IDEA Public Schools: Teaching More Than Academics

We welcome our partner IDEA Public Schools to Alamo City Moms Blog today. This post is written by first-year IDEA parent Lourdes Salidas.

IDEA Public Schools

IDEA is not only helping to change the community of San Antonio, Texas: IDEA Public Schools is changing the world.

My two daughters attend IDEA. My eldest daughter attends IDEA Carver College Prep, and my youngest attends IDEA Judson Academy, one of IDEA’s newest schools in San Antonio. When I learned about IDEA Public Schools, I did everything I could to get my daughters enrolled. I knew that a standard public school just would not cut it for my kids. I wanted the absolute best education for my daughters—smaller class sizes, more hands on experience, and a private school education without the price tag.

The more I get involved with the school, the more my daughters and I love it. IDEA goes further than their mission of preparing students from underserved communities for success in college and citizenship. IDEA is changing the mind-set of students. IDEA teaches students that it does not matter where you come from, how much money your family does or doesn’t have, or whether your parents attended college. Regardless of these factors, IDEA is teaching students to be rich in the mind. With a rich mind comes a full spirit and an attitude that you can achieve anything.

My daughter was struggling in school before attending IDEA. She lacked confidence. Since she started attending IDEA in August, she has blossomed and talks about attending college to become a doctor and how she wants to change the world.

The teachers and staff at IDEA have had a substantial impact on my daughters. When I ask my children what they think of their teachers, they say that they are kind. Not just good, but kind: a simple description that carries so much weight. The teachers take to heart what they are teaching their students.

Academics are top of mind at IDEA. Most recently, six out of nine IDEA San Antonio schools received all of the campus distinctions by the TEA for which they were eligible for the 2015-16 school year. What’s more, the faculty and staff at IDEA are teaching students responsibility, accountability, and drive. I see the skills that my daughter has adopted at school carry over to her personal life. She wants more for herself and is always talking about her future.

If you have the opportunity to enroll your student into IDEA, do it! The school is transforming our children. We need to do everything we can to ensure our kids have the best education. We want them to spread their wings, but we need to make sure we help them grow those wings.

To get more information on starting the enrollment process at IDEA, simply visit their website http://www.ideapublicschools.org.

Michelle
Michelle moved to San Antonio eight years ago and yet still feels like a newcomer. She is rather smitten with the Alamo City. She and her husband met at Texas A&M and started their marriage in Minnesota. After six years of very cold winters, they returned to Texas. Michelle has two kids (12 and 9), along with a very quirky rescue dog and two rather cute guinea pigs. A former corporate food scientist turned part-time yoga instructor, she still takes her food very seriously—she just doesn’t get paid for it anymore. She is fueled by tea, cold brew coffee, yoga, dog walking, books and quickly googling answers to her kids eleventy million questions.