School Connect: Mobilizing Community to Uplift Students

By Amy Morgan

School Connect is one example of a nonprofit organization benefitting children and the community that’s gaining real traction in San Antonio. This innovative and successful program connects the community-based organizations and volunteers with struggling schools to undergird them with support. School Connect began in Phoenix 13 years ago under the leadership of Executive Director Tracey Beal and has mobilized thousands of volunteers to change the community of Phoenix.

“Businesses, churches, schools and non-profits each operated in their separate silos, when what we really needed was to work together with understanding of our different assets and the richness that we each brought to the community. We needed to understand and respect the proper role of each organization and find ways to use our resources for common purposes,” Tracey wrote on the national School Connect website.

Margaret Judson was asked to launch School Connect’s San Antonio program in 2019 in part because of her successful track record spearheading the Raising Highly Capable Kids (RHCK) program in South Texas. Now serving as School Connect SA Executive Director, Margaret is a certified master trainer for the values-based parenting curriculum. Since then, Margaret has incorporated RHCK as one of the tools School Connect SA uses to facilitate community engagement and uplift students.

San Antonio was the first city outside of Arizona and remains the only one in Texas to pilot a School Connect program, although School Connect has spread to 15 other communities nationwide. Unfortunately, the San Antonio pilot in six Northside ISD and two Alamo Heights ISD schools in 2020 was slowed by the pandemic. Efforts began to accelerate in 2024 as schools returned to normal operation after shutdowns.

In a 2025 impact report, School Connect SA announced they had mobilized 400 new community leaders from education, non-profit, faith, business, and government sectors — representatives of which attended the Inaugural Summit.

School Connect SA expanded to a new school district – East Central ISD – and trained and equipped 30 principals to implement the CAFÉ (Community and Family Engagement meeting) model.

School Connect SA trained 75 community leaders to facilitate the RHCK parenting education program for 350 families. Parenting classes were held at Northeast and Harlandale ISDs, SA Hope Center, South Texas Children’s Home and local church communities. RHCK expanded its reach into the Rio Grande Valley and Laredo through key partnerships with Methodist Healthcare Ministries and South Texas Children’s Home.

School Connect SA interfaced with more than 25 churches and hosted a Faith Liaison breakfast to strengthen faith partnerships — empowering faith communities to be education partners. Another church/school workshop is planned for March 2026.

The organization implemented the Power of One Hour literacy program that enlists volunteers to read with area elementary school students once a week.

School Connect SA held its second Summit on Feb. 3, 2026.

Tracey originally noticed the local public school was the portal through which all the needs of the community could be accessed.

“Wherever there are kids, there is a community around them,” she said. School Connect’s innovative and successful program helps schools build partnerships with their community members.

Tracey developed a plan to begin to change her Phoenix community through a local school. School Connect helps a principal clearly identify a strategic plan – their struggles, needs and what they want to achieve – then matches those needs with volunteers interested in meeting them. This model is much more effective than just showering a school with volunteers or donations that might not be a good fit.

“If a well-meaning church comes to a school and says, ‘You need this program we do,’ that might create a barrier. And volunteers and donors burn out when there’s just one organization serving all the needs of a school.” The community thrives when volunteers offer what they love to do best as part of a big picture effort that truly meets the school’s needs, she added. Crucial components: build trusted relationships, listen, and collaborate in a way that’s a win-win for everybody.

School Connect brings the community back into the public space, Margaret added.

“We are no longer engaged with each other,” she said. “But all the ills of society make their way into the classroom. That’s overwhelming! We have the resources. We have to be organized to bring those in. The beauty is inviting the community to see what the public school is about so they can get a richer understanding of the challenges and be a support for the kids.

School Connect’s process is to engage the faith, non-profit and business communities to build a village of support around a public school. Some of them may already be working with partners but don’t even realize it, Margaret noted.

Top administrators open the door to principals to collaborate with their potential community partners at a CAFÉ hosted by School Connect.

“CAFÉ is a wonderful tool,” Tracey said. “It took getting all the partners to one table, which generally didn’t happen before. Resources of the community that are often siloed now become known. They’re at a table talking about food, clothing, emotional support and finding that they really do have solutions.”

The School Connect model trains schools to be strategic about building community and engagement. CAFÉ engages community partners in a meaningful way – not just donations or fundraising. “The framework and model work. We train them and coach them,” Margaret added. She noted an example of School Connect SA partner East Central ISD that trained all 16 principals in the district. They also launched a district-wide CAFÉ in November 2025 that involved all their schools, principals, community partners, police officers, representatives from community colleges, a construction firm that had been working on campus and even a Texas state senator.

“These groups had not been brought together before,” Margaret said. “We facilitated these table- wide listening conversations to present challenges and determine practical ways to come alongside. That’s the beauty that comes when a community comes together.”

Every quarter, School Connect partners meet to debrief, celebrate successes and implement the next step of the plan. “We meet literally thousands of people who would like to make a difference, but the pathway is not clear. We remove barriers and train people how to collaborate,” Tracey said.

Margaret’s team offers tools like RHCK and the newly introduced Power of One Hour literacy program independent of a school’s formal affiliation with School Connect SA. School Connect SA also provides RHCK training every other month and ongoing CAFÉ meetings. RHCK is a 12-week, evidence-based program that includes 40 developmental assets like character development, community service, resources, literacy, and boundaries. The program teaches parents skills to instill these internal and external assets in their children through interactive and engaging lessons.

“You do not have to parent the way you were parented,” Margaret stressed. “People learn they are not alone in having concerns about their kids and wanting to do things right. NEISD has hosted graduation ceremonies for parents who complete the program. Some have never graduated from something before. It is so powerful.”

School Connect SA also rolled out their Power of One Hour literacy pilot program at two elementary schools in 2025. They are recruiting interested adults to commit to spending one hour a week at a local elementary school reading and listening with students.

According to a Harvard Study, the most determinative factor to a child’s success – regardless of class or circumstance – was having one healthy and encouraging adult in their life. An inspiring adult can build confidence and hope in a child, foster a love of learning and open doors to a brighter future. “You can be that adult,” a School Connect SA flyer encourages. “Just one hour a week changes lives.”

Another flagship event started by School Connect in Phoenix is an annual Love Our Schools Day, where all community partners participate together on one day to make a big impact with a renovation or appreciation project.

San Antonio schools have benefitted from beautification activities ranging from preparing campus gardens for planting, refreshing a teacher workroom to decorating classrooms for Dr. Suess week. Grace Point Church serves a breakfast once a month for the teachers at Rudder Middle School in NISD. When you organize, people can really see the power of change, Margaret noted. Principals feel supported and loved and not all by themselves.

“It’s not very common in our world anymore where students, teachers, faculty work together,” Margaret said. “We have so many people who are lonely and disconnected. This brings people together and shows kids they care.”

One elementary school in Northside ISD had 300 families show up for a Love Our Schools Day. Kids painted kindness rocks while parents used cups to write a spirit message on the fence. One neighbor brought along a friend who didn’t even have children at the school to enjoy the festive music in the gym and food truck meal. She told Margaret it was the best thing for her to come be part of.

Margaret cited another example of a San Antonio principal who came to a first CAFÉ. She had a robust PTA but didn’t know her community partners. The principal hosted a back-to-school bash at an apartment complex down the street. The original church partner donated backpacks. A store manager from a local HEB brought a grocery cart full of school supplies. Another business delivered pizza. The teachers didn’t have to buy anything out of their own pocket – everyone took a little piece of the pie. The apartment complex manager was so blown away! She volunteered her community room for mentoring or Bible study or after-school programs after seeing that group support.

A 2024 study from the Morrison Institute found that 69% of educators considered leaving the profession last year. 78% of educators said that “increased support from parents and community members” would help them stay.

“Think about that. Nearly 8 out of 10 teachers tell us that simply having us in their corner—parents, neighbors, business leaders—could be the difference between walking away or staying to do the work they love,” Tracey wrote on a recent invitation to an Arizona Summit for educators, principals and community leaders.

“We can show up. We can be the village our educators need. When a business partners with a school, or a faith community adopts a classroom, or a neighbor mentors a student, the burden lifts...and our kids benefit.

 And when we all come together with the collective skills, resources, and genius of the village, we might even be able to change an entire community for the better.”