Nearly 100 people gathered for a Children’s Cabinet meeting at Alamo Convocation Center Sept. 28 for an annual review of district’s progress toward its Always Learning strategic management plan. The 2026-2027 school year marks the final year of implementation for the five-year plan.

"We’re celebrating making it to the end of the process and all the iterations we’ve had over the last five years,” said assistant superintendent Beth Jones, who emceed the event. “Certainly education has changed a lot in that time, and we have achieved much through Always Learning.”

The meeting opened with a welcome from Deputy Superintendent Dr. Xochitl Rodriguez, who shared district leadership’s key priorities this year to ensure the district remains under local control: improving student outcomes; managing instruction; building human capacity across our organization; and executing with fidelity.

“We are moving forward with a strong sense of urgency and an unwavering focus on academic achievement to ensure every student has access to a high-quality education and every school is positioned for success,” Rodriguez said.

The cabinet then received updates on the Bond and VATRE proposals on the Nov. 3 ballot and had an opportunity to visit five stations around the convocation floor to receive factual information on topics including facilities condition, tax impacts, and items included in the Bond and VATRE proposals.

Finally, San Antonio Alliance President Alejandra Lopez presented the 2026 Children’s Cabinet Annual Report on behalf of the cabinet’s steering committee, noting the cabinet’s role in providing continuous feedback on district initiatives.

“The Children’s Cabinet at its foundation is (designed) to gather input, to bring initiatives that the district is doing, to bring discussion around our key indicators in the Always Learning strategic management plan, and to engage stakeholders in conversation,” Lopez said.

The report contains five key sections: a review of last year’s priorities, recommendations to the district, feedback in action, accomplishments and outcomes. The report contains 29 different recommendations made by the cabinet throughout the previous year across the 12 components of Always Learning, along with the district’s actions in response to each.

The cabinet will hold a final meeting reviewing the final achievements of Always Learning in spring 2027.

View the slides from the meeting.

View the Always Learning Dashboard.