Today our guest is Cyndi Tercero-Sandoval the Family and Community Engagement Manager at the Phoenix Union High School District. We talk with Cyndi about Participatory Budgeting, a way to empower students and give them a voice in how the budget is spent. Cyndi explained the intentional process that Phoenix Union has undertaken to implement participatory budgeting, which has started to increase student engagement and connection in some really creative ways. This process has not only increased student voice in the budgeting process, but also in school improvement, safety, and curriculum decisions throughout the district.

To learn more:

• EdWeek Article - Letting Students Decide Where Money Should Go: How One District Did It: https://t.co/cnsEldUJO1
• Website: https://www.participatorybudgeting.org
• Twitter: @TerceroCyndi

Cyndi Tercero-Sandoval is an advocate of student voice, civic leader, community activist and humanitarian. She currently serves as the Family and Community Engagement Manager for the Phoenix Union High School District, where she has been enriching the lives of our youth for over 29 years. She serves as the McKinney-Vento and Foster Point of Contact and is responsible for establishing and coordinating district-wide dropout prevention, intervention, and reengagement strategies for opportunity youth who have been historically disenfranchised or marginalized.

Cyndi is considered a resident expert in dropout prevention initiatives and student support services. She has received several awards for her work with youth and was recognized as an Obama White House Champion of Change in 2016. She was named a Community Luchadora for being a fighter of social justice and human rights in 2017 and was recognized for being a pioneer in empowering youth voice in 2018 with a North American Participatory Budgeting Network Award. She was most recently recognized as a 2023 EdWeek Leader to Learn from for her work in implementing Participatory Budgeting in her district. She is very active in the community and serves on several boards that focus on improving youth outcomes.

She has a passion for enhancing and advancing the lives of our youth by elevating student voice in all areas of education by empowering students to act as change agents. She believes schools and districts can incorporate student voice in a multi strategy approach ranging from intentional classroom-based efforts to schoolwide participatory budgeting focusing on strategies that empower students to work in partnership with campus and district adult leadership.

She understands that the community school partnership model is essential to the philosophy of educating the whole child. She engages with community agencies through collaborative action to provide supplemental services to students and families, provide additional opportunities for engagement for youth (i.e. leadership development, life skills, social justice, civic engagement, etc.), and support the school district's mission of preparing every student for success in college, career and life. Cyndi is a native of Arizona. She currently resides in Peoria with her husband and two children.