Early Matters San Antonio

We loved celebrating alongside so many incredible partners at this year's Workforce Solutions Alamo Impact Awards! 🎉

It was especially meaningful to see early childhood education recognized, and we are proud to congratulate Peter John Holt, Early Matters San Antonio Advisory Board Co-Chair, on being named Early Childhood Champion of the Year. 🌟

A big congratulations to Adrian Lopez and the entire Workforce Solutions Alamo team on a fantastic event. It was inspiring to see leaders from so many different sectors come together to recognize the people and organizations working every day to strengthen our region.

👏It's that time! Join us for our First Friday Breakfast at Cappy’s restaurant this Friday, June 5th.⭐

This free event brings together San Antonio's business leaders, organizations, and government representatives to discuss pressing issues in early childhood including costs, access, and quality.

We look forward to seeing you there!
RSVP here: EarlyMattersSA.org/first-friday-breakfast

🧩The Access to Quality Workgroup came together this past month to reflect and learn, while working together to advance the Early Matters Impact Plan.

👏An exciting milestone included the workgroup-approved expansion of the San Antonio Shared Services Alliance (SSA). The SSA opens the door for approximately 100 additional providers to access coordinated business, quality, and operational supports to help strengthen program sustainability. SSA supports access to high-quality, early learning opportunities across Bexar County.

Partners received updates on several active initiatives underway across the community including:

👉The Military & CCS Scholarship Project - supporting military families
👉The Inclusion Project - continued momentum around inclusive practices
👉CLASS Coaching & Assessment Pilot RFP

⭐For more information about the RFP, please visit https://earlymatterssa.org/rfps-rfqs/ and share with your networks.⭐

Thank you to the partners, providers, and community leaders who continue to bring thoughtful ideas, collaboration, and commitment to this work. Together, we are building stronger systems in support of children, families, and early learning programs across Bexar County.

A special thank you to Pre-K 4 SA for hosting at the South Education Center and helping to create space for these important conversations and collaborations.🙏

⭐ Yesterday morning, Early Matters San Antonio and UP Partnership publicly released a new statewide study providing strong evidence that early developmental benchmarks are a primary predictor of a child’s long-term academic trajectory.

Conducted by Dr. Michael Villarreal of CML Insight using a statewide sample of Texas students, the research found that children who enter kindergarten and meet developmental benchmarks significantly outperform their peers in reading and math proficiency by third grade.

The findings reinforce what many across education, business, and community leadership have long understood: investing early matters.

As Katie Ferrier of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce shared during the event, “Strong economies do not happen by accident. They happen through deliberate efforts and depend on a strong workforce — and the foundation of a strong workforce begins long before someone applies for a job, enters college, or completes workforce training.”

Superintendent Roland Toscano of EAST CENTRAL ISD reflected on the reality that the earlier children are served, the greater the impact.

Dr. Cathy Jones of UP Partnership emphasized that “readiness is a powerful foundation” that helps carry children forward into college, career, and beyond.

Our Executive Director, Mark Larson, spoke to the importance of ensuring all children have access to the high-quality early learning experiences that prepare them for success on their first day of kindergarten and throughout the years that follow.

Thank you to Roland Toscano, Dr. Cathy Jones, Katie Ferrier, and the many partners, educators, and community leaders who joined us to discuss what these findings mean for education, workforce development, economic mobility, and the long-term strength of our region.

As our community works toward the shared goal of ensuring 70% of Bexar County children are kindergarten-ready by 2030, this research provides another important reminder that supporting children and families in the earliest years creates benefits that extend far beyond kindergarten.

👉 Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gPqc3zZc

UP Partnership Greater San Antonio Chamber East Central ISD

🌟 The Family Engagement Workgroup came together for another thoughtful and collaborative meeting!

We shared updates across all subgroups, while building momentum across the community.

👏We also celebrated the finalization of the RFQ, Strategic Communications, Awareness, and Community Engagement Support for Early Learning Initiatives in Bexar County.

This RFQ covers the launch of a local early learning campaign connected to Too Small to Fail’s “Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” initiative, as well as the upcoming childcare search tool's campaign. The campaign will support awareness, adoption, and provider engagement.

⭐️ Please share the opportunity with your networks! You can find the RFQ here: https://earlymatterssa.org/rfps-rfqs/

👉The Community Awareness and Learning at Home subgroups continue to refine outreach strategies and practical family-facing resources.

👉The Centralized Referral Subgroup is exploring ways to better align early intervention and family referral systems.

👉A new subgroup was launched to review workgroup recommendations, EDI maps, and suggested zip codes from United Way, helping to identify initial locations and guide Phase 1 implementation of the place-based campaign.

🌟A special thank you to Liza Gomez from United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County for presenting on the Early Development Instrument (EDI)—a population-level tool providing insights on child development, health, and school readiness across five areas:

1. Physical Health & Well-Being
2. Social Competence
3. Emotional Maturity
4. Language & Cognitive Skills
5. Communication Skills & General Knowledge

Her presentation highlighted neighborhood patterns, strengths, and challenges, showing how EDI data, combined with local knowledge, can guide place-based strategies to connect families with trusted early learning spaces.

Thank you again to our meeting host, City of San Antonio Head Start Program, and to all partners for their expertise, time, and collaboration!

The Professional Pathways Workgroup continues to advance efforts that strengthen and support the early childhood workforce across Bexar County 🌟

This month, the group spent time discussing the proposed federal “Do No Harm” draft regulation and the potential implications it could have across the early childhood education community. Members reflected on the importance of ensuring that educators, providers, organizations, businesses, and community voices are part of the public comment process.

The workgroup also received updates on the newly launched CDA Mapping Subgroup 🎓, which recently held its first meeting focused on learning more about the members involved and their experiences and perspectives. The workgroup continued exploring apprenticeships as a potential entryway into the workforce. They looked toward national and local models that may help guide future work in San Antonio.

The TECPDS training series continues to expand its reach, now supporting nearly 110 early learning professionals. Support includes hands-on assistance with activating accounts, building portfolios, and exploring career pathway opportunities. Additional virtual TECPDS training opportunities are now being offered throughout the summer 💻

The Early Educator Networking Series continues to grow, creating vibrant spaces for connection, encouragement, and self-care among early childhood professionals across the community.

A special thank you to Kim Gomez from Workforce Solutions Alamo and Councilmember Ric Galvan for taking time to share words of encouragement and appreciation for the early childhood workforce and the important role educators play in supporting children and families every day.

Grateful for the continued collaboration, conversation, and willingness of partners and educators across the community to show up, share perspectives, and help move this work forward together 💛 Thank you to our meeting host, the City of San Antonio Head Start!


City of San Antonio Head Start Program

📊 The Data Workgroup continues to build a shared early childhood data system that will improve how partners connect, analyze, and apply data across the community.

At the most recent meeting, partners received a second preview of the shared data system currently under development. This included demonstrations of how imported geographic boundaries, like City Council districts, can create new ways of viewing familiar data sets, like kindergarten readiness.

To support more informed decision-making, these tools help the group explore how data can be organized and viewed across different community boundaries.

The workgroup also discussed next steps for data governance training and agreed to move forward with two learning tracks:

👉Track One - Continue the foundational governance work introduced earlier this year.
👉Track Two - Help front-line staff strengthen data quality, consistency, and shared practices across systems.

⭐These efforts help create a stronger foundation for understanding and responding to early childhood needs across Bexar County.

👏Thank you to our partners for their continued collaboration and engagement. We're grateful to our meeting host, the City of San Antonio Head Start.

⭐Join us for our First Friday Breakfast at Cappy’s restaurant on June 5th.

👉This free event gathers San Antonio's business leaders, organizations, and government representatives to discuss pressing issues in early childhood including costs, access, and quality.

We look forward to seeing you there!
RSVP here: EarlyMattersSA.org/first-friday-breakfast