At NEWSWELL, we exist to support local newsrooms such as Stocktonia, Times of San Diego and the Santa Barbara News-Press because we believe rigorous, factual news and information is essential to civic life.
In addition to reader support, we rely on the generosity of local organizations to sustain our vital journalism. One of these organizations is San Joaquin A+ in Stockton, which helps young people forge successful paths in school and in life.
The organization recently awarded Stocktonia a grant to report on education and community life in Stockton. We asked A+ co-CEO Kai Kung about why his organization supports Stocktonia and why local reporting is so important.
What is the mission of San Joaquin A+?
Kung: San Joaquin A+ is a community-based organization that has supported public education in Stockton and San Joaquin County since 1996. To create a system of great schools in our region, we collaborate with local families, educators and workforce partners to set a vision for how our community can prepare students to be successful and responsible citizens who are doing what they love, earning what they need, in the location they want to live.
What else should people know about San Joaquin A+?
Our ultimate goal is to establish a thriving community where our youth are inspired and empowered by supportive mentors, educators and employers to drive long-term economic growth in our region.
Why is it important to you, and the team at San Joaquin A+, to support Stocktonia?
Kung: We believe that our public schools are at their strongest when the community is informed and when policy decisions are made that are in the best interest of our youth. Local reporting is critical because it sheds light on the progress and challenges that our students and educators are experiencing and in so doing, helps to promote civic engagement and public accountability.
What overlaps do you see between San Joaquin A+’s values and the work that Stocktonia does?
Kung: Newly released scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often referred to as the Nation’s Report Card, show that fourth and eighth graders across the state of California have lost significant ground in reading since the start of the pandemic. As we figure out how to move through and past these complex challenges locally, we at A+ believe that we need to do so with nuance and data as our guideposts. We believe that Stocktonia’s approach to local reporting embodies those same principles.
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves: Data, nuance and accountability are paramount to addressing regional challenges – and to our newsroom’s reporting. But, high-quality, local journalism is not free to produce, and we can’t do any of this work without support from our communities. When local organizations, individuals and businesses invest in local journalism, it benefits all of us.
This update originally appeared in our May 8, 2025, newsletter, which came from Nicole Carroll, NEWSWELL executive director.