Partnership Highlight: San Pasqual Academy
photo courtesy of San Pasquel Academy
PARTNERSHIP HIGHLIGHT
Partnership Highlight: San Pasquel Academy
Football games. Preparing for prom. Back-to-school days.
For many children, these are the cornerstones of a high school experience — and those traditions and moments are what San Diego’s San Pasqual Academy sought to bring to foster children when it opened its doors in 2001.
The first of its kind in the nation, San Pasqual Academy is a residential high school for foster children from 6th through 12th grade, where students live on the 238-acre campus in family-style homes. The Academy is funded by the state of California to help address the foster child crisis and offer young people an education, life skills, and a home.
We’re proud to have supported San Pasqual Academy for over ten years.
photo courtesy of Voice of San Diego
A San Diego Sanctuary
Typically, students arrive at San Pasqual Academy after being in and out of several foster homes, and the Academy provides a refuge and stability. Students live in beautiful homes with other students and social workers, who are committed to helping them grow and who serve as positive adult role models. Foster grandparents live on campus to build relationships with the students and help them with everything from crafts to gardening.
San Pasqual offers students an opportunity for “normal high school experiences,” including small class sizes, sports teams, and extracurriculars including yearbook, prom, and after-school clubs.
San Pasqual Academy also plans to expand its services to support students in new ways, such as adding intensive mental health therapy and transitional housing.
This intervention has a resounding impact on future outcomes. Alums have graduated and pursued education at elite universities, including the University of California Los Angeles and Yale University, building solid careers. And many come back to speak to and motivate the current students, a full-circle experience that can dramatically improve lives.
Fostering a Brighter Future
San Pasqual’s mission has become increasingly crucial. In the past few years, the number of foster children in San Diego has spiked, with resources and infrastructure struggling to keep up. Many of these children have been in and out of multiple homes, experiencing trauma, neglect, and a lack of positive role models.
This crisis is echoed across the country — the number of licensed foster homes dropped in more than half of states, sometimes plummeting dramatically, while more and more children enter the child welfare system.
San Pasqual Academy offers consistency and care, offering a model for how we can, as a country, educate and support our young people. By investing in institutions that provide a stable home and education, we invest in a future where more people have what they need to build new opportunities, for themselves and others.
Our Involvement
BFF has partnered with San Pasqual Academy for more than ten years. Working with Friends of San Pasqual, we help organize extracurricular events, including prom, back-to-school days, and holiday parties. BFF also donates the annual tech gift during the holidays. Past gifts have included headphones, laptops, and iPads.
We provide college and technical school scholarships to students based on academic achievement, providing funding during their first year so they can move, buy books, and get settled as they take their next steps.
Are you working on a project helping provide high-quality education to young people? We support local, national, and global projects, and we’d love to hear about yours. Apply for a BFF grant today.
