My goals for this blog are to educate parents about their education options and develop a group of parent-advocates to improve education in San Antonio. Leadership SAISD has a parallel mission; it’s an independent nonprofit organization that is working to cultivate and empower future leaders in the San Antonio ISD community. They are currently accepting applications for the Class of 2014, and I hope you will read more about it and consider applying.
My friend Lester Bryant was a member of the inaugural Leadership SAISD Class of 2013, and here’s what he said about it:
LSAISD was a wonderful experience. To be able to learn about the inner workings of the school district was very enlightening. I enjoyed learning about the financial side of the district. How the budget is determined, the expenses—especially administration costs. This is the biggest expense of school districts because teachers are needed. Learning about the role of community partners with the district.
Eddy Hernandez, Executive Director of LSAISD, gave me his list of the “Top Five Reasons to Join Leadership SAISD”:
- Interact with a cohort of civically-minded individuals with a passion for education.
- Explore issues critical to understanding San Antonio’s complex education landscape.
- Develop actionable solutions to identified needs within the district through LSAISD capstone projects.
- Learn from experts and practitioners in the fields of education, community engagement, finance, government and law.
- Align your interests, skills, and passions to support the students and families of the San Antonio Independent School District.
Eddy’s list refers to “capstone projects”: For LSAISD 2013, this included a literacy workshop for pre‐k students and parents (at an SAISD elementary school), a community support and engagement plan for an SAISD school and principal, an SAISD mentoring partnership, and an in-district charter school handbook.
Eddy also refers to opportunities to learn from “experts” at the monthly meetings. For LSAISD 2013, these “experts” included Superintendent Sylvester Perez; Board President Ed Garza; professors of education, leadership and urban studies; lead counsels for SAISD and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). Class of 2013 members also met staff from SAISD’s Research and Evaluation, Financial Services, Human Resources, and Government/Community Relations departments. Members of the Class of 2014 will have the additional benefit of networking with members of the inaugural Class of 2013.
If you are an SAISD parent, a community member, or someone who just cares a whole heck of a lot, I hope you will consider applying to be a member of Leadership SAISD’s Class of 2014. Please share this post on your neighborhood email list, Facebook group, etc.
Key dates:
- June 30, 2013: Priority application deadline
- July 14, 2013: Final application deadline
- July 22, 2013: Semi‐finalists notified and interviews begin
- August 5, 2013: Finalists notified
- August 14, 2013: Class of 2014 announced
