We launched this program for the 2023-2024 school year to help new SAISD college students feel a sense of belonging by connecting them with current college students who are also SAISD alumni. As these incoming freshmen—and now proud alumni—embark on their journey toward a brighter future, this program aims to foster meaningful connections, build a supportive community, and pave the way for their success in college and beyond.

For First-Gen College Students, acceptance to college is just a first step.

Our Postsecondary Navigators (PSNs) provide hands-on support for students through complex enrollment processes and troubleshoot with students through to college graduation. As history, in 2021, The City of San Antonio Human Services Department, the SAISD Foundation, and Communities in Schools partnered to leverage city funding that allowed the SAISD Foundation to hire three full-time Postsecondary Navigators to assist Class of 2020 graduates whose lives had been put on hold during the pandemic. This work resulted in hundreds of students enrolling in college and workforce development programs in San Antonio. In the fall of 2022, we received funding from USAA to deepen and expand this work. We have seen a significant impact with 56% of Class of 2022 graduates having enrolled in college within a year from high school graduation – a new high. Additionally, persistence to the second year of college increased for the Class of 2021 with the added support of our PSNs to the hard work of SAISD’s Postsecondary Department. In July 2023, The City of San Antonio awarded us two years of APRA funding to support this program. 

Our College Emergency Gap Awards help students get from college acceptance to college graduation.

The program supports students with some of the greatest potential and the most significant financial challenges. For students not yet in college, we help pay for housing deposits, enrollment, and orientation fees that are required before their financial aid package kicks in.  For students already enrolled in college, emergency gap awards might include replacing a computer, buying equipment that other students in the program already have, or booking a flight home from an out-of-state college/university for the holidays to see family. On average, Emergency Gap awardees persist through to their sophomore year of college at a rate that is 18% higher than the district average. The average Emergency Gap Fund award is $300, making it easy to make a BIG difference. Learn more here on our impact page.

The College Tour program has deep roots in San Antonio ISD and the SAISD Foundation.

Developed as a teacher-led program with a small group of students from Brackenridge High School, we have been proud to fund and be a part of growing our college tour program to ensure students have both exposure to colleges and can visit the colleges where they have been accepted prior to making a decision to enroll.  As part of a landmark gift by Valero, at its peak, the program involved 172 students in out-of-state tours and hundreds more in tours across the state of Texas. Because over 90% of SAISD’s college-bound students choose to attend a college or university in the state of Texas, in 2022, the SAISD Foundation partnered with SAISD’s Office of Postsecondary Success to expand and increase visits to these universities and better connect students with organizations and academic offices they will need to succeed. With the sunsetting of the Valero grant and a post-pandemic environment, in the 2023-24 school year we brought back limited out-of-state group college exposure trips for rising juniors to increase their awareness of college options nationally.  Additionally, seniors who have been accepted to go out of state, are still eligible for SAISD Foundation supported exposure or enrollment trips. Enrollment trips are when a student and a guardian visit their future school, after receiving an acceptance letter and financial aid package covering at least 80% of costs. Students should visit with their high school college bound advisor or counselor for details and information.

Annually, we award 150+ student scholarships to support students enrolled in colleges and universities in San Antonio and the country.

We continue to raise funds to offer additional scholarships each year because we know that our scholarship support is making a difference. For example, our class of 2021 scholarship recipients persisted to the second year of college at 88% which is significantly higher than the national average. Students who receive scholarships through the SAISD Foundation also receive support from our programs including our dorm room drive in the summer and our multi-year remote mentor program. The SAISD Foundation accepts donations, planned gifts, and bequests to create scholarships that support the dreams and aspirations of SAISD students pursuing all forms of postsecondary education. As an independent 501 c 3 that is a part of the SAISD family, we are able to work closely with campus-based College Bound Advisors and Lead Counselors to make the best matches and fill the highest of needs. Learn more in our students’ voices about their journeys, where they land after graduation and the impact an investment in them can make on our Impact Page. Short stories. Lasting impact.

Research and data from our own students have shown that students who earn 9 hours of dual credit while in high school are more likely to enroll in college and persist. 

We work in partnership with SAISD to expand the breadth and depth of dual credit offerings across SAISD high schools at no cost to students. The past $1.5M investment by The Greehey Family Foundation to support tuition payments to Alamo Colleges and four-year higher education institutions for more students to take dual credit has been critical to making this expansion possible. This investment and the hard work of the SAISD Advanced Academics Team resulted in 20% of the Class of 2022 graduating from high school with 12 or more hours of college credit and more than 8,000 dual credit seats in total.