The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Tell Our Story
San Antonio, Texas
Current State of Education in San Antonio
The great majority of San Antonians are simultaneously proud of our highly livable city and
dissatisfied with those educational and economic factors that diminish quality of life. San Antonio’s
Mayor, Julian Castro, has responded by organizing and leading an inclusive strategic planning process
known as SA2020. A coalition of education and business leaders, community volunteers and elected
officials worked for 18 months to develop a united vision and goals for achievement. Their work was
informed by over 5,000 surveys completed by local residents on topics related to livability, strengths
and challenges. The over-arching, cross-cutting issue is improving education for our children.
SA2020’s authentic community engagement methods resulted in multi-sector collaboration and wideranging education goals that are relevant to each local district and all students. Within the SA2020
process, baselines were established for kindergarten and college readiness and targets were set for third
grade reading scores, high school graduation rates, college enrollment rates, and adult educational
achievement.
A comprehensive plan for educational reform has begun to take shape in 2011 when United
Way of San Antonio and Bexar County was awarded a Promise Neighborhood Implementation Grant
focused on early childhood development and school readiness as a means of increasing high school
graduation in the extremely impoverished neighborhoods of San Antonio’s eastside. The educational
agendas of SA2020 and Promise Neighborhood also are being advanced by the work of the P16Plus
Council of Greater Bexar County, which is implementing a collective impact model for educational
success. Partners include corporate leaders, five school superintendents, college and university
presidents, and United Way. The model’s impact is expanding to all 15 Bexar County school districts
and will benefit over thousands (322,219 in 2013) of students in the future. The cradle to career model
will feature specific strategies to increase kinder readiness and reading and math proficiency, and other
educational indicators that align with the citywide strategies.
Accomplishments
Attendance
While tracking Chronic Absenteeism across 6 ISDs and 30 elementary schools, incorporating a
Positive Parent Engagement Strategy significantly improved attendance performances among chronic
non-attending children in Pre-K and Kindergarten by 46%. Three recurring issues were identified as
triggers for absenteeism: Transportation, Health /Asthma and Lack of Awareness.
The following partners are working to increase the number of ISDs and schools participating in this
effort for the 2013-2014 school year to create a citywide initiative:
P16Plus Council of Greater Bexar County
SA2020
Pre-K 4 SA (City of San Antonio)
City of San Antonio Head Start
City of San Antonio Dept. of Human Services
City of San Antonio Municipal Courts
Advise TX College Advising Corps
City Year of San Antonio
Communities in Schools – SA
San Antonio Area Foundation
San Antonio Education Partnership
Rep. Mike Villarreal’s Office
United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County
Eastside Promise Neighborhood
As of August 2013, the following school districts will be participating in reducing chronic absenteeism:
East Central Independent School District
Edgewood Independent School District
Harlandale Independent School District
Judson Independent School District
North East Independent School District
Northside Independent School District
San Antonio Independent School District
Southwest Independent School District
South San Antonio Independent School District
Southside Independent School District
An Attendance Awareness Campaign will be launched “SA Kids Attend to Win” in San Antonio this
September with a focus on consistent messaging and tracking non-attendance throughout the city to
implement effective strategies and encourage parent engagement.
School readiness checklist
The school readiness checklist that was created by the City of San Antonio was updated this
past year with the help of United Way, City of San Antonio Head Start, and the P16Plus Council to be
more parent-friendly, include new resource information, and provide material regarding educational
sites and museums around the city. The checklist can be adapted based on the organization or school
district distributing it, and provides general suggestions of basic concepts that children should know by
the time they enter school. The readiness checklist is geared toward parents who have children birth to
5 years old with a focus on those children who do not attend any formalized care or education before
entering kindergarten. The brochure, available in English and Spanish, has been distributed through
school districts, childcare centers, Head Start, local non-profit agencies, and parenting classes.
San Antonio is Our Classroom
San Antonio is Our Classroom is a program under P16Plus Council of Greater Bexar County
that highlights affordable, educational resources available to parents and students. On the San Antonio
is Our Classroom web page; caregivers can find educational programs and activities that contribute to
the exploration and discovery of a child’s academic development. This resource aids families in
ensuring that their children are better prepared and inspired to achieve success. This program also
works with school districts and parents to provide opportunities for all San Antonio students to visit
and interact at educational sites such as the San Antonio Public Libraries, the San Antonio Botanical
Gardens, the San Antonio Museum of Art, the San Antonio Children’s Museum, the Planetarium at San
Antonio College, Texas Butterfly Ranch, the Southwest School of Art, the Magik Theatre, the McNay
Museum, and the Witte Museum. Summer Programming information is also available both free and
tuition-based.
The Early Development Instrument
Currently, there are 15 school districts within Bexar County and they all have the option to use
different kinder readiness assessments. As a way to create consistency and implement a single kinderreadiness tool across all districts, United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County has been employing
the Early Development Instrument. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a kindergarten
assessment that kinder teachers complete in February or March all based on recall, the child does not
need to be present. The data is collected through a secure database and then geo-coded to develop maps
with areas of developmental vulnerabilities based on census tracks, rather than individual assessment
data. The five developmental vulnerabilities that are tracked are: physical health and well-being, social
competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, and communication skills and
general knowledge. The data is collected to determine how experiences in home, the community, and
formal and informal childcare can help prepare children for school.
The 2011-2013 school year was the first round implementation of the Early Development
Instrument with Edgewood, Harlandale, and San Antonio Independent School Districts. Over 3,500
kindergarten student assessments were collected and maps were produced based on the results. To
continue our expansion, the 2012-2013 school year included Edgewood, Harlandale, Northside, and
San Antonio Independent School Districts and over 14,000 kindergarten student assessments collected.
We will be working towards incorporating all 15 school districts into this project within the next 5
years. The results allow the city to plan parent programs, early childhood services, and specific
curriculums and programs based on the developmental domains and the readiness of kindergarten
students. The Early Development Instrument will also allow us to track kinder readiness, an SA2020
indicator chosen by the community, for the very first time.
Head Start
The City of San Antonio has served as the Head Start Grantee for the San Antonio area for over
30 years, continuing with the fundamental mission to ensure that children and families in the San
Antonio community have equal opportunities for future success in school and life. During the 20122013 school year, the City of San Antonio Head Start Program provided educational, medical, dental,
nutrition, and mental health services to over 6,000 children and families. The City of San Antonio has
collaborated with community partners, such as United Way, P16Plus, Eastside Promise Neighborhood,
Texas School Ready, and Reach Out and Read to maximize resources, support community learning and
growth, and continuity in working towards preparing children for success in school. In addition, the
City of San Antonio Head Start Program collaborated with the San Antonio Public Library to provide
the Little Read Wagon Program for our children and families.
On November 14, 2012, the San Antonio Head Start Program held the first Head Start Parent
Conference: Nurturing Parents, Happy Children, Thriving Families! Approximately 250 parents,
exhibitors, trainers and volunteers attended. Former Head Start student and current children’s book
author, Kimberly Johnson, was the keynote speaker. Through her highly motivating and interactive
session she was able to captivate the audience while explaining the importance of parent’s involvement
in their children’s reading and education.
Head Start embraces and supports continual program improvement and professional
development. The City of San Antonio provided professional development days targeted towards
language and literacy to support teacher understanding and improve instructional practices and
assessment implementation. The first San Antonio Head Start Early Childhood Language and Literacy
Conference was held in January 2013. The conference, co‐ sponsored by the City of San Antonio,
Department of Human Services, brought together Head Start and early childhood administrators, staff,
and community stakeholders to further explore ideas to enhance conversation and share best practices,
and to use research based initiatives in the area of language development and early literacy. Dr. D. Ray
Reutzel, an Emma Eccles Jones Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair of Early Childhood
Literacy Education from Utah State University, presented to over 170 attendees. At the conference Dr.
Reutzel shared lessons learned from his research in the area of early childhood language development
and literacy.
The City of San Antonio Head Start Program sets school readiness goals based on child
assessment and program data. Each of our education service providers indicated meeting all established
school readiness goals for children transitioning from Pre-Kindergarten to Kindergarten. The number of
children transitioning to Kindergarten that received a rating of accomplished or met expectations on
various assessments increased from the beginning of the year to the end of the year in all learning
domains. In an effort to aggregate and analyze data at a program level, in the 2013-2014 school year,
the Head Start education service providers will utilize common assessment tools.
Eastside Promise Neighborhood
The Eastside Promise Neighborhood unites institutional and resident stakeholders to leverage
and strengthen the neighborhood’s assets and resources so that children and families are inspired to
stay, grow, graduate… and stay. Eastside Promise Neighborhood is heavily focused on early childhood
education with emphasis on parent engagement and providing strategies for children to learn whether
they are in formal or informal care settings.
Promise Neighborhood School Readiness Strategies:
Increase the number of three and four year children in full-day Pre-Kindergarten
 EPN partnered with SAISD on Pre-K satellite classrooms at Miller Child Development Center
and Ella Austin Community Center. Teachers are using SAISD certified Early Childhood
Development curriculum. Professional development training was implemented for Pre-K
teachers at satellite classrooms to improve the overall quality of instruction.
 73 three and four year olds in full-day Pre-Kindergarten at SAISD satellite classrooms. These
children had never been in a formal educational setting. SAISD’s conducted an assessment at
the beginning of the year that showed most children were developing on track in eight
developmental domains that include Language and Math. For children assessed with possible
delays, early education staff at Tynan and the Pre-K classrooms at Ella Austin and Miller have
used the data to identify developmental strategies.
 120 early child care and Pre-K slots were established for children with parents or caregivers
participating in EPN workforce development efforts.
Building network of childcare centers and registered family home providers to offer development
opportunities that strengthen quality of care for children ages 0 to 5
 Establishing an Early Learning Network of five childcare centers and two formal home care
providers. The network will strengthen service quality through professional development
activities. EPN also published a calendar of training opportunities for 2013.
Expanding efforts to improve the quality of care provided by informal home providers for children ages
0 to 5 (Family, Friends, and Neighbors)
 44 parents learned about age appropriate functioning of their children and their role as the
child’s first teacher through Parent Talk, a fifteen-week class provided at three Eastside
locations during 2012. Parent Talk will add six Eastside sites in 2013.
 17 caregivers and 16 children learned the value of child’s play in development and learning
through Play and Learn, implemented by EPN partner KLRN the Learning Place at Tynan Early
Childhood Center. EPN funded KLRN to add two Eastside Play and Learn sites in 2013.
Help ensure that children at Tynan meet Early Head Start and Head Start requirements to have a
medical home
 283 children ages 2 to 5 in Early Head Start and Head Start at Tynan are required to have a
medical home in order to attend. Parent Representatives from Tynan’s parent rooms, which are
administered by Family Service Association with funding from United Way, assist parents and
caregivers with obtaining the medical home. The Parent Representatives contact the parent, help
make the first doctor’s appointment, transport them if needed, and stay with the family through
the entire doctor visit process. 100% of the children at Tynan have a medical home.
This summer, the Eastside Promise Neighborhood introduced the first annual Kinder Boot Camp.
Eastside Promise Neighborhood hosted a free 3-week Kinder Camp to help children prepare for the
2013-2014 school year and entering kindergarten. The program enrolled 75 four year olds entering
Bowden, Pershing or Washington elementary schools were encouraged to enroll through a partnership
with the San Antonio Independent School District. The program began on July 22 and ran through
August 9th. Students had an opportunity to explore their school campus and participate in fun learning
activities with their teacher for the school year. Through this three week program, parents also visited
with teachers and became familiar with the school’s expectations for their little ones.
PreK 4 SA
PreK 4 SA was created to provide quality prekindergarten for four-year olds citywide. The
initiative was funded by 1/8 cent increase in local (San Antonio) sales tax rate (1/8 cent per $1.00 of
taxable purchase) beginning April 1, 2013. Over the next 8 years (2013-2021) PreK 4 SA will provide
22,400 four-year-olds high-quality prekindergarten education through: four Model Education Center
facilities serving 500 students each with full-day Pre-K instruction; competitive grant awards to local
independent school districts and other education providers to educate 1,700 children annually; and
Professional Development for Pre-K through Grade 3 educators throughout the city.
The Goals for PreK 4 SA:
 Achievement gaps reduced by at least 25% in language, 33% in math, and 90% in literacy when
compared to kindergarten students who do not attend Centers
 By 3rd grade, students from Centers should close the achievement gap in STAAR reading and
math assessments by at least 10%
 20% to 40% Reduction in special education placement and grade retention
 To provide high-quality professional development for all Pre-K through 3rd grade educators in
the City
 To help prepare our children for the 21st century job market
This August, PreK 4 SA will open the first two sites and begin serving 700 four year olds.
Challenges and Moving Forward
One of the main barriers that we have to overcome in San Antonio is the division of 15 school
districts. Although local organizations and initiatives such as SA2020 bring together the districts, they
all continue to operate independently and have their own curriculum and assessments. This becomes a
challenge because it is difficult to compare across districts when there is not a standard assessment or
tool used. By working on local initiatives such as the Early Development Instrument, San Antonio is
Our Classroom, and Attendance Awareness, we are moving the needle on district collaboration and
standard tools.
Experts agree that children who are exposed to books and read during the summer months keep
their reading skills sharp and are better prepared for the challenges of the next grade level. With this in
mind, various programs throughout San Antonio provided children with books this summer to
encourage reading while students are not in school. We know that working with students in 2nd and 3rd
grade may often be too late and to overcome barriers and increase education and literacy levels citywide, we have to start early and work with as many children and families as possible. Through the
numerous early childhood and education programs implemented in San Antonio, we have been
impacting children at a young age and engaging parents to encourage reading and literacy, leading to
higher 3rd grade reading scores, and lower percentages of students being held back.
Throughout the planning and implementation process of PreK 4 SA, SA2020, Promise
Neighborhood and the P16Plus Council, we have grown into a stronger city through collaboration, data
sharing, and accountability. During this same period, HEB launched its Read 3 program aimed at
encouraging reading with 3-year-olds with no formal education; San Antonio Youth Literacy is
partnering with SA2020 and P16 to ramp up the number of struggling 2nd grade readers it touches
through tutoring and mentoring; and the Eastside Promise Neighborhood has targeted coaching
resources to its 5 schools with reading coaches in all the elementary schools beginning 2013-2014. One
of San Antonio’s greatest strengths is that we are a large city with a close-knit community and we have
a lot of pride in where in live. Rather than giving up or waiting for someone else to tackle the tough
education issues, we have all come together to create strong, lasting partnerships between non-profit,
corporate, and government leaders. San Antonio is in the forefront of innovative programs and
strategies and positioned as a national leader in school readiness, improved third grade reading,
education reform, and parent engagement.