March 8, 2012
"The cafeteria at Rogers Elementary was standing room only by the time Mayor Julián Castro came in and began shaking hands, asking wide-eyed kids what they wanted to be when they grew up..."
Get to Know SA2020
SA2020 is a community-wide initiative with the aim of transforming San Antonio into one of America’s most exceptional cities by 2020. The education goal within SA2020 is to “orchestrate one of the greatest turnarounds in education in the United States.” This initiative enables Teach For America - San Antonio to partner and work with other community organizations toward our shared end of closing the achievement gap.
Through one of our SA2020 partners, Cafe College, corps members connect students at all grade levels with staff trained to help them become motivated about college and to navigate college applications, student loan requests, and other forms. Corps members also help out at Cafe College events by providing Spanish translation.
Corps members teaching middle and high school are also avid users of our SA2020 partner GenTX, to educate students about college and how to get there. Also through SA2020, Teach For America has partnered with The University of Texas - San Antonio on a special cohort for corps members to obtain their master’s degree in educational leadership and policy studies.
Region Timeline
-
Don Jose Francisco de la Mata petitions the cabildo (town council) of San Fernando de Béxar for a stipend of 12 reales per pupil for the school he had begun a few years before, thus recording the first clear documentation of schooling in San Antonio outside of the Missions.
-
Governor Juan Bautista Elguezabal orders compulsory school attendance for children under the age of 12.
-
Two free public schools are established: one for girls on Military Plaza and one for boys on Alamo Plaza.
-
The public school system opens Rincon School for African Americans. For the first few years, enrollment fluctuates between 100-170 students.
-
New state legislation passes that strengthens English requirements for teacher examinations and requires teachers to “use the English language exclusively and to conduct all recitations and school exercises exclusively in the English language.”
-
An independent Board of School Trustees is established, thereby liberating the public schools from direct control by the city government
-
A report finds that only 56% of school age Mexican-American children are enrolled in public schools, and that those who are enrolled experience poorer facilities and greater crowding than their peers. In reponse, La Liga Pro Defensa Escolar is founded “to promote the improvement of education in San Antonio’s Spanish-speaking community.”
-
A research project finds that 80% of non-English speaking children in San Antonio fail first grade due to language-related issues. The study also finds that intensive instruction in Spanish (which is prohibited) leads Mexican American students to show significantly improved attitudes towards school and themselves.
-
Governor Preston Smith signs a bill establishing the University of Texas at San Antonio. The city’s first public university greatly expands access to higher education in the region.
-
In Edgewood Independent School District v. Kirby, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund files suit against commissioner of education William Kirby citing discrimination against students in poor districts. The plaintiffs charge that the state's methods of funding public schools violates at least four principles of its constitution, which obligates the state legislature to provide an efficient and free public school system.
Overheard
As a teacher of color, I feel my students are able to see firsthand that it's possible to reach a certain level of success regardless of race or ethnicity. I look like the people in their immediate community, their relatives, and their friends and am able to relate with their economic background as well. I teach them to never use any of those as an excuse.
San Antonio Corps 2010
Press
May 9, 2011
"Wendy Kopp is the founder of Teach for America. She was in San Antonio recently and stopped by the TPR studios to talk with Dan Skinner about her organization and her new book..."
May 1, 2011
"Teach for America founder and CEO Wendy Kopp will be in San Antonio on Monday to talk about her new book..."
