Faces of Impact: Transforming Spaces for Learning
From playgrounds to peace rooms, learning gardens to flexible seating — we have been working over the past few years to help transform spaces both inside and outside our SAISD school campuses. The impact can be felt the moment you step onto these campuses.
This week, we kick off our Faces of Impact series by celebrating the incredible volunteers, educators, and partners who help transform the spaces where students learn, play, and grow.
Whether it’s refreshing a playground, building a calming peace room, or reimagining outdoor play areas, these efforts create environments where students feel welcomed, supported, and inspired every single day.
Stay tuned as we highlight the faces and stories behind these meaningful transformations — and the powerful difference they make across SAISD. 💙
Faces of Impact: Ensuring Students Are Future Ready
From Franklin, Tafolla and Jefferson to Harvard Graduate School of Education, Nickoll Garcia’s story is a powerful reminder of what happens when a community invests in its students—and they invest back.
This past May, Nickoll graduated from UT Austin’s College of Education with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Learning and Development, along with minors in Educational Psychology, History, and Critical Disability Studies, plus a Public Policy certificate. 🎓✨
But the journey here was far from easy. Before starting college, Nickoll spent a summer working at Raising Cane’s to help support their family during the pandemic. The summer before that, they experienced homelessness—living in hotels and extended-stay inns.
“When you invest in students, they can accomplish great things. I can’t celebrate my accomplishments without acknowledging the necessity of these resources for families, communities, and students like me.”
Today, Nickoll is a Master’s in Education student at Harvard, embracing a brand-new world while carrying their community with pride.
“After a rocky September adjusting, I’ve finally settled into Harvard and made it a home. Everything has been new, multiplied by a hundred because of the Harvard name. It’s a privilege and a responsibility. I’m proud that my parents get to rep Harvard from their mechanic shop on the Westside of San Antonio.”
Nickoll also reminds us how critical representation is in education:
“My communities often only exist on presentation slides. We are statistics and research papers; we are rarely the ones in the classroom or conducting the research. We are almost never the professors in front of the room.”
We are so proud to have played a small part in Nickoll’s journey through an SAISD Foundation scholarship—and even prouder to see her shaping the future of education for students who share her story.
💙 This is what impact looks like. This is why we invest.
Faces of Impact: Extending Learning Beyond the Classroom
Launched as a pilot in the 2024–25 school year, this initiative is already making a powerful impact across our district. Students in K–5 at 15 schools, 7th grade at 9 schools, and 12th grade at 1 high school experienced hands-on learning that connects classroom content to the real world. Working alongside incredible education teams at our community’s most sought-after learning sites, students are diving into key content areas—especially where they need support most.
We were able to tag along with nearly 100 3rd graders from Woodlawn Hills Elementary, an International Baccalaureate (IB) school, to their learning expedition to the Witte Museum. Teacher Nadia Sanchez spearheaded the trip and shared, “It’s powerful to see students use what we’ve been learning in class—especially their reading strategies—in a real-world setting. They’re excited to read everything! I’m hopeful that our IB unit, Where We Are in Place and Time, will connect perfectly with the exhibits we’ll explore at the museum. I’m so excited that my students get to have this opportunity! Not all families can provide this, so we’re thrilled to share it with our Warrior students.”
The students are loving it too:
💬 Katarina: “We have to learn because that’s the whole point of school, but it feels good being here because we can do a lot. It matters because you get to feel your experience.”
💬 Lilian: “This museum is very cool—it talks about animals, history, things about Texas, and other things. You should really go here.”
💬 Alani: “I had never been to a museum before. It was really nice.”
And we’re just getting started. In 2025–26, we’re expanding to 15 more schools for K-5th grades and adding a brand-new experience at the Holocaust Museum for all 6th graders. You can help us make this possible. Read our Annual Report here https://saisdfoundation.com/about/impact/ and add your impact to ours by investing in covering transportation costs for field trips.
Faces of Impact: Investing in Teachers
Sarah Panzarella began her journey with SAISD in 2017 as a parent volunteer when her daughter started Pre-K at the Advanced Learning Academy (ALA). As her daughter progressed through school, Sarah became increasingly involved in supporting campus teachers, including leading small groups—a role she loved. When her son started Pre-K in 2021, she began volunteering in his classroom as well.
Noticing Sarah’s dedication, ALA Principal Jennifer Barber stopped her in the hall one day and asked if she had ever considered becoming a substitute teacher. Encouraged to apply, Sarah did—and discovered she loved it. Her commitment was recognized by SAISD with an Excellence in Substitute Teaching Award last year.
“I was working every day as a substitute because I wanted to, but I would find myself really missing the kids when I wasn’t there,” Sarah shared. “I would get so invested in the projects they were doing and think, ‘I wonder how they did on that.’”
When a Special Education Instructional Assistant position opened, Sarah applied and got the job. She began working on her alternative certification while serving as an Instructional Assistant. After passing her exam, she was thrilled to see a Special Education teaching position open at ALA. “I love working in Special Education—it’s where my heart is, and I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she said.
Sarah’s success sparked a desire to support more members of the SAISD Familia who are passionate about our students and have a strong desire to become certified teachers right here in their community. Launched in the 2025-26 school year, the Homegrown Community Partnership supports teacher credentialing for instructional assistants in hard-to-fill areas, including special education and bilingual education. This collaboration—linking the Education Service Center Region 20, San Antonio Ready to Work, SAISD’s Human Capital Management, and the SAISD Foundation’s philanthropy—strengthens SAISD’s teacher pipeline and ensures students have access to high-quality educators. The new cohort began in August. The certification courses are taught in the evenings at Brackenridge, facilitated by SAISD, and feature district master teachers, including former teachers of the year.
Ms. Panzarella earned her certification just before this partnership began and says that she is all in for supporting and advocating for Instructional Assistants earning their certification and nearly doubling their salary. It’s a program where students, educators and the community win!
In 2026, the SAISD Foundation adopted a new strategic priority to strengthen teacher talent over the next five years. “We are very excited to support the District in ensuring that every SAISD classroom has a high-quality, certified teacher, shared Executive Director Judy Geelhoed.