SAN ANTONIO — Congressman Henry Cuellar joined community leaders Saturday morning in celebration of an after school program aimed at helping low-income young people and their families on the east side of San Antonio.
The Democratic congressman secured nearly $2.3 million in federal funding for Knowledge is Power Community Learning Centers (KIP) in FY 2023, which provides a variety of resources for students across 10 churches.
“A quality education is necessary for our children to succeed in the 21st Century. The Knowledge is Power project will ensure East Side students are supported and have the after-school resources they need to perform well in the classroom,” Cuellar said.
KIP on-site director Rev. Patrick Jones stressed the vital need for such a program, noting how the COVID-19 pandemic proved challenging for students as they transitioned back to in-person learning.
“Coming out of COVID, there was a large percentage of kids that did not even go back to school. Returning to school was slow and a lot of kids were behind, so we saw that need and sought for a way to fulfill that need,” Jones said.
KIP’s educational resources include peer mentorship, skills development and career preparation. Jones said there are efforts underway to expand services with the help of additional funding.
“This is year one. We’re over 600 students, about 679. The overarching goal is to see our kids become successful in their education,” Jones said. “We have all kinds of things that we got planned for the summer, even we’re helping to employ some of the kids to get them in the workforce and we have a program now that’s designed to even follow our kids beyond high school.”
Cuellar and Texas State Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D-San Antonio) have worked together in ensuring KIP becomes a reality while helping transform students’ lives beyond the classroom.
“The dollars are broken down to make sure we can pay for tutors, mentors, site, technology, being able to take our young people to college tours,” Gervin-Hawkins said.
To learn more about KIP, go here.