Our Foundation

about
school
connect

Our Story

how it started

School Connect was originally founded in Arizona by Tracey Beal. Tracey worked with an organization that took college students to do service around the world. While in Peru, she saw how community members in a special needs public school came around the school, supported and transformed it.

"That a-ha moment was so powerful that it caused me to come back and start asking questions of all these amazing people who are around me."
— Tracey Beal, Founder

From Tracey's a-ha moment, School Connect began. Later, our San Antonio Executive Director, Margaret Judson, became the first to pilot the School Connect model outside of Arizona in San Antonio, Texas. School Connect SA was the first city outside the state of Arizona to implement the model. It is now in 15 states throughout the country.

Where Is The Connection?

A non-profit in the San Antonio community asked Margaret to host a series of listening sessions with the urban schools in the area. Through these sessions, Margaret found that the schools and faith communities were operating in silos with very little partnership.

Today, we work to connect schools in every neighborhood with businesses, faith organizations, community organizations and individuals in their community. Together, we are creating better opportunities and building support for kids and their families in the San Antonio area.

Leadership

meet the team

Executive Director

Margaret Judson

Margaret Judson is the founder and Executive Director of School Connect SA, a collaborative impact model she brought to the city in 2020 — the first of its kind outside Arizona. She's passionate about building bridges between schools and the community partners who support them, from faith groups to nonprofits to local businesses.

Her path to this work has taken her from Capitol Hill to the halls of Parliament, with stops in government affairs, higher education, and journalism along the way — experience she now channels into strengthening San Antonio's schools and the families they serve.

She and her husband Jeff have been married 36 years and have three grown children.

Faith Liaison

Keli Caraveo

Keli is a former Elementary School teacher, military wife and mother of three. As our Faith Liaison, Keli uses her experience to connect faith organizations with schools in their community and guide their efforts to best fit the needs of the schools. Keli is also the founder of Lock the Shields, a non-profit that mobilizes families, churches, and believers to pray over schools in their cities.

Governance