 "Photo: Mariel Pachecano")
Newly elected San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro believes San Antonio's future could be improved by focusing on empowering youth.
Castro's goals: "To increase the high school graduation rate, decrease the teenage pregnancy rate and get youth more involved in civic affairs."
While he respects his predecessor Mayor Phil Hardberger's efforts to target challenges with the city's youth, Castro says he has a few new ideas to offer.
"We just had a very successful Youth Summit. I'd like to make that even stronger next year," Castro said.
At the first Youth Summit on May 21, Castro shared what he would like to see happen in the future with youth. The summit allows youth to speak out and discuss issues with peers and with their community leaders.
McCollum senior Roy Augillon, who attended the summit, said he was pleased that Castro had taken the time to attend.
"He brought a level of legitimacy to the summit. It was amazing to see happen," Augillon, 17, said. "He really tried to reach out to teens."
Castro, 34, said he plans to focus on decreasing the number of teenage pregnancy and high school dropouts.
In a study done by Project Worth and Metro Health, Bexar County's teen birth rate is almost twice the national rate with 39 births per 1,000 girls ages 15-17 in 2005 compared to the national rate of 21 births per 1,000.
The city has an $11 million budget deficit so it will be difficult to create new programs, Castro said. But he plans to build a mentorship programs for young girls.
"I support efforts to fund a campaign to lower teenage pregnancy, including starting mentorship programs for young girls by mothers who have experienced teenage pregnancy so that they can offer their own advice about trying to avoid the same situation," Castro said.
Teenage mother Sierra Ibarra, 17, said she thinks that a better education can help combat teen pregnancy.
"Try to start more organizations to help teen moms and to find people who have organizations," said Ibarra, a Brackenridge senior, who had her son at 13. The boy is now 3 ½.
Aside from working with assisting teenage mothers, Castro is looking to get teens off the streets and back in school.
"We're going to continue Mayor Hardberger's efforts on dropout recovery so that less folks drop out, and if they do drop out, more get back on track," Castro said.
According to the city of San Antonio's statistics from 1985 to 2007, the number of students lost from public schools went from 86,272 to 134,646 - a 56 percent increase.
While Hardberger was in office, he pushed the importance of education, and Castro also plans to emphasize education by continuing Hardberger's plan of dropout recovery.
"I want to fund initiatives aimed at enhancing the education level of our young people so that they can take on the jobs we're trying to attract and retain," Castro said. "The education partnership, the dropout recovery initiative, early childhood education, those are the types of initiatives I'm looking to fund in the future."
Besides enhancing education in school, Castro wants the city's youth to have access to superior technology and create places where they can take advantage of the new technology. Especially among the urban youth who do not come from well-to-do households, Castro wants to reach out and let them know they have opportunities.
Castro, who attended Jefferson High School, is an example of someone who used education to succeed. He and his twin brother Joaquin were raised by a single mother and went on to graduate from Stanford University and Harvard Law School. He believes setting goals is critical to success.
"Have confidence in yourself, believe in yourself and always take success one day at a time," Castro said. "People don't become a success in a magic moment; they become a success by doing well on every test and doing well in a class, doing well in a grade level."
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