Seeding Equity in Education through Dialogue Project
Valuing and engaging family and community leadership in San Antonio and the region
IDRA’s SEED project strengthens and mobilizes the capacity for effective, coordinated leadership and partnership with schools to impact policy and practice that improves early learning for children, ages birth to 8, in San Antonio. SEED is made possible by funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
See SEED’s Principles of Valuing Family Leadership
| “Mi sueño es ver a mis hijos en el colegio ver su graduación, que estén ejerciendo lo que estudiaron. [En mi sueño,] los veo llevando una vida muy diferente a la que a nosotros nos ha tocado vivir.”
My dream is to see my children attending college, see them graduating from college, applying what they studied, and living a life much different from the one we had to endure. – Family Leader, IDRA SEED interviews, San Antonio |
Join our Concilio Comunitario ~ Community Council:
Let Your Voice be Heard!
Join our Concilio Comunitario/Community Council, a San Antonio-based regional network of family, community and school leadership to improve 0-8 education for all children.
Working for High Quality, Equitable, Early Education and Care for All Children
According to KidsCount, while the pre-kindergarten enrollment of 3- and 4-year olds in Bexar County has risen since 2010, still just 32.9 percent of children are enrolled.
San Antonio, took an important step in establishing PreK4SA centers.
en are enrolled.
| “Yo creo que todas las escuelas [primarias] deberían tener pre-k – 3.Algunas tienen pero no todas. Todas deberían tener.”
I believe that all elementary schools should include pre-k – 3 grade levels. Some have them but not all. All should have them. – Family Leader, IDRA SEED interviews, San Antonio |
We need to build on this effort to assure that all children have access to high quality care and early education; and that early education and care meets the needs of Texas’ diverse learners. See our op-ed, “Pre-K poses great hope for Texas and its students” in the San Antonio Express-News.
While the state of Texas has one of the largest preK programs in the country, it meets the lowest number of quality standards, according the National Institute for Early Education Research, even with its most recent 2015 preK investment. See the data graphic.
Texas meets just two out of 10 quality benchmarks (teacher in-service hours and early learning standards) – falling short in teacher degree requirements, teacher specialized training; assistant teacher degree, maximum class size; staff-child ratios; screening/referral and support services; meals and monitoring.
San Antonio business, community and family leaders and educators affirm that quality public education is a crucial, sound investment in our future
IDRA joined the early education subcommittee of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, to produce a white paper, The Impact of Education on Economic Development in Texas
- “Hispanic Chamber to release economic development report tied to education
- “Sorry state of public education seen as threat to economic growth – Report cites Latino reading levels
- “New study shows impact of early childhood education
- “New Report Says Education Vital to City’s Economic Growth
Early Education Bilingual Materials ~ Semillitas de Aprendizaje
Semillitas de Aprendizaje is a bilingual (Spanish/English) supplemental early childhood curriculum, developed by IDRA, based on the art of storytelling. The materials are designed for literacy development with beautifully illustrated and culturally-relevant materials for 3- and 4-year-old children and include:
- A set of 10 Big Books,
- 10 corresponding unabridged storybooks,
- 15 Math Books focusing on numeracy and social-emotional development,
- 20 Cartitas – Letters Home (10 English, 10 Spanish) with family activities for teachers to send home for parents,
- Teacher Guide (Manual de Maestro) with 10 units in 196 pages to lead your students through the Semillitas de aprendizaje stories (Each unit has a set of classroom activities that include a morning song, storytelling, literacy connection with STEM explorations, center activities, phonemic awareness, writing and alphabet knowledge, English transition, family connections and informal assessment), and
- Available soon – Storytelling-Storyreading Video DVD that brings the stories to life through engaging storytelling in Spanish and storyreading in English.
Learn more at our Semillitas de Aprendizaje website.
Visit Our Partners
Barshop Jewish Community Center Diversity Conference
Voices for Children of San Antonio
Univision – La Feria
San Antonio United Way Issues Council
San Antonio Independent School District
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District
Harlandale Independent School District
SEED’s Principles of Valuing Family Leadership
The project’s community advisory group developed the following principles in 2014.
- Visionary: establishes a shared vision for all children’s success
- Inclusive: recognizes that diversity, of language, culture, perspective, and culture are among our greatest strengths as a community
- Respectful: respects families of all backgrounds, cultures, and languages; and honors families’ roles in advocating for their children and children citywide
- Resourceful: identifies individual and collective actions to improve educational equity, quality and access that back up the vision for all children’s success
- Transformational: reflects a clear commitment to identifying and addressing policies and practices that discourage family engagement with schools and to continual learning and growth/li>
- Mutual: honors and fosters a spirt of partnership, valuing what school-community-family partners contribute and reflecting a shared commitment to achieving results for all children
- Focused on Excellence and Equity: takes a stand for excellence for every child, without exception
- Transparent: information and data about education quality, access, equity and outcomes – taking into account protections of individuals – are shared and shape individual and collective action
