History
The idea for Learning Bridge came from our founder’s search for a tutor for her foster daughter. While she found many organizations in central Texas to help kids in foster care, she discovered that no organization existed to address the unique educational needs of kids in foster care.
Sadly, only half of youth in foster care graduate from high school and shortly after emancipation, 25-46% of foster youth become homeless. Due to many factors, kids in foster care are often one to two grade levels behind in school. (Source: endhomelessness.org, TEA)
After needs assessment and surveys of foster parents, Connect for Success launched as a pilot program at Foster Village in August 2020. Based on its early success, Learning Bridge launched as a standalone nonprofit in February 2021 and became a 501c3 organization in June 2021.
Need
There are over 11,000 youth in foster care in Texas. These children have been abused and neglected and often have trauma that lasts a lifetime. While these kids face many challenges, early interventions can make all the difference in providing youth with the resources to overcome hardship. Education, in particular, is one avenue which extra support can make a monumental difference in the lives of these children. (Source: DFPS)
Learning Bridge gives students and caregivers a survey when they enter the program. Students, with the help of caregivers when needed, rate themselves on grades, school participation, school enjoyment, homework completion, and their ability to ask for help. We administer an identical survey at the end of the year to assess progress.
Impact
Program Evaluation Reports
Team
Kettisha Jones, Executive Director
Previous board member, Kettisha Jones, Ed.D., currently serves as our Interim Executive Director. She supports the Program Manager to further the board’s effort to accomplish Learning Bridge’s mission, vision, and goals.
Monica Wyatt, Program Manager
Monica’s primary responsibilities as our program manager involve supporting students, their caregivers, and volunteer tutors. She was a middle school math teacher in Austin ISD for ten years. She also served as a foster mother and is ready to reconnect with the foster care system. Monica and her husband have three boys that keep them very busy, but in her spare time, she loves watching her boys play baseball, reading, and playing board games with her family.
Board of Directors
Erin Hudson, President
Erin practiced law for over a decade focusing on commercial litigation before leaving her firm in 2021 to attend graduate school. She is currently pursuing a PhD in nutritional science at the University of Texas. Prior to moving to Austin, Erin served on the board of the Rio Grande Valley chapter of Girls on the Run.
Promod Radhakrishnan, Vice President
Promod is a Group Vice President at Oracle. He is a strong believer in the concept of leveraging technology as an enabler for society at large. He is passionate about the concept of Continuous Learning, and is committed to charitable causes focused on children’s education.
Christa Floyd, Treasurer
Christa has worked in public accounting for over twenty years and has experience performing financial audits and tax compliance. She served as Treasurer and Secretary of Camelot Water Supply Corporation for eight years. She currently serves as guardian ad litem for CASA of Travis County and is a Learning Bridge tutor.
Abhilasha Mittal, Secretary
Abhilasha has been working in the IT industry as a software developer for more than 15 years. She frequently participates in philanthropic activities with various charities. She has also tutored at Learning Bridge, virtually guiding an 11th grader in San Marcos, TX.
Kristene Blackstone, Member
Kristene works as an independent child welfare consultant after serving as the Associate Commissioner for Child Protective Services in Texas from 2016 to 2020. She was previously the Deputy Director for Field Operations for the Texas Office of the Attorney General’s Child Support Division, where she oversaw the daily operations of the Field Operations Division. She has over 27 years of public service experience working with children and families. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of North Texas and a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin.
Carole Wall, Member
Carole is a native Austinite with a Bachelor’s Degree from Concordia University at Austin and a Master’s Degree from St. Edward’s University. In addition to seven years of experience as a grant-writer for non-profit agencies, she has experience as an investigator for Child Protective Services (CPS), a
Forensic Interviewer at the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center, a CPS Caseworker, and a CPS Supervisor. She currently works in property management for a real estate company and joined the Board of Directors for Learning Bridge in December 2023.
If you are interested in joining the board and have special skills in development, fundraising, communications, have experience in child welfare or are a former foster youth, we welcome you to connect with us at info@learningbridgetx.org.
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