UP Partnership releases recommendations for American Rescue Plan Act spending

Cross-sector partners develop guide to ensure an equitable recovery in youth outcomes

SAN ANTONIO—In an effort to guide equitable American Rescue Plan Act spending commitments made by the city, county, school districts and institutions of higher education, UP Partnership today released recommendations informed by youth-serving leaders and young people themselves.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) infuses $350 billion to state and local governments, $122 billion to K-12 schools, and $40 billion to higher education institutions. San Antonio received an estimated $1.6 billion in funding.

Leveraging American Rescue Plan Act Funds for Youth Outcomes is a guide developed by UP Partnership, in conjunction with PFM and the Children’s Funding Project, to aid local partners in making transformative ARPA investments to support young people. UP Partnership is a network of 175 cross-sector partners, including young people, who work together to align funding, strategies, data architecture and communication across youth-serving sectors. More than 60 partners, including high school students, participated in a funding alignment taskforce in 2020 to develop recommendations for an equitable recovery post-pandemic.

“We have an unprecedented opportunity to invest in the future of San Antonio,” said Ryan Lugalia-Hollon, UP Partnership Executive Director. “By coordinating our efforts, we’ll ensure our young people are not held back in the wake of the pandemic.”

Recommendations for spending are grouped by three outcomes areas: “Safe and Stable,” “Mental Health and Wellbeing,” and “Connected/Academically Prepared.” Ideas include reinvesting funds into front-end prevention and positive youth development opportunities to improve public safety, funding full-time employees to coordinate mental and behavioral health resources, and expanding summer learning and enrichment access, and others.

“From a national perspective, we see San Antonio as a model for how to do this alignment work across sectors,” said Olivia Allen, Strategy Director for the Children’s Funding Project. “More than 60 partners in San Antonio committed to having these tough conversations during a really hard year to lay the groundwork for the impact these federal relief dollars can have on kids and families.”

The recommendations align with UP Partnership’s racial equity goals of ‘disconnection to access,’ ‘punishment to healing, and ‘isolation to voice.’

“The pandemic has impacted our youth, but this process works to counteract that – We co-created a strategy with our youth,” said Myron Anderson, Vice President for Inclusive Excellence at The University of Texas at San Antonio.

All recommendations target inequities that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was definitely a humbling experience to be part of this process, especially hearing perspectives from different sectors,” said Marisa Perez-Diaz, State Board of Education member. “The beauty in the work we did was that adults in different sectors all made a commitment to center the voices of youth. So many times, pathways are drawn for them without their voice. These recommendations ensure their voices are heard.”

—Marissa Villa, Director of Communications
(210) 535-6525 | marissa@uppartnership.org

About UP Partnership

UP Partnership’s mission is to ensure all young people across Bexar County are ready for the future. UP Partnership provides a space for leaders to share vision, strategies and metrics to unlock the potential of San Antonio and its surrounding communities. UP Partnership’s institutional partners serve more than 320,000 students in Bexar County, 63 percent who are economically disadvantaged. By bringing change-makers together while empowering youth to have a voice through its four networks (Diplomás, My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio, Excel Beyond the Bell, Our Tomorrow), UP Partnership strives to achieve extraordinary gains in future readiness through a shared commitment. Learn more at https://uppartnership.org.

UP Partnership and San Antonio Area Foundation announce youth leadership development grantees and artist fellowship grantees

Uplifting San Antonio’s youth takes a village. So together, with the San Antonio Area Foundation, UP Partnership is investing $500,000 in nonprofit organizations who are amplifying youth voices through its first-ever Youth Leadership Development grants and Artist Fellowship grants.

Twelve youth-serving community nonprofit organizations were selected for the Youth Leadership Development grants, and four community nonprofit organizations were selected for the Artist Fellowship grants. These grants are part of a large-scale $8 million effort to ensure that young people in Bexar County are future-ready.

These nonprofits were selected for the critical work they do to support and uplift young people in Bexar County. Four were selected for their focus on the arts.

Below is a list of these organizations and highlights of the work they do with Bexar County young people.

Youth Leadership Development Grantees

The Lemonade Circle

Who they serve: Girls and young women of color
What they do: Empowering and engaging young women of color to help them achieve their highest potential through intentional engagement activities. These activities include civic and public service; mentorship; and community outreach and volunteerism. Additionally, several women serve as empowerment leaders over seven “Empowerment Circles” in the program to move younger women on Leadership Development. The circles include: Boss Up, Mirrors and Windows, Heart to Heart, Nonprofit Connections, My Sister’s Keeper and Senior Round Up.

Boy with a Ball San Antonio

Who they serve: Youth in the Southside of San Antonio
What they do: This local San Antonio chapter of Boy With a Ball uses its after-school program, Velocity Cross Age Mentoring Program, to recruit and train high school students to mentor middle-school mentees. In an effort to break the mold of generational poverty, mentors also have access to community volunteers who coach them in practical needs such as college readiness, job training and other life skills. These high school-aged students also spend six weeks in the summer designing and executing a weeklong summer camp for younger students in low-income government housing units on the city’s south side.

Dee Howard Foundation

Who they serve: Women and other minority and underserved students
What they do: With a focus on developing women and other minority and underserved students, the Dee Howard Foundation exists to build on the legacy of Dee Howard, a pioneer in the aviation industry and an inventor. The foundation has several principal initiatives, including the San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame Annual Awards Dinner, the Pre-K through 12 Aeronautical STEM Pathway Initiative, the DHF/UTSA Annual Student Art Contest, and the UTSA Aerospace Engineering Initiative. As part of the Pre-K through 12 programming, the foundation also partners with the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA).

Culturingua

Who they serve: High school students
What they do: Culturingua provides high school students a platform to work with a team of peers from around the world, find and use their voice to create a solution for a global issue that they are passionate about. The issues they choose are tied to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Students present their solutions to the San Antonio entrepreneurship community in partnership with LaunchSA. This program supports social emotional learning competencies such as self-awareness through recognition of passion, self-management by showing collective agency to make decisions on a global challenge, relationship skills by establishing healthy ones with their peers and responsible decision-making.

San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology

Who they serve: K-12 students
What they do: SAMSAT exists to inspire innovation through STEM programming, education and training. Together with Communities in Schools (CIS) of San Antonio and San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, SAMSAT founded and runs “SA Smart: The Mayor’s K-12 Smart City Challenge,” an annual competition that positions students as scientific, civic and business leaders by having them address challenges that face San Antonio between now and 2040, as seen in the SA Tomorrow plan. Students form teams, identify localized examples of problems, conduct research and deliver persuasive proposals. In the process, students learn interdisciplinary skills in problem solving and innovation, and they learn not to accept the world as it is, but to work to change the world on their terms.

Guadalupe Community Center

Who they serve: K-12 students
What they do: The Guadalupe Community Center’s After-School Program (ASP) provides free tutoring, extracurricular activities and fresh meals to promote young people’s education and character development. Throughout the year, ASP delivers 40 workshops that encourage leadership through character-building activities and lesson plans. These lessons involve an activity, short video, round table discussion, and end with a short quiz to measure retention of key points in the lesson. Lessons cover a range of topics such as mental health, college interest, leadership and social justice.

Communities in Schools of San Antonio

Who they serve: Students
What they do: Communities In Schools of San Antonio takes the resources students need into classrooms. Being rooted in the power of relationships, CIS has invested in training its staff on Search Institute’s Developmental Relationships Framework. One element from the Framework that staff is trained to implement intentionally and inclusively with students is “Sharing Power.” In practice, sharing power might manifest as CIS-SA Site Coordinators incorporating student voice as they plan group activities, community service projects, and school-wide services. Some CIS-SA programs have youth leadership components explicitly built-in.

YMCA of Greater San Antonio

Who they serve: The San Antonio community, with a focus on youth development
What they do: As part of the YMCA’s Y Teen Achievers, participants in the Youth in Government program have the opportunity to discover how the government functions including understanding the context while analyzing its response to current issues. By taking on the roles of attorneys and civic leaders, participants in the YG program benefit from knowledge gained and enhanced confidence, further boosting their development as individuals and leaders. The YMCA uses youth voice through its assessments on food insecurity, social-emotional well-being and supportive relationships.

Good Samaritan Community Services

Who they serve: Youth, individuals and families
What they do: Good Samaritan’s Youth Advisory Committee is student-led, with annual elections with 1-year terms for President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Historian. The committee provides youth between the ages of 13 and 17 a vehicle to build a sense of purpose, explore their interests and find their voice. The committee participates in service projects and is an essential voice in organizational decisions.

Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas

Who they serve: Girls and young women
What they do: Through the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas, South Texas girls develop their character and self-reliance through organized leadership development activities. Through structured programs and positive adult guidance, girls develop a sense of responsibility while gaining an understanding of themselves and their potential. The Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE) is girl-led across all levels of participation and empowers girls to discover her own world as she develops a strong sense of self and strengthens her values; connect with others in the community as she forms caring relationships and embraces diversity; and take action as she identifies and solves problems.

Girls Incorporated of San Antonio

Who they serve: Girls and young women
What they do: Youth voice exists in every program at Girls Inc. to ensure girls can lead and be agents of change within their community. The organization’s work with UP Partnership and Our Tomorrow allows girls in Girls Inc. programs such as Mentors Valuing Peers (MVP) and Eureka! to plan and participate in the annual Youth Voice Summit to strengthen their voices, practice their leadership and decision-making skills.

YWCA San Antonio

Who they serve: Young women
What they do: YWCA San Antonio has engaged Youth in its Teen Service Learning (TSL) and Mi Carrera programs in leadership and decision-making within the organization. Annually, TSL youth plan events related to MLK Day, including Pajama Jam, a youth Friday night “lock-in” in which teens listen to music, engage in readings about racial justice and create banners for the MLK March.

Art Fellowship Grantees

Centers for Applied Science & Technology Network

Who they serve: Students
What they do: A Monument for the People is a participatory art project that works with students to reimagine what monuments are and who they are for in our community. CAST began this project in fall 2020, with students from across our five CAST Schools. Through a series of artist-led workshops, students will engage in facilitated discussion exploring the history of monuments in San Antonio and then have the opportunity to create their own monuments for people who have most impacted their lives. The project also amplifies our youth mentoring by supporting the leadership development of the young artists and peer mentors to facilitate workshops with younger students.

Ecumenical Center for Religion and Health

Who they serve: Students at Each Central High School
What they do: This artist project, “Health and Harmony” will engage students at East Central High School who are identified by the school guidance counselors as students who could use a mentor, benefit from a special connection with a young musician, use a friend and role model, or benefit from learning to play a musical instrument. Three artist fellows, proficient in violin, cello, string bass, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, ukulele, drums or keyboard will provide musical instruction and mentorship. Loaned instruments will be provided by the center. Students will be allowed to take these instruments home to play and enjoy.

Guadalupe Community Center

Who they serve: Students at Each Central High School
What they do: The Guadalupe Community Center arts project will consist of a series of technical workshops that will introduce youth to different art techniques, history and their respective practical uses. The goal of each exercise will allow youth to use their new skills creatively and in the workforce or as an artist-entrepreneur. In addition to gaining new artistic skills, participants will inherently practice and develop other skills, including communication, critical thinking, teamwork, work ethic, and leadership. Each technical workshop in the series will be completed in one to two weeks, with students meeting three days a week for three hours per day.

SAY Si

Who they serve: Students
What they do: The Artist Fellowship will reach Margil, Barkley-Ruiz, J.T. Brackenridge, De Zavala and Tafolla students in the proposed Youth Leadership ABC program. Up to 50 youth in the program’s first year will participate in weekly after-school workshops led by the Fellowship artists. Students in the fall program held September-October 2021 will experience consistent mentorship with the artists, engaging in workshops centered on youth voice and hands-on learning. Through each artist’s unique style and perspective, youth will be immersed in skills and community-building that encourages them to explore their own talents, work and learn alongside professional artists, and see themselves as creative leaders.

—Paulina Sosa
paulina@uppartnership.org

2021 citywide planning Tag Grantees SAAFDN San Antonio Area Foundation UP Partnership

Our Tomorrow hosts third annual youth-led Policy Institute for 50 young people from across Bexar County

Youth leaders use institute to learn from city leaders and develop policy recommendations

San Antonio, Texas – UP Partnership’s Our Tomorrow network is hosting its third annual youth-led Policy Institute to empower and educate young people who have a desire to change the local landscape of youth voice and shared power.

The Policy Institute is a five-day event held July 19-23 that was developed by Our Tomorrow college and high school interns. Fifty young people from across Bexar County will attend the institute to receive training from experts in advocacy, policy, and data, reconnect with other students, and strategize on ways to ensure youth voice is not only heard, but utilized at decision-making tables across the community. They’ll develop policy recommendations throughout the week for issues they care about.

“This Policy Institute is an opportunity for our voice to be heard and to finally make a real change here in San Antonio” said Bella Garcia, a Policy Institute college intern and incoming Sophomore at Mills College.

Additionally, on July 26, Policy Institute students plan to invite city and school leaders to attend the Policy Institute Celebration and Close-out to present their policy recommendations.

The Policy Institute comes at a crucial moment, as students return to school in-person. The recommendations youth leaders will develop at the Institute will ensure continued progress for youth engagement at the city and school board level.

“I am excited about how well this Institute was designed and executed by the youth. I always tell students that engage with Our Tomorrow that now is the time for them to leave their legacy for the benefit of young people today and the generations of young people ahead—this gives them that opportunity,” shared Leroy Adams, UP Partnership’s Senior Manager of Youth Voice.

To learn more about the Policy Institute or attend in person, please contact Paulina Sosa directly to coordinate and schedule next steps.

Important Dates
- All Policy Institute workshops, trainings and networking sessions will be held daily from 12-5 p.m. from Monday, July 19 – Friday, July 23.
- The Policy Institute celebration will be held from 2-4:30 p.m. on Monday, July 26.

citywide planning Tag Future Ready Our Tomorrow UP Partnership young people youth voice

Restorative Practice Collaborative plans next steps for Peace Room implementation in the 2021-2022 school year

The members of the Restorative Practices Collaborative (RPC) recently participated in an UMOJA planning session, collaborated on next steps, and reflected on the impact of COVID-19 in their schools—ultimately planning the best next steps to implement restorative practices into their schools for the 2021-2022 school year. The collaborative is an extension of the My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio (MBKSA) network and is facilitated by UP Partnership’s Community Learning department.

UMOJA, a longtime training partner, led the discussions for high school and elementary school campus leaders to plan for the implementation of restorative practices in the upcoming academic year.

Why is this important?
RPC and its 160 partners, including three Bexar County school districts (San Antonio ISD, Judson ISD and Harlandale ISD), Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center, Martinez Street Women’s Center, American Indians in Texas, and Intercultural Development Research Association are focused on integrating restorative practices into their institutions and throughout the community, changing the narrative that punitive practices should take the place of healing and restoration.

This community-wide commitment to restorative justice is part of UP Partnership’s goal of moving from “punishment to healing,” one of the core equity pillars of the Citywide Planning for a Future Ready Bexar County process.

Throughout the year, UP Partnership will be featuring various elements of restorative practices, what they are, and the changes they can make.

What are peace circles?

Peace Circles are just one method used in the implementation of restorative practices, but have proven to be powerful. To understand how peace circles lead to restorative justice, we need to understand what they are. According to UMOJA, a training, facilitation, and implementation partner, the purpose of a peace circle is to “bring together students who have had conflict in order to discuss what happened, identify feelings and needs moving forward, share how conflict has impacted individuals [and the] community, and create steps to repair harm.”

Peace circles typically have these elements:
- A talking piece, which allows for deeper communication and expression
- Elements of modern peacemaking and consensus building processes to heal
- And are based on traditions of indigenous people in North America
Peace circles involve four stages of student engagement:
- Acceptance
- Preparation
- Gathering
- Follow-up

What’s next
In addition to work around postsecondary access and youth voice, UP Partnership is facilitating conversations with restorative justice partners across Bexar County. Within the next couple of months, school districts and community organizations will also begin creating space at their institutions called Peace Rooms for the 2021-2022 school year. To learn more about restorative justice practices, please also reference the Alternative Discipline Guide, developed by the MBKSA network.

– By Paulina Sosa

Community Learning Peace Room Restorative Justice Restorative Practices Collaborative RPC UMOJA

Our Tomorrow’s Youth in Power focuses on research, policy and funding this summer

When young people develop their leadership skills, they are empowered to make their voices heard.

Our Tomorrow’s Youth in Power 2021, a three-track leadership skill-building series for young people ages 14-19, takes the concept of youth empowerment to the next level by establishing programs based on the key principles of research, policy and funding.

Our Tomorrow leaders began a Youth Participatory Action Research in June with 10 participants leading a research project on summer melt, defined as when high school seniors are accepted into college and do not enroll.

In July, Our Tomorrow will host its annual Policy Institute with an expected 50 participants spending a week learning about policy, advocacy, data and other ways to use their voice.

At the same time, Our Tomorrow is working with the San Antonio Area Foundation to start a Youth Grants Committee, an opportunity for young people who are interested in philanthropy and aligning investments into youth-serving organizations and programs.

Why is this important?
As UP Partnership progresses through its Citywide Planning for a Future Ready Bexar County process, keeping youth voice at the center is priority.

“We are creating spaces and platforms to help build on the voices and power young people already have,” said Leroy Adams, UP Partnership’s Senior Manager of Youth Voice.

Finally, the Youth Grants Committee’s focus will help young people be part of the funding alignment process, ensuring that youth voices are heard.

Digging Deeper
Though Our Tomorrow’s 2021 opportunities each have a unique focus—all center on ensuring young people have a voice in the decisions that will affect them well into their future. Here’s a deeper look at each of the programs and how they tie into UP Partnership’s overarching mission:

Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)
This research program gives 10 juniors and seniors from across Bexar County the opportunity to work with Dr. Van Lac, a YPAR scholar. These students will be trained and supported as they focus on research around the phenomenon of “summer melt.” Their findings will be recorded in a best practice guide and results recording that will both be shared with UP Partnership’s Equitable Enrollment Collaborative in the fall. EEC participants will use these tools to guide their enrollment strategies.
Policy Institute
The 2021 Policy Institute, which is in its third year, allows young people and community leaders to engage on a deeper level to make a tangible impact in local politics.
The Policy Institute will be held July 19-24 and focuses on policy, advocacy and data.
Youth Grant Committee (YGC)
This initiative will offer high school students the opportunity to turn their ideas into action by determining how $40,000 in grants will be distributed. Working alongside leaders from the San Antonio Area Foundation (SAAFDN), students will receive training in philanthropy, reviewing grant applications, and consensus decision making.

What’s next
Our Tomorrow youth leaders are also part of new arts-centered initiatives, including a newly-launched podcast called Youth Voices and a student-led art exhibit in the fall called “WE ARE NOW”—both done in collaboration with Say Sí.

– By Paulina Sosa

citywide planning Tag Future Ready Our Tomorrow UP Partnership young people youth voice