San Antonio Magazine December 2020

SAN ANTONIO MAGAZINE

HOW COACH GREGG POPOVICH , PATTY MILLS , LONNIE WALKER IV AND OTHER PLAYERS TAKE THEIR ROLE AS CHAMPIONS OFF THE COURT AND INTO THE COMMUNITY

MORE THAN BASKETBALL

DEC EM BER 2020 SAN AN TON IO SPURS / P R IVAT E SC H O OL GU ID E DECEMBER 2020 $5.95 SANANTONIOMAG.COM

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THE ANNUAL PRIVATE SCHOOL GUIDE +

TEACHERS AND FAMILIES SOUND OFF ON COVID CHALLENGES (AND WINS)

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December FEATURES

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TOP MORTGAG E PRO F ESSI ONA LS

Whether you’re refinancing, buying a new home or looking for commercial lending, trust the pros on this peer-reviewed list.

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S PU RS COM M U NI TY

Learn what drives Coach Gregg Popovich’s long-held tradition of giving back and how that has rippled through the team. Plus, Spurs Give expands its mission of changing San Antonio for good.

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COV I D -19 LE A R NI NG

Teachers, parents and students speak out on the challenges— and bright spots—of in-person and remote learning during the pandemic while lifelong homeschoolers share how they’ve made a lifestyle of learning together.

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PR I VAT E SC HOOL GU I D E

With uncertainty about when students would be permitted on public school campuses, area private schools have seen increased interest from families looking for stability. Compare and contrast over 40-plus private schools with our annual guide.

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December

IN THE LOOP 1 2 EVENTS The San Antonio Zoo is looking ahead to a year of mostly normal operations, starting this month with Zoo Lights.

1 4 PERSON OF INTEREST The newly elected president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists is working for equitable coverage and representation in newsrooms across the U.S.

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16 CULT UR E

62 DISH

Collage artist Luisa Wheeler -Price explores the seven heavenly virtues and deadly sins in her latest exhibition, on display at Cappy’s.

Warm up this winter with jalapeño mac and cheese, poblano soup and other elevated comfort food favorites from local chefs.

18 ST Y LE Stash your wallet and keys in a piece of art with these purses in Bárbara Miñarro’s Breakfast Friend line.

24 CASA Ring in the New Year in style without ever leaving home thanks to these party favorites and accessories from local boutiques.

EAT + DRINK 5 8 E AT H E RE N OW

20 IN FLUEN CERS Manola and Maria Ramirez found their niche in screen printing the work of other San Antonio women artists.

2 2 BO O KS Marcus Peoples Jr. uses his own story to help kids understand what it’s like to grow up as a biracial individual.

Homecooked classics are just the start of the mission at Comfort Café.

61 MAKER San Antonio in a Box helps you share the best parts of the city’s culinary makers with your friends and family, even if they can’t come to town this year.

63 S P OT L I G H T The founder of Alamo Kitchens is adding a production studio to her shared-use commercial kitchen to help chefs thrive during COVID-19.

6 4 LO O K I N G BAC K Volunteers at Elf Louise Christmas Project are carrying on the founder’s mission following her retirement by ensuring children in need still receive gifts despite the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ON THE COVER Illustrator Vicente Martí captured our focus on Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich and players’ commitment to giving back to the community.

COMFORT CAFE: JOMANDO CRUZ, PURSE: COURTESY BREAKFAST FRIEND; ART: COURTESY LUISA WHEELER-PRICE

D EPART M EN TS

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UP FRONT / EDITOR' S NOTEBOOK

went to my first Spurs game several months before I moved from Austin to San Antonio, at the invitation of a colleague—a San Antonio native—who had box tickets for a night. I don’t remember who played or who won, but the energy was palpable.

The next season, I returned to the AT&T Center, this time as a San Antonio resident and sitting in the regular seats. The game watching experience was a bit more cramped but just as fun. A few years later, watching (on TV) the Spurs during their championship run in 2014 was exhilarating, and attending the championship parade and rally took my affection for the team and its fans to a new level. By that point, however, I’d already realized that for Spurs fans, their love of the team goes beyond championships—though we’re mighty proud of those five wins. The Spurs’ role in San Antonio is much more than just being the city’s only pro sports team. It’s a camaraderie that bonds the whole town and an organization that works to make the city better.

Spurs players aren’t just known for their stats on the court; many of them develop reputations beyond the arena for their work with nonprofits and communities in need. For the Spurs organization, it’s always been about more than basketball. And Coach Gregg Popovich—in his bluntly lovable way—leads that charge.

Since San Antonio Magazine’s early days, we’ve included some sort of Spurs season preview story in the issue that coincides with the first game’s tip-off (typically, October). Over the years, we’ve debated what we bring to the table, considering we’re not analysts and the internet is full of NBA commentary. We often present a fan’s guide, covering the top games to watch, where to watch them, how to make the most of game days at the AT&T Center. But this summer, as we watched the Spurs and other NBA teams play out their final games in the bubble in Orlando, playing hard on the court while grappling with the emotions surrounding racial justice protests and the realities of COVID-19, we started to look at the team differently.

This year, our annual Spurs feature (page 30) isn’t about the next season at all. Instead, it’s a look at some of the ways Pop, the players, the organization and alumni live as champions off the court—putting their time, money and influence toward supporting causes they’re passionate about.

Executive editor Kathleen Petty envisioned and edited the feature. As both a strong reporter and editor, Kathleen has been an invaluable part of the SAM team for years, and I’m excited to announce that she’ll be taking over as the new editor in chief in 2021. After 9 1/2 years in San Antonio and at San Antonio Magazine, I’m moving to Lubbock as my husband takes a new job. He’s followed me and my career for years, and I’m happy to now do the same for him.

While I’ll certainly miss San Antonio, I’m hopeful to not feel too homesick as I stay very in the loop on city news and happenings. As editorial director of San Antonio Magazine’s parent company, Open Sky Media, I’ll continue working closely with Kathleen and the SAM team as well as the rest of our staff that produces Austin Monthly, Austin Home, Texas Music and a variety of custom publications, digital content and events. Plus, the first H-E-B in Lubbock just opened, so I’ll still be able to get my fix of butter tortillas and Creamy Creations (though I will miss its SoFlo Pizza and True Texas breakfast tacos). Thank you for the support you’ve shown me and this magazine over the years and the stories you’ve shared with us in these pages.

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The election may be over, but there’s still some voting left to do. In between holiday shopping, show love to your favorite local businesses by voting for them in our annual Best of the City reader’s poll. Readers nominated people, places, businesses and organizations in November, and the finalists are open for voting Dec. 1-28.

This year was tough, to say the least, for small, local businesses, but so many of them pushed through, continuing to provide San Antonio with their best and we want to celebrate that. You can vote once per day in each category, so put it on your list, and check it twice! sanantoniomag.com/ votebestof

COMING NEXT MONTH Prioritizing your health is perhaps more important now than ever.

Don’t miss our annual Top Doctors list, plus a salute to healthcare workers who responded to COVID-19.

VINCENT GONZALEZ

Rebecca Fontenot Cord Publisher & Editor in Chief

VOTE NOW

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DECEMBER 2020 / VOLUME 16 / ISSUE 3 WHO IS YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE SPURS PLAYER?

Rebecca Fontenot Cord PUBL IS HER & EDITOR IN CHIE F

EDITOR IAL EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Kathleen Petty CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Chris Duel, Emily Guajardo, Joan Kennedy, Sallie Lewis, Kiko Martinez, Bonny Osterhage, Edmund Tijerina, Chris Warren

OPE N SKY ME DIA CEO

Todd P. Paul PRESIDENT

Stewart Ramser

“Patty Mills. Love how he’s adopted San Antonio and supported the city while still staying tied to his home country of Australia. Plus, he has an adorable Goldendoodle!”

VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES

Julie A. Kunkle FACT CHECKER

Katherine Stinson

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Rebecca Fontenot Cord COPY EDITOR

Patsy Pelton

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Hollis Boice EDITORIAL INTERN

Clarissa R. Abrego "Manu Ginóbili—he was always unpredictable, and I liked to yell, “Ginóbiliiiiii!” during games.

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Kerri Nolan A RT ART DIRECTOR

David G. Loyola

ACCO UN T IN G ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

Sabina Jukovic PHOTO ASSISTANT

Brenda Piña

DIG ITA L DIGITAL MANAGER

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR

Abigail Stewart

Vicente Martí

“Tim Duncan. I love that he gives back to SA and St. Croix and that he is humble, loyal and hardworking.

DIGITAL MEDIA COORDINATOR CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Rosie Ninesling

JoMando Cruz, Vincent Gonzalez, Josh Huskin CONTACT US

“Patty Mills because I like seeing his pre-game entrance outfits!”

ADV ERTIS ING ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

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jobs@sanantoniomag.com STORY IDEAS, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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© Copyright: San Antonio Magazine is published by Open Sky Media, Inc. The entire document of San Antonio Magazine is © 2020 by Open Sky Media, Inc. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of ownership or management.

Editorial or advertising does not constitute advice but is considered informative. San Antonio Magazine is locally operated.

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In the Loop I NSI D E / T HE ZO O A DA PTS p. 12 / ARTFUL ACC ESSORIES p. 18 / AT-H OME N EW Y EAR’S EVE p. 2 4

Bridging Nature he experience of standing in the center of the Robert L.B. Tobin Land Bridge that connects the east and west sides of Phil Hardberger Park is just as inspiring as former Mayor Phil Hardberger says he imagined it would be when he first proposed a natural bridge more than three years ago. “The view is pretty spectacular,” Hardberger says. “It will be a better experience for our human visitors and for the animals.”

Just more than two years after it officially broke ground the land bridge that stretches over Wurzbach Parkway opens this month. Cement was poured as a base layer for the bridge, which is reinforced with 16 steel girders each weighing 80,000 pounds, and a layer of at least 3 feet of dirt sits atop the concrete, allowing for the growth of native South Texas trees, plants and grasses. At 150 feet wide, about a third of the bridge is intended for pedestrian traffic and the other two-thirds for animals to safely cross from the west side of the park, where there are fewer water catchments, to the east side. An 8-foot-tall steel wall lines the sides of the bridge and will eventually be covered with vegetation as the vines and plants mature.

To reach the bridge, park visitors can traverse a trail or an elevated skywalk that takes them from the ground up into the trees before stepping onto the bridge. Hardberger says the goal is to make people feel as if they’re walking across a hill rather than a busy roadway.

A $23 million project, the bridge was completed thanks to $10 million in private donations and grants and $13 million from a 2017 city bond.

Hardberger says the bridge was long meant to enhance the visitor experience but that its impact is even more meaningful now. “Regardless of what mood you’re in or what’s happening to you in your exterior life, being in the middle of nature is very helpful and that’s especially true right now with COVID-19,” he says.—KATHLEEN PETTY

BRIDGE RENDER: COURTESY PHIL HADBERGER PARK CONSERVANCY; MAYOR HARDBERGER: BRENDA PIÑA

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IN THE LOOP / EVENTS

6 Best Bets NOV. 27-DEC. 13

THE NUTCRACKER Ballet San Antonio presents this holiday classic, with choreography by Easton Smith and Haley Henderson Smith, during 12 shows at the Tobin Center. Capacity is limited so reserve tickets early. balletsanantonio.org NOV. 28 & DEC. 5

DICKENS ON MAIN

San Antonio Zoo plans for almost business as usual as it heads into 2021

BY KATHLEEN PETTY

THE SAN ANTONIO ZOO IS PROJECTING IT COULD END

the year with an up to $4 million loss, but Tim Morrow is as positive as a president and CEO can be in the throes of a pandemic.

“We have a cautiously optimistic attitude,” says Morrow. “We’re planning a normal year in 2021, but we know we have to be able to pivot at a moment’s notice.”

Its annual Zoo Lights event, which runs through the end of the year, is the start of normalcy. After a virtual gala and Zoo Boo event that accommodated walking and drive-thru visitors, Zoo Lights is operating like it has in years past, albeit with smaller walking crowds and the presence of face masks and hand sanitizer.

Forced to close its gates to outside visitors from mid-March until after Memorial Day, San Antonio Zoo staff have spent the better part of 2020 getting creative in connecting with guests. Before reopening, they offered animal-themed Easter baskets for pickup and hosted a slew of virtual events, from zookeeper chats to yoga in front of the hippos. In April, a staff member who’d spent time driving the grounds as part of his job suggested launching a drive-through zoo experience, which was the first bit of financial salvation for the nonprofit that was still spending close to half a million dollars a day on animal care and essential staff while closed. (During its closure, 400 of its 700 employees were furloughed while salaried employees,

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like Morrow, took pay cuts for the year.)

In just its first month, the drive through experience drew more than 20,000 vehicles and through fall had netted over $1 million for the zoo. It’s a concept San Antonio has shared with zoos from Phoenix to Toronto.

While a success, Morrow says it’s not close to enough.

In the just over five years he’s been with the zoo, the nonprofit has seen annual revenue grow by nearly $10 million to between $24 million and $26 million. “In past years we have revenue to spend on infrastructure and our mission, but some of that will have to be used to pay off debt in the years to come,” Morrow says. They were projecting $2 million in profit before COVID-19 hit that would have been invested back into the zoo. He adds that in the past, they haven’t done a good enough job explaining that they’re a nonprofit and are not city-funded like many zoos. “We are also fundraising to pay that off,” he says, of any debts. “We need the community’s help to recover from this.”

There have been reasons for hope, including increased foot traffic in the late summer and fall as community spread of COVID-19 slowed in San Antonio and mask wearing and social distancing became the norm. In July, there were days where foot traffic was at 20 percent of a normal summer day.

Events, Morrow says, is part of what helped them grow revenue in recent years so that’s what they’re planning for as they look to bring more visitors back in 2021. After Zoo Lights, guests can expect a full slate of spring break offerings, a Fiesta de los Animales event in April and a special exhibition over the summer.

Morrow wants zoo regulars to remain safe, but he says the outdoor setting and compliance with COVID-19 protocols allows for that. “At our core, we are a walk through experience,” Morrow says, explaining the importance of being able to read signage, linger in front of animal habitats and chat with staff. “Our goal is to get back to that 100 percent.”

DEC. 5

HOLIDAY ART MARKET The Tobin Center hosts artisans and makers for this fourth annual outdoor fair. Kids can take a photo with Santa or visit the craft corner. tobincenter.org DEC. 8-20

THE MUSIC OF A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS With Jazz, TX closed for renovations, Doc Watkins and his trio are taking up residence at the Tobin Center’s Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater for intimate holiday concerts featuring tunes from the Charles Schulz classic. tobincenter.org DEC. 6

GLOBAL CELEBRATIONS At this month’s touch-free family day at the San Antonio Museum of Art, kids can pick up an art kit to make their own silver ornament or patterned cards. Selfguided gallery games will give families the chance to learn about holiday traditions around the world. samuseum.org DEC. 28-30

WONDERFUL WINTER HOLIDAY The Magik Theatre is hosting its “Play in a Day” workshop for kids on break. Children will learn how to act out, dance and sing scenes from some of their favorite shows and movies. magiktheatre.org

COURTESY SAN ANTONIO ZOO

Breeding Normalcy

Boerne has added an extra Saturday to its annual holiday event to allow for smaller crowds. Watch an ice sculpting battle, walk through holiday villages or see an outdoor theater performance. boernedickensonmain.com

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4 STO R I ES YO U M AY HAVE M I SSE D

Bonus Time / H-E-B announced in October that it would provide employees across Texas with a $500 bonus. The San Antonio–based grocer said in a statement that its success is only thanks to its people and that employees have handled the challenges of 2020 with “grace, compassion, strength and resilience,” so a bonus as they looked ahead to the holidays seemed only fitting.

First Pitch / Four nurses were invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch when the World Series kicked off in Arlington this fall.

San Antonio’s Brittney Burns was among them and was lauded for her care of COVID-19 patients locally and for volunteering to travel to New York to care for COVID-19 patients there earlier in the pandemic.

SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/JJ GOUIN

Sold / After years on the market, Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich’s 9,640-square-foot home in the Dominion sold this fall for $3.1 million—more than a million less than its original asking price in 2018, according to the L.A. Times. Along with an infinity pool, more than 2.5 acres and four bedrooms, the home features a top-of-the-line wine cellar that no doubt housed what’s rumored to be an extensive Popovich collection.

Bears, Oh My! / San Antonio police responded to calls about a bear on trails near Mission Espada this fall, KSAT reported. Police told the callers it was likely an oversized feral hog they’d spotted rather than a bear, but as the officers approached, they found that the sleeping animal was actually a black pot-bellied pig. The creature was large enough to cause a scare but one that officials said was safe to remain near the trail.

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IN THE LOOP / PERSON OF INTEREST

her of why community journalism matters. With the NAHJ, she’s working to increase the diversity of local newsrooms around the country so that newspapers, news stations and other outlets can tell stories that represent the whole community.

Training Latino journalists is one of your top goals for the NAHJ. In what way?

I’ve been active with NAHJ on and off for close to three decades and this is my second time on the board. Our primary mission has always been to try to help young Latinos get to college, study communications or journalism or broadcast and get their degrees. We want to help get those Latino minority journalists into the pipeline and we’ve done a brilliant job at that. Last year, we gave out some $200,000 in scholarships. But now, we need to start focusing on training folks for those mid-level career management jobs because that’s where diversity is still severely lacking. We need more Latinos in the kinds of positions where we’re making decisions and helping to focus the coverage so that it’s inclusive and reflects the diversity of the communities that we’re covering.

I’ve been fortunate that in San Antonio our newsroom includes a lot of Latinos and I’m really proud of the fact that the majority of our department heads are Latino and that both of our metro columnists are Latino. With reporters, we do not reflect the community right now. We need to do a better job of recruiting.

The Full Story Nora López, National Association of Hispanic Journalists president, says representation across mediums and levels is key to equitable coverage INTERVIEW BY KATHLEEN PETTY ora López likes to tell students and rookie journalists that reporting for a daily newspaper is a bit like doing research papers in school—except that now there’s a pop quiz or an assignment due at the end of every day. “It’s very intense because you get thrown into something at the start of the day and you basically do as much research and try to get as many first-hand accounts as you can, all knowing that by 4 or 5 you’re going to have to sit down and write,” she says. Recently elected president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), López serves as metro editor at the San Antonio Express-News, the paper where she took her first full-time internship over 30 years ago. The daily grind and the way news is delivered has certainly changed since then, but López, who was born in Mexico, grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and is a naturalized citizen, says the busy news cycle of 2020 has also been a reminder to

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DECEMBER 2020

FACT FILE

Hometown: Edinburg Education: Pan American University (now University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) Resume: San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio Light, Dallas Morning News

Talk about why representation in newsrooms is so important.

It’s important because NAHJ firmly believes that you will tell better stories if your newsrooms reflect the community—because you will be able to see stories that might not otherwise get seen. In 2012, for example, there was a Telemundo reporter who moderated a GOP debate and she brought up some really good questions and perspectives that otherwise would not have been talked about. She pointed out that Marco Rubio had made contradictory statements in English and Spanish, which another reporter might not have caught. She also brought attention to the fact that there had been more dangerous people crossing the Canadian border than the southern border, which helped ensure the immigration debate wasn’t focused solely on the south. There was not a single Latino journalist chosen as a moderator this year, and that’s not new and it needs to change.

Are there examples locally where having Latino journalists has impacted coverage?

There are a lot of stories that we’ve been able to do at the Express-News because our newsroom is diverse enough to come up with different ideas.

When a group of immigrants, including several who had died, were found in the back of a

ILLUSTRATION BY VICENTE MARTÍ

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tractor-trailer at a WalMart (in 2017), one of our interns who helped cover the story spoke Spanish. That allowed us to get an interview with one of the relatives who was in the truck. When you speak the same language or have the same background, whether it’s that story or another in our community, it helps to facilitate the conversation and makes people feel more comfortable. I think you get a more authentic voice.

I’m proud of the fact that our metro columnists are both Latino.

Elaine Ayala is from San Antonio and grew up here, so she brings that unique perspective to her column of knowing San Antonio and its history. Gilbert Garcia is from the Rio Grande Valley and grew up on the border. Both of them bring this context of where they grew up and where they live that I think really elevates the types of columns they write.

Is there anything else in your career that has compared to 2020 in terms of the intensity of news coverage required?

The only other thing I can compare it to was when I was a reporter in the early ’90s at the Dallas Morning News and I was a part of the wave of reporters who was sent to cover the Oklahoma City Bombing.

But even that sort of ebbed and flowed and I was able to come back to Dallas. Of course, 9/11 was a story that stayed with all of us for a long time, but I can’t think of anything that has been quite like this.

Along with COVID-19, you all have covered Black Lives Matter protests and the election. What has that been like on reporters?

We’re all learning together right now. I’ve been impressed with how quickly reporters have built and maintained contacts within the Black Lives Matter movement locally since we were relying on them to tell us where and when the protests were and that kind of thing.

COVID-19 being new for everyone makes covering it that much harder.

We have a medical reporter who I think is doing a really great job. She was among the first allowed access to a COVID unit locally and she was able to just paint a really vivid picture of what those frontline workers are living through—I think that’s where local journalism is really important because nobody can tell that story the way your city can.

Distrust in the media and the refrain from some that the news is “fake” feels like it has grown in recent years. How do you respond?

There certainly is that feeling out there that people don’t trust the media. The whole big refrain is of course terribly insulting to those of us in the mainstream media who really take our roles of being the community watchdogs seriously. We are making sure that our city and local and state government officials are held accountable.

I’m also hopeful. There was this long-held belief for a while that we—newspapers—messed up with the internet by putting our content out there for free and then the public became accustomed to not paying for it. Newspapers did struggle mightily for well over a decade trying to figure out how to monetize our websites. We struggled with that.

But you know what? After the 2016 election, reputable organizations like the New York Times and the Washington Post saw their digital subscriptions grow. We’ve learned people are willing to pay for good, quality journalism. I think now as an industry, we’re seeing a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel in terms of sustaining print journalism.

We have been growing our digital subscriptions tremendously over the last few years and that makes me hopeful and makes me believe that people do still trust us because they’re willing to pay for the coverage. You see it in other ways, too, like at the Texas Tribune, which is a nonprofit model that runs on donations and grants from people who believe in what they do and believe in supporting the news.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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I N T H E L O O P / C U LT U R E

SEE THE WORK

Seven Heavenly Virtues & Seven Deadly Sins Through Jan. 12 Cappy’s, 5011 Broadway luisawheeler.com

The Many Layers of Luisa Wheeler-Price The collage artist explores deadly sins and heavenly virtues in works on display at Cappy’s

uch like her coveted collage art, San Antonio mixed media artist Luisa Wheeler-Price’s life story has many layers. The artist was born in Eagle Pass, though she grew up as a curious and creative child in Piedras Negras, Mexico. By the time she was 5 years old, Wheeler-Price made her first skirt using her grandmother’s sewing machine. “I used to see my grandmother crocheting or sewing dresses and that’s how I learned, just by looking at her,” she says. As years passed, she began drawing and painting, eventually studying photography at University of Texas at San Antonio.

Today, her work explores the many facets of her identity as a Latin American woman. Growing up Catholic, she was intrigued by the seven heavenly virtues and the seven deadly sins, both of which inspired two distinct collage collections, on view at Cappy’s in Alamo Heights through Jan. 12.

In “Greed,” one of the seven deadly sin collages, a magazine cut-out of Tilda Swinton in a sumptuous swing coat is flanked by brazen diamond jewelry, strappy, sky-high stilettos, and flashy faceted gemstones. Another, titled “Gluttony,” boasts a tower of bloody Marys, glazed donuts, and double-stack hamburgers, with coffee and wine stains incrusted in the image.

Wheeler-Price works from her home studio in Castle Hills, where she collects and manipulates her mixed materials, be it recycled magazine pages, bits of

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cardboard or old newspapers. Nature is one of her greatest inspirations, and she frequently uses fallen leaves and found twigs to add texture and dimension to her work. “I think you can find beauty in everything and convert it,” she says. “It all depends on your state of mind, but I think beauty is everywhere.”

Twigs and leaves aside, Wheeler-Price also sources natural elements out of her magazine collection, incorporating clippings of bejeweled bees, birds, frogs and butterflies into her finished collages. For the viewer, each one is an invitation to get close to the work and search for meaning within the camouflage.

Her latest exhibition at Cappy’s features 20 collages in total. In addition to pieces from the heavenly virtues and deadly sins series, she has a few new portraits on display, including one of her mother, Lupita, made entirely of photographed flowers and magazine fragments. Another of her grandson, Santiago, is constructed out of comic book cut-outs.

With every piece, Wheeler-Price shares different facets of herself, from her passion for fashion to her family, her faith and her love of color, which she feels stems from her Mexican heritage.

“When I create one of these pieces, it’s sort of like doing poetry,” she says.

“You work in layers, yes, but you have to balance everything out and make it a story.”

COURTESY LUISA WHEELER-PRICE

BY SALLIE LEWIS

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IN THE LOOP / STYLE

SHOP

breakfastfriend.shop @breakfastfriend

Passionate Pursuit San Antonio artist Bárbara Miñarro takes her art out of the studio with new purse line, Breakfast Friend

veryone has different philosophies on friendship—from Taylor Swift’s model squad to Aristotle’s ideal of “friendship of the good.” Bárbara Miñarro keeps it simple: The best kind of friend is the one you want to go to breakfast with. Hence, Breakfast Friend, Miñarro’s new line of hand-painted purses.

Born in Monterrey, Mexico, and raised in McAllen, Miñarro comes from a long line of artists and makers. Growing up, she would run to her grandmother’s couture design studio after school, where she was a fly on the wall during conversations about clothes, urban and interior design, and how people move through, influence and exist in various spaces.

A 2017 fine arts graduate of University of Texas at San Antonio, Miñarro has participated in exhibitions and residencies across the country, including locally at Artpace San Antonio and Blue Star Contemporary. In her work, she often explores the body as related to immigration through soft sculptures that evoke the human form while using the tactile memory that clothing carries. Her purses, some of which depict her original paintings, are not all that far removed from her studio work.

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Miñarro says she’s had a fascination with purses for as long as she can remember, buying her first handbag—a glittery number with the image of a cat on the front—as a preteen. She’s since collected and altered vintage purses for years. In early August, she decided to turn her passion into a business. She describes the purses she sells now as a new kind of study in still life. They often depict items that would usually be hidden inside of a purse or bag, from Chapstick and bobby pins to Topo Chico, fruit and breakfast tacos. Whatever the design, the purses are colorful, playful, witty and quirky.

Shortly after she launched the business, one of Miñarro’s friends spotted someone out and about wearing a Breakfast Friend purse. She took a photo to send to Miñarro and listened as the customer gushed about how she formed her entire outfit around the purse. Used to working with textiles in the studio to create haunting and powerful bodily images, Miñarro says this venture has allowed her to express her interests in a different way by using her art to help people shape how they present themselves for display in the world. Plus, they bring a piece of fun to a society that can always use another reason to smile.

COURTESY BREAKFAST FRIEND

BY JOAN KENNEDY

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IN THE LOOP / INFLUENCERS

Screen Queens Manola and Maria Ramirez use screen printing to help other local artists distribute their work

BY BONNY OSTERHAGE anola and Maria Ramirez are artists in their own right, but the sisters have also found a niche in helping other female creatives share their work with San Antonians thanks to screen printing.

“The artists who come to us want to make their work available to people at an affordable price,” says Manola, of Manola & Maria Printmaking: Art: Design. “Reproducing their work through screen prints allows them to do that.”

Unlike digital reproductions, screen prints are made by hand rather than with a machine and allow original works to be reproduced for sale online and at local retailers like Felíz Modern.

The Ramirez sisters grew up in San Antonio and share a love of painting and drawing. But it wasn’t until they both took a printing class at the University of Texas at Austin that they discovered a passion for screen printing.

After graduating with BFAs in studio art just one semester apart, the two returned to San Antonio and began exhibiting at local markets.

They caught the eye of Kelly O’Connor, renowned collage artist and head of collections and communications at Ruby City, and they soon realized screen printing could be more than a hobby or side gig. “When Kelly commissioned us to reproduce one of her iconic pieces, we realized this was something that artists want,” Maria says.

The women now produce screen prints and pursue their own work as part of the all-female collaborative space at Lavaca Studios, striving for a balance between creating for others and making their own originals.

“We have found that many of the artists we work with create strong, feminist art and they want to work with female printers,” says Manola, adding that theirs is traditionally a male-dominated industry.

Their own artistic styles are similar, and the sisters say their skills complement one another when it comes to managing their website, social media, screen printing and art.“We both like abstract, but I am more controlled while Maria is more free flowing,” Manola says. “That’s what keeps our designs balanced, it’s the right amount of each.”

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DECEMBER 2020

SHOP

manolaandmaria.com Manola & Maria will have holiday cards and other items available at the Dec. 4 Christmas Night Market at Lavaca Studios

PHOTO BY JOSH HUSKIN

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IN THE LOOP / BOOKS

In Between

THE NUFF Veronica Waldrop wrote this tale about a unicorn with a broken horn who learns that she is “a nuff” for her two daughters.

Waldrop died of breast cancer in 2017 before the book was released, but her husband, Will Waldrop, teamed up with Texan Alan Williams to turn his wife’s story into a book for young girls. Released earlier this year exclusively at H-E-B, the title is now available online and at other retailers, including Felíz Modern. thenuff.com

San Antonian uses his own story to teach kids about biracial identity in children’s book

BY KATHLEEN PETTY t wasn’t until middle school that Marcus Peoples Jr. thought much about being biracial.

His dad, an African American, and his mom, who is Hispanic, raised him and his siblings to be proud of their culture and heritage on both sides of the family. The fact that Peoples might not look like everyone else was simply not something he really thought about, he says.

When his family moved from Texas to Florida, though, Peoples began to hear comments from his peers. Why did he talk like a white kid? Of course, he was good at basketball—he was half Black. But obviously not Black enough to hang out with the Black kids or listen to rap music, others would say.

And he was certainly not Hispanic enough to be a real fan of cumbia.

“The veil of innocence slowly but surely got ripped off,” he says. “And I wasn’t the only one (to hear comments from people).”

Still, while those initial experiences shook him, Peoples says his family and faith allowed him to move on, pursuing academics and basketball, which he played at Texas State University. “My parents led by example and by faith,” he says. “We were focused on no matter what we get, we have to treat others the way we want to be treated, so pray for the people who ostracize you and shake it off if you hear something that doesn’t rub you the right way. Don’t put much weight on it because we know who we are.”

After earning a master’s in public administration at Texas State, Peoples now works in human resources at CPS Energy while he pursues a doctorate at University of the Incarnate Word. Writing, Peoples says, has always been a release, the secret hobby that he didn’t feel quite good enough to pursue as a “jock.” A few years ago, he wrote a poem about his experience as a biracial youth, and after watching his 14- and 9-year-old brothers experience some of the same challenges he’d had, Peoples decided to expand his poem into a full children’s book, Proud to Be In Between. Gabby Flores added illustrations over the last year and the title was released in June, available at Felíz Modern and online.

“I wanted to equip people and children with a book that (teaches you to) embrace your cultural background and just your identity in general,” he says. “It’s a children’s book but it’s for parents, too.

If grown-ups are just bigger kids then these issues are just going to get bigger and bigger and bigger.

It’s a mechanism to help break down what race and identity is. It’s a hard conversation but it needs to be had. Representation matters.” proudtobeinbetween.com

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WHAT’S IN YOUR H EAV EN ?

Universal City author Paige Priscilla Plank knows kids can ask tough questions sometimes and her book, which was released on Amazon and other online retailers earlier this year, aims to help parents tackle the big questions that can come up after the loss of a pet or loved one. With the help of illustrator Victor Guiza, Plank introduces the idea of heaven and an afterlife. Spoiler alert: In her book, dogs go to heaven, too. outskirtspress.com/turnthepaige

WHERE WONDER G ROWS San Antonio’s Xelena González and illustrator Adriana M. Garcia are following their debut title, All Around Us, with a second book due out in early 2021. With the same beautiful illustrations that made the first book stand out, this title depicts a grandmother showing her granddaughters around the natural wonders that occur in her garden. Preorder at cincopuntos.com

WHERE WONDER GROWS: COURTESY CINCO PUNTOS PRESS; THE NUFF: COURTESY THE NUFF PROJECT; WHAT'S IN YOUR HEAVEN: COURTESY OUTSKIRTS PRESS; PROUD TO BE IN BETWEEN: COURTESY MARCUS PEOPLES JR.

3 OT H E R C H I L D R E N ’ S B O O K S W I T H LO C A L T I E S

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IN THE LOOP / CASA

Quarantine Count Down Turn to local shops to orchestrate your own New Year’s Eve bash without ever leaving home —CLARISSA R. ABREGO

Meri Meri Pop, Fizz, Clink coasters ($12), large plates ($6.50), cups ($3) and cocktail napkins ($5.50), Felíz Modern

Confetti Fountain ($12), Felíz Modern

Seersucker Southern Style Gin ($30), Seersucker Southern Style Gin Mix 1 ounce of gin with 3-4 ounces of your favorite Champagne plus ½ ounce of lemon juice and simple syrup for a classic French (or Seersucker) 75.

Black and Silver New Year’s Fringed Tiara (69 cents each), Amols’ Fiesta & Party Supplies

Black and white shattered stripe mask ($12.50), Niche at Pearl

Sparkle hoop earrings ($17.70), Hey Eye Candy Boutique

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Flat grains cutting board for charcuterie ($28), Sunset & Co.

Champagne and Zinfandel macarons ($2.25 each), Bakery Lorraine

Loteria Cuarentena Game Set ($15), No. 9 Floral Chocolates & Gifts

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San Antonio’s Top Mortgage Professionals

MANGSAABGURU/SHUTTERSTOCK

Whether you’re buying a new home or looking for a place to set up shop, you need a trusted mortgage professional by your side to make the stressful process easier. Consider these 102 the best of the best in the San Antonio area

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Commercial Avery Duke Envoy Mortgage 210-710-8227 avery.duke@envoy mortgage.com Mark Harris Guild Mortgage Company 210-692-7500 mark.harris@guild mortgage.net Michael Horner Gold Financial Services 210-366-1070 mhorner@goldfinancial.com Adam Hughes Legacy Mutual Mortgage 210-477-2906 adam.hughes@legacy mutual.com Chris Kuhn Gold Financial Services 210-366-1070 ckuhn@goldfinancial.com Clayton Laughlin Cornerstone Home Lending 210-606-3655 claughlin@houseloan.com Marisa Maloy Bank of America 210-701-9480 marisa.maloy@ bankofamerica.com Jack Miller Gold Financial Services 210-366-1070 jmiller@goldfinancial.com Yesenia Mumford Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union 210-945-3300 ymumford@rbfcu.org Quinton Neff Gold Financial Services 210-366-1070 qneff@goldfinancial.com Cary Reeves Thrive Mortgage 210-649-9595 cary.reeves@thrive mortgage.com

Gary Rodriguez Directions Home Loan 210-257-0642 grodriguez@ directionshomeloan.com

Residential Ana Almanza Texas Heartland Mortgage 210-545-5556 ana@texasheartlandmtg.com Lisa Alonzo Wallick & Volk 210-907-7605 lisa.alonzo@wvmb.com Lorena Ashinhurst Gold Financial Services 210-366-1070 lashinhurst@goldfinancial.com Joe Bass V.I.P. Mortgage, Inc. 210-802-4296 joebass@vipmtginc.com Daniel Bonney Security Service Federal Credit Union 210-877-3760 dbonney@ssfcu.org Daylon Brady Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation 210-714-7316 daylon.brady@fairwaymc.com Toni Brumfield Planet Home Lending 210-838-2031 tbrumfield@ planethomelending.com Terrence Butler Gold Financial Services 210-366-1070 tbutler@goldfinancial.com Kaleb Carnley Canopy Mortgage 210-316-1752 jcarnley@canopy mortgage.com Javier Castilla Guild Mortgage Company 210-692-7500 jcastilla@guildmortgage.net

Aubrey Cavazos Gold Financial Services 210-408-6060 acavazos@goldfinancial.com

Brad Dawson Movement Mortgage 210-667-5875 brad.dawson@movement.com

Kasey Hampton DHI Mortgage 210-582-0794 klhampton@dhimortgage.com

Ann Chandler Hometrust Mortgage Company 210-581-2048 achandler@hometrust.com

William Dorgan Southern Lending Services 210-686-9298 wdorgan@ southernlendingservices.com

John Heard Directions Home Loan 210-257-0642 jheard@directions homeloan.com

Brian Chunn Gold Financial Services 210-366-1070 bchunn@goldfinancial.com

Mark Drew Amegy Bank 210-343-4441 mark.drew@amegybank.com

Noel Herrera Gateway Mortgage 210-742-6854 noel.herrera@gateway loan.com

Megan Cloud Pilgrim Mortgage 210-381-3707 mcloud@pilgrimmtg.com

Jessica Dromgoole CLM Mortgage 210-634-1198 jessica.dromgoole@ clmmortgage.com

Carlo Colantonio CMG Financial 210-801-8801 ccolantonio@cmgfi.com Joel Comp Gold Financial Services 210-366-1070 joel@goldfinancial.com Amy Corona loanDepot.com 210-859-1538 acorona@loandepot.com David Couch Benchmark Mortgage 210-428-7928 david.couch@benchmark.us Easton Crafts Directions Home Loan 210-257-0642 easton@directions homeloan.com Kelly Cunningham CLM Mortgage 210-370-9802 kelly.cunningham@ clmmortgage.com Scott Curtis Capital Farm Credit 210-348-6681 scott.curtis@ capitalfarmcredit.com Jonathan Davis Envoy Mortgage 979-299-9022 jondavis@envoymortgage.com

Saprina Patrice Ellis-Johnson Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union 210-945-3300 sellisjohnson@rbfcu.org Sharon Floyd Gold Financial Services 210-366-1070 sfloyd@goldfinancial.com Mary Galland Cornerstone Home Lending 210-340-4994 mgalland@houseloan.com Daniel Ganoe Sun West Mortgage Company 951-330-7970 daniel.ganoe@swmc.com Cleo Garza Jr. PrimeLending 210-483-4907 cleo.garza@primelending.com Brendan George SWBC Mortgage 210-494-5626 bgeorge@swbc.com Africa Gibb Cornerstone Home Lending 956-227-3478 agibb@houseloan.com Kristin Graham Supreme Lending 210-446-5932 kristin.graham@ supremelending.com

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Karla Hester Revolution Mortgage 210-365-4678 khester@revolution mortgage.com Travis Lee Higgs Wells Fargo Home Mortgage 210-403-7911 travis.higgs@wellsfargo.com Melinda Hipp Mutual of Omaha Reverse Mortgage 210-493-7332 mhipp@mutualmortgage.com Curtis Huizar Thrive Mortgage 210-326-1171 curtis.huizar@thrive mortgage.com Zelda M. Jarrett Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union 210-945-3300 zjarrett@rbfcu.org Joe Jeffries Envoy Mortgage 210-951-0747 jjeffries@envoymortgage.com Mark Jones Directions Home Loan 210-969-8001 mjones@directions homeloan.com Sheryl Joyce Bank of America 210-376-1194 sheryl.joyce@bankof america.com

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Michael Litwin Thrive Mortgage 210-382-6224 michael.litwin@thrive mortgage.com Lisa Lozano Directions Home Loan 210-969-8001 llozano@directions homeloan.com Annaly Madrigal Gold Financial Services 210-366-1070 amadrigal@goldfinancial.com Kevin Mark Cardinal Financial 210-417-4548 kmark@premierlending group.com Marshall Moody Guild Mortgage Company 210-348-8100 marshallm@guildmortgage.net Irene Morgan SWBC Mortgage 210-342-5155 imorgan@swbc.com Keri Moses Jefferson Bank 210-736-7808 kmoses@jeffersonbank.com Brad Nabers Nabers Mortgage 210-789-3330 Michelle Noble Certainty Home Loans 210-446-1361 mnoble@certainty homeloans.com Frank Paredez Movement Mortgage 210-610-8669 frank.paredez@movement.com Amadeo Perez Jr. Parkmont Lending 210-872-6605 jperez@parkmont.com Art Ramirez Certainty Home Loans 210-447-6591 aramirez@certainty homeloans.com

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Jesse Ramirez loanDepot.com 210-477-2015 jesseramirez@loandepot.com

Niki Salter Legacy Mutual Mortgage 210-364-2254 niki.salter@legacymutual.com

Jamal Townsend Movement Mortgage 210-792-1052 jamal.townsend@movement.com

Kimberly Ramos Broadway Bank 210-283-5304 kramos@broadway.bank

Patty Sanchez Neighborhood Housing Services San Antonio 210-533-6673 psanchez@nhs-satx.org

Alanna Truitt Gold Financial Services 210-366-1070 atruitt@goldfinancial.com

Dana Rasso Domain Mortgage 210-654-2139 drasso@rbfcu.org Victoria Nell Raz Guild Mortgage Company 210-501-8341 traz@guildmortgage.net Allan Rhodes Security Service Federal Credit Union 210-476-4029 arhodes@ssfcu.org Eloisa Marie Riojas Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union 210-945-3300 eriojas@rbfcu.org Carlos Rivera Bank of America 210-563-8245 carlos.rivera@bankof america.com Patrick Rockett SWBC Mortgage 210-581-1515 prockett@swbc.com Louis Rodriguez Home Loan Experts 210-612-5080 louis@homeloanexperts usa.com Tom Romanello Legacy Mutual Mortgage 210-999-5955 tromanello@legacymutual.com Linda L. Rudd Legacy Mutual Mortgage 210-999-5935 lrudd@legacymutual.com Rae Saldana loanDepot.com 210-477-2011 rsaldana@loandepot.com

Ellen Schuler Cornerstone Home Lending 210-860-0031 eschuler@houseloan.com Mark R. Scumaci Amegy Bank 210-343-4459 mark.scumaci@amegy bank.com Jack Shull Guild Mortgage Company 210-348-8100 jshull@guildmortgage.net Joshua Sigman Legacy Mutual Mortgage 210-999-5963 refersigmanteam@ legacymutual.com Jaime Spanley First United Bank 210-274-5011 jaime.spanley@firstunited bank.com Marcus Spitzer Directions Home Loan 210-257-0642 marcus@directions homeloan.com Courtney Splawn Legacy Mutual Mortgage 210-999-5935 courtney.splawn@legacy mutual.com Michael M. Thomas Wells Fargo Home Mortgage 210-856-5086 michael.m.thomas@ wellsfargo.com Aimee R. Thompson Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union 210-945-3300 aimeethompson@rbfcu.org

Becky Villaseñor CLM Mortgage 210-598-7171 becky.villasenor@clm mortgage.com Jean-Marie Warren Regions 210-998-5529 jean-marie.warren@regions.com

Tracy Tylman Supreme Lending 210-446-5909 tracy.tylman@supreme lending.com

JP Watkins SWBC Mortgage 210-581-1533 jpwatkins@swbc.com

Jacob Vieira Gold Financial Services 210-366-1070 jvieira@goldfinancial.com

Candy Williams Homebridge Financial Services 210-269-1774 cwilliams@homebridge.com

Robert Villa Security Service Federal Credit Union 210-476-4638 rvilla@ssfcu.org

David Ricardo Ybanez Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union 210-945-3300 dybanez@rbfcu.org

How This List Is Made Using an online survey, San Antonio Magazine solicited peer nominations from mortgage professionals in the San Antonio metropolitan area, asking them to nominate people who they would trust with the care of their or their family’s loan needs. To ensure the nomination process is peer-based, full contact information was requested. San Antonio Magazine then tallied the results, selecting the top 10 to 15 percent of vote recipients in each practice area before submitting the final list to our fact-checking process, which includes a review of good standing.

Professionals do not and cannot pay to be a part of the list. We recognize that many good mortgage professionals are not included on the list; this is only a sampling of a huge array of talented professionals within the region. We encourage all consumers to do their own research before selecting a mortgage professional.

San Antonio Magazine uses best practices and exercises great care in assembling content for this list. It does not warrant that the data contained within the list are complete or accurate. San Antonio Magazine does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. All rights reserved. No commercial use of the information in this list may be made without written permission from San Antonio Magazine. If you see an error in the information listed, please contact editor@sanantoniomag.com.

Winners Congratulations! If you’d like to display this accomplishment with a plaque, please visit our official store at sanantoniomag.com/plaques.

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Coach Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs may have missed the playoffs for the first time in over two decades this year but the team still made plenty of headlines—and impact— as they worked for social justice and other causes outside of basketball. The practice of giving back is one Pop has helped to instill in the organization since he took the helm in the 1990s and that both the team and its nonprofit arm, Spurs Give, continue to embrace

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PHOTOS: COURTESY SAN ANTONIO SPURS/REGINALD THOMAS II; PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: DAVID G. LOYOLA

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BEYOND THE COURT

Compassionate Coach Winning obviously matters to the five-time NBA champion coach of the Spurs but for Gregg Popovich, life has always been about more than basketball—a value that has impacted his players plus the San Antonio community and beyond for his work behind-the-scenes with nonprofits supporting a variety of causes

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POP’S VOICE Gregg Popovich is known for the prickly interviews he gives to reporters, but the five-time NBA champion coach also doesn’t mince words when it comes to social and political issues. Here are just a few of the notable things he said this year.—KM

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ON RACE

here is no denying the incredible achievements Gregg Popovich has had on the court over the last 24 seasons as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs. While guiding the team to a record-tying 22 straight playoff appearances, which included bringing home five NBA championships, and winning the NBA’s Coach of the Year award three times, Popovich has epitomized the definition of consistency, strong leadership and professional success.

As beloved as Popovich has been for his work on the hardwood, his time spent giving back to the community and using his platform to speak out about social injustices is what makes him such a special human being in the eyes of not only Spurs fans, but also individuals across the globe who are fighting for the same causes.

Just this year, Popovich has made statements about what he sees as failures of the Trump administration in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and he has given his full support of Black Lives Matter.

“The thing that strikes me is that we all see this police violence and racism, and we’ve seen it all before, but nothing changes,” Popovich told The Nation in June. “But without leadership and an understanding of what the problem is, there will never be change. And white Americans have avoided reckoning with this problem forever, because it’s been our privilege to be able to avoid it. That also has to change.”

As an Air Force veteran and longtime humanitarian, Popovich has proven that becoming a true champion requires more than simply winning games and he has worked to instill that in his players and staff through action.

“As a team, we were always jumping on a bus together and going to help at the San Antonio Food Bank warehouse or going to visit the wounded warriors at Brooke Army Medical Center,” says Chad Forcier, an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks who served on Popovich’s coaching staff for nine years through 2016. “Pop’s involvement in the “It’s a big fear now that we have a group in power that is very willing to ignore (racism). It’s not just with their words, but their actions prove it, and that is scary.” —Jan. 20, 2020

COURTESY SAN ANTONIO SPURS/REGINALD THOMAS II

BY KIKO MARTINEZ

“People who don’t understand Black Lives Matter or are offended by it are just ignorant.”

—July 25, 2020

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don’t give it. Pretty simple.”

It’s a blunt, Popovich-esque statement, but one that players take to heart. During non-pandemic years, Popovich has gotten much of the team involved in the annual Champions Against Hunger dinner, where players serve as waiters at a ticketed fundraiser for the Food Bank. For Popovich, being a part of the Spurs’ family and buying into its culture means being willing to look beyond yourself.

“That’s just some of Pop’s magic—teaching and growing and sharing with his players,” Cooper says. “He’s created an environment where the players have an opportunity to serve the community and develop their own philanthropic interests and passions.”

Popovich’s own passions extend through a variety of industries. Along with the Food Bank, he has worked with organizations like Shoes That Fit, a nonprofit that provides new athletic shoes to kids who live in low socioeconomic situations, and the Innocence Network, a group that helps exonerate the wrongly convicted and advocates for criminal justice reform.

Amy Fass, CEO and executive director of Shoes That Fit, met Popovich through her husband, who worked with him at Pomona-Pitzer, where Popovich coached collegiate basketball in the 1980s. She reached out to him to see if he might be interested in sponsoring a shoe drive for kids in San Antonio. “I just have so much respect for Pop,” Fass says. “His endorsement has really opened a lot of doors for us. He loves talking to the kids and being a role model for them. He encourages them to work hard and he believes in them.”

The excitement Fass sees from students and teachers when Popovich and Spurs players attend one of their shoe distribution events is a testament to how much the basketball organization means to San Antonio.

“Most of them are jumping up and down and screaming,” Fass says. “He always stops to take pictures and circles through the room and always looks for the kids who are off by themselves to make sure they get attention. He’s a great guy.”

Meredith T. Kennedy, director of the Innocence Network, also knows firsthand how much Popovich can impact a nonprofit organization. She and Popovich have been working together since 2016 when the Innocence Network was introduced to the NBA Coaches Association. Since the Innocence Network Conference was happening in San Antonio that year, Kennedy requested a video from Popovich to play at the event.

“They passed along the request and the response from Pop was, ‘Forget the video. I want to be there,’” Kennedy says. “He was really moved at the conference. I was sitting right next to him and he was hanging onto every word (the exonerees) said and wiping away tears at one point. He has really been a huge advocate and supporter of ours ever since that day.”

It’s through Popovich’s words that Kennedy sees the most impact for the Innocence Network. Whether he’s talking about how the justice system needs to be revamped or how significant a movement like Black Lives Matters is to the United States, Popovich has no qualms about being front and center in the fight.

“Pop is very outspoken about things that matter to him,” Kennedy says. “I feel like we are at the point now in 2020 that nobody’s going to be told anymore that they don’t have the right to speak up, whether that’s Coach Pop or someone like (Colin) Kaepernick. Pop has been setting this tone for a really long time, and it’s so empowering.”

“It behooves each of us who might be a little bit older to take it very seriously. I don’t want to die.”

—July 20, 2020

ON WRONGFUL INCARCERATION

“If Trump had a brain, even if it was 99 percent cynical, he would come out and say something to unify people.

But he doesn’t care about bringing people together. Even now. That’s how deranged he is.” —May 31, 2020

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a player, ticket taker, usher, concession worker or client of the Food Bank; he sees everyone as fellow human beings. He wants all of us to be our best. I think all great teachers are willing to do what they ask others to do.”

ON COVID-19

ON PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

community has always been close to his heart.”

One of those organizations that has become synonymous with Popovich’s charitable efforts locally over the last two decades is the San Antonio Food Bank. President and CEO Eric Cooper met Popovich in 2001 shortly after taking the helm of the Food Bank. Cooper says he immediately realized Popovich’s desire to do whatever he could to help the city battle childhood hunger. Since then, Cooper says Popovich has given tirelessly to the organization as a volunteer, advisory board member, spokesperson and fundraiser.

“The (Food Bank) wouldn’t be what we are today without Pop,” Cooper says. “He’s done everything from leading capital campaigns to getting healthy food to families. We all have our positions to play, and Pop just wants everyone doing what they can to address these social issues.”

Just as Popovich avoids personal praise when the Spurs win championships, he never wants any recognition when it comes to his community service. He prefers to work behind the scenes, Cooper says, but isn’t shy about speaking out on behalf of the organization or even doing some of the physical labor it takes to get food to the people of San Antonio. “Pop is just so genuine,” Cooper says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a player, ticket taker, usher, concession worker or client of the Food Bank; he sees everyone as fellow human beings.

He wants all of us to be our best. I think all great teachers are willing to do what they ask others to do.”

That mindset has trickled down to the Spurs team over the years, too. All-stars like Tim Duncan, Manu Ginóbili and Tony Parker are only a trio of players Popovich has introduced to the San Antonio Food Bank (and among those who’ve gone on to get involved with their own charitable endeavors at places like the San Antonio Zoo and elsewhere).

As a coach, Popovich, of course, wants his players to concentrate on basketball, but he also wants to instill in them the understanding that there are things in life more important than a game. When asked by ESPN in 2017 why giving back to the community is important to him, Popovich replied, “Because we’re all rich as hell, and we don’t need it all, and other people need it. Then, you’re an ass if you

“It’s just hard for me to imagine spending any time whatsoever in confinement for something that I did not do ... To even know that it happened in our country is shameful.” —Sept. 29, 2020 DECEMBER 2020

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BEYOND THE COURT

Organizational Impact

The renaming of Silver & Black Give Back to Spurs Give isn’t the only change in the team’s official charitable activities. The nonprofit arm of Spurs Sports & Entertainment is expanding its focus from youth sports to also include funding for mental health services, education and child abuse prevention

J

ennifer Regnier has firsthand experience with the impact a kind word and encouragement from an NBA player can have. Long before she became executive director of Spurs Give, the nonprofit philanthropic organization of Spurs Sports & Entertainment, Regnier grew up in an abusive household.

“I was a child who had a father who abused my mom for as long as I can remember before she finally left him,” Regnier says. The abuse forced Regnier, her brother and her mother to seek shelter with relatives and eventually culminated in Regnier calling 9-1-1 when her father tried to suffocate her mother with a pillow. Her mother survived the attack and finally severed her marriage for good.

Throughout this difficult time, Regnier received support from teachers and friends at school, who picked up on signals about her challenging home life. One day her teacher told her to go to the gym, where she found John Salley, an NBA player whose career included championships with three different teams. Though Salley was at her school to talk to students about staying drug-free, he took time to speak with Regnier one-on-one. “He really encouraged me and told me to surround myself with teams and friends and to always have a group of people there for me,” recalls Regnier, who has stayed in touch with Salley over the years.

That personal experience informs Regnier’s leadership of Spurs Give, which changed its name from Silver & Black Give Back earlier this year and is now in its 32nd year of operation.

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“Our superpower as an organization is our voice and our ability to shine a light on issues that need attention,” she says.

When the organization took a new moniker earlier this year, the intention was to make its mission clear to the San Antonio community. But it was also a way to expand from its traditional focus of serving youth through sports, most notably the Spurs Youth Basketball League, which has supported youth basketball in economically disadvantaged areas for 31 years.

“After completing a yearlong listening tour with city leadership and nonprofit partners, we came to see the generational gaps and implications of education, overall health and wellness and other youth development issues where we could help (be a part of the solution),” Regnier says. “Through youth sports, Spurs Give has been able to serve 10,000-plus youth each year, but with this expansion of our mission, we are able to get more intentional around how we serve these youth and their families—providing mental health resources, mindfulness

COURTESY: SAN ANTONIO SPURS/REGINALD THOMAS II

BY CHRIS WARREN

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“Our superpower as an organization is our voice and our ability to shine a light on issues that need attention.” tools, online education curriculum, and inspirational career opportunities in addition to youth sports.”

Player involvement is also an essential pillar of Spurs Give’s engagement with the community. Spurs Give works to marry the passions of individual players with initiatives that improve life in San Antonio. LaMarcus Aldridge has supported Spurs Give's Play SA efforts, which Spurs Give announced in January. The organization committed, in partnership with the city, to invest $1 million over four years in renovating parks and community basketball courts across the city. The idea came from Alrdridge, who was motivated by his own experience playing on community courts as a kid and the positive impact it made in his life and personally donated $100,000 to the effort.

Spurs Give also supports players in their own philanthropic efforts, like when they helped promote the Give Mama Coffee drive Patty Mills organized in which he donated nearly $104,000 to Family Violence Prevention Services and its Battered Women and Children’s Shelter.

Just this past October, Spurs Give and Bexar County teamed up to provide $235,000 to local nonprofits that fight childhood abuse and neglect as well as the stigma that prevents too many from seeking help for mental health issues. The donations will aid the work of the San Antonio Mobile Mental Wellness Collaborative, a consortium of nonprofits that focuses mental health resources in San Antonio area school districts. Another group that received financial support is Chosen, whose mission is to help kids heal from abuse and to provide parents with counseling and coaching to improve their own parenting skills.

These newer areas of focus for Spurs Give are also a reflection of how the city’s needs have changed as a result of COVID-19 as child abuse and neglect as well as mental health issues have been exacerbated by the isolation and stress that flows from quarantine and pandemic-related economic struggles. A key attribute of Spurs Give—and one that has been accentuated by the pandemic—is the need to remain flexible and responsive in order to best serve San Antonio’s most pressing needs.

While the organization has joined with SA2020 to take a data-driven approach in establishing priority areas, it also has worked with a committee of city, county and local nonprofit leaders to guide its COVID-19-specific investments. That has prompted Spurs Give this year to expand its traditional mission to include support for local restaurants that have struggled during the pandemic and to pay particular attention to helping kids challenged by school closures.

Indeed, in May Spurs Give raised $1 million for the Spurs Give Together Fund in order to provide help to first responders and families dealing directly with COVID-19. Some of the funds were used to purchase 40,000 meals from local restaurants. “While our mission doesn’t necessarily focus on celebrating local businesses, we made necessary adjustments to do so by providing 500 meals a day from local restaurants to families in need and first responders,” Regnier says.

Spurs Give also provided $212,000 to support the efforts of the San Antonio ISD Foundation and BiblioTech to provide Wi-Fi hotspots and transportation to families that lacked internet access—a big challenge during normal times but a particularly acute problem when COVID-19 suspended in-person learning. “The families we were able to provide Wi-Fi to were not only able to complete school, they were able to participate in telehealth, connect with family during this isolating time, and so much more,” Regnier says.

The flexibility Spurs Give has demonstrated during COVID-19 will undoubtedly remain as the full impact of the pandemic continues to be uncertain. But the basic mission of the organization to use the voice of the Spurs to positively impact San Antonio will endure. “Prior to COVID and during, we have focused on flexing our mission to meet our community’s need,” Regnier says. “Our goal was to be an organization that cares for and loves our city, just as they have supported our organization and teams throughout the years.”

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BEYOND THE COURT

Off The Court Influence

Spurs players present and past leave a legacy of supporting social and philanthropic causes that matches their power status on the stats sheet

BY CHRIS DUEL ILLUSTRATIONS BY VICENTE MARTÍ

Patty Mills WITH EIGHT SEASONS IN SAN ANTONIO, MILLS IS THE LONGEST TENURED

player on the team and the Australian native has emerged as an energetic, passionate leader—on and off the court.

Mills faced discrimination growing up in Canberra, Australia. As an indigenous person (his mother is half Aboriginal and his father a Torres Strait Islander), Mills has said he remembers being called every racial slur imaginable—from the N-word to “Abo” for Aboriginal. In 2018, a fan at a Cleveland Cavaliers game shouted at Mills after a foul was called that Jamaica called and wants its bobsledder back. Mills stayed silent, making the two free throw shots allotted for the foul.

So, when the issue of racial justice was reignited this summer following the killing of George Floyd (as well as Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others), Mills knew it was one he wanted to address straight on.

He donated his entire salary of over $1 million from the Spurs games played during the NBA restart in Orlando to Black Lives Matter Australia, Black Deaths in Custody and We Got You, an initiative he helped launch to support athletes fighting racism in Australia.

“I’m playing in Orlando because I don’t want to leave any money on the table that could be going directly to Black communities,” Mills said in a video he shared on social media.

Popovich told the media after Mills’ announcement that it was in character. “He’s the spiritual leader of the team. He’s actionable and a very special human being. He feels it for racism in our country and in his country. He’s doing things to try and make the world a better place,” he said.

Before that, Mills organized the Give Mama Coffee Campaign on Mother’s Day, partnering with eight San Antonio coffee shops to raise money for victims of domestic violence (and promote support of the small local businesses). He agreed to donate double the sales totals from the eight shops that day to Family Violence Prevention Services and its Battered Women’s and Children’s Center, resulting in a nearly $104,000 donation.

Mills gave all the credit to local fans for the fundraiser’s success. “San Antonio, a massive shout out to you from the bottom of my heart,” he said in an Instagram video. “Your appearance and your support and your care for our community, our city was unbelievable. Thank you very much. Go San Antonio go.”

Early in 2020, Mills and other Australian NBA players donated $1.1 million to help combat wild bushfires that raged across the country. Not one to just sit back and watch, Mills also made time in March to travel, along with his wife, back to Australia to aid victims of the fires.

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Rudy Gay GAY HAS FOR YEARS BEEN USING HIS FLIGHT 22

Foundation to improve the lives of youth in his hometown of Baltimore. Knowing kids need places to spend their time if they’re going to stay out of trouble, he’s built playgrounds in tough neighborhoods, hosts an annual youth basketball tournament and has supported high school students working to gain business skills, among other projects.

This summer, his foundation handed out free face masks and hand sanitizer to Baltimore residents in need to help them prevent the spread of COVID-19.

When the Spurs headed to Orlando this summer, Gay told the San Antonio Express-News that he and many of his peers were going because they saw the games as a platform for bringing more awareness to racial injustice. He shared a “Life in the Bubble” video on his YouTube channel where he elaborated, saying that it gave them the platform to say that “the people that killed Breonna Taylor need to be arrested” and that the Black Lives Matter movement matters. Above all, though, he said, he wanted to be there as a role model and to show youth like those in the tough areas of Baltimore where he grew up that success is possible. “The reason I’m here is to be that light that shines on my community,” he said.

DeMar DeRozan IN 2018, DEROZAN WENT PUBLIC WITH HIS

battle with depression, speaking out on an issue often dealt with silently.

He and fellow NBA star Kevin Love, who plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, made a public service announcement through the league, urging treatment for depression. The message debuted along with a website featuring several mental health resources.

As a direct result of DeRozan and Love’s public revelations on their depression, the NBA instituted a rule that each team must have at least one full-time licensed mental health professional on its staff.

Even before that, DeRozan has spent much of his career raising awareness for Lupus, an autoimmune disease his mother was diagnosed with while he

was a child.

This summer, he marched in his California hometown’s Compton Peace Walk in June to raise awareness of racial injustice alongside rapper Kendrick Lamar and Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook.

And during the summer NBA games, DeRozan wore the words “Education Reform” on the back of his Spurs jersey.

He explained that he was learning things about injustice and oppression at the age of 30 that he wished he had been taught in school. “Having that element being changed and putting that foundation into the kids, into the youth, of having them understand life as we just now are figuring out at 30 years old, it will make their generation much more educated and better,” he said while in Orlando.

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BEYOND THE COURT

Lonnie Walker IV FOR YEARS, WALKER WAS KNOWN FOR HIS SIGNATURE HAIRSTYLE THAT

featured a vertical elevation of locks described by many as pineapple-like.

So, it came as a surprise to many Spurs fans when he decided to have his hair cut earlier this year during the NBA’s COVID-19 shut down. Walker revealed on Instagram in early June that he began to grow his hair out in the fifth grade as a reaction to sexual abuse that he endured as a child.

“I had a mindset that my hair was something that I can control,” he wrote. “My hair was what I can make and create and be mine. And it gave (me) confidence.”

He wrote that after the NBA shutdown, he took some time to examine himself, to move past his “demons” and to forgive those who’d wronged him—regardless of whether they deserved it.

After that, he said, he wanted to help other victims. He partnered with three local artists to launch an online art auction to raise funds for victims

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of abuse with proceeds going to Family Violence Prevention Services. He commissioned the artists to create pieces that illustrated his personal experience and his signature hair.

Walker joined a group of San Antonians during a daytime march downtown against police brutality following the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, and he was among those to show up downtown after a night of protests left some businesses damaged.

Along with other San Antonians, Walker cleaned graffiti off of store fronts with a power washer and swept up broken glass from shattered windows.

He also partnered with his shoe sponsor, Adidas, to send care packages to small business owners in San Antonio who had experienced damage during the protests. “I wanted to find a way to help out,” Walker said in an Instagram video. “Being a San Antonian myself, I say I live here, and I love you guys (from) the bottom of my heart.”

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Marco Belinelli BEFORE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC SHUT DOWN THE NBA

(and much of America) in March, it was already spreading rapidly across Italy, Belinelli’s native country.

Belinelli stayed in close touch with his parents and brothers during the country’s lockdown and partnered with the NBA players union to send funds to the Ospedale Maggiore hospital in his hometown of Bologna, Italy, where his father had worked as a

surgeon before retiring.

“They are going through a truly terrible moment where they don’t have enough beds and intensive care for all the people that are getting sick,” Belinelli told USA Today Sports. “I’d like to help a little bit for everything that I can from San Antonio. It is not easy.”

Over the summer, he wore the word “Uguaglianza,” which means equality in Italian, on his jersey.

Tim Duncan NOW AN ASSISTANT COACH AFTER 19 SEASONS WITH THE

Spurs, Duncan and his Tim Duncan Foundation gave $100,000 in May to the San Antonio Food Bank to help local families and restaurants in need due to the pandemic.

The total was matched by Spurs Give and resulted in 25,000 meals being delivered from local eateries to families in low-income apartment complexes.

When American universities began to shut down last spring due to COVID-19, Duncan’s Foundation paid for the airfare of students who needed to get home from the mainland to Duncan’s native U.S. Virgin Islands.

He also supported the Virgin Islands in 2017 following Hurricanes Irma and Maria by helping to airlift thousands of pounds of supplies to people there. Early this year, he returned to his boyhood home to donate $500,000 and launch the “Yes! Our Kids Can” initiative, which prepares disadvantaged children for greater education opportunities.

David Robinson IT’S BEEN 17 YEARS SINCE DAVID “THE ADMI-

ral” Robinson retired from the Spurs, but he has remained a force for good in San Antonio and beyond.

In 2001, he and his wife Valerie funded and founded the Carver Academy, a charter school that’s now part of the IDEA Public Schools network.

As co-founder of the private equity firm Admiral Capital Group, Robinson uses 10 percent of his company’s profits to reinvest in low-income communities, including building more schools.

“Now in San Antonio we have 26 schools,” Robinson told CNN in a June interview. “And through IDEA Public Schools network, we have 98 schools

across Texas and Louisiana and we’re sending kids to college.”

Robinson, who is a part owner of the Spurs, says that 100 percent of the graduates of his schools have gone on to college in the last 14 years.

“The answers aren’t to build more jails and add more police into the streets,” he said. “The answers are to educate and to give opportunity and to provide that opportunity for those kids to grow.”

In May, Robinson and his son David Robinson Jr. announced they were partnering with Spurs Give to raise $1 million to support San Antonio–area first responders and provide for families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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PANDEMIC Teachers, administrators, parents and students are navigating through a schoolyear unlike any other and while that has brought plenty of challenges and concerns for the long-term impact on children, there have also been glimmers of hope

BY KATHLEEN PETTY

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PANDEMIC LEARNING

DAVID G. LOYOLA

Teach for America San Antonio Executive Director Nick Garcia knows firsthand the challenges of remote learning.

His children were finishing kindergarten last spring when schools closed for in-person learning and he watched as his 6-year-old daughter struggled with spelling from home, using “a-z” for "is" instead of “i-s.” “I know what it feels like to be stressed about children falling behind,” he says.

“The truth is, all students have fallen behind in one way or another—be it emotional intelligence, social development, content knowledge or building relationships. The truth is, ‘catching up’ is a long-term proposition for all of us. And the reality is this will continue to be an incredibly difficult year.”

Still, Garcia says, it also can’t be a lost year, even for those who are planning to learn remotely until the pandemic subsides. He’s been encouraged by districts distributing food and technology to people in need and teachers going the extra mile for students or advocating for broadscale change to better learning outcomes, particularly in disenfranchised communities.

According to a report by UTSA’s Urban Education Institute, which surveyed nearly 2,000 K-12 public school parents, teachers and students over the summer, most teachers (95 percent) had no experience teaching online when COVID-19 hit San Antonio in March. Since then, 91 percent have gained knowledge about how to educate students virtually. And while teachers reported students were far less engaged in the spring, the study’s findings also provided guidance meant to help improve that this fall. Some solutions they recommended that local districts have implemented are simple, including providing tech support for families, while others require a little more structure, such as creating a concrete schedule and the ability for oneon-one check-ins with students to improve engagement and accountability.

Most local districts have done just that, bringing the majority of teachers back into the classroom where they’re teaching both via webcams to students at home and to students in their classroom. The exact model varies from district to district—and among private school and public charter campuses—but several teachers say there is more structure and they feel more prepared to teach remotely and to hold students to their typical standards, something they didn’t feel was possible in the spring. Nothing is “normal” even when kids are in schools, but there’s more of a routine.

“We definitely see the challenges, but we’re seeing our students being engaged, logging on and doing their work,” San Antonio ISD Superintendent Pedro Martinez says. “I’m going to be an optimist. I believe that this year will be a tough year, but I believe next fall we’ll all be in person.”

Nationally, data suggests that students’ math skills have been impacted the

most by remote learning, which Martinez says reflects what they’re seeing locally.

San Antonio ISD has built in intersession weeks in January and March to allow for extra instruction time for those who have fallen behind. The district also is assessing each student’s progress and coming up with customized plans to help them succeed.

In the best cases, teachers say, parents are home with children and can be there to help keep them on track—and logged on—while they’re completing Zoom classes or independent work. But they know that’s often not the case. Many families have lost income due to the pandemic or are working multiple jobs and can’t supervise school. For some students, school is their safe haven.

“A lot of things we do to advocate for children in our classroom happen when we see them,” says Stephanie Fernandez, a teacher at Ogden Academy. “A lot of families are dealing with all of those issues of the pandemic—poverty, lost jobs, sickness—and then we’re putting an extra workload on them of being teachers at home for their kids.”

Garcia says addressing some of the inequities in education, which have only been magnified by the pandemic, will require a deeper investment at the federal level, particularly as state and local revenues decline. “I have an unshakeable belief that our students can thrive, and overcome gaps in their holistic education,” he says. “The long road begins with a clear-eyed understanding of our reality, empathy for everyone involved and commitment to doing the work.”

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PANDEMIC LEARNING

Innovators HOW FOUR PRIVATE SCHOOL CAMPUSES ARE GETTING CREATIVE IN 2020-2021

One student shares how she’s learned to adapt and find the positives during a year of firsts

BY AVA SCHREIER C.S. Lewis wrote, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” The beginning of this year and ninth grade started off on the wrong foot, but that doesn’t mean we lose hope and give up when we face change. I am working on being optimistic.

My education is something I deeply value. At a young age, my siblings and I were taught that our education would play a critical role in the people we wanted to become. So, when I faced the thought of my education instantaneously changing, I grew frustrated and anxious.

Entering high school during this pandemic was much different than what I had experienced in my earlier years of schooling. I went from having seven classes per day—and being around other humans— to having three to four classes per day and spending more time on a computer than I could have ever imagined. During the summer, I was apprehensive about attending school or committing to online learning. Learning new material from a computer screen at first seemed so far-fetched and impossible because of the rapid transition from in-person to online learning that we endured during the spring.

But, cases of COVID-19 were skyrocketing over the summer, not only in San Antonio, but in the world.

I knew that wearing a mask was an issue for some, and I also knew that some didn’t take this pandemic as serious as others.

My family and I made the decision late this summer that online learning was the best option. I thought virtual learning could never replace the experiences of being in a classroom. I was mistaken. I attend DATA (Design & Technology Academy) @ Roosevelt High School in North East Independent School District.

During the summer, NEISD created a phenomenal way to teach virtually, and they also created a phase-in plan for some students to attend in-person instruction again. I started virtual learning on Aug. 17, and it has been a positive experience. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I attend four classes that are each an hour long. Every Tuesday, and Thursday I attend three classes that are 90 minutes. Instead of being taught in a classroom at school, there are Zoom meetings that my classmates and I attend, which, as much as can be, have the sense of a real classroom. I still have seven different teachers. The staff and teachers at DATA, and NEISD as a district, have made it possible for me to understand the curriculum, and grasp concepts while being a virtual learner. Even though the notion of online learning sounds exponentially different from normal instruction, everyone has been able to adjust.

The most reassuring thing I have experienced during this time of change is just knowing that humans have the capability to adapt during an unprecedented time. I was fearful of my education being altered, but I realized that in order to see the silver lining I had to look for the positive and adjust to the curves of life.

Ava Schreier is a freshman at DATA @ Roosevelt High School and has attended NEISD for six years.

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Embracing the Outdoors / Students at Hill Country Montessori have always spent some time outside, and this year that has only increased as teachers work to present parts of their curriculum throughout the 10 acres in Boerne on which the campus is set. When they are inside, doors and windows are open to allow for fresh air to circulate.

Helping Hand / Keystone School put together a COVID-19 relief fund to assist families whose incomes had been impacted by the pandemic. Additionally, students and families got involved in raising money for those assisting San Antonians, whether a fundraiser for University Health System’s foundation, the San Antonio Food Bank or restaurants.

360 Approach / St. George Episcopal School installed enhanced HVAC filtration, upgraded wireless internet and, like other campuses, added plexiglass throughout to create enough safe spaces so any student who wanted to return for in-person learning (90 percent have) could do so.

COURTESY AVA SCHREIER

EMBRACING CHANGE

Gaming / Lutheran High School added an esports program this fall, offering students the chance to participate in games like Rocket League and League of Legends in hopes that it would provide them another way of staying connected to peers. “We are finding ways to keep kids tied in so that they’re emotionally taken care of so that they can be academically successful in a safe environment,” Head of School Patrick Maynard said in a video to parents.

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PANDEMIC LEARNING

TEACHERS SOUND OFF San Antonio teachers share what it’s been like to balance teaching students in their classroom with those learning remotely online all while trying to ensure every child’s academic needs are met

COURTESY TEACHERS

Stephanie Fernandez, pre-K and fifth grade teacher at Ogden Academy “We can’t wait to have all of our kids in our classroom. It’s just a magical thing. Some of our students have returned but they’re sitting 6 feet apart and everything is happening simultaneously so the kids on campus are part of the Zoom classroom and follow along live while the kids at home are online,” says Fernandez, who started the year teaching pre-K but after low registration numbers was transitioned into a fifth grade classroom in October. “Normally in fifth grade, kids switch from room to room so they’re learning math from one teacher and social studies from another. They’re not allowed to move rooms right now, so they do their math lesson in the room with the math teacher and then they put on headphones and are on the computer for their other lessons…

Teachers are getting so creative with making assignments engaging but we all feel like we’re coming up short in guaranteeing kids get a great education. There’s never been a perfect example of how remote learning is supposed to work or what education in a pandemic should look like. The only reason teachers are still pushing and still planning and still teaching is because of the love they have for their students. I am consistently reminding myself and everyone that this will not be our reality forever.”

Roland Rios, Ph.D., director of technology at Fort Sam Houston ISD “This is my 29th year in education.

I’ve never been this tired in my life, but it’s a good kind of tired. As crazy as all of this is, it’s an exciting time in that we’re taking this problem and we’re meeting the challenge head-on,” says Rios, who also has served as a principal in Fort Sam Houston ISD, where students each had a Chromebook even before the pandemic began. “Teaching virtually was totally new. That said, I think because of this experience—and not just in our district—education is going to look different from here on out. We’ve learned that school isn’t restricted to walls and structures and we know that there are different ways to deliver quality instruction … The average consumer during COVID was not able to find toilet paper, but in the tech world, we couldn’t find web cams or microphones to save our life.

We found some just in time and all of our teachers had Bluetooth headsets so they can meet with kids who are physically there while still walking around the classroom and providing instruction online. It’s a very different teaching model, you can’t just point the camera and talk for 45 minutes, so we have two digital coaches who are offering helpful hints and tips about how to keep kids engaged and let them break away from the screen and learn, too.”

Keisha Harris, fourth grade math and science teacher at Democracy Prep

Zach Chan, third grade teacher at Irving Dual Language Academy

“I teach in a low-income community, so a lot of my scholars don’t have parents at home during the day or technology, so for them school is kind of like a safe haven and (being in class) is a better way for them to learn. Before COVID, there were times we had to file CPS investigations and I worry about those kids we aren’t seeing or hearing stories from,” says Harris, a Teach for America alumna with eight years in education. “We’re doing a hybrid model where we have students in-person and online. Many students are pretty engaged, but it is a challenge to get some of them logged on. I see a lot of gaps and they’re getting bigger. That’s due, in part, to not having the consistency and structure of a teacher walking around telling them to fix things or pay attention. The spring was more trial and error. We were using Google classroom and just winging it. During the summer, we offered summer school and that gave us the chance to practice and test out different systems that work. This has been challenging, but there (are positives). Our bilingual and monolingual classes are interacting more and embracing one another. With teachers, the collaboration is out of this world. It’s been challenging but we’re helping each other.”

“Kids are in dire need of social interaction. They want to mix with their peers. I think another thing a lot of us forget about is that a lot of kids really crave that sense of accomplishment that they feel at school. When they’re at home, it’s not the same kind of academic engagement. And what I’m noticing is the ones who are in person, you can see the joy that they have when they learn something new,” says Chan, who got into teaching through AmeriCorps. “We are all becoming experts in technology and I think that this has given us more tools in our toolbox so to speak, both to address student needs and to engage with parents differently, especially if it’s difficult for them to meet on campus. Technology is here to stay but I also think the best learning is done when you’re faceto-face. A lot of what you learn in school is how to work with other people and interact with people.

We want to make sure that we’re leveraging that, too. A lot of those structures that we have to help a child learn a second language, they’re not as immediately available online. Teachers have been doing a lot of catch up just across the board.

It would just be a big help for everybody to squash this virus so that we can get everybody back in school.”

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HOMESCHOOL INTENTIONS A Boerne area family set their eyes on homeschooling before their first son was even born and are happy to welcome short-term homeschoolers into the fold during COVID-19 Elizabeth and Ross Johnson first began talking about their dream of homeschooling while they were still dating.

Elizabeth, an education major, and Ross, a Ph.D., are both passionate about education and would dream about the ideal school setup and the type of curriculum they would use when they had children.

“We even wrote a life curriculum before our first child was born of all the things we wanted them to know before they launched into the world,” Elizabeth Johnson says.

They wanted their kids to be able to travel outside of the country and to learn music. If they could benefit from fresh air and exploring nature, they wanted them to have that freedom, and if there was a novel or piece of literature that taught history better than a standard textbook, they wanted to be able to delve into that.

After time teaching at classical Christian schools, Elizabeth began putting all of those homeschool aspirations into practice in 2005 when her oldest, Lukas, was in kindergarten.

She and Ross now have four boys—Lukas, 19; Aaron, 17; Leif, 15; and Mikko, 13. Aaron graduated during quarantine last spring, with family attending the homeschool ceremony via Zoom, and joined Lukas this fall at Texas

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A&M University, where they are both engineering majors. Leif is a sophomore in high school and Mikko is in eighth grade.

Early on, Johnson says the boys would spend their mornings studying grade-specific things like spelling and grammar. In the afternoons, they would dive into history and science together.

Johnson says it wasn’t unusual for her to look up from making dinner and find them all playing some game related to the book they’d read, pretending to be Vikings or digging outside.

By high school, their studies become more independent.

In subjects where the Johnsons aren’t experts— whether piano, French or calculus—they arrange for a tutor or barter for classes.

Johnson, who studied history, teaches history to her own children and those from another family in the Boerne Area Christian Homeschoolers coop to which they belong while Ross has taught subjects ranging from computer science to finance. Elizabeth says their boys have benefitted from the expertise of their peers’ parents and from other professionals.

Science labs are done through the coop in-person and the Johnson boys also participate in sports, like soccer, through the coop. They gave each of their sons the option to enroll in public school once they reached ninth grade, but so far none have taken them up on the offer.

When the Johnsons first joined the Boerne Area Christian Homeschoolers, it consisted of around 30 families. Today, there are over 200 families that are members—plus another new cohort who follow and interact with the group online as they’re figuring out homeschooling for the first time during COVID-19. Her advice to those homeschooling just for this year: pick a curriculum that works for you, whether that be an online option, a pre-written guide that tells parents what to say when they teach or something with more flexibility like the Johnsons have pursued.

“I know that some people choose homeschooling to move away from something, but for us it was to move toward something,” Johnson says.

“I tell families to think about what they’re trying to create and what they’re trying to build. It is a lot of work to do it well, there are people in the house all day long making a mess and you have to figure out what’s going to give because you can’t do everything, but it has been a real delight and I wouldn’t give up one minute of it.”

COURTESY JOHNSON FAMILY

PANDEMIC LEARNING

DECEMBER 2020

10/29/20 5:03 PM

PANDEMIC LEARNING

VIRTUAL VS. IN PERSON

COURTESY KATHERINE CASTRO

Two Great Hearts parents weigh in on making the call for their children The Hartnetts and Chaudoirs knew they had most of the summer to decide whether their children would continue distance learning from home, but they didn’t need the time to deliberate.

Tiffany Hartnett and her husband decided by May that their kids would complete eighth and 10th grade from home in 2020-21. “We just thought, ‘This is going to go on longer than we want,’ and we liked the idea of having consistency,” says Hartnett, whose kids attend Great Hearts Monte Vista North, a public charter school. “I felt good about making the decision early because I know a lot of people stressed and struggled over the summer.”

With younger children, Bridie Chaudoir and her husband made the opposite decision just as early on. “Our plan was always to return to in-person learning,” say Chaudoir, who has a kindergartener and second grader at Great Hearts. “Remote learning, especially for kindergarten, is tough. Great Hearts did a wonderful job (in the spring), but I felt like I was spending the majority of my energy working to get them to focus. And we have two active younger children (ages 2 and 4) I needed to supervise at the same time.”

When Great Hearts opened its campuses in September, the Chaudoirs were there and Bridie Chaudoir says it’s been great for her kids to be back around their peers and to have the structure that school on campus provides.

Hartnett agrees the spring was tough. She says they were confident the distance learning model established for the 2020-21 school year would be better orchestrated and could work for her kids since they’re older. “It’s very different this fall. I look back at the spring and I think we were all a bit like fish out of water,” Hartnett says. “We were grateful for everything the teachers were doing, but it was a plan that had to be put together fast.”

In the spring, Hartnett says her children went through a lot of worksheets and packets that had to be finished at home and submitted. Now, a portion of every class they’re enrolled in is online and they meet with their teacher virtually every day. There’s still independent work, but Hartnett says her kids are much more engaged this fall.

They also have created a coop with other families who have a person at higher risk for COVID-19 in their home and agreed to take similar precautions.

That means their teens can periodically study together at a social distance.

Great Hearts also offers some extracurricular activities, including a swim team for distance learners, that the Hartnetts participate in.

When they decided to keep their teens home, Tiffany Hartnett took an extended leave of absence from work to be there with their kids.

On campus, Chaudoir says they’ve been comfortable with the protocols and feel the positives outweigh the downsides, like parents not being able to visit classrooms. Students wear masks when they’re moving around the campus but are able to take them off when sitting down since their desks are surrounded on three sides by plastic shields.

Part of what attracted their family to Great Hearts was that it doesn’t rely on technology as a major teaching tool so Chaudoir says she’s grateful they’re able to continue that model through in-person learning. Her kids also get to take music, art and other electives on campus.

Hartnett says her kids miss the in-person conversations that Great Hearts fosters but that they’re also learning more independence at home—something she knows they’ll need when they head to college in the coming years. “There are pros and cons,” she says. “Big picture, I think being in the classroom is probably better, but for one year of their lives I think this is great.”

Creative Classrooms MEET TWO TEACHERS WHO CRAFTED SPACES THAT WERE BOTH WELCOMING AND FUN FOR STUDENTS, WHETHER THEY’RE LEARNING ONLINE OR AT SCHOOL —CLARISSA R. ABREGO

Katherine Castro, a kindergarten teacher at North East ISD, turned her classroom into a “Hero Headquarters,” using lots of colors and superhero printouts practicing social distancing in hopes of making the year a little more fun. “We wear masks and our superhero shields to protect ourselves and others. We are teaching both in-person and virtual. We all come together to learn all lessons and all of the work is completed digital. It can be a challenge to teach both groups simultaneously but having kids back in my classroom means so much to me,” says Castro (follow her on Instagram, @castroskindercorner, for kindergarten tips and adventures). “Teachers everywhere have had to think out of the box to create lessons that are engaging while being virtual. We’ve also had to figure out ways to make connections.

But to my surprise, they are thriving both in-person and virtually and watching my kinders navigate through Zoom and their digital work blows my mind!”

Lindsey Saldana, a second-grade teacher at Edgewood ISD, is in her 16th year of teaching and says connecting with students since the pandemic began has required more flexibility and creativity than ever before. “A lot of thought goes into planning for and decorating my classroom every year. This year, I knew it was imperative that it not only followed safety guidelines but was a fun and inviting environment for my students to have a place to look forward to come to (online and in-person),” says Saldana (who posts about teaching on her Instagram account, @keepingupwithketomom). “Being fully immersed into virtual teaching had us acquire a vast technology toolkit and embrace the change, while making students more self-sufficient and responsible than ever before.”

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Private School Guide 2020-2021 ANNUAL TUITION

% OF STUDENTS RECEIVING FINANCIAL AID

9-12

$11,520

16%

PK3-12

$8,800

17%

PK3-8

$9,470 $9,870

Approx. 600

9-12

$12,600

None

90

PK3-8

$6,700 - 7,800

10%

1981

Nondenominational Christian

600

Preschool-12

Average for K-12: $8,150

25%

16801 Huebner Road, 78258 / 210-479-1477 / concordia.school

1952

Lutheran

175

PK-8

$9,404 $10,162

10%

Cornerstone Christian School

17702 N.W. Military Hwy., 78257 / 210-979-9203 / sa-ccs.org

1993

Christian

1,250

PK4-12

$9,400 $9,960

Discovery School of San Antonio

222 Salem Drive, 78201 / 210-3443472 / mydiscoveryschool.com

1974

Multidenominational

101

2yrs-1

$2,950 $7,200

Geneva School of Boerne

113 Cascade Caverns Road, Boerne, 78015 / 830-755-6101 / genevaschooltx.org

1999

Christian

679

K-12

$11,894 $12,926

First Baptist Academy of Universal City

1401 Pat Booker Road, Universal City, 78148 / 210-658-5331 / fbauc.com

1979

Baptist

255

PK3-12

$1,700 $5,840

Grace Christian School

7760 Prue Road, 78249 / 210-265-8166 / gracechristianschool-sa.com

2002

Christian

115

PK4-12

$3,800

Hill Country Montessori

50 Stone Wall Drive, Boerne, 78006 / 830-229-5377 / hcmontessori.org

1981

None

65

18mos-8

$10,200 $16,500

Holy Cross of San Antonio

426 N. San Felipe Ave., 78228 / 210-433-9395 / holycross-sa.org

1957

Catholic

277

6-12

$6,710 - $9,295

50%

Holy Spirit Catholic High School

770 W. Ramsey Road, 78216 / 210-349-1169 / hscssa.org

1965

Catholic

367

PK3-8

$5,760 - $7,260

5%

Incarnate Word High School

727 E. Hildebrand Ave., 78212 / 210-829-3100 / incarnatewordhs.org

1881

Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word

388

9-12

$11,950

46.6%

Keystone School

119 E. Craig Place, 78212 / 210-735-4022 / keystoneschool.org

1941

None

482

PK-12

$12,725 $20,934

10%

The Lighthouse Christian School

10208 Culebra Road, 78251 / 210-618-3035 / tlcs-sa.org

2016

Christian

Approx. 50

1-12

Approx. $4,000

Lutheran High School

18104 Babcock Road, 78255 / 210-694-4962 / lhssa.org

1995

Lutheran

120

9-12

$11,200

The Montessori School of San Antonio

17722 Rogers Ranch Pkwy., 78258 / 210-492-3553 / montessorisa.org

1974

None

340

3yrs-8

$10,129 $17,644

New Braunfels Christian Academy

220 FM 1863, New Braunfels, 78132 / 830-629-1821 (Secondary) 995 Mission Hills Drive, New Braunfels, 78132 / 830-629-6222 (Elementary) // nbcatx.org

1981

Christian

440

PK3-12

$8,250 $12,150

7%

Northwest Hills Christian School

8511 Heath Circle Drive, 78250 / 210-522-1102 / nwhcs.org

1969

Christian

144

PK2-8

$4,560 $5,000

2%

SCHOOL NAME

CONTACT

YEAR FOUNDED

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION

TOTAL ENROLLMENT

Antonian College Preparatory High School

6425 West Ave., 78213 / 210-344-9265 / antonian.org

1964

Catholic

728

The Atonement Academy

15415 Red Robin Road, 78255 / 210-695-2240 / theatonementacademy.org

1994

Catholic

281

The Buckner Fanning School at Mission Springs

975 Mission Springs, 78258 / 210-721-4700 / bfsms.org

1998

Nondenominational Christian

Central Catholic High School

1403 N. St. Mary’s St., 78215 / 210-225-6794 / cchs-satx.org

1852

Catholic

The Circle School

217 Pershing Ave., 78209 / 210-822-0461 / thecircleschool.org

1965

The Christian School at Castle Hills

2216 N.W. Military Hwy., 78213 / 210-878-1000 / castlehills.school

Concordia Lutheran School

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GENDERS SERVED

GRADES SERVED

UNIFORM?

15%

5%

DECEMBER 2020

10/30/20 1:06 PM

Editor's Note: We attempted to contact every private school in San Antonio and included information from those campuses that responded. Any blank spaces represent information we were unable to collect or verify. If you're a private school representative and you don't see your campus listed here, please email editor@sanantoniomag.com to be added to the digital version at sanantoniomag.com.

STUDENT: TEACHER RATIO

ONLINE SCHOOL OPTION?

APPLICATION DEADLINE

WHAT SETS THE SCHOOL APART?

14:1

Rolling

Dual credit courses offered through St. Mary's University and University of Texas.

11:1

Rolling

The Atonement Academy has created an outstanding academic and spiritual program to become one of the leading private Catholic classical schools in San Antonio.

10-12:1

Rolling

BFSMS is committed to providing educational excellence and Christian principles serving the mind, body and soul. BFSMS partners with parents to discover student's talents and then develop them into strengths that will have a lifelong impact.

15:1

Priority for class of 2025: Jan. 11

At Central Catholic, it is our mission to educate young men, from diverse backgrounds, in the Marianist tradition for success through the development of scholarship, leadership and moral character. The first boys’ school in San Antonio remains a prestigious landmark in San Antonio and a symbol of teaching excellence.

12:1

Rolling

The Circle School is a family integrated cooperative school combining academic excellence with a unique curriculum oriented around storytelling, bridging the arts and sciences and nature-based education.

18:1 (K-12)

Rolling as space allows

Its Academy of Excellence and Leadership Development offers students both the opportunity to hear from leaders in industry as well as the chance to put into practice the leadership skills they've learned in various clubs, teams, classes and special events held on campus.

15:1

Rolling

Along with GTE, broadcasting, drama, robotics and competitive athletics programs, Concordia offers an exciting Service Learning component to a Christ-centered comprehensive academic curriculum.

10:1-16:1

Rolling

Cornerstone considers itself the premier PK4-12 Christian school that develops and trains the whole person spiritually, intellectually, physically and socially with unprecedented excellence in a Christ-centered culture.

4:1-7:1

Enrollment for fall begins March 1

Discovery School is a nonprofit child-centered early childhood program that celebrates the joy of childhood and playing as we learn through meaningful, hands-on activities, nurturing interactions and valuing parents as partners in learning.

11:1

Jan. 29

Geneva School graduates classically-trained servant leaders equipped to do hard things

15:1

Rolling as space allows

Its Dual Credit Program allows students to earn college credit while in high school.

15:1

Open enrollment begins March 1 and closes when classes fill.

Grace Christian School has a passion that its students grow in their knowledge of Christ and that they develop a deeper relationship with Him while also receiving a firm foundation in academics.

9:1

Rolling

HCMS is the only American Montessori Society (AMS) accredited school in the greater San Antonio area.

14:1

Rolling

Dual credit experience with Our Lady of the Lake University. Holy Cross students can earn up to 36 college credits by graduation.

24:1

Rolling

Holy Spirit has traditionally had a Mass Buddy Program, which has created a neat relationship between our younger and older students.

15:1

Spring: Through January; 2021-2022: August 2021

Withstanding the test of time, the unique modular master schedule at Incarnate Word High School continues to facilitate the delivery of a strong, college preparatory instructional program and allows for innovative teaching and student-directed learning.

13:1

Dec. 1 for Kindergarten and 9th grade. Rolling for all other grades.

Outdoor education program beginning in fifth grade.

5:1

Rolling

Low student-teacher ratio for personalized attention.

9:1

Rolling

Lutheran High offers a genuine health ccience program that includes classes like Medical Terminology, Principals of Health Sciences and Anatomy and Physiology.

15:1

Rolling

Students can participate in Model UN.

14:1

Rolling

Einstein Center provides services for students with learning differences.

8:1

June 1

Northwest Hills Christian School is a loving school family that encourages growth academically, spiritually and physically.

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ANNUAL TUITION

% OF STUDENTS RECEIVING FINANCIAL AID

PK-9

$5,900

3%

Approx. 250

6-12

$6,835 $10,395

As needed

Nondenominational

790

PK-12

$14,000 $26,900

15.1%

1886

Nondenominational

314

PK-8

$15,000 $25,000

14%

19202 Redland Road, 78259 / 210-340-1864 / sachristian.org

1972

Nondenominational Christian

Approx. 950

PK-12

$4,392 $13,699

St. Anthony Catholic High School

3200 McCullough Ave., 78212 / 210-832-5605 / sachs.org

1903

Catholic

276

9-12

$10,950

St. Anthony Catholic School

205 W. Huisache Ave., 78212 / 210-732-8801 / stanthonysa.org

1907

Catholic

Approx. 280

PK-8

$7,550 $8,000

St. George Episcopal School

6900 West Ave., 78213 / 210-3424263 / saintgeorgeschool.org

1954

Episcopal

490

PK4-8

$9,450 $13,900

26%

St. Gerard Catholic High School and Regional Middle School

521 S. New Braunfels Ave., 78203 / 210-533-8061 / stgerardsa.org

1927

Catholic

Approx. 100

6-12

$4,470 $6,970

90+% of those who apply

St. Gregory the Great

700 Dewhurst Road, 78213 / 210-342-0281 / stgregorysa.org

1966

Catholic

Approx. 400

PK3-8

$6,114 - $7,539

St. John Paul II Catholic High School

6720 FM 482, New Braunfels, 78132 / 830-643-0802 / johnpaul2chs.org

2009

Cathoilic

Approx. 400

9-12

$10,360

St. Luke Catholic School

4603 Manitou Drive, 78228 / 210-434-2011 / stlukecatholic.org

1959

Catholic

390

PK4-8

$6,791 - $7,719

St. Luke’s Episcopal School

15. St. Luke's Lane, 78209 / 210-826-0664 / sles-sa.org

1947

Episcopal

210

PK3-8

$9,975 $19,975

25%

St. Mary Magdalen Dual Language School

1700 Clower St., 78201 / 210-735-1381 / stmmsa.org

1942

Catholic

400

3yrs-8

$4,000 $5,000

90%

St. Matthew Catholic School

10703 Wurzbach Road, 78230 / 210-478-5099 / smcssa.org

1993

Catholic

600+

PK-8

$5,487 - $7,489

St. Peter Prince of Apostles School

112 Marcia Place, 78209 / 210-824-3171 / stpeterprince.org

1926

Catholic

110

18mos-8

$6,515 - $7,180

6%

St. Thomas More Catholic School

4427 Moana Drive, 78218 / 210-6552882 / st-thomas-more-school.org

1962

Catholic

76

PK3-8

$4,500

25%

SCHOOL NAME

CONTACT

YEAR FOUNDED

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION

TOTAL ENROLLMENT

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School

16075 N. Evans Road, Selma, 78154 / 210-651-6811 / olphselma.org

1990

Catholic

273

Providence Catholic School

1215 N. St. Mary's St., 78215 / 210-224-6651 / providencecatholicschool.net

1951

Catholic

Saint Mary's Hall

9401 Starcrest Drive, 78217 / 210-483-9100 / smhall.org

1879

San Antonio Academy of Texas

117 East French Place, 78212 / 210-733-7331 / sa-academy.org

San Antonio Christian School

GENDERS SERVED

GRADES SERVED

UNIFORM?

20%

Sunshine Cottage

603 E. Hildebrand Ave., 78225 / 210-824-0579 / sunshinecottage.org

1947

None

186

Preschool -5

Based on sliding scale

88% of our hearing impaired children receive either financial assistance or full tuition scholarships; hearing students do not receive any financial assistance.

TMI Episcopal

20955 W. Tejas Trail, 78257 / 210-698-7171 / tmi-sa.org

1893

Episcopal

480

6-12

$25,000 $27,000

25%

Trinity Christian Academy and Preschool

5401 N Loop 1604 E., 78247 / 210-653-2800 / tca-sa.com

1980

Nondenominational Christian

193

6wks-12

$6,740-$7,150 for academy, $546-$875 monthly for preschool

The Winston School of San Antonio

8565 Ewing Halsell Drive, 78209 / 210-615-6544 / winston-sa.org

1985

None

200

K-12

$20,000

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25%

DECEMBER 2020

10/30/20 1:06 PM

STUDENT: TEACHER RATIO

ONLINE SCHOOL OPTION?

APPLICATION DEADLINE

WHAT SETS THE SCHOOL APART?

14:1

Rolling

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School builds character and shapes tomorrow’s leaders by delivering academic excellence in a Catholic-faith based community.

Approx. 10:1

Rolling

Providence offers a well-rounded, faith-based education for girls with an emphasis on STREAM programs and an award-winning fine arts program.

15:1

Rolling

SMH echoes the offerings of a liberal arts college with a rich, rigorous curriculum; passionate, expert faculty; extensive fine arts; and a competitive athletic program with unique sports offerings.

8:1

Rolling

San Antonio Academy offers a unique leadership program teaching boys how to succeed in life.

Through a combination of called and caring teachers, active family involvement and school spirit, the SACS experience is boldly Christian and undeniably academic.

16:1

Inquire for availability

Dual credit and health professions programs with the University of the Incarnate Word; 1:1 laptop Initiative

St. Anthony Catholic School has a deep-seated mission to nurture the minds, bodies and spirits of the children who fill its classrooms.

10:1

Rolling

St. George offers an exceptional academic program, competitive athletics, daily chapel and extensive leadership opportunities in a close-knit community.

St. Gerard Catholic School, a college preparatory campus, following the Catholic faith under The Archdiocese of San Antonio, will equip every student with the ability, will and desire to passionately impact the world for Jesus Christ through knowledge, faith and service

Approx. 10:1

Rolling

In keeping with the Catholic tradition, St. Gregory nurtures in its children and one another, spiritual, personal and academic growth through prayer and Christ-like service.

Rolling

State of the Art STEM wing with chemistry, physics, robotics and video editing labs.

Rolling as space allows

St. Luke’s offers a strong community and a commitment to academic excellence.

5:1

Rolling

Students may begin participating in interscholastic athletics beginning in fifth grade.

12:1

Rolling

San Antonio's only dual language Catholic school and a member of the University of Incarnate Word Brainpower Connection.

Rolling

Dedicated to the mission of educating a strong, faith-centered community through a commitment to the spiritual, moral, intellectual, social and physical development of each child.

7:1

For Spring: Dec. 1; 2021-22: May 31

Middle school religion classes taught by parish priests.

8:1

Rolling

Combination age classrooms (second and third grade in one classroom) provides opportunity for growth based on the individual child.

8:1

Rolling

Sunshine Cottage is one of the most comprehensive oral education centers in the country promoting early identification of hearing loss and intervention services, with a listening and spoken language education.

9:1

Jan. 8

Innovation and design courses at TMI provide an overview of design thinking to help students develop a systemic approach to creative problem-solving.

12:1

Rolling

Trinity Christian Academy and Preschool is a community of believers that works together in discipling students to become Christian leaders who impact the world for all generations

8:1

Rolling

Provides personalized, college preparatory education to students with high potential and identified learning differences.

11:1

DECEMBER 2020

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

DIRECTORY Further your education with area private schools, universities and continuing education programs

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

E D U C A T I O N D I R E C T O R Y

HONOR ROLL

News and spotlights from some of SA’s top schools

Central Catholic High School

Backed by solid moral character and well-rounded scholarship, Central Catholic graduates cultivate a unique bond of brotherhood steeped in history, yet graduate equipped for the challenges and opportunities in today’s world.

8th-grade boys: Take your first step towards joining The Brotherhood.

Attend the HSPT (admissions placement test) on Dec. 12. cchs-satx.org/admissionsevents/

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

E D U C A T I O N D I R E C T O R Y

Saint Mary's Hall

St. Mary's University

Saint Mary’s Hall provides unforgettable opportunities, such as participating in a virtual book talk with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor about judicial careers and the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg or talking about the legal system with SMH parent and Fourth Court of Appeals Justice Luz Elena Chapa. Students have the opportunity to interact with business leaders, artists, innovators, social and political leaders, among others. Students learn firsthand about different perspectives and experiences. smhall.org

Dedicated to academic excellence, St. Mary’s University is a private liberal arts school recognized by Colleges of Distinction for excelling in its student engagement, outstanding teaching, vibrant community and successful outcomes. Founded in 1852, St. Mary’s is the oldest Catholic university in Texas and ranked by Money magazine as the top Catholic university in the Southwest in its 2019 Best Colleges ranking. stmarytx.edu

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E D U C A T I O N

Central Catholic High School At Central Catholic, it is our mission to educate young men, from diverse backgrounds, in the Marianist tradition for success through the development of scholarship, leadership and moral character. The first boys’ school in San Antonio remains a prestigious landmark in San Antonio and a symbol of teaching excellence.

1403 N. St. Mary’s St., San Antonio, TX 78215, 210-225-6794, cchs-satx.org

D I R E C T O R Y

J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts at Texas Tech University We’re a close-knit creative community with all the resources of a world-class university! Our students shine with Texas-sized ambition, curiosity and compassion. Talkington provides an ambitious arts education to undergraduate and graduate students—including D.M.A. and Ph.D. candidates—spread across three different schools of art, music and theatre and dance.

1011 Boston Ave., Lubbock, TX 79409, 806-742-0700, vpa.ttu.edu

Keystone School Keystone offers an accelerated PK3-12 curriculum that provides motivated students with a nationally recognized, well-rounded experience in a supportive, inclusive environment that encourages academic excellence, ethical growth, community involvement and responsible leadership. Our community is an oasis of intellectual inquiry, high expectations, nurturing support, and a commitment to helping others.

119 E. Craig Place, San Antonio, TX 78212, 210-735-4022, keystoneschool.org

Saint Mary's Hall For nearly 150 years, Saint Mary’s Hall has remained steadfast in its commitment to prepare students for success in college and fulfillment in life. We are

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E D U C A T I O N

known for our robust curriculum, arts and athletics programs and unparalleled experiences. Our strength lies in our longevity, adaptability and sense of community.

9401 Starcrest Drive, San Antonio, TX 78217, 210-483-9100, smhall.org

D I R E C T O R Y

San Antonio Academy SAA embraces the traditions and values that have served young men well for 135 years. A family-like atmosphere that forges lifelong friendships, The Academy teaches boys to accept responsibility and aspire to excellence. The rigorous academics result in impressive outcomes while the extracurricular, and leadership programs foster well-roundedness and teamwork.

117 E. French Place, San Antonio, TX 78212, sa-academy.org

St. Mary Magdalen School The school features an elite dual language program guided by Boston College, small class sizes, a SuccessMaker Academic Excellence Program and affordable tuition. Specialized preparation is provided for high school and college, and personalized support is offered to our graduates to reach our goals of college and heaven. Now enrolling 3 years through eighth grade. Call or email william.daily@stmmsa.org today to schedule a free, personalized tour.

1700 Clower St., San Antonio, TX 78201, 210-735-1381, stmmsa.org

St. Mary’s University Founded in 1852, St. Mary’s is the oldest Catholic university in Texas.

Academic achievement, community and holistic learning are what sets a St. Mary’s education apart. For many graduates, their St. Mary’s experience is a defining moment in their lives, sparking a passion for lifelong learning and servant leadership.

One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, TX 78228, 210-436-3011, stmarytx.edu

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Eat + Drink I NSI D E / DINING FO R A CAUSE p. 58 / TAMALE TOW N p. 60 / COLLABORATIVE KITC H EN p.6 3

CAMP OUTPOST CO.

1811 S. Alamo St. 210-942-4690 eatatcamp.com

Community Flame f it weren’t for a jury duty assignment in 2018, Dan Ward might never have noticed the 1940s warehouse on Alamo Street that now houses Camp Outpost Co. Ward and his team had been looking for a place to launch a fine dining concept that focused on high-quality food cooked over an open flame and served in a casual atmosphere for awhile. Southtown had certainly been on their radar, and when Ward saw the warehouse for lease with its high ceilings, D’Hanis brick and tall windows, he knew they’d found the place. “We’re really excited to be a part of this neighborhood—there’s just an energy to it,” says Ward, an operational partner at Camp Outpost. They’d planned to include a patio all along (it’s San Antonio after all, says Ward), but when COVID-19 hit they put even more focus into their pet-friendly courtyard. The open-flame concept delivers organic rotisserie chicken that can be enjoyed as part of a plate, bowl or salad, including in the Mission Salad, pictured here. A chicken sandwich fried in organic rice bran oil has been a favorite as have Gulf shrimp tacos. Ward says they didn’t want chicken to be the only meat cooked on the rotisserie so they also cook porchetta over the open flames—a less common technique for the cut of pork—and serve it on a ciabatta bun with pickled onion, charred onion aioli, cabbage slaw and crispy jalapeño and lemon. A 1970s Airstream doubles as a bar outside, serving cocktails, wine and beer on tap, including local options from Dorćol Distilling & Brewing Co., Weathered Souls and elsewhere. “It’s an exciting way to come and enjoy time with friends and family,” Ward says.—KP

COURTESY CAMP OUTPOST CO.

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THE COMFORT CAFE

5616 Bandera Road 512-575-0348 serenitystar.org/ san-antonio Breakfast & lunch Friday-Sunday

Comfort with a Purpose The donation-based Comfort Café serves up homecooked classics in support of addiction recovery

BY EMILY GUAJARDO

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elicious, old-fashioned diner food is served with a smile (behind a mask, for now) at the Comfort Café, but the 1950s-themed eatery with Johnny Cash and Frank Sinatra vinyls pinned up on the wall is about more than just good food—it’s in the business of personal transformation.

One of seven divisions of SerenityStar Recovery, a nonprofit peer-to-peer residential program for recovering addicts and alcoholics who are working a 12-step program, Comfort Café began first in Smithville and last May expanded to San Antonio under the direction of founders Teri and Linda Lopez. The two met in 2005 at an outpatient recovery program in New York while on their own journey toward sobriety and relocated to Texas to start anew.

“When I moved from New York, I saw that all these restaurants had was Tex-Mex food with the exception of that one Dairy Queen,” Teri says, of their original outpost in Smithville. “That’s why when we started the Comfort Café, we wanted to bring foods that we loved back in New York—things like

D

PHOTOS BY JOMANDO CRUZ

10/29/20 3:55 PM

ORDER THIS

San Antonio Burger Huevos Rancheros Chocolate Strawberry French Toast Chicken Curry Salad

a Reuben and different plates—and it’s obvious people really seem to like it, not only for the food, but for the mission behind our café.”

Teri says the recovery process can be an intense one so along with a place for their favorite foods, the café also was an outlet where program residents could begin learning new skills and practicing everything from maintaining eye contact with customers to accounting or baking.

“A lot of people assume that recovering means that you are broken or were broken at some point and that’s just not the case,” she says.

“Many, if not all, of our residents are good people that went down a wrong path and are just trying to find a way out. Our program, this café, is their way out and back into the world. So, the person serving your coffee or taking your plate is learning as they go. In a way, you are part of their full recovery.”

Each dish has a suggested donation price, but the restaurant operates on a pay-what-you-can model.

The top-selling San Antonio Burger is a meal in itself as the house-seasoned beef and pork chorizo patty is topped with thick cheddar slices, house salsa, creamy chipotle mayonnaise, a deep-fried egg and crispy bacon.

For breakfast, indulge in huevos rancheros or the dessert-like chocolate strawberry French toast. Dipped in homemade batter and stuffed with whipped cream cheese, the platter of goodness is topped with fresh strawberries and plenty of chocolate drizzle. Those in the mood for something a little healthier will enjoy the Greek goddess omelet with spinach and roasted pepper or one of the many specialty salads, including a chicken curry with pecans and cran raisins.

Each server, line cook and baker has a story that includes pain and heartache but they also have an internal drive to change. Chris Homer, general manager for the San Antonio café and Serenity Star member, says that while food is a way of getting people around the table, the bigger picture is to show mercy and grace to those recovering and to create an environment where everyone is welcome.

“When I came in, I was broken. I thought that I didn’t deserve help or the air that I was breathing,” Homer says. “But they were able to show me a new way of life and they were willing to teach me how to love myself and that gave me life ... this café gives people their second chance and then they can go out and share that with someone else.”

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12 Spots for Tamales ADELANTE RESTAURANT (Alamo Heights) Known for

jalapeño and don’t forget pan dulce from the in-store

its healthy take on Tex-Mex, Adelante offers handmade

bakery case. 728 Fredericksburg Road, 210-734-6621,

tamales and other fare for pickup or dine-in service.

facebook.com/martinez-barbacoa-y-tamales

Tamale fillings change by the day, but they’re always served with enchilada sauce. 21 Brees Blvd., 210-822-

MI CASA TAMALES (Boerne) Enjoy fresh tamales on

7681, adelanterestaurant.com

the expansive patio, where there’s live music on the

OFF MENU News from the restaurant scene

weekends, or pick them up to take home for the holiday.

All tamales are crafted without preservatives and are

This institution was founded in 1938 and continues

gluten-free. Try cream cheese jalapeño, chicken verde or

to deliver well-made pork, bean jalapeño and chicken

traditional pork. 25930 I-10 W., Boerne, 210-698-6672,

tamales, made with nixtamalized corn. Meats, including

micasatamales.com

barbacoa and carnitas, also are available by the pound.

1130 Fresno Drive, 210-733-5352, adelitatamales.com

MIMI’S BARBACOA TACOS, TAMALES Y MAS (North

Central) A third-generation family-run restaurant that’s B&B TAMALES & FOOD TO GO (South Side) Drive by

known for its barbacoa, Mimi’s delivers breakfast tacos,

too quickly and you might miss it. This family-run stop

chilaquiles and machado and its signature barbacoa and

near South San Antonio High School is known for its

carnitas until they’re sold out. Call ahead to see if pork,

pork and bean and jalapeño tamales. They’re afford-

pork jalapeño and chicken tamales are on the menu for

able, authentic and sell out quickly. 866 W. Mayfield,

the day. 10918 Wurzbach Road, Ste. 134, 210-558-6008,

210-921-0847

facebook.com/mimisbarbacoa

DELICIOUS TAMALES (Multiple) A 30-plus-year San

SARAH’S BARBACOA (Northwest) Teen Sarah Her-

Antonio tradition, Delicious Tamales is 100 percent

nandez is officially CEO of this family restaurant, but

woman- and Hispanic-owned and delivers tamales made

her mother, Irma, is the one behind the classic tama-

with the traditional techniques Valerie Gonzalez learned

les, using a recipe she learned from a grandmother in

from her mother and aunts while growing up. Tamales

northern Mexico. Tamales can sell out so call ahead

can be picked up or ordered for shipping. Multiple loca-

for large orders. 6330 De Zavala Road, 210-263-9955,

tions, delicioustamales.com

facebook.com/sarahsbarbacoa

JACALA (West Central) Rudolph and Adel Quinones

SA TAMALE BOY (South Side) Call orders in for tamales

started Jacala as a small dining room on Wilson Bou-

of every variety—from pork, chicken, beef and bean to

levard after he returned from serving in World War II.

cream cheese jalapeño, BBQ brisket, carne guisada and

It’s since grown into a restaurant with multiple dining

cream cheese with chicken and spinach. Tamale plates

rooms and an outdoor patio plus plenty of pickup and

are also available for catering. 5300 S. Flores St., 210-

delivery options for tamales and other favorites. Pork

663-2033, satamaleboy.com

tamales are served with chili. 606 West Ave., 210-7325222, jacala.com

TEKA MOLINO (North Central, Terrell Hills) Pork tama-

les can be ordered by the dozen, individually or as part LA LUZ TORTILLA FACTORY (Los Angeles Heights)

of a plate with enchiladas. Catering is also available for

Flour tortillas, pork and chicken tamales, barbacoa and

those larger holiday tamale orders. 7231 San Pedro Ave.,

menudo are all house-made and there are always cans of

210-344-7281; 1007 Rittiman Road, Ste. 101, 210-257-

Big Red to pair with your barbacoa. 4120 Blanco Road,

5514, tekamolino.com

210-734-8523, facebook.com/laluztortillas MARTINEZ BARBACOA & TAMALES (Alta Vista) Place

an order for hand-rolled pork, chicken, bean or pork and

Restaurants' service and menus may be affected by COVID-19. Please call ahead to confirm. For our full directory San Antonio restaurants, visit sanantoniomag.com/restaurants-bars.

Bar Loretta has plans to open in early 2021 in the former Madhatter’s Café, which closed when the owners decided to retire. / The Hayden, a Texas-style Jewish deli, opened in Alamo Heights. / Southerleigh Hospitality Group is behind the new French restaurant, Mon Chou Chou, set to open in late November in the former Nao at Pearl. / Vietnam-based Lustea, which serves tea, bubble tea and food items, opened its first U.S. location in San Antonio this fall. / The chefs behind Mixtli are opening Kumo, a Japanese-Mexican concept, in Mixtli’s former home at The Yard in Olmos Park. Mixtli will reopen in a larger space in Southtown in early 2021. / Pinkerton’s Barbecue, a Houston-based eatery named one of Texas Monthly’s 50 best, plans to open a location in San Antonio later this year. / Tandem opened on the South Side, serving coffee, beer and wine. / Jaime’s Place, an indoor-outdoor bar on the West Side, opened in October. / Central and South American chain Cerveceria Chapultepec opened its first U.S. location in the former Fontaine’s near Pearl, with a single-price model—everything on the menu costs $2.90. / Longhorn Cafe sent a cease and desist letter to Andrew Weissman and his Mr. Juicy restaurants asking that Weissman discontinue the use of the word “juicy” because Longhorn has copyrighted the phrases “home of the original big juicy” and “original big juicy.”

Tell us about your favorite Mexican food or Tex-Mex recipe. Where did you learn the recipe from and is there a restaurant in town that prepares it the way you like?

Since I grew up on South Texas comfort food and discovered regional Mexican dishes later in life, I’ll offer two answers: For Tex-Mex, it’s the thick and flaky flour tortillas that my mom taught me how to make when I was a kid. Nobody makes them quite the same way, but perhaps the closest is M&I Meat Market on the West Side. For interior Mexican, it’s another simple dish, chilaquiles, and Guajillo's makes my favorite restaurant version. A plate of those always takes me back to Mexico City and Cuernavaca.

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DAVID G. LOYOLA

ADELITA TAMALES & TORTILLA (Los Angeles Heights)

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M A K E R / E AT + D R I N K

D E S T I N AT I O N H O L I D AY

L O C A L F L AV O R San Antonio in a Box provides a taste of the Alamo City

BRENDA PIÑA

ALLISON AND REEVES CRAIG BOTH ATTENDED

colleges outside of Texas so when the two wed in San Antonio in 2014, Allison knew she wanted to do something special to help their out-of-town friends understand why they’d fallen in love with Reeves’ hometown.

She put together welcome boxes with items from some of their favorite local places and left them in hotel rooms to greet their guests.

Allison Craig loved the sentiment behind the boxes but left the idea in the back of her mind as she pursued her career in oil and gas sales, an industry she worked in for 15 years.

After the birth of their third child in 2019, though, Craig decided the time was right to try something new.

A year ago this month, she officially launched San Antonio in a Box, curating food-centric boxes that she ships on behalf of corporate clients or as personal treats for birthdays holidays or simply pick-me-ups to ward off those quarantine blues.

She and Reeves started curating items for the boxes based on some of their own go-tos, things like Bolner’s Fiesta Spices and La Fogata salsa. Then they planned a day date downtown to explore the city and remind themselves of other local favorites they should consider.

Craig now offers custom boxes as well as ready-to-order themed boxes with five to 10 items inside. Along with staples like her favorite salsa, boxes include things like Casa chocolates

(for the holidays they’ll come in flavors such as Mexican hot chocolate and peppermint), Quick Sip Cold Brew Coffee, TexaCola, Jan’s Gourmet Co. peanut brittle or flavored pecans and other treats.

Cards in each box provide information about the vendors that made the goods inside, plus details on how to order more if they find something they love. “We want people to be able to get a little taste of San Antonio and to be able to come back and support local after that,” Craig says.

The pandemic has certainly brought its challenges, but Craig says it’s also presented opportunities she might not otherwise have had during her first year in business. Several corporations had planned to host clients in San Antonio in 2020 but with the bulk of in-person meetings canceled, were instead left looking for new ways to let people know they were thinking of them. That’s where Craig came in, putting together boxes based on each company’s special requests, even adding their logo to the inside of the box before shipping it out. “They’re trying to find ways to connect with people and give them a way to enjoy San Antonio from afar,” she says. “We work with them to get creative.”

The Graham, Texas, native says she’s working to add more non-culinary options as well as a higher-end box, which has been requested by some companies. Whatever is ordered, Craig says the hope is that it helps to build up the city’s small business community, particularly as it comes out of the pandemic. “You’re buying one gift but you’re giving back to 10 local companies,” she says. sanantonioinabox.com—KP

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Jalapeño Mac & Cheese at Myron’s Prime Steakhouse It’s creamy, cheesy and has just the right amount of South Texas jalapeño and New Mexico green chile.

Rather than shells, Myron’s uses elbow pasta, which means cheese oozes from inside of the shell with each bite. General manager Patrick Ross says it’s their No. 1-selling side and also stands just fine on its own. It’s never too hot, never too weak and always has the same great taste. 10003 N.W. Military Hwy. 210-493-3031, myronsprime.com

Poblano Soup at Picnikins Cafe & Catering General manager Brianna Esmeralda says Picnikins poblano soup features a cream base mixed with roasted poblanos and chicken stock for a perfect balance of kick and velvety smoothness. Order it alongside a classic grilled cheese for the ultimate comfort food feast or take it home and use it as a salsa or topping for green enchiladas. Esmeralda says it’s meant to be versatile, so you set the limits. 5811 University Heights Blvd., 210-2365134; 6901 Blanco Road, 210-616-0954, picnikins.com

Elevated Takes on Comfort Food Classics Home cooking hacks plus 5 indulgent San Antonio dishes

BY CLARISSA R. ABREGO

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Few things spell comfort like bacon. In this dish, chef Jarrad Gwaltney wraps it around house-made pickled jalapeños and quail on a mini-skewer before topping it with the restaurant’s house Green Goddess dressing and a touch of chili oil. It warms the body during cooler months and is refined while still plenty indulgent. 312 Pearl Pkwy., Bldg. 3, 210-354-4644, boilerhousesa.com

Chopped Beef Frito Pie at Alamo BBQ Co.

Antonio in Food Network’s Girl Scout Cookie Championship, says when it comes to baked goods, home cooks can substitute milk for water and butter for oil in boxed cake mixes to achieve a fluffier, tastier dessert. Or, experiment with zests or extracts—lime, lemon or orange into a vanilla cake mix—to make your pre-packaged treat stand out.

When it comes to savory foods that consumers often reach for as the weather turns cooler, Tejeda says the most important thing to think about is your “anchor ingredients.”

That means if you’re adding veggies to your mac and cheese or brisket to your bag of Fritos, opt for fresh, high-quality ingredients. And when your creativity runs dry, consider one of these elevated comfort food options from local restaurants.

When you can’t decide between a snack or a meal, the crew at Chef Jason Dady’s Alamo BBQ Co. deliver.

Fritos are loaded with top-of-the-line chopped beef, sour cream, cheese and chives. Order it to go or dine-in while listening to live music every Friday and Saturday. 511 E. Grayson St., 210-994-8099, alamobbqcompany.com

Buttermilk Biscuits

by Chef Sofia Tejeda Whether a slider, biscuits and gravy or simply with jam, nothing elevates breakfast entrees like a well-made biscuit. Chef Sofia Tejeda, whose baked goods are available for order online, says she uses just six ingredients—butter, buttermilk, sugar, flour, salt and baking soda—to make the simple yet classic staple. “When they’re warm, they just break apart in your mouth. I mean they are so, so, so good,” she says. They’re fluffy, buttery and so tasty you won’t be able to stop with just one. sofiatejeda.com

COURTESY ALAMO BBQ CO.

hile sales of organic and unprocessed foods were on an uptick in recent years, the pandemic has proven one thing: comfort is king.

According to Food Industry Executive, a food industry news site, snack food consumption was up 8 percent this spring (compared with only a 1 percent increase during the Great Recession), sales of frozen foods like pizza had increased by as much as 80 percent in March and data indicates packaged food sales—things like mac and cheese, desserts and soup—will have risen by as much as 30 percent from 2019.

But just because you may be reaching for a convenient comfort food option a little more often, doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of ways to serve an elevated entrée.

Chef Sofia Tejeda, who represented San

Bacon Wrapped Quail Poppers at Boiler House Texas Grill & Wine Garden

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S P OT LI G H T / E AT + D R I N K

FRESH CUT Alamo Kitchens adds video production studio and embraces catering during COVID-19

COURTESY ALAMO KITCHENS

MCDONALD’S FRENCH FRIES ARE FINE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, BUT

Tracie Shelton wants families to know there are plenty of healthy options that taste great, too.

The founder of Alamo Kitchens, a shared-use commercial kitchen for entrepreneurs and caterers, Shelton describes herself as a self-taught “mama chef” who learned to make nutritious food out of necessity.

Her youngest, Theodore, was born with health challenges and initially referred from one doctor to the next, all of whom recommended medications. When the Air Force stationed Shelton’s husband at NATO in Brussels, the family settled into a slower, European lifestyle and for the first time heard from doctors that they should be looking at Theodore’s food as part of his medicine. “We were forced to think about what we put in our body, so I started cooking,” she says, adding that it helped that there weren’t fast food restaurants on every corner there.

“I had to learn because I had this baby who needed me.”

The change made a difference in Theodore’s health, and in the family overall, she says. But it didn’t take long after they’d moved back to Texas for them to fall into old eating habits.

A business consultant, Shelton found herself working with food entrepreneurs in San Antonio who had great products but couldn’t sell them anywhere besides a farmer’s market because they weren’t being prepared in commercial kitchens. Shelton already had a desire to share what she’d learned about the power of healthy food so when she saw that others had a need for a commercial kitchen space, she went to work. She enrolled at Break Fast & Launch, a local culinary incubator program, and in 2018 won Launch SA’s Venture Challenge grant to help launch Alamo Kitchens. In 2019, its first full year in operation, the kitchen co-op served 40 different businesses.

Then COVID-19 hit and business for the chefs dropped to near zero.

Shelton dug into her reserves while applying for loans and grants and brainstorming ways to generate business for her fellow chefs. Over the summer, she launched an IFundWomen campaign to create a kitchen studio where the chefs can create how-to videos, host virtual cooking classes and more—all things they’ve seen demand for during the pandemic. For Shelton, who also serves on the Food Policy Council of San Antonio board, the studio gives her the chance to create healthy cooking videos for families that she plans to launch in January. She wants other parents to see that it’s possible to take fresh food from the ground to the table without professional cooking skills. alamokitchen.com—KP

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LOOKING BACK

GET INVOLVED

Sign up to volunteer at elflouise.org WOAI Radio-thon, Dec. 4-5 Online auction, Nov. 23-Dec. 5

Elf Louise Christmas Project forges ahead following its founder’s retirement, making changes for COVID-19 but still providing gifts

BY KATHLEEN PETTY

here were just three days remaining before Christmas in 1969 when Louise Locker and her mom, Anne, decided to secretly gift toys to 13 families. Locker’s father had passed away suddenly, making the holidays a tough time, and Locker hoped to bring someone else joy by giving away some of her childhood dolls. That idea led Locker to the U.S. Post Office where she convinced an employee to let her read a stack of letters to Santa, and her giving only increased from there. In the 51 years since, her gesture has grown into a citywide volunteer operation that now provides over 60,000 gifts to area children in need. “My yearning to make one little girl’s dream come true quickly grew after reading heartfelt pleas of little ones who couldn’t understand why Santa never visited them,” Locker says. She wrote about the experience earlier this year when announcing her retirement from the all-volunteer nonprofit: “I have full faith that the project will endure beyond any of us.” Director Carol Muller is one of the thousands of volunteers making sure that’s true this year, even if COVID-19 means the traditional routines must change. Instead of volunteer Santas who deliver gifts like has long been the tradition, this year’s toys will be picked up by parents and wrapped at home for their children. Volunteers still are needed to help sort and pass out presents at the warehouse. The nonprofit’s annual WOAI Radio-thon to fund the project will continue, Dec. 4-5, but will take place in studio rather than from North Star Mall. “This has been a tough year. Our donations have been down, yet our need is much greater,” Muller says. “The children don’t really understand why their world has been turned upside down, and we want to assure them that Christmas is not cancelled.”

T

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Still Giving

DECEMBER 2020

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SAN ANTONIO MAGAZINE DEC EM BER 2020

SAN AN TON IO SPURS / P R IVAT E SC H O OL GU ID E

Vol. 16 No. 3

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