“Las raíces profundas no temen al viento”

Mission Statement

We will enable at-risk students to dream the dream of education and fulfill those dreams of high school graduation and success at the college or university of their choice  by rooting them in their community and in a relevant and assessable support system.

Rationale

All research reveals dismal secondary school drop-out rates and dismal college retention rates for at-risk students.  Additionally, San Antonio’s location astride I-10 and I-35, the two major transportation routes for both human and drug trafficking, means our drop-outs are at higher risk of involvement in these activities.  Keeping at-risk student in class through high school graduation and equipping them to be successful in college is an investment that will be repaid many times over.

Core values

1. Fully respectful of the unique value of each individual’s intellect.
2. Fully respectful of the unique value of each individual’s culture.
3. Fully cooperative with others working for common goals, especially local school districts.
4. Fully transparent financially and ethically

Governance

The  Raíces Initiative is under the administration of Baptist University of the Americas and relies heavily on an advisory board made up of informed individuals and representatives from local school districts, NGOs and charitable institutions

It is focused on the challenges of stemming the drop-out tides among at-risk high school students and/or strengthening college retention and graduate school enrollments among that same group.

Program Elements

Stay-In

Working with students and their parents, teachers and friends to keep students in school and successfully set and reach their educational goals, including college.

1. Utilize the Raising Highly Capable Kids program for parents of elementary school students by encouraging its adoption and implementation by area school districts and, if beneficial, offering the workshop ourselves.
2. Host workshops/events for 6-8^th grade students and their parents about worth of and strategies for staying in school.
3. Offer afterschool/weekend/summer academic enrichment programs for at risk middle school and high school students who need remedial work.
4. Establish a “Learning Disabilities Walk-In Clinic” offering help overcoming learning disabilities—beginning with dyslexia.

Drop-In

Helping those who leave high school before graduating re-enter, and successfully navigate, the streams of higher education.

1. Offer a self-paced, tutor-assisted GED or on-line/correspondence high school degree program that would be available at non-traditional hours.
2. Provide child care and transportation.
3. Work with local schools to identify drop-outs and provide personal contact/recruitment efforts.
4. Establish a “Learning Disabilities Walk-In Clinic” offer help overcoming learning disabilities—beginning with dyslexia.

Carry-On

Enabling college students to complete college degrees by closing educational gaps by providing resources to overcome educational deficiencies resulting from physical disabilities and/or inadequate pre-college schooling.

1. Recruit, train and provide guidance counselors to keep in touch with at risk students who have been accepted by colleges between high school graduation and the beginning of college to lessen the impact of “summer melt.”
2. Offer intensive remedial classes in math and English in the summer to students with low ACCUPLACER scores in those areas so they will be college-ready before their first semester.
3. Offer intensive remedial classes in math and English during the academic year to first-year students with low ACCUPLACER scores in those areas.
4. Establish a “Learning Disabilities Walk-In Clinic” offering help overcoming learning disabilities—beginning with dyslexia.