvan, convened at approximately 10:00 AM and concluded at 11:18 AM. The committee received three presentations: a community schools model overview, a student-led mental health and budget priority survey, and a higher education retention study. Councilmembers Cort, McKee Rodriguez, Munguía, and Castillo were present. No public comments were offered.
Discussion Items
1. Community Schools Model Presentation
- Alejandra López, a teacher and assistant, presented the community schools model, emphasizing a strong, systematic curriculum and certificated teachers. She described the model as involving families, restorative practices, and collaborative decision-making. López cited a 2021 California investment of $4.0 billion (state) and $670 million (federal) in community school initiatives, and noted the model’s potential for San Antonio’s 17 districts.
- Councilmember Cort highlighted the importance of community involvement from the start and suggested identifying a community liaison to align schools with city services.
- Councilmember Munguía stressed the need for early intervention, especially for children aged 13–14 in the colonias.
- Councilmember Castillo supported the model as a framework for city-funded support, proposing innovative funding strategies rather than traditional consulting.
2. Youth Mental Health Survey and Budget Priorities
- Debian Burium, a senior at Episcopal School and student council representative for 2025-2026, presented on behalf of the Student Commission (SIC). She reported 185 survey responses from all districts, identifying top priorities: affordable housing, homeless services, police camp cleanups, emergency services, libraries, recreation, and mental health. Students emphasized stability and safety as foundational for academic success.
- Councilmember Galvan noted alignment with city budget priorities, particularly around libraries and youth programs, and encouraged early registration for youth events.
- Councilmember McKee Rodriguez asked about outreach to students before they leave school and suggested involving adult mentors to sustain engagement.
3. Higher Education Retention Survey
- Victoria Shepley (President of the Higher Education Advisory Council) and Jonah Calman Espinoza (University of Texas representative) presented a survey of 550 respondents. Key findings:
- 59.7% were first-generation students, 60% received Pell Grants, 52.7% other grants, 26.5% had disabilities, and 20% were parents or guardians.
- 38% considered leaving or left college; 54% cited financial situations, 30% mental health, and 30% family responsibilities.
- Recommendations: (1) collaborate with partners like Café College and local universities, (2) improve financial aid knowledge through city initiatives and private sector sharing, (3) engage DHS communications to support awareness, (4) advocate for accessible childcare and parental support programs, and (5) continue data collection to address gaps.
- Councilmember Castillo requested more detail on the specific financial challenges (e.g., housing costs, caregiving responsibilities) and suggested using social media platforms to reach students.
- Councilmember McKee Rodriguez emphasized the need for stable funding for programs like Ready to Work, and noted reductions in federal aid for certain programs.
- Councilmember Galvan encouraged connecting the commission with Café College and aligning with childcare credit initiatives (CCR), and supported unifying the city’s educational resource webpage under a single .gov domain.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken; the committee received the presentations and expressed appreciation.
- Councilmembers directed the presenters to continue collaborating with Café College, Ready to Work, and other city departments.
- A recommendation was made to develop a consolidated city webpage for education resources (e.g., higher education, community schools) to improve accessibility.
- The committee acknowledged the importance of ongoing data collection and committed to follow up on the higher education retention recommendations in future budget discussions.
Meeting Transcript
Buenos días, soy minutos. El concejal CORT, Concejal McKee Rodriguez, Concejal Mungía, Concejal Castillo aquí. La silla galvan. Vamos a hablar acerca de los minutos, the minutes. Those who are de acuerdo, I. Are there one commentary public? No. Entonces vamos a dirigirnos immediatamente. And these models have a Alejandro López, por favor, venga, adelante. Estoy confundido porque Alejandro López, porque is an asistente, and three of us, Alejandra López. Hola, those quiero decirle que my diapositive nos transferts. Soy una maestra oficial and the position for a moment. So the president who apoyed the personal of the schools of the district scholar. Yes, there are letters, but I think that's what I think that is describing. The first two is the curriculum fuerte and systematized. in an education bastante conjunta. And dentro of the communities of alta calidad is bastante that the maestros are certificated and collaboration for analysis, the students. Desgraciadamente in the most institutions that are content maestros que no están certificados ando andas que somos bastante con bastante passion is for example el consejo de la gente para obtener information que pone a los padres y a los educadores anders in the mesa para que ellos hagan sus decisions and comparten sus decisions and inclusive el éxito de los studios anders and structural de una manera que impresiona a la escuela or impact will have information, sino que también decisions collectivamente anda cultura que involucra salvaguardia, acerca de lo que antes llamaba a la disciplina, porque nuestros estudiantes son seres humanos, hablamos acerca de la administración de la clase, ahora y sus interactions, a los estudiantes anders and implementing restaurant in the terrenos of the school, the circular restaurant and tratando el comportamiento of the students in the escuolas, which is a topic in the school, especially the epidemic of COVID. The family and the society with the community is bastard, verse families, and not for ellos being a junta of pads, sino that when the study training is a demuest that the educators are a very conjunction with the families and more result. communidades of the escuelas, mediando el impacto of the escuelas in el in Nueva York and Nueva York estamos hablando de un scenario totalmente different, pero tienen bastante inclusive similar to the Nueva York and all of the impact in the asistencia or the reduction of the actions disciplinarians or accumulation of creditors. In 2021 in California, we saw a inversion in the community in this model of the pusieron 4.0 million, millions of billones in comparison with the inversion de National in aquatic era 670 million invertidos for the government and California for the organization, the study, involucrarily in the model of the school, como una respuesta de todo lo que ellos están después de COVID, andas in 2021, todavía estamos dentro de la pandemia, butamos la impact of this equilibrio occasional, pero ocasionó modelos bastante fuertes, como los que ya mostramos que se creó este programma in the que las escuelas and this report, salió este inverno passado, pero es actual y es comprensivo andar el éxito de lo que hemos visto antes. Lo que hemos notado más is that the logos were bastante for the students and distributed dinero con unicity. And we can have a lot of constantly is that we have to maybe assist and maybe logic academics in the communities that are marginalized economically and this studio enseña that is a manner to be inequities of the schools and actions dental as a community for example in Los Angeles Unified District administrative manner and involucrado and ellos entrenched by empodery para demonstration entre the escuel, the paddle and the community for the community in San Antonio con 17 districts, the presentation, a nivel de district, and we say that the society concept is an opportunity and we explore alineado que apoy these expectatives, lo que es directly, vamos a tener que invertir más dinero in the services of the school and important and those are the school is como the gente para que have decisions acerca y de nuestros estudiantes andas decisions is also important to desarroll buenos resulting. Muchas gracias por the presentation and appreciate it enough to detalle opinions. No, okay, conceived core much of the presentation is bastante and basically the model of the school and as important is the piece of the envoltura Gracias por la presentación. Gracias, Presidente, andas Alejandra fora presentación, porque this is a presentation in what the prioridades de lo que estamos viendo and when you have climático andar suspensiones que se tienen andas conversaciones cuando se tienen los programas de los jóvenes que nos están proveyendo la ayuda, porque no hay mucho énfasis in ayuda de 13 a 14 años, por la experiencia in the colonia is donde los niños necesitan la mayor ayuda. Muchas gracias. Usted tiene information of the agencies of delegación, cuando están las necessidades or what is the apocalypse that you can have. Look at the most hecho ya for various años, sobre todo in the district scholar de San Antonio, because much of the siren are the niños. Ya sea si pueden ver cómo se puede trabajar entonces. Gracias. Yo voy a decir una de las modelos de lo que es la community, is that it implemented desde el inicio del proceso. Es la persona responsable para la alineación, particularmente entre la escuela anders que están llegando. Esa va a ser la persona que va a estar conduciendo la planear las juntas anders fortalecido, pero es simplemente alguien de la comunidad que empiece a saber ando. Muchas gracias. Explora lo que se tiene para ver cómo podemos continuar con ese trabajo. Alguien más que quiero decir algo. El movimiento que siga de adelante porque tiene un impact. Y vemos con esto in este plantel. Aparte de justicia y liderazgo y curriculum si podemos identificar y eso creo que nos puede ayudar a defender el trabajo que se está haciendo. Gracias, presidente. Y estoy pensando, lo que he estado pensando in terminium, for example, la escuela, las escuelas in San Antonio, que se tienen muchos distritos invocar facilitar in the different distritos and that are a familiar, a los profesores que tengan la información. Yo creo que si tiene usted un marco de referencia de que se puede apoyar con la ciudad, and it would have been not a queen of the consultory, sino series innovative para la ciudad de San Antonio, como se puede ver personas que puedan tener ese modelo de escuela comunitaria. Yo creo que es las fundos. Muchas gracias. Muchísimas gracias, Alejandra, por la presentación and continue on the conversation in this. in the presupuesto and what are the result of educatives in the areas y de Jonia Martinez y Victoria Shepley, which is the president of the Junta Directive, and the encuesta del año 2025 of the estudiantes in San Antonio and what seven para que continue losses tening éxito. Muy buenos president yo soy Debian Burium, yo soy un senior in the escuel episcopal and concejal for the año 2025 2026 yo represent in the debate nacional and honorada para presentar la commission of estudiantil de educación superior encuesta antes de que iniciamos me gustaría proveer un panorama breve oficial primero voy a presentar el SIC and the priorities that are the encuest and the presupuest will reflect the is important for sure y para éxito a futuro and the conexion in these prioridades and the result of the students in San Antonio. El CICI se estableció el 25 julio de 1991 for a plataforma de gobernation para los estudiantes para poder desarrollar soluciones anders son 22 escuelas preparatorias andas clave que afectan a los jóvenes anders y este es el equipo de salud mental in sus encuestas que sea el foro que sea liderado por los jóvenes y una cumbre. Estos son los miembros actual de acuerdo su distrito y esta es la promoción para el encuesta de salud mental de jóvenes y los que son embajadores para poder comprender las prioridades de los jóvenes para el presupuesto del año 2026, se condujo una encuesta en cuanto a se hizo la encuesta de presupuesto para tener una voz directa in el proceso del presupuesto y se invitó a los jóvenes y jóvenes adultos para que crean cuál es lo que se necesita invertir para el se hizo una junta del ayuntamiento para los jóvenes para proveer a los jóvenes de que puedan aprender del presupuesto y ver qué se necesitan y poder compartir con los líderes.
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