OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Educational Opportunities Committee Meeting - June 16, 2026

Council Committees — Tuesday, June 16, 2026
BodySan Antonio, Texas
SessionCouncil Committees
DateTuesday, June 16, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:13:24
Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

Well, good morning, everybody.

0:05

It is 10.04 a.m.

0:07

and we will officially call the educational opportunities meeting to order.

0:10

Madam Clerk, we please call the roll.

0:13

Councilmember Corr.

0:15

Councilmember McKee Rodriguez.

0:18

Councilmember Mungia.

0:20

Councilmember Castillo.

0:22

Here.

0:22

Chair Godland.

0:24

Sir, we have a quorum.

0:25

Thank you so much.

0:26

First things first, do we have any uh edits to the minutes?

0:30

If not, can I get a motion to approve?

0:34

All in favor, please say aye.

0:36

Aye.

0:36

Any opposed, any abstentions?

0:38

Moving along.

0:39

Um, do we have any public comment today?

0:43

All right, then we will jump right into it.

0:45

Today we have a couple presentations.

0:46

Uh, we have first and foremost a conversation around community schools, a kind of model of ways that uh communities can intervene with and support our local schools and ways they can kind of help our larger community in that work itself.

0:59

Uh so for that model, we have Alejandro Lopez who we're presenting today, so come on up.

1:05

Not to be confused.

1:08

There's an Alejandra Lopez who is the executive assistant to the superintendent at SAISD, so there's three of us.

1:14

There's three of us.

1:17

Okay.

1:17

Uh hello, everyone.

1:19

I do want to say that my very cute typeface did not transfer into this, and so um I would not choose Times New Roman for this topic.

1:26

I just want let the record reflect.

1:28

Um, my name is Alejandro Lopez.

1:31

It is an honor and a privilege to be here in front of the committee today.

1:34

I am a second grade teacher on leave for my position and currently serve as the president of the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel.

1:42

We're the union that represents teachers and support personnel in San Antonio ISD.

1:48

Um, and so excited to be here to give a very brief overview of the community schools model.

1:55

So when we talk about community schools, the term community schools gets uh, I would say enters into the conversation often.

2:04

And oftentimes people are talking about a model which is largely around wraparound services.

2:10

And so that can include a food pantry, a clothing closet, additional tutoring.

2:17

And while we know that those wraparound services, particularly in a district like San Antonio ISD or really any of your southern um districts, is incredibly important because of the working class communities of color we serve.

2:30

When our union um and other organizations that are interested in transformational change talk about community schools, we uh include so much more.

2:39

And so um I want to share kind of what we consider the pillars of the sustainable and transformational community school models to be.

2:48

And these pillars draw from um both uh American Federation of Teachers, which is um one of our national unions, and the National Education Association, who have really led the way in introducing um this model throughout the country alongside the Institute for Educational Leadership.

3:06

IEL is a nonprofit organization.

3:09

Um their vision is an equitable society in which shared leadership effectively uses all available resources for the betterment of their community, and so I would say it's very telling that IEL is a big proponent of the community schools model.

3:23

They hold a national conference every single year that uh brings together partners, school districts, um, unions from across the country to really talk about the benefits of the model and how we can ensure that the model is truly meeting the needs of our students and families.

3:41

So I'm gonna just briefly go through these pillars.

3:44

These this is they're very wordy on there.

3:46

I know you're not supposed to include this much text, but I just there's so much good stuff here.

3:50

Um, so the first two are a strong and proven curriculum.

3:55

You know, in Texas, we do not take for granted uh what the impact of curriculum is every day in our classrooms.

4:03

And so strong and proven curriculum is a key component.

4:07

It includes, of course, culturally relevant material, something that our union is very passionate about, reflecting the diversity of our students.

4:14

It also includes things like AAP and um IB, two programs that are really rigorous and are college prep.

4:22

Um, and then it also recognizes that sports, arts, all of these things are absolutely necessary to a well-rounded education.

4:30

High quality teaching is another.

4:33

Um, so we, you know, within the community school's model, it is incredibly important that our teachers are fully certified and that they are working collaboratively to plan those lessons, to analyze student work and adjust curriculum.

4:47

Um, you know, it is really unfortunate that particularly in a state like Texas, we have a number of education institutions that are not hiring fully certified teachers, and fully certified knowledgeable teachers is a key component of the community schools model.

4:59

One that we are incredibly passionate about is inclusive leadership.

5:06

So this really builds on what our campuses have right now, which is a campus advisory council, and really, you know, as opposed to just bringing people together to kind of get feedback, really puts both educators, parents, students, and campus administration at the table so that they are making shared decisions.

5:26

And so shared decision making is a really important piece, and it's inclusive of everyone who has a stake in the success of our students and of a school.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Youth Programs█████████████████████████████████████████████62%
Workforce Development████████████████████████████38%
Summary of Proceedings

Educational Opportunities Committee Meeting - June 16, 2026

The Educational Opportunities Committee of the San Antonio City Council convened at 10:04 AM on June 16, 2026, with a quorum present. The meeting focused on presentations and discussions regarding the community schools model, youth budget priorities, and higher education student barriers and recommendations. No public comments were heard.

Consent Calendar

  • The minutes from the previous meeting were approved unanimously with no edits or opposition.

Discussion Items

Community Schools Model Presentation

  • Alejandro Lopez, President of the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel, presented on the community schools model, outlining six pillars: strong curriculum, high-quality teaching, inclusive leadership, culture of belonging/safety/care, family/community partnerships, and community support services. He cited research from New York City and California’s $4.1 billion investment, noting gains in academic achievement, attendance, and reduced disciplinary incidents.
  • Councilmember Corr expressed full support for the model and emphasized that wraparound services funded through city delegate agencies align with community schools principles. She warned that potential budget cuts to that funding would be “disastrous” and stressed the importance of after-school and summer programming to prevent summer slide. She also advocated for restorative justice practices.
  • Councilmember Castillo highlighted the value of focusing on school climate and discipline, noting the lack of support for 13-14-year-olds. He asked how the city could better partner with delegate agencies like Big Mama Safe House to align with younger youth needs.
  • Chair Godland (Galvan) asked about coordination between the city and school districts in allocating delegate agency funding. Melody Woosley (Human Services Director) confirmed that city staff works with SAISD and invites district representatives to panel reviews.
  • Mr. Lopez emphasized that a comprehensive needs assessment led by a dedicated community schools coordinator is critical for effective implementation, but noted that funding for such a coordinator is a challenge. He suggested a pilot program across multiple districts.

San Antonio Youth Commission Presentation

  • Divya Beerham, Chair of the San Antonio Youth Commission, presented results from the FY2026 Youth Budget Survey (185 responses) and the 2025 Youth Budget Town Hall. Top youth priorities included affordable housing/homelessness services, libraries, parks and recreation, metro health, and domestic violence protection. She identified three themes: stability at home, educational support beyond school, and health and safety.
  • Councilmember Castillo requested that slide 7 (comparing community vs. youth survey priorities) be included in the full budget briefing, noting alignment with the committee’s work.
  • Councilmember Corr noted that libraries and parks are heavily affected by proposed cuts, directly conflicting with youth priorities. She urged youth to email council members and requested the full survey dataset.
  • Chair Godland asked about engagement timing and how to better reach youth. Divya suggested pre-school-year events and more frequent interactions with government officials.
  • Councilmember Corr also pointed out that the high ranking of domestic violence prevention among youth underscores the importance of the Public Safety Committee’s work on a healthy relationships curriculum for after-school programs.

Higher Education Student Advisory Board Presentation

  • Jonah Martinez (mayoral appointee) and Victoria Shipley (Chair) presented the 2025 San Antonio Higher Education Student Survey (558 respondents, statistically significant). Key findings: 59.7% first-generation, 60% Pell-eligible, 52.7% felt scholarships inaccessible, 26.5% with disabilities, 20% parents (88.3% women), 43% age 25+. Top reasons for considering dropping out: financial hardship (54%), mental health (44%), family responsibilities (39%). 71.7% of student parents said childcare resources would improve persistence.
  • Recommendations included a higher education resource hub, financial literacy programming (e.g., via the Financial Empowerment Center), enhanced social media outreach, expanded affordable childcare eligibility (e.g., modifying the R City Cares program), and continued survey/data collection.
  • Councilmember Corr asked about proportional representation across institutions; staff noted 16 institutions were represented but could not confirm proportionality. She also suggested exploring cross-population with Ready-to-Work childcare funding.
  • Councilmember Castillo asked for more detailed breakdowns of financial and family challenges, and supported financial literacy initiatives that meet students where they are. He also linked the need for affordable childcare to the Pre-K 4 SA initiative.
  • Chair Godland recommended stronger collaboration between the HESAB and Cafe College, and requested a dedicated page on the DHS website for the board (agreed upon). He noted the importance of social media for reaching students.
  • Victoria Shipley noted that federal changes in higher education regulation (e.g., elimination of HSI designation, reduced financial aid for professional programs) have worsened financial challenges since the survey was conducted.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken beyond the consent calendar approval.
  • Committee members expressed strong support for maintaining and potentially increasing funding for delegate agencies, wraparound services, libraries, parks, and youth programs in light of upcoming budget discussions.
  • The committee committed to continued collaboration with the Youth Commission and Higher Education Student Advisory Board, including sharing survey data and exploring pilot programs for community schools and enhanced financial literacy/childcare support.
  • City staff will work to establish a dedicated DHS webpage for the HESAB and improve social media outreach to higher education students.
  • Next steps include the FY2027 Youth Budget Town Hall (August 22) and Youth Summit (September), and further analysis of the higher education survey to inform policy recommendations.

Meeting Transcript

Well, good morning, everybody. It is 10.04 a.m. and we will officially call the educational opportunities meeting to order. Madam Clerk, we please call the roll. Councilmember Corr. Councilmember McKee Rodriguez. Councilmember Mungia. Councilmember Castillo. Here. Chair Godland. Sir, we have a quorum. Thank you so much. First things first, do we have any uh edits to the minutes? If not, can I get a motion to approve? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed, any abstentions? Moving along. Um, do we have any public comment today? All right, then we will jump right into it. Today we have a couple presentations. Uh, we have first and foremost a conversation around community schools, a kind of model of ways that uh communities can intervene with and support our local schools and ways they can kind of help our larger community in that work itself. Uh so for that model, we have Alejandro Lopez who we're presenting today, so come on up. Not to be confused. There's an Alejandra Lopez who is the executive assistant to the superintendent at SAISD, so there's three of us. There's three of us. Okay. Uh hello, everyone. I do want to say that my very cute typeface did not transfer into this, and so um I would not choose Times New Roman for this topic. I just want let the record reflect. Um, my name is Alejandro Lopez. It is an honor and a privilege to be here in front of the committee today. I am a second grade teacher on leave for my position and currently serve as the president of the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel. We're the union that represents teachers and support personnel in San Antonio ISD. Um, and so excited to be here to give a very brief overview of the community schools model. So when we talk about community schools, the term community schools gets uh, I would say enters into the conversation often. And oftentimes people are talking about a model which is largely around wraparound services. And so that can include a food pantry, a clothing closet, additional tutoring. And while we know that those wraparound services, particularly in a district like San Antonio ISD or really any of your southern um districts, is incredibly important because of the working class communities of color we serve. When our union um and other organizations that are interested in transformational change talk about community schools, we uh include so much more. And so um I want to share kind of what we consider the pillars of the sustainable and transformational community school models to be. And these pillars draw from um both uh American Federation of Teachers, which is um one of our national unions, and the National Education Association, who have really led the way in introducing um this model throughout the country alongside the Institute for Educational Leadership. IEL is a nonprofit organization. Um their vision is an equitable society in which shared leadership effectively uses all available resources for the betterment of their community, and so I would say it's very telling that IEL is a big proponent of the community schools model. They hold a national conference every single year that uh brings together partners, school districts, um, unions from across the country to really talk about the benefits of the model and how we can ensure that the model is truly meeting the needs of our students and families. So I'm gonna just briefly go through these pillars. These this is they're very wordy on there. I know you're not supposed to include this much text, but I just there's so much good stuff here. Um, so the first two are a strong and proven curriculum. You know, in Texas, we do not take for granted uh what the impact of curriculum is every day in our classrooms.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com