SAN ANTONIO - This August, the San Antonio Prep Charter School will open its doors. The first-year school will start with fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-graders before eventually becoming both a middle school and high school.
- Former teacher, Air Force vet and mother of three
- Looking to promote racial equality, sexual equality, gender equality
Starting a school from scratch can be quite the undertaking, but San Antonio Prep founder Stephanie Hall-Powell is up to the task.
“San Antonio Prep was birthed out of my experience as a black student, and now as a black mother," said Hall-Powell. "I knew that there needed to be something different. I didn’t know initially what different looked like.”
The former teacher, Air Force veteran, and mother of three isn’t afraid to tackle the issues that are facing some of our students, even if those issues can be uncomfortable.
“It begins to hit on things that no one wants to talk about. That’s racism, and that’s mistreatment, and that’s unequal rights and opportunities for brown and black students," Hall-Powell said. "For us, we want to provide equity, and access to anything that anybody else has access to."
Hall-Powell says San Antonio Prep Charter is an option for families who want their kids to have a different educational experience that might be better for the individual child, or the family as a whole.
A photo of the San Antonio Prep Charter School symbol (Spectrum News)
"Our school is geared for those families," she said.
The days and nights leading to August can be exhausting for Hall-Powell, as she's constantly on the phone, or meeting face-to-face with someone, or filling out grants and required paperwork at her office - that's what she calls the Starbucks in Converse--but she knows the hard work and pressure will pay off in the long run.
"The people trust the leader of the school to do what she said she was going to do. To support their child, to support them, to support those people in the community," Hall-Powell said.
And along the way, she's found that this school, this idea, this mission is not only about an education, but also about the rights of many different kids in her community.
"I didn't come in with the notion of becoming an advocate or an activist, but it has grown into that. It becomes about racial equality, sexual equality, gender equality. It has turned into the work of speaking out for the rights of our kids, and not just black and brown kids, but all of our children," Hall-Powell said.
San Antonio Prep Charter is taking applications for the 2020-2021 school year. Log on to saprep.org for information.