YTC Students Celebrate Positive Support People

As a way to help San Diego SOAR Academy students in the Youth Transition Campus (YTC) connect with and honor their mothers and other positive support people, the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and San Diego County Probation coordinated professional photos for 126 students to gift to their support people. 

The framed photos, along with a letter written by their student and a rose, were gifted to parents and support people during a recent family engagement event hosted by SDCOE and probation at YTC. More than 120 guests, including parents, JCCS staff, and community members attended.

Kara Wilson, teacher and ASSET grant coordinator at SDCOE, worked alongside JCCS leadership and Probation Division Chief Mike Whatley to coordinate the effort. Wilson shared it was an opportunity to provide experiences for students and families who may not have had access to previous school experiences. 

“We have not had a lot of interaction with our students’ parents, but to be able to connect with the positive support people in our student’s lives is vital to the whole child success,” Wilson said. "Having the opportunity to take a professional school picture and gift it to someone who has positively supported them allows students to be seen in a new light—beyond the circumstances that brought them to YTC. We wanted an image that portrays their growth and their future."

Upon arriving to their child’s cottage, guests were given the rose, letter, and framed photo. The honored guests were treated to lunch with their children and interacted with their peers. Some families played cards, others Jenga, and some just used the time to catch up and restore relationships.

Wilson received a message from one mom that said “I am glad I got to see where she is sleeping and spending her days. She looks better and sounds better. Thank you for making sure she is well taken care of and thank you for the event. It was a great experience!"

As some of the moms left campus, they were seen holding the frames on their chests with tears down their cheeks. A couple of mothers said they did not have single school picture of their children. 

SDCOE’s Communications and Creative Services team coordinated the photo session, and the photos were produced in the print shop and placed in frames. SOAR YTC staff all chipped in to purchase the roses for the families and Probation provided the meal. The collaborative project was funded in part by the 21st Century Community Learning Centers ASSETs program, which supports family engagement initiatives, recognizing that families play a critical role in youth lifelong success.