PREPARED BY: ELIZABETH LOPEZ DATE OF MEETING: 2/17/2026
SUBJECT:
TITLE
CONSIDER RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN EVENT SPONSORSHIP OF $2,000 TO HELMS MIDDLE SCHOOL (WITH BAY AREA COMMUNITY RESOURCES AS NON-PROFIT 501C(3) ORGANIZATION ACTING AS FISCAL AGENT) TO SUPPORT A WASHINGTON D.C. TRIP FOR HELMS MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH THE CLOSE UP PROGRAM
CEQA: This proposed action is not a project as defined by CEQA.
Label
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Adopt Resolution
BODY
COMPLIANCE STATEMENTS
Build a Healthy Community: Foster Youth Leadership/Cultivation of the next generation of civic leaders is an adopted policy item in the FY 2025-27 City Council Priority Work plan, effective April 7, 2025.
CEQA Compliance Statement
This proposed action is not a project as defined by CEQA.
BACKGROUND
On January 21, 2026, the City Manager's Office received a request from Tana Monteiro and Ray Hernandez, from Bay Area Community Resources (BACR) to support Helms Middle School students to go to Washington D.C. with the Close Up Program.
This sponsorship will help support sending ten students and two school chaperones to Washington D.C. and Philadelphia for a week during Spring Break with the Close Up Program to learn about the nation's history, public services, and civic engagement. This will be the first time flying away from home for many students. This trip helps support students in becoming independent, and to begin to think about what going away to college would be like, which will show students that they have the agency and confidence to attend college.
The Close Up Program is an immersive program where students use the nation's capital as a living classroom, where they explore iconic sites and discover how the issues and ideals represented in them impact us today. Through interactive workshops and facilitated debates and deliberations, students gain a deeper understanding of both historical and current issues, the importance of civil discourse, and ...
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