Our newest SAISD alumni stopped by the Alamo Convocation Center on July 18th with friend and family members to select items to bring to outfit their dorm room at college.  

Students picked up dorm room essentials including a shower caddy, bath towels, laundry soap, and a hamper, along with twin XL bedding. In addition to collecting items, students had the chance to meet with other students from across the district headed to the same colleges and universities. They also reconnected with their SAISD College Bound Advisors and met their Postsecondary Navigator, a SAISD Foundation professional who will follow their college journey and be there to assist along the way.

"[The Dorm Room Giveaway] is a great opportunity to get the stuff I haven't gotten a chance to pick out for my dorm room," said Lydia, a graduate of Travis Early College High School and an incoming freshman at Mary-Hardin Baylor. The event is welcomed help as she gets ready to live in the college dorm. "It’s all the things I’ll need and one less thing to stress about in the future."  We are excited each year to come together as a community to help student start their first year of college off right!

We are grateful to the Joe A. Gamez Law Firm for being the lead sponsor of the event again this year and bringing fun swag. Thank you to the Whataburger operations team at the Broadway and Eleanor store for providing burgers for every student and their family. Special shoutout to Whataburger corporate who surprised our team with an additional event sponsorship along with tote bags and swag for students.

A very special thank you to our community of donors who dropped off donated luggage and items and sponsored one or more students at $50 each. Lastly, this event would not be successful without our postsecondary team, foundation staff and volunteers who help make this event a fun and unique experience for our families - thank you all!

The Dorm Room Giveaway is just one way the SAISD Foundation works to support SAISD students after they graduate from our high schools. Learn more about our postsecondary support and how you and join in the initiative to ensure student's postsecondary success.

Over the past two years, we have been working alongside the SAISD Fine Arts Department to increase cultural arts opportunities for students through school, both during the school day and in after-school clubs and organizations. Three years ago, together we launched the first high school programs taught as a dance elective at Jefferson and Brackenridge High Schools. In the 2023-24 school year, 623 students participated in ballet folklórico across all grade levels, and with this coming school year, the inclusion of nine new programs.

These programs have been a welcomed addition embraced both by our students and their parents. For Daisy, Jefferson Class of 2024, dance has been a lifelong passion She started learning the traditional dance through a studio in the community, but that was an expensive endeavor. Once she saw the program was being offered in school, that became where she grew her learning, passion and art. Daisy shared, “I started [classes] when I was younger, outside of school, at about 18 months old. When I found out that they were going to add ballet folklórico into high school, I was like, I need to do it.”

Building her skills at school has reinforced her love of the art form and helped Daisy realize her goal of being a professional ballet folklórico dancer. She is working to make this a reality by majoring in dance with a concentration in Mexican dance at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley starting this fall. “It's been one of my biggest dreams ever since I was younger and now I have the opportunity to continue that in college - to get a degree in what I really love. I've also been accepted to the ballet folklórico dance group at UT RGV and it's going to be fun.” Daisy also shared hopes to come back to San Antonio and teach in our programs.

Her mother, Francine, shared how she felt about Daisy and her ability to have access to ballet folklórico in school. “I'm very grateful, as a parent, to the people who put the folklórico program in the schools. Folklórico classes are very expensive.” The opportunity to learn the craft through school allows students to develop technical and soft skills in the art, grow their confidence, build on their cultural identity and remove financial burdens for their families.

Growth in program expansion has been supported by donors like PNC Bank with the launch of their Latin Employer Business Resource Group (EBRG) last fall and The Gamez Law Firm along with individuals who have made gifts through the Belle Ortiz Legacy Fund. Because of this support, nine new ballet folklórico and five new mariachi programs have been established since 2022. It has been special to see the programs grow and flourish, especially because they go hand-in-hand! 

The programs cannot continue this progress without you! Make a lasting impact on future ballet folklórico dancers. Your donation will help fund uniforms for ballet folklórico students in SAISD, preserving the tradition where it all began.

For the past two years, the SAISD Foundation held a shopping day for the hundreds of new SAISD teachers who were part of the district's New Teacher Orientation. Every teacher who shopped with us received a $100 to spend on items for their classrooms. They shopped and we were there at checkout to pay the bill and help them start their school year of right! It has been such a huge success that we are doing it again this year! Volunteers are needed to help the event at H-E-B McCreless Market, Target at Crossroads, Learning Zone, and new this year, Lakeshore Learning. 

It is an incredible opportunity to meet our new-to-SAISD teachers. Many of our current teachers volunteer to help new teachers determine those essential items and share expert tips. This year, the 2023-24 Teachers of the Year (TOTY) are also invited to shop as a token of our appreciation for their outstanding work and the special recognition they received from their peers last spring at the SAISD TOTY ceremony.

Join us in helping our SAISD teachers kick off the year and reduce their out of pocket costs to create fabulous learning environments for our students.

New Teacher Shopping Day is Friday, August 2, 2024, from 11 am - 5 pm. 

You can sign up for a two-hour slot or stay for the day! SAISD Foundation staff will be present at each location and instructions will be sent prior. Current and retired teachers, as well as members of the general community, are invited to welcome our newest teachers. Sign up to volunteer at New Teacher Shopping Day.

Aren't able to volunteer but still want to help? You can! $100 will help get new SAISD teachers items they need to help students succeed from day one. Research shows that over 90 percent of teachers spend their own money on school supplies and other items their students need to succeed. It quickly adds up and teachers can spend anywhere from $500-$800 each year. If you would like to support a new teacher in SAISD, donate today.

We are sad to share the passing of Deborah “Debbie” Yvonne Esparza and Gilbert “Gibby” Rodriguez. Honoring their legacies by supporting today’s students through the SAISD Foundation, both families have requested donations in lieu of flowers. Gifts made in memory of Debbie and Gibby will help continue the impact and legacy of our alumni, former educators, and school leaders.

Debbie was a Jefferson High School alumna, and most recently, the retired principal of Highland Hills Elementary in San Antonio ISD. She was an admired administrator and an excellent educator. Debbie was dedicated to working with students and her team to help students reach their full potential. 

Gibby was an alumnus of Burbank High School. He was part of the Burbank football team and earned a football scholarship to attend Trinidad State College in Colorado. After his football career, he spent over 50 years as a dedicated Judicial Assistant for the Western District Federal Courthouse under the Honorable Fred Biery, a fellow SAISD alumnus of Jefferson High School. 

You can visit SAISDFoundation.com/donate and enter Debbie's or Gibby’s names in the comments to make your donation today. Each gift made with their names support students in SAISD while recognizing the memory of a loved one.

Learn more about Debbie’s and Gibby’s impact in their respective fields. We are always available for tributes like these. Learn more about those we have had the honor of paying tribute to in this way. 

On Saturday, June 29, SAISD joined San Antonio's Pride celebration. Students and staff wore white T-shirts with "familia" in rainbow colors and the inspiring words: "Hope will never be silent." With about 130 people in SAISD’s group, including staff and district leadership, SAISD celebrated our diverse and vibrant community. 

Roni, a Brackenridge alumna from the class of 2010, was in the crowd watching the parade and cheered on as SAISD walked down Main Street. When asked how she felt seeing her district participate in Pride she said, “It’s awesome! Oh my god, we are underrepresented and under-loved and this is amazing that you show out for your community! Let’s go SAISD!”

Opportunities for the SAISD community to gather in these kinds of inclusive events are one of the ways they demonstrate that everyone in the SAISD familia is accepted. Providing transportation is a small role we are proud to play in the big picture of ensuring students and staff can safely participate in civic engagement opportunities like this. Learn more about SAISD's participation in the parade below. 

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