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The Founders of Bandwagons Youth Initiative
The Founders of Bandwagons Youth Initiative
A local teacher and Veteran married couple look to tackle a current and worsening issue - the mental health crisis among youth. Both Psychology majors that studied at the University of Virginia, are knowledgeable on youth needs and development. Jason Corral went on to further study education policy, and Stephanie Corral went on to earn a Masters Degree in Elementary Education.
Jason and Stephanie have also raised four children, and have supported them through their educational and athletic journey from elementary school to college.
Stephanie has worked in various school settings since 2010 as a volunteer, tutor, support staff member, teacher, and instructional coach. She has seen the needs of students vary from year to year, but the mental health needs increase each year. It's not fair to blame everything on covid, but that time period was truly eye opening for so many schools and families. Stephanie has watched temporary funds and resources being thrown around many school districts, but no lasting impacts put in place. She has watched families become more and more disengaged with their children's educational needs, as many have had to take on additional jobs to make up for lost income. Stephanie has also witnessed counselors unable to service the needs of many students, not because they do not care, but because their caseload is unmanageable. Stephanie knows how important it is for youth to have a supportive relationship in their life, and this is why she wants to connect youth to college students that she will train to serve as educational tutors and peer mentors.
Jason has observed this education trend as well, and has brought concerns to Capitol Hill as he lobbied for more properly allocated resources. Not only does Jason have an education policy background, but his passion for sports as a whole is what truly drives him to focus his efforts on building Bandwagons Youth Initiative. Jason has coached youth sports since 2000. He has played baseball, tackle football, flag football, softball, soccer, ice hockey, and ran track. His youth coaching ranges from 4 years old to high school sports; mostly coaching baseball and football. Jason's ability to teach kids the skills needed to be athletes, while also incorporating the social-emotional aspects, character building, and camaraderie is what sets the team culture so that each player can grow and reach their potential while having fun. Jason knows how important it is for children to have a supportive relationship in their life, so he wants to also train college athletes to serve as peer mentors as well.
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