{"id":3329,"date":"2026-06-29T18:08:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329"},"modified":"2026-06-29T18:08:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:08:43","slug":"world-cup-match-brings-soon-to-be-classmates-together-in-san-jose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329","title":{"rendered":"World Cup match brings soon-to-be classmates together in San Jose"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Editor\u2019s note: This story is part of the annual Mosaic Journalism Program for Bay Area high school students, an intensive course in journalism. Students in the program report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Harry Styles collapse at London concert caused by choking, not heat<\/a><\/p>\n

As chants of \u201cMexico! Mexico!\u201d rang through The Plex and students rushed between soccer stations, it was hard to tell who was having more fun: the children or the adults watching them.<\/p>\n

A bevy of San Jos\u00e9 Unified students gathered June 11 for the district\u2019s Summer Soccer and Student Connection Event. Beyond the excitement was a larger goal: helping students build connections before some of their elementary schools merge next year.<\/p>\n

Organized by the district and several afterschool programs, the event brought students together for soccer clinics, cultural performances and a viewing of the Mexico vs. South Africa FIFA World Cup match.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not only about the soccer game for us,\u201d said D\u00e1maris Cuffy, senior program analyst for San Jos\u00e9 Unified. \u201cIt\u2019s also making sure that the students are connected in one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuffy said the district tried to create opportunities for students from different schools to interact, particularly because some children will be affected by upcoming school consolidations due to the closing of five elementary schools in the district. A district spokesperson said as many as 900 students attended the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also wanted to make a safe space for them to talk about if they have any fears, or are excited about anything regarding the schools that are merging,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Maria Cortes, program director for the YMCA, said organizers spent months discussing how to support students whose schools are closing.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of uncertainty for the students who are going to the new school,\u201d Cortes said, so activities were designed to help students meet future classmates. She said the district has also organized pen-pal programs between merging schools so students can begin forming relationships before the school year starts.<\/p>\n

Read more For America 250, relayers will carry the Declaration of Independence across the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n

Many of the soccer stations mixed students from different schools. Aileen Garcia of America SCORES, a soccer, poetry and service-learning organization, said participants were divided into teams that encouraged them to meet new people. \u201cWe hope they made at least one more friend,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Belle Manzo of the YMCA said that students gained a sense of community by participating in activities alongside hundreds of their peers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to learn a lot about teamwork and friendship through the workshops we did,\u201d said Jose Espinza, a rising sixth-grader.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Keilani Pina, a rising fifth-grader, said she was excited to watch Mexico play and was happy she got to \u201cget closer to my friends and learn how to play soccer with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

For rising third-grader Alexa Benavides Solis, who attends Walter Bachrodt Elementary, the highlights included the cultural performances. \u201cI really liked the Mexico dances, and I really want Mexico to win!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Students cheered through performances, sprinted across fields and eagerly anticipated the World Cup match. \u201cThe kids were happy, they were yelling freely; you could feel the energy,\u201d Cuffy said.<\/p>\n

District Board President Jos\u00e9 Maga\u00f1a echoed these sentiments. \u201cOne thing that I\u2019ve seen nonstop is smiles,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve heard laughter, not just in the kids, but also the adults.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shivali H. Patra is a member of the class of 2029 at Saratoga High School. Ekasha Sikka is a member of the class of 2027 at Mission San Jose High School in Fremont.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Bay Area LGBTQ+ bar vandalized twice in two days<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Jose Unified School District held a soccer watch party to bring students together following school closings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWorld Cup match brings soon-to-be classmates together in San Jose - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Cup match brings soon-to-be classmates together in San Jose - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"San Jose Unified School District held a soccer watch party to bring students together following school closings.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T18:08:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"World Cup match brings soon-to-be classmates together in San Jose\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T18:08:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329\"},\"wordCount\":620,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/58431bdf61aa51318996add3e1abcd63.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Local News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329\",\"name\":\"World Cup match brings soon-to-be classmates together in San Jose - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/58431bdf61aa51318996add3e1abcd63.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T18:08:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/58431bdf61aa51318996add3e1abcd63.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/58431bdf61aa51318996add3e1abcd63.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3329#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"World Cup match brings soon-to-be classmates together in San Jose\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"World Cup match brings soon-to-be classmates together in San Jose - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"World Cup match brings soon-to-be classmates together in San Jose - Next City Digest","og_description":"San Jose Unified School District held a soccer watch party to bring students together following school closings.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-06-29T18:08:43+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"World Cup match brings soon-to-be classmates together in San Jose","datePublished":"2026-06-29T18:08:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329"},"wordCount":620,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/58431bdf61aa51318996add3e1abcd63.webp","articleSection":["Local News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329","name":"World Cup match brings soon-to-be classmates together in San Jose - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/58431bdf61aa51318996add3e1abcd63.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-29T18:08:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/58431bdf61aa51318996add3e1abcd63.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/58431bdf61aa51318996add3e1abcd63.webp","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3329#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"World Cup match brings soon-to-be classmates together in San Jose"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}