Latino Education Magazine 2014

Spring 2014 // 1

www.LatinoEducationMag.com

Parents Graduate from Academy

LATINO EDUCATIONMAGAZINE

Mario Lopez WritesChildren’s Books

Human Simulators Coming to Valley Schools

RGV EDITIONSpring 2014

McAllen ISD Outlines HB5 Endorsements

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www.LatinoEducationMagazine.com

Spring 2014 // 3


For further information,

Contact Dann Garcia

Ph: 956.903.4231

Texas Valley Communites Foundation

ENCORE is a resource to help students prepare for college or career.

www.GetEncore.org

From Kinder To College, ENCORE Empowers Students To Become Life-Long Learners

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Lyford creates new vision with iPads in class

Dance Fever in Brownsville makes Ballroom Dancing Hot Elective

Reybotics partners with Texas Valley Communities Foundation to teach students how to build robots

State Farm JOVENES conducting parent workshops

Read Across America kicks off in Donna ISD

PSJA ISD launches its College3 Initiative

ENCOREmotivates studentsto engage in STEM

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McAllen ISD lays groundwork for HB5 endorsements

Parents graduate from

PASOS Academy

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08INSIDE:

UTPA Pre-Med Bio-Medical Society mentor area students in STEM fi elds

David AlvaradoDesign Director

Weslaco ISD implements reading program

MEDITEC off ers hands-on medical experience


Spring 2014 // 5



Mario Lopez, a first generation M e x i c a n -American, has

written two children’s picture books, “Mud Tacos!” and “Mario and Baby Gia,” that have received rave reviews. He is currently working on an animated Mud “Tacos!” series.

“Mud Tacos,” co-written with his sister, Marissa Lopez-Wong, is a story about their family and the nurturing bond between a brother and sister. The story follows Mario

A Message A Message to studentsto students

EDWARD JAMES OLMOS

I w a n t everyone of you to get

everything out of life that you can. I want you to fi nd a career that is both fi nancially r e w a r d i n g and just as i m p o r t a n t l y , one that you enjoy. I want you, if you want, to get married and have a family. I want each of you to fi nd a way to give back to your community. Going to college is a great step towards accomplishing all of these desires.

If I’d never gone to East Los Angeles Community College, and then on to Cal State University Los Angeles, I’m confi dent that I never would have become the actor/director/activist that I am today.

Mario Lopez Writes Children’s Books

FOUR MORE REASONS

TO GO TO COLLEGE:

• To be a role model

• To make your mother and

father proud

• To earn a better living

• To provide a better life

for your family

- Edward James Olmos

and Marissa and their cousins Chico and Rosie playing in their grandmother’s backyard and using their imagination to have fun.

“My grandmother was always cooking, “ said Lopez, “and she never let us in the house. So in the backyard, we made taco shells out of leaves and meat out of mud. The book encourages kids to use their imagination.”

Lopez said he wrote the books because he is very proud of his Latino culture. “My parents came here from Mexico, we lived in Chula Vista (San Diego, CA). Both my parents worked, so my grandparents watched us during the day. We literally grew up playing in my grandma’s backyard. “Mud Tacos!” represents the

best of times with my sister, where we were in our own little world having fun right in the backyard. Too few kids experience this today. Too often, they plop down in front of the TV instead of playing. It’s important to flex your creative muscle.”

LATINOS IN THE NEWS

Mario Lopez reading his book to his daughter Baby Gia.

Mario Lopez on the Ellen DeGeneres TV show with his wife, Courtney, daughter Gia Francesca and son, Dominic.

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MCALLEN

ISD LAYS

GROUNDWORK

FOR HB5

Katherine Rose Perez was eight-years-old when her singing irrevocably captured her dad’s heart, a guitar-loving musician in his own right.

Now a 14-year-old freshman, Katherine points to this emo-tional connection as the A+ Moment that transformed her

life, fusing it with her love of music and her determination to make it her career.

“He really inspired me to be unique and to produce music that will hopefully in-spire others.”

Her dedication to the arts is undeniably bolstered by her school district’s unpar-alleled fi ne arts program. The McAllen Independent School District was named a “Best Community for Music Education” in 2013 – a national distinction.

Katherine is a violinist and a lead vo-calist in McAllen High School’s Maria-chi Program – a group crowned Class 5A Mariachi State Champions recently. She interprets various styles to make them her own, like sones, huapangos, rancheras, and her favorite, el bolero romántico. Her work with the Mariachi Program is aug-mented with her dedication to her Sym-phony Varsity Orchestra class and to her choir class.

Unquestionably, Katherine is destined for a world of exceptionally beautiful mu-sic. But her pragmatic side has also led her to identify a second option.

“I’m also considering becoming an or-thodontist,” she said, fl ashing a brilliant smile fi lled with braces.

Both options are made possible be-cause McAllen ISD has worked for years to augment its academics program. Stu-dents like Katherine can follow a degree plan (similar to a college degree plan) and graduate with one of the fi ve endorse-ments that now defi ne the state’s newly revised graduation plan.

The district offers a multitude of choic-es, including the highly successful Ad-vanced Placement Program, the Interna-tional Baccalaureate, dual and concurrent enrollment for college credit while still in high school, the Achieve Early College High School, plus three specialized acad-emies which focus on careers in medi-cine, engineering or computer science. In addition, McAllen ISD’s Career Techni-

cal Education (CTE) program offers 23 programs of study with 13 different pro-fessional licensures and certifi cations that students can earn before they graduate.

“Because of our strong relationship with our institutions of higher learning-UT-RGV and STC- McAllen ISD stu-dents are better positioned than most to comply with the state’s changes,” said James Ponce, Ed.D., McAllen ISD Su-perintendent. “The district has laid the groundwork by offering students a multi-tude of academic choices.”

Sixteen-year-old Shelby Bond, a ju-nior student at James “Nikki” Rowe High School, dreams of becoming immersed in a world that is dedicated to saving peo-ple’s lives.

“I’ve always been in sports (softball, volleyball, basketball, track, and cheer) and I’ve had a lot of injuries. So, I’ve seen how my doctor has taken care of me,” she said.

She says her mom has always wanted to become a nurse and she feels a personal connection to her mom’s passion for the

medical profession. Shelby wants to be an anesthesiologist.

“It’s not always easy; it’s challenging. Not everyone is cut out for this fi eld, but

I knew it was for me in that initial class. I really believe more students should try it.”

McAllen ISD is providing her with the course selection that will have her getting hands-on experience through “Clinical Rotations” in a hospital and learning to mix chemical compounds in a pharma-ceutical class. She will earn multiple pro-

fessional certifi cations that could save her and her family thousands.

“The Pharmacy Technicians Certifi ca-tion is like an $18,000 program for free!”

she said.Now, incoming freshmen

will be allowed to select a career-specifi c path that suits their interests while challeng-ing them to reach their full po-tential.

“As educators, it’s our ob-ligation to not just apply the law - in this case House Bill 5 - but to also extend the think-ing to its fullest potential given the resources,” said Dr. Ponce. “With this pushing of the en-

velope, our students can truly benefi t and ultimately fulfi ll their dreams of reaching the college or career of their choice.”

In January 2014, the state legisla-ture made changes that will impact high school students beginning with the 2014-15 freshmen class (the Class of 2018).

CONTINUED ON PAGE >> 7

McAllen ISD Superintendent Dr. Ponce with students in the library using the ipad.

McAllen ISD is off ering all fi ve state endorsements to students in the district. Standing Left to Right are: McAllen Superintendent Dr. James Ponce, Katherine Rose, Brandon Tiu, Shelby Bond, Alex Rabinovich and Octaviano (Toby) Bermea.

Spring 2014 // 7


ing staff. In fact, 19 teachers in the past 23 years have earned either the Regional or State Teacher of the Year award. We also have a community that cares about our schools and our progressive School Board. Engaging our parents/families is also critical.CHARTER SCHOOLS APPEAR TO BE SPREADING THROUGHOUT THE REGION. WHAT IMPACT ARE THESE SCHOOLS HAVING ON YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, IF ANY?DR. PONCE: We have a history of high-ly regarded academic programs – college-level instruction in our schools today. We offer top-notch curriculum choices that al-low students to earn college-credit hours, even degrees, licensures and professional certifi cates, before they graduate from high school. We also have a fi ne arts program that is nationally recognized and athletic teams that routinely compete for champi-onships. We have offered and continue to offer outstanding choices for students and their families.WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT AS SUPERINTENDENT?DR. PONCE: We have a learning en-vironment where other educators want to come learn from us or where we are asked to help others. We have become a national model and are able to contribute to the body of knowledge in public education. As re-searchers/educators, we have a responsibil-ity to advance our fi eld. My commitment to that ideal is both professional and personal.

Students are still required to earn a spe-cifi c number of credits and pass the state assessments (known as STAAR).

In addition, students will now be able to earn endorsement options with career emphasis.

Katherine is on course to earn an Arts & Humanities Endorsement, while Shelby earns a Public Services Endorse-ment.

It is important to note that some school districts will offer only one endorsement option. Incred-ibly, McAllen students will have a choice of all fi ve endorsements starting with the 2014-2015 school year.

For the last several years, McAl-

len has been creating programs that of-fer students a cluster of advanced skills that fall in line with the new plan. Cur-rent high school students do not have to choose an endorsement.

Seventeen-year-old Brandon Tiu and 16-year-old Alex Rabinovich were looking for challenges. Bran-don wants to go into the medical fi eld one day and he is thriving in McAllen ISD’s International Baccalaureate Pro-gramme. This college-level program is set to world standards and is achiev-

ing a 98.7% IB Diploma-earning suc-cess rate over the last 11 years. That ranks McAllen ISD’s program among the most successful in the world.

“I wanted a rigorous program be-cause it really prepares you,” Brandon said.

He’s determined to follow his dad’s footsteps to become a pediatrician, and he believes a STEM endorsement will give him the foundation he needs to become an exceptional one.

He revels in learning the complexi-

ties of the different advanced fi elds of science.

“In biology, we’re learning how to use DNA and different cells to help people in therapy and, in physics, we’re learning how different forces and circuits interact.”

Focused on a career in fi nance, Alex, a junior at McAllen Memorial High School, is taking multiple Advanced Placement courses.

“I need experience in advanced courses to prepare me for college and

real-life work,” he said. “If you are taking science and math … you’re going to be a well-rounded student.”

Superintendent Dr. James Ponce Leading Future Job CreatorsQ&A:

WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT?DR. PONCE: We want all our students to leave our system ready for the college or career of their choice. We want stu-dents to be well rounded, benefi ting from the latest and most advanced resources the world has to offer. WHAT INSPIRES, MOTIVATES, AND DRIVES YOU? WHAT ARE YOU MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT?DR. PONCE: ISDs (independent school districts) are the backbone of ev-ery community. Parents and students en-trust their hopes and dreams to us. I’m inspired by knowing our community de-serves an optimal learning environment for their children and we are going to en-sure that we provide an environment that produces competitive problem solvers and leaders in their respective fi elds of study. Successful students who contrib-ute to their community is a tremendous driving force.HAVE THERE BEEN CUTS TO YOUR DISTRICT’S STATE FUNDING IN RECENT YEARS? IF SO, WHAT IMPACT ARE THESE CUTS HAVING ON YOUR DISTRICT?DR. PONCE: Like all school districts across Texas, we have adapted to signifi -cant cuts in funding. The cuts made us focus even more closely on our instruc-tional core. By leveraging our resources, we were able to maintain high standards. When you lose approximately $12 mil-lion, there are some parts of the district

Business &Industry

Multidisciplinary Studies

Arts & Humanities

Public ServicesBiology

CONTINUED FROM PAGE >> 6

that have to do without. In retrospect, the most signifi cant impact was to our full-day pre-kindergarten program. It went from full-day to half-day. We have since restored it to full-day. We continue to op-erate in a very lean manner across all non-campus entities.WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THE RECENT CHANGES ENACTED BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE IN THE FORM OF HOUSE BILL 5 AND WHAT IMPACT WILL THESE CHANGES HAVE IN YOUR DISTRICT?DR. PONCE: Thanks to good planning and foresight, we stand in an excellent position in regard to HB 5. Starting with the Class of 2018, HB 5 will require grad-uates to earn one of fi ve possible endorse-ments (areas of study) to earn a diploma. Unlike most districts, we are in position right now to offer all fi ve endorsement options to our students. Our relation-ship with South Texas College, UTPA (UTRGV) has really enhanced our ability to move forward. HB 5 is a good step to becoming more progressive by allowing communities to decide what is important to them.WHAT, IN YOUR OPINION, ARE YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT’S GREATEST ASSETS? WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR DISTRICT THAT SETS IT APART FROM OTHERS IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY?DR. PONCE: Our students immediate-ly come to mind. We also have outstand-

WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST WORRIES AS A SUPERINTENDENT?

DR. PONCE: We want to ensure we have an emotionally safe learning envi-ronment for all students. I also focus on the future. This year’s kindergartners are the Class of 2026. We have to get them and all students in between, ready for a work environment that requires creat-ing their own jobs. We have to continu-ally ask ourselves, “Are we getting them ready for their world?”

SCAN HEREto read more about Dr. Ponceonline.

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By Raul Garcia Jr.

Last summer, the Pre-Med Bio-Medical Pre-Med Society was approached by ENCORE to help teach area-students from local school districts, and more than fi fty students decided to take on

the assignment.Since then many of the students have been traveling across the Rio Grande Valley to give a helping hand

and share their knowledge, experience and STEM activities.

“I have been working with ENCORE for the past six months, and I have found it to be a very rewarding experience working with the kids,” said Laura Torres, a Pre-Med student. “Especially the ones that are willing to learn and have hopes and expectations for the future.”

The Pre-Med students have introduced new technology to area students that can give them an edge as they go down their educational pathway.

“The fact that I was able to make an impact on the students...blew me away and it will be something that humbled me and inspired me beyond

anything that I have experienced,” said Niko Tapangan, Pre-Med

student.Some of the science areas

A Truan Middle School student builds a mechanical robot hand as part of an activity during Robotics Day at Edcouch Elsa, TX.

UTPA Pre-Med Bio-Medical Society Mentors Area Students in

STEM Fields“ENCORE has opened up so many doors for kids

and supplied them with resources they didn’t have, and now they are planning for a college

education,” said Laura Torres.

Photo by Raul Garcia Jr.

ENCORE Mentor

Spring 2014 // 9



“ “- Orlando Salinas

that the Pre-Med students focus on range from medical science, CPR, biology and engineering. A new tool that enhances instruction is the Aurasma Mobile Application. This application brings a static photo to life with motion picture and audio content by simply placing a phone or tablet over a photo that includes trigger images.

“Seeing them interact with these programs makes their eyes gleam,” said Orlando Salinas, an ENCORE Mentor. “They can finally see what is out there not just this little bubble that we have made for the valley, there is robotics, engineering,

medical days that they can work to become a doctor and they can see life outside of the valley.”“The one statement that always comes up when I talk about ENCORE, ‘if I only had that when I was younger.’ I can’t imagine where I would be,” Tapangan said. ENCORE mentor Hector Garza (center) and Ximena Del

Monte teaching Weslaco East High students.

Scan here to bring theses photos to life.

ENCORE mentor, Adrian Feria, guides a student on research methods to read human blood types. The ENCORE program integrates technology into its cur-riculum to better prepare its scholars for the Biology lessons.

Photos by Raul Garcia Jr.

If I would have had ENCORE when I was growing up. I would have learned early on that a career in architecture was not for me. I found out during my senior year that architecture was not for me.

ENCORE Mentor

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ENCORE ENGAGES thinking minds

Education is our passion. We prepare students

for college and what lies ahead. Our STEM education, cutting-edge medical

training and college-readiness expertise will ensure you won’t make your child’s

life-changing decisions alone. We’re here to help, so lets get started.

www.GetEncore.orgEmail: [email protected]

956.903.4231

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Spring 2014 // 11


From the moment Superinten-dent Dr. Ruben Alejandro saw a young mother hand her smart phone to quiet down her two

year-old at the grocery store, he knew he had to harness the power of technology and somehow use those smart phones for instruction rather than distraction.

He watched as the two year-old quickly opened his game and become engrossed with the bright screen much to the relief of his mother.

Dr. Alejandro quickly incorporated this technology into Weslaco ISD as a part of a sweeping 21st Century Learners initia-tive that embraced smart phones, laptops and iPads as tools for the emerging shift s in education.

“Students today learn diff erently,” Dr. Alejandro said. “We have to engage them and use the internet and all the technol-ogy tools we have to help them learn the content that will help make them success-ful in a career of their choice.”

When Dr. Alejandro fi rst learned about myON, he knew it was a perfect fi t for his initiative.

MyON is an interactive digital library with thousands of non-fi ction and fi ction titles that can be accessed through devices like smart phones, iPads or tablets. Stu-dents can read anytime/anywhere, 24/7. It is this feature that appealed to Dr. Alejan-dro. MyON went hand in hand with the district’s recent Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative. Th rough the initiative, students were encouraged to bring their own smart phones and other electronic devices to school and use them as part of lessons in the classrooms.

“Part of the 21st Century initiative is

Weslaco ISD implements tech-savvy reading program 24/7, anytime/anywhere learning and the myON program facilitates 24/7, anytime/anywhere reading for our students,” he said. “Our ultimate goal is to increase reading at all grade levels and even before children get to school.”

Weslaco ISD has adopted an aggres-sive campaign “Weslaco Reads…Every Child A Reader” to increase readership at all campuses. Headed by Mary Moreno, Weslaco ISD Eng-lish Language Arts/Reading Strategist, students in Pre-K through 8th grade are encouraged to take on the chal-lenge and read as many books as they can. Th is is the fi rst year the myON reading program has been included in the district’s Reading/Language Arts curriculum and the student re-sponse has been tre-mendous.

“We want all our students to read ev-ery day,” Moreno said. “With myON, students have 24/7 access to books at the palm of their hands.”

At Dr. R. E. Margo Elementary, stu-dents are busy downloading their reading material. With a swipe of his fi nger, nine year-old Luis Zuniga enters the interactive digital library and in an instant has access to thousands of books. Th e bright and

colorful images coming from the tablet soon captivate his attention.

“Th is series is very good,” he said. “It’s about a lot of mysteries. Th e author is very good.” Luis has almost read the en-tire Jason Strange collection of books. “I like it better,” he says as he points to his tablet. “It can read it to you.”

In June of 2013, myOn was fi rst in-stalled as a pilot program for students

in Pre- K through the 8th grade to in-crease reading dur-ing the summer. Th e pilot proved to be a huge suc-cess. In August, Moreno shared the data with princi-pals and they were very impressed with the number of books students were reading as well as the im-provement in their lexile scores. Th e principals wanted the program but it almost seemed im-possible to obtain this highly ben-efi cial program for

our students due to budget constraints. Dr. Alejandro met with the company representative and negotiated a greatly reduced three- year contract with myON and was also able to negotiate a three year pilot with myON that targets children zero to three year-olds free of charge for the community of Weslaco. Th is was yet

another visionary initiative of Dr. Alejan-dro’s Vision of Empowering 21st Century Learners by targeting our future students and developing literacy from prenatal to age 3, 0-3 Weslaco Reads!

To implement the myOn pilot project in the community, a meeting was held with all 23 daycare centers, three Head Start programs, the city’s public library and the local hospital.

Area daycare owners as well as, Head Start supervisors were very receptive and excited about the program.

“I’m all for it,” Linda Maupin said. “My granddaughter is only 18 months old and already knows how to use all this technology.” Maupin owns the Bess Knight Child Development and Child Care Center in Weslaco.

“MyOn will be great for them,” she said. “They will be ready when they go to school.” Currently, Maupin is incor-porating myOn in her center. More-no provided user name access and as-signed passwords to each center.

“Studies show the kids who read be-fore they attend school are more likely to graduate,” Moreno said. “The only way to get better at reading is to read more. You get better at reading and writing.” Children develop through listening speaking reading and writing, she says.

So, the biggest challenge the district faced was how to implement the pro-gram correctly.

“We wanted every single child to benefit from this investment,” Dr. Ale-jandro said. “We need to provide our students with the tools they need to be successful in life.”

Students at the Weslaco Independent School District have access to the myON reading program. It gives students 24/7 access to books with their mobile device.

Students today learn diff erently. We have to engage them and use the internet and all the technology tools we have to help them learn the content that will help make them successful in a career of their choice.”

- Dr. Ruben Alejandro

”

””

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PARENT ACADEMY FOR PARENT ACADEMY FOR SUCCESS OF SCHOOLS SUCCESS OF SCHOOLS GRADUATES FIRST CLASSGRADUATES FIRST CLASS

“It is a fantastic program and it is really “It is a fantastic program and it is really encouraging to see the parents become encouraging to see the parents become involved to further their students’ education.”involved to further their students’ education.”

- Don Vogel, - Don Vogel, Mercedes ISD Trustee President Mercedes ISD Trustee President

Spring 2014 // 13


PARENT ACADEMY FOR SUCCESS OF SCHOOLS GRADUATES FIRST CLASS


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By Raul Garcia Jr.

Eighty parents of students from Mercedes ISD completed an intensive six-week Parent Academy for Success of

Schools (PASOS) training program to help there children improve academic performance and build stronger relationships with the school district.

Mercedes School Board Trustee Don Vogel, President, said, “It is a fantastic program and it is really encouraging to see the parents become involved to furthering their students’ education.”

The Board President said the school board had been talking about a program like this to help foster parent involvement to have more successful students.

Dr. Daniel Trevino, Mercedes ISD Superintendent said, “We facilitated certain topics like personal fi nances, preparation of our students for the classroom and home. It’s part of our family engagement program. We continue to say and believe that our biggest resource are our parents.”

Parent Academy Graduates Students

School districts interested in starting a Parent Academy for Success of Schools (PASOS) program at your school district contact Giovanni Ferrigno atPh: 956-903-4231 or [email protected]

Parents who participate in the ENCORE PASOS Program learned how to create a positive and lasting educational environment at home using a number of proven academic strategies: dedicating a home study location and time of day for homework, facilitating ongoing dialogue with their children surrounding their academic successes and challenges, and discussing children’s college expectations. Parents

also learned the importance of creating a bridge between home and school; how grades are used for college admittance; what classes are important and needed for students planning to attend college; how to navigate the school system, and other vital information for the academic success of their children.

“We serve close to 6,000 students; we have ten campuses and our demographics show we have challenges in reading, mathematics and science,” Dr. Trevino said. “Having an initiative to support reading and math at home with or without the computer makes a tremendous amount of difference for students as they come to school and class.”

Classes are taught in English and Spanish by professional ENCORE PASOS facilitators, who are members of the Rio Grande Valley community. The class series culminates in a parent group meeting with the school

principals, followed by an ENCORE PASOS graduation ceremony.

Mercedes Junior High Principal Orlando Rodriguez said, “Parentgraduation is a powerful ceremony for parents who may not have a formal education or the opportunity to graduate from high school, and for their children to see their parents as graduates themselves.”

“The district’s main objective is student academic success,” said Dr. Trevino. “The school district can not do it alone. We rely on parental support and household support and family engagement.”

Mercedes ISD continues to have a huge and successful parental support program, and we continue to work together. “As long as we continue to work together with parents, we will continue to be successful academically,” Dr. Trevino said.

PASOS offers training in specifi c

U.S. Congressman Rubén Hinojosa, Mercedes Superintendent Daniel Trevino, Mercedes Board President Don Vogel and Mercedes Board Secretarty Elvia Sandoval at the PASOS Parent Academy Graduation

PASOS graduating parents (left to right) Maribel Gonzalez, Yadira Gonzalez and Juanita Izaguirre were part of a group of 80 parents who participated in a six-week parent academy training program to help their children improve their academic performance.


Spring 2014 // 15


areas relevant to parents in the college and career readiness process for their children. The overall goal of the program is to promote the meaningful interaction between parents, schools, and community in order to: improve student school attendance, improve student academic achievement and improve student behavior.

“I really like this program because I have learned a lot on how to help my children at home with their school work,” said Blanca Ortiz, a parent participant. “Coming to these sessions has helped me a lot and its very important to keep coming. PASOS has helped me be more informed with my child’s school and has helped me engage in conversation with my kids about their school activities and school work.”

“We certainly hope that these parents will take the initiative and take the challenge of pursuing a high school degree or a GED or even a

bachelors degree somewhere,” Dr. Trevino said. “The district is extremely excited about working with Texas Valley Communities Foundation and its PASOS program, and having the graduation of the parents.”

“We appreciate the sacrifi ce all the parents made to attend all six Saturday sessions,” said Rodriguez. “Their participation and what they have learned will be invaluable to us in terms of understanding and knowing how to build relationships with the staff members, the administration and the teachers.”

“We certainly feel that the PASOS Program has been a signifi cant advantage for our parents that have been involved,” Rodriguez said. “We feel it’s a valuable program, and we hope to continue in the future.”

“In a small school system like Mercedes, it’s a unique advantage to know our parents, for parents to know

us, that way the children don’t feel like they’re unknown, walking the halls randomly or just a body that takes up space,” Rodriguez said. “When we can connect a name with a family member or with a parent that we can call if need be to advise and work together in true partnership is a huge advantage that many of the large urban schools don’t have.”

A PASOS graduate, Alicia Tovar said, “Having my children see me accomplish this for them was very encouraging.”

She said the graduation was very special, touching and motivating and that the program helps student success.

By Alicia Aguillar

William Yeats said “Education is not the fi lling of a pail, but the lighting of a fi re.”

If you subscribe to this philosophy, and I do, then we need to call the fi re department because we have a fantastic blaze spreading across the Valley and the epicenter is right here in Mercedes.

Yes folks, just up the street here in Mercedes, we have a community foundation whose mission at the very core is to improve the lives of children and families in the community. Texas Valley Communities Foundation, led by Dr. Roland Arriola, has been doing this for a while but moved to Mercedes to serve the Valley from the true center.

They just completed a pilot program, Parent Academy for Success of Schools (PASOS), at fi ve schools of Mercedes ISD. The program is the fi rst of its kind in the state of Texas.

The six-week class was engaging and provided empowerment skills to these parents from Kennedy, Taylor, Hinojosa and North Elementary Schools as well as Mercedes Junior High. They shared with each other

Parent Academy for Success of Schools only one of its kind in the state of Texas

Isidro Gonzalez receiving his certifi cate from Dr. Mary Alice Reyes.

best practices that work for them as they raise their children in goal setting at home and nurturing positive relationships with their child’s teachers. Next year PASOS is going Valley wide – because it worked.

I sat down with two of the graduates as well as two facilitators who created the program for the Foundation. My conversations with moms Sonia Ali and Esmer Fonseca and facilitators Dann Garcia and Giovanni Ferrigno bounced all over the place, as I got more and more excited to hear how these classes went from both perspectives.

And I couldn’t help but wish I had the opportunity to do the same when my kids were younger. Like these moms, I too was super involved in my girl’s schools. However, what I didn’t have were the skillsets to engage parents who were not involved in the schools.

Dann and Giovanni are professional facilitators who have been working in education, business and higher education organizing and presenting professional development classes giving people skills to further their careers. They created PASOS to bring parents together to start a dialogue and a professional development class in parenting. Even the best parents need to hone their skills, especially for the 21st Century learner.

The moment I sat down with these two professionals, I could tell they love their jobs. Dann said he got more out of PASOS than he thought he would. As a parent himself, he was a facilitator and a student learning new skills with each class. Giovanni facilitated the sessions for the Spanish-speaking parents. He may not have children yet, but he lights up when speaking of the students. Like a fl ower opening its petals when the sunlight feeds the plant, these parents opened their minds to all that is possible in nurturing their children’s education.

Sonia and Esmer were happy to talk about the six-week program. They are stronger advocates for their children and both said family interaction at home increased. The benefi ts to the schools, teachers, children and community make this program a winner in their books!

The fi rst PASOS graduating class walked across the stage in their cap and gowns on March 8, 2014 at the Mercedes Early College Academy Auditorium.

Congressman Ruben Hinojosa was the keynote speaker at the event as education has been a key component in his work for the district. I think I saw a twinkle of a tear in his eye as he fondly remembered when he walked across that very stage when he graduated from Mercedes High School. The then Representative Lloyd Bentsen spoke at his graduation and confi dently stated that one of the graduates would be representing the district in Washington. Wow, was he spot-on or what?

Education on all levels is crucial to economic development and the Texas Valley Community Foundation knows it. Keep your eye on this group as they help take our community to the next level, Mercedes Style!

“There is a transformative

parent academy in California and one

in Arizona, but as far as I know the Parent Academy for Success of School is the only one of its kind in the

state of Texas.” - Congressman Rubén Hinojosa

Scan QR code to view interviews and video of the graduation.

// 16


Local Valley resident, Heriberto Reynoso, has a passion for ro-botics. He began as a young child with the artistic, architec-

tural model-building medium, LEGO. He would spend endless hours building up robots, cars, boats and buildings. He later began taking apart household appliances for parts to use on his robots. Today he is gearing up to mass produce robots for schools through his own company, Rey-botics, a hardware and service-based ro-botics company in Mercedes, Texas.

As a young enthusiast, Reynoso oft en found himself without a mentor. “Not even my teachers understood half of what I was up to. I was alone. Because of this, I mentor students and teams for robotics competitions across the nation.” Most re-cently, he has partnered with Texas Valley Communities Foundation (TVCOF) and its ENCORE program to teach students how to build robots from the ground up. Th e goal of the partnership is to bring ro-botics and STEM to the forefront of edu-cation and inspire the next generation of

Robotics Expert joins ENCORE to

deliver world-class CAMPs in the Rio

Grande ValleyBy Adriana V. Lopez

To schedule a Reybotics CAMP at your school CONTACT: Dann Garcia at 956.903.4231 Email: [email protected]

roboticists. Reynoso is determined to impact K-12

education by incorporating robotics into every day curriculum. He believes that if implemented eff ectively, robotics can transform education. Not only will it motivate and excite students through hands-on activities such as building and programming robots, but it will also aid in understanding and retention. One example is in math curriculum, “As a result [of robotics] students can visually see math concepts come to life. Most stu-dents know the concepts, but have abso-lutely no clue how to apply them to the real world,” Reynoso said, “Robotics can streamline the process.”

And Reynoso would know, he has honed his craft through numerous intern-ships with NASA. In 2009 he collaborat-ed on a project at NASA’s Jet Propolusion Laboratory in Pasedena, CA. His task was to automate the calibration for high-resolution aerial surveillance on a project known as Angel Fire, funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory. He pursued another internship with NASA in 2010 where he worked on developing an inter-face to streamline the control of a seven-foot robotic arm used to collect lunar soil samples for a proposed 2016 mission called Moon Rise. “I was quick to fall in love with the wonders of science,” Reyno-so refl ects, “Back then, I would spend ev-ery dollar on robot parts. I would save up my daily food meal money on school trips to buy tools. I had no idea this passion would land me a job at NASA developing code for Mars rovers.”

Reynoso brings all this experience and expertise to his recent partnership with TVCOF and ENCORE. He recognizes the potential for both educational and economical growth in regards to robotics and hopes to see the benefi ts right here in the Rio Grande Valley, “Robotics can and will positively impact our lives in the foreseeable future,” he said, “Robotics En-gineers earn $80-$130,000 a year. I’d like to have those jobs stay in the Valley.”

Photos by David Alvarado

Spring 2014 // 17


Heriberto Reynoso at the NASA Jet propulsion Laboratory with a test Rover similar to the Rover currently on Mars.

Robotics Engineers earn $80-$130,000 a year. I’d like to have those jobs stay in the Valley. ”

”

R

- Heriberto ReynosoCourtesy Photo

// 18


JÓVENES ENGAGED IN EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS

State Farm Youth Advisory Board (YAB) JOVENES

JOVENES participants from Edinburg North High School engage a parent in discussion on college and career readiness. One of the main missions of the program is to reach out to parents and the community to educate them on how to prepare their children for college.

Over 50 students from fi ve high schools in the Edinburg and

Edcouch-Elsa School District are actively engaged in design-ing, organizing and conduct-ing of parent and community workshops. Th ese workshops provide vital college and ca-reer readiness information in English and Spanish to students, parents and com-munity organizations. South Texas is riddled with statistics showing dismal attainment for post-secondary education. By addressing parental and

family engagement, this ser-vice-learning project directly addresses the most important component in a student’s ed-ucation and helps families set college and career readiness as the number one priority for their children. “JOVENES Youth Leaders advocate for a Bi-lingual and Bi-cultural awareness of college and ca-reer readiness, this helps to fi ll a big void by providing par-ents with relevant strategies and information on the value of post-secondary education,” states Eva Torres, Principal at Edinburg Robert Vela High

School. By working together with print, TV and radio me-dia as well “grass-roots” orga-nizations and social media, JOVENES eff orts have assist-ed other South Texas school districts by sharing peer-to-peer student presentations and technology information tools needed to address many fi rst generation parents and community members.

Scan QR code to view photos and video of this program.

Spring 2014 // 19


State Farm Insurance presented a check to Texas Valley Communites Foundation to promote education in the RGV. Standing are TVCOF President Dr. Roland Arriola, State Farm Agent Julian Garza, State Farm Youth Advosory Board Member Hector Graza, Congressman Ruben Hinojosa, State Farm Agent Ruben Cardenas, State Farm Regional Sales Leader Clovis Guevara and TVCOF Sr. Vice President Gilbert Maldonado.

“JOVENES is one of three unique grants that are

geared specifi cally to Hispanic fi rst

-generation education, and

the only grant to off er education to Spanish-Speaking

parents.”

Photo by David Alvarado

Robert Vela students promoting college and career readiness at the Career Expo. They are one of fi ve schools participating in the JOVENES program in Edinburg, TX.

- Hector GarzaState Farm National

Youth Advisory Board Member

// 20


NURES GARRETT

Imagine you are a middle or high school student in one of the Valley schools. You go to class and you come face-to-face with a life-sized, computer-controlled man-

nequin. But unlike the mannequins you may have seen in the past, this particular mannequin sneezes, bleeds, sweats and can even have a heart attack!

With a push of a button on an iPad, one of your fellow students makes the mannequin, or Human Patient Simulator (HPS) as it is called, sweat, ooze fake blood, and even vomit some oatmeal.

Some of the HPS mannequins are modeled after men, women, children and infants. There is even one that is made to look like a four-year-old, right down to the baby teeth.

Until now, access to these sophisticated robot-ized human patients has been limited to medical students or students attending a nursing college. For the first time ever in the United States, these human patient simulators are now available to be used by middle and high school students through a partnership between the Texas Valley Communi-ties Foundation and participating Valley school

districts. The Human Pato local schools under thCindy Garrett, a B.S.N.,Students are provided weducation experiences inenvironment.

Human simulators likestudents to interact in reThe computerized “patiebreathe, talk to students,questions regarding whe

The Texas Valley Com

Valley Students Get HTraining on Human

The instructional use of the Human Patient Simulators is supervised by Nurse Cindy Garrett, a B.S.N., R.N. certifi ed teacher.

By Dr. Roland Arriola

Spring 2014 // 21


tient Simulators are taken he supervision of Nurse R.N. certified teacher.

with hands-on healthcare n a safe and controlled

e “Hal” and “Suzie” help al-life medical situations.

ent” has a heartbeat, can , and respond to their

ere he/she is feeling pain.mmunities Foundation

MEDITEC project is designed to supplement the existing biology curriculum materials in meeting state standards at local schools and to target con-cepts and skills that prepare students for biology and a pathway for healthcare or STEM careers.

The Texas Valley Communities Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization located in Mercedes, Texas, was established in 2003 as a founding affiliate of the U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Group, a bi-national organization of community foundations dedicated to serving their local communities.

Hands-On Healthcare Patient Simulators

For more information on how your school can participate in this program, please call Dann Garcia at 956-903-4231 or email him at [email protected].

www.GetEncore.org

// 22


The MEDITEC project is designed to supplement the existing biology curriculum materials in meeting state standards at local schools and to target concepts and skills that prepare students for biology and a pathway for healthcare or STEM careers. For more information on how to schedule a MEDITEC Medical Mobile Unit visit to your school district, please contact: Dann Garcia, Senior Vice-President for ENCORE, at 956-903-4231, Email: [email protected]

Now on the Road to Rio Grande Valley SchoolsThe MEDITEC Medical Mobile Unit...

Photo by David Alvarado

Spring 2014 // 23


What prompted your district to create this program?

Our district acknowledges and un-derstands that technology is incorpo-rated into education to enhance rather than over shadow highly effective teaching. Our Internet Cafés were de-veloped with the focus to offer students a technology rich (computers, iPads, and Nooks) and a productive work en-vironment with additional printing re-sources during, before and after school hours. The environment was designed to be similar to the ones offered at colleges and universities to provide students with similar experience. An-other reasoning behind the launch was to encourage our students to enter our campus libraries or Information Lit-eracy Centers, ILCs. Along with our students, this initiative would allow our teachers to have an environment to

try our new digital devices in efforts to increase usage in the classroom.

How did this program provide solutions?

Our Internet Cafés and their accompa-nying digital lounge areas were designed to provide high school students with an outlet to access technology-rich resourc-es and serve as a drawing card to attract new users (both teachers and students) to the ILC environment and its services. To accommodate our students’ availability, the Cafes’ hours were extended to before and after school to address the needs of our students. The Cafés were opened last spring in two of our comprehensive high schools, and with the opening of our new Dr. Abraham P. Cano Freshman Acad-emy, the third Internet Café was opened this fall. This partnership took advan-tage of two departments and their unique strengths. The district’s Child Nutrition

Department manages the food and drink portion to ensure that the Cafés offerings are in compliance with nutrition guide-lines. The Library Services Department manages the print and digital resources the Cafés offer. Overall, the solutions were offered by utilizing the district’s growing digital initiatives and our exist-ing departments and offerings.

What was your Board’s leadership role in this program?

Our Board of Trustees was instrumental in the development of the Internet Cafés as they supported the initiative and were frequently consulted for their ideas and input. They reviewed presentations and the logistics of the Café, which included its layout, hours of operation and the ser-vices provided. After the Cafés opening, the Board remained dedicated to their

support and has frequently referenced theCafés when discussing the pieces of our district’s transformation. Their supportcontinues as they have used two of our Cafés as meeting sites for discussing dis-trict initiatives.

Please describe the results of your program.

The launch was met with great support from our students and staff. Our LibraryMedia Specialists saw an immediategrowth of our student population duringand after school hours, and increased us-age of ILC resources. Teachers also uti-lized the space to conduct lessons andoffer their students an innovative way to engage work. Our community was verysupportive and local media offered posi-tive coverage on multiple occasions.

HARLINGEN OPENS INTERNET CAFÉS AT HIGH SCHOOLSInternet Cafés and their accompanying digital lounge areas are designed to provide high school students with an outlet to access technology-rich resources

// 24


SCAN HEREor go to our website for exclusive footage about the MEDITEC program.

LEFT: Logan McCutchenRIGHT: Ruben GarciaCENTER: Brent Estebillo


Spring 2014 // 25


By Raul Garcia Jr.

Be e p … B e e p … B e e p … Beeeeeeeeeep was all a group of 9th grade students heard as they stood in front of a medical stretcher as

a cold, lifeless body laid before them. Instinctively reacting to the situation, one student rhythmically performed the thirty compressions to the heart while another, reaching for a respirator, stood waiting to apply the two breaths needed for ventilation. This went on for a couple of rounds until fi nally a heart rate returned. Applause rang though the classroom as their peers celebrated the revival of the human patient simulator that visited their class that day.

“ENCORE is taking this to other high schools that are not so health related and it gives students who have an idea of whether they want to be in the medical fi eld a better idea if they want to do this,” said Brent Estabillo, a pre-med student.

The Pre-Med student said taking these activities and exposing the simulators to the students is a great idea.

“Since I was small I have always wanted to be a nurse,” said Ingrid Luna, Mercedes High School Freshman. “I have always wanted to work in a hospital and this program in some sort of way actually

MEDITEC off ers hands-on experience in medical and health career professions

got me thinking that I actually do want to do this when I grow up because it’s exciting.”

For six months now, the Texas Valley Communities Foundation (TVCOF) has been providing hands-on medical experiences to students across the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) through the Medical Innovation Technology Center (MEDITEC). “MEDITEC was designed to not only motivate students for medical careers, but also provide them

an opportunity to engage in relevant experiences tied to the content they are learning in their science courses everyday,” explained Dann Garcia, Senior Vice-President of Engaging Communities for College and Career Readiness (ENCORE). He continued,

“We want to help students to understand that they are walking examples of science.”

La Sara Biology Instructor, David Cantu, said that class work is a lot of paperwork and the MEDITEC activities are bringing the classroom activities to life. “This is a fun stepping out of the ordinary from an everyday come to class kind of thing.”

Hal & Suzie have medical recognition software that allows the robots to recognize specifi c symptoms and

medications. The simulators are controlled by a tablet that has pre-loaded scenarios, voices and palette’s that can be used to develop individualized scenarios. The tablet shows the robots heart rate, respiration, carbon dioxide, oxygen levels and body temperature.

“The tablet can make Hal have a seizure, you can intubate him, trache him, put a foley on him and you bring him back to life,” said Darcie Ramirez, MEDITEC logistics coordinator. She also states, “The tablet lets you know if you are doing CPR the right way or the wrong way.”

The design of the MEDITEC curriculum and experience is a collaborative effort between the science departments of each school district that MEDITEC services and Nurse Cindy Garrett RN, BSN, a Registered Nurse and certifi ed health science teacher with over 20 years of experience in a hospital setting and 10 years in a classroom. Nurse Garrett serves as the Program Director for MEDITEC and leads more than 20 Pre-Medical University mentors in educating students throughout the RGV. “My fi rst tracheostomy care was performed on a real person when I was training to become a nurse,”exclaimed Garrett. “If I had an opportunity to practice with this type of simulation before heading out into a hospital setting, I would have been more confi dent about what I was doing,” she added.

MEDITEC meets with students once a month to reinforce the core science curricular concepts that students are learning in the classroom. Through hands-on medical simulation labs, students are able to experience their science content in a whole new way. “I learned a lot of biology like DNA and RNA, a lot of stuff I didn’t know and it really helped me a lot to understand it more with all this hands-on stuff,” noted Orlando Rodriguez, 9th grade student in La Sara, TX.

Weslaco ISD Junior Yanelly Lopez worked with a group learning about human vital signs, blood pressure and refl exes. Next, she moved on to another MEDITEC activity and had the opportunity to perform CPR on Hal along with another student and was able to bring Hal back to life.

“You have to make sure that you are giving enough pressure to the heart to push that blood out of the heart and bring blood into the heart,” said Nurse Garrett. “If a patient does not receive oxygen to the brain within four to six minutes it can cause brain damage.”

Joyce Garcia, a Weslaco East, Freshman said that MEDITEC activities were awesome and a great way of learning. “I know I want to do something in the medical fi eld but I just don’t know what,” Garcia said. “It’s really cool that we get to use the simulator at this age, usually only college students get to use them.”

Santa Rosa freshman, Anisa Perez, said that MEDITEC really makes her feel like she can take on a career in medicine. “All the program are really helping me in my biology class,” Perez said.

Helping students master core science concepts is only one aspect of the program. MEDITEC is currently offering certifi cations for high school students and mini-medical summer camps for middle school students. With the upcoming medical school opening in the Rio Grande Valley soon, MEDITEC is certainly a resource for making sure that our RGV students will be ready for careers in the medical fi eld.

“I have always wanted to work in a hospital and this program, in some sort of way, actually got me thinking that I do want to do this when I grow up because it’s exciting. ”

””Through MEDITEC, students in the Rio Grande Valley engage in life-like scenarios that health care providers go through with patients. The aim of the program is to give students medical training and preparation for the future medical school planned for the RGV.

GET MEDITEC FOR YOUR SCHOOL, CONTACT DANN GARCIA 956.903.4231 // [email protected]

// 26


emphasizing that programs like NEA’s Read Across America add energy to ex-isting reading initiatives and show stu-dents they have the support of outside groups.

Donna TSTA/NEA local president Lin-da Estrada said, “This was an awesome opportunity for the students and staff at Rivas Elementary. Hopefully we can

continue this celebration going annuallyacross the district.”

Brissia Quintanilla, a kindergarten stu-dent, shared, “I like to read because it’sfun and my favorite book is The Cat inthe Hat,” which worked out well becauseshe, along with over 200 other studentswho participated in the reading eventat Rivas Elementary received their owncopy, along with other goodies.

In Donna, which is less than ten milesfrom the U.S.-Mexican border, resourcesare limited. In fact, the nearest bookstore is a thirty-minute drive outside oftown. Haecker said that “people in southTexas don’t have access to a lot of librar-ies or books, and the association has tak-en a leadership position on this issue andis working to bring in as many resourcesas we can to help our students.”

On Monday, February 24, 2014, students from two elementary schools in Hi-dalgo County received a special treat from local,

state and national guests who read books from the beloved author Dr. Seuss. The event was part of the 17th anniversary of the National Educa-tion Association’s a w a r d - w i n n i n g Read Across Ameri-ca literacy program.

The First stop on the tour was to M. Rivas Elementary School in Donna, TX, which serves more than 600 stu-dents. One look down the school halls would give anyone a clear indication that students and school staff are seri-ous about reading. Walls were plastered with posters promoting super star read-ers who are turning pages and have a goal of reading one million words for the school year.

Guest readers at Rivas were NEA Ex-ecutive Committee Member Princess Moss, who read The Cat in the Hat, as well as State Board of Education repre-sentative Ruben Cortez and Texas State Rep. Armando Martinez who joined in on the celebration reading Green Eggs and Ham. Other special guests included

Texas State Teach-ers Association (TSTA) President Rita Haecker, TSTA Vice President Noel Candelaria, Linda L. Estrada, Donna STA/NEA local president, Efren Ceniceros, school board member An-

gel Magallanes, school board member Rene Reyna, Interim Superintendent of Schools, Fernando Castillo, Assst. Supt. of Support Services as well as other members of the community.

Principal Gregorio Arrellano said, “We need to get students excited about learning, and it all starts with reading,”

NEA’s Read Across America Kicks Off in Donna ISD

Brissia Quintanilla, a kindergarten student, shared, “I like to read because it’s fun and my favorite book is The Cat in the Hat.”

Students and staff gather for a group photo after celebrating the beloved Dr. Seuss children’s books. .

Students at M. Rivas Elementary School in Donna participate in NEA’s Read Across America.

By Brenda AlvarezDonna ISD

One look down the school halls would give anyone a clear indication that students and school staff are serious about reading.

””””

Spring 2014 // 27


Recently, after the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl, NFL Quarter-back, Russell Wilson was quoted as asking his teammates, “Why Not

Us, Why Can’t We Do That”. He told a news reporter that through teamwork and dedication, the Seattle Seahawks won the national cham-pionship. This is the same mentality that Edu-ardo Infante, Superintendent in Lyford CISD, possesses when he talks about the small rural school district he serves in South Texas. With about 1600 students enrolled in this small school district, he asked his administrative team, “Why Not Us” and the Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century Program was born. Lyford CISD is located in Willacy County about 40 miles north of the Texas-Mexico border. In this district, 84% of students are Economically Disad-vantaged, 53% are At Risk and 10% are English Lan-guage Learners. Despite the economic downfalls for schools in Texas, Lyford CISD created a new vision of what classrooms would look like to serve students who are learn-ing in the 21st Century. Th is cultural change prompted Mr. Infante to take a comprehensive plan to the school board in the spring of 2013, and with their full support and approval, the 21st Century culture change began for Lyford CISD.

In September 2013, the district began the deployment of almost 1600 iPads to stu-dents across the district. In grades 1-5, every student received an iPad mini and in grades 6-12 every student received an iPad 3. Th is was

the fi rst time that students in Lyford CISD had access to technology 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Th is state of the art program has allowed students access to educational content when they need it and has provided teachers ac-cess to curriculum that is up

to date with fl exibility to be innovative in the delivery of instruction. Th e focus of TL21 is to ensure that students are prepared to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing digital world. Lyford CISD is com-mitted in ensuring that all students are able to connect globally and explore diff erent perspec-

tives in learning. Th is initiative is currently providing students with the opportunities to become critical thinkers, problem solvers, communicators, collaborators, creators and responsible digital citizens. Recently, Lyford CISD applied for an Exem-plars Grant through Educate Texas and the Texas Education Agency and was awarded $75,000 to expand this venture by provid-ing teachers with training and impacting the community by providing Wi-Fi on 8 of the 15 school buses and 3 free Wi-Fi access points in two City Parks and one within the district. With 86 years left in the 21st Century, the dis-trict is committed to providing students with high quality education that integrates tech-nology into their daily learning experiences, providing STEM opportunities throughout the curriculum and motivating students to pursue post-secondary degree opportunities in careers that are rich in technological advances.

Lyford creates new vision with iPads in class

The focus of TL21 is to ensure that students are prepared to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing digital world.

In the spring of 2013, Lyford Superintendant Mr. Eduardo Infante created a comprehensive plan to distribute 1600 iPads to students across the district

Latino Education Magazine is on Social Media!www.LatinoeDUCATIONmag.com

””””

ological advances.

Lyford students have some fun with thier newly-issued iPads. The iPads were distributed as part of Lyford’s TL21 initiative.

// 28


The Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District, or PSJA as it is most commonly known, has rapidly become the go-to district at the state and national levels after launch-

ing its College3 initiative (All students: College Ready, College Connected and College Complete.™) four years ago. This initiative refl ects the district’s educational philosophy and goal of scaling up a network of Early College High Schools to connect every single student to college by giving them the opportunity to earn at least 12 college hours or an Associate Degree before their high school graduation.

PSJA ISD has taken extraordinary measures to ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve aca-demically and to graduate. Currently, PSJA has almost 3,000 high school students enrolled in college courses every semester through dual and concurrent enrollment programs thanks to the district’s partnership with South

Texas College and the University of Texas-Pan Ameri-can. The number of students graduating with an Associ-ate Degree or Certifi cate is also increasing annually.

“We are happy to provide post-secondary opportuni-ties to our students while they are in high school,” said Dr. Daniel P. King, PSJA Superintendent. “Students can fi nish their fi rst two years of college at no cost to them or their parents before they graduate from high school. This does not only give students a head start to their college education, but it also provides a solid founda-tion that will help them continue to be successful at the college level.”

PSJA ISD students can pursue certifi cates and/or two-year degrees they are interested in based on stu-dent surveys taken their freshman year of high school. Students have received degrees in Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Math, Computer Science and Interdisci-plinary Studies.

PSJA: The Go-to District aft er Launching its College3 Initiative

PSJA student utilizes technology to prepare for academic road ahead.

In a world where opportunities for those without a college education are declining and where changing demographics are challenging the educational system’s ability to keep up with ever higher expectations, PSJA ISD is determined to provide answers that can be scaled and replicated. Across the nation, key educational lead-ers and stakeholders have taken note of the remarkable changes in PSJA. The district hosts many visitors every month from within Texas and other states like Oregon, New Mexico, North Carolina, Alaska and Hawaii.

“The PSJA ISD team has developed innovative solu-tions and best practices that can help solve some of the most serious challenges facing this community, the state and the nation,” Dr. King said. “We are happy to share our work with others so they too can help their students excel and improve the educational levels within their community.”

Many prestigious journals and news outlets have highlighted PSJA ISD’s efforts for successfully grad-uating more students prepared for college and the workforce.

This initiative refl ects the district’s educational philosophy and goal of scaling up a network of Early College High Schools to connect every single student to college by giving them the opportunity to earn at least 12 college hours or an Associate Degree before their high school graduation.

Photo by Lisa Krantz for Education Week

Latino Education Magazine is ONLINE!


PSJA Superintendent Dr. Daniel P. King has served for the last 15 years, King was recently named the 2013 Texas Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators.

Spring 2014 // 29


La Feria ISD One of Five Schools with Nursing Program

CISD, and South Texas High School for Medi-cal Professions (Med High).

The district is very fortunate to have Mrs. Re-becca Ramirez, MSN, RN. Having the certifi ca-tion to teach the course is complicated enoughbut having the certifi cations to run a program is almost impossible to fi nd qualifi ed candidates. Mrs. Ramirez has been an instructor of HealthScience for 12 years. She is licensed to prac-tice as a Registered Nurse in Texas and has a Master’s of Science degree in Nursing Educa-tion and her Bachelors of Science in Nursing Degree conferred by The University of Texasat Brownsville. Mrs. Ramirez has started a pro-gram for her PhD in Nursing education.

La Feria I.S.D. Administrators’ and the Health Science Instructor’s goal is for students to receive instruction in the area of health in-formatics to promote student college readiness and preparation for the world of work.

Nursing Assistant students will perform the clinical component at La Hacienda Health Care Nursing Center

In previous years, students were bused to the TSTC campus to receive training and education in the CNA Program but this year La Feria ISD students will receive

all training on our campus. This program is certifi ed through The Nurse Aide Training and Competency Program (NACEPT) in conjunc-tion with the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program (NNAAP) and Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services. The Medical Offi ce Assistant Program is certifi ed through the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT).

Nursing Assistant students will perform the clinical component at La Hacienda Health Care Nursing Center and the Medical Offi ce Assistant students will perform the clinical component at Valley Baptist Medical Center and at Su Clinica Familiar in Harlingen.

The Health Science Pathway consists of the

following courses: Principles of Health Sci-ence (foundation course; 9th grade), Medical Terminology (introduction to medical terms, prefi xes, roots & suffi xes; 9th grade), Health Science Technology (Anatomy/Physiology, Medical Disorders; 10th grade), Practicum I (preparation of students to care for hospital-ized patients; 11th grade) and Nursing Assis-tant and Medical Offi ce Assistant (Practicum II; 12 grade).

Upon successful completion of Nursing As-sistant and Medical Offi ce Assistant courses, candidates will be eligible to sit in for the re-spective State Nursing Assistant and National Offi ce Assistant examinations. Student certi-fi cations for both courses will be issued upon successful results of exams.

Approximately three school districts other than La Feria ISD are offering Health Science Certifi cations: (Brownsville ISD, San Benito

This academic year marks the fi rst year that La Feria High School will showcase their very own in-house Nursing Assistant and Medical Offi ce Assistant Program.

// 30


By Raul Garcia Jr.

“Today was awesome, I like that we are making a robotic hand,”said Mikey Davila, Edcouch-Elsa

Ybarra Middle School.

For the past six years students have been meeting on Saturdays to learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and now medicine.

“I’m thinking of being a heart or brain surgeon,” said Jaime Garcia of Liberty Middle School. “They made it fun to learn anatomy and I think it was interesting learning where the kidneys, arteries, brain and heart are.”

Engaging Communities for College Readiness (ENCORE) makes an effort to make an extension of the classroom. The activities reinforce many parts of the curriculum and gives students a better understanding of the concepts with hands on experience.

“Obviously the ENCORE program is doing a really good job of bringing in things like human simulators and

applications on the iPad that students can use to see the bigger picture than what they are getting in the classroom,” said Daniel Hinojosa, Weslaco East Biology teacher. “They are able to take that knowledge that they are gaining and implement it by using something that is more realistic, more real life and it makes a connection for them.”

The ENCORE Career Awareness and Mentorship (CAMPs) were implemented with hands-on activities

designed to increase college and career readiness throughout the Rio Grande Valley. The ENCORE Program has worked with local school districts and has provided college readiness mentoring to more than 5,000 at-risk middle and high school students.

“We are learning about careers in engineering and learning what engineers do,” said Eric Reyes, Edcouch-Elsa Truan student. “The ENCORE program is very important to me because I know its going to be important for me in the future when I go to college”

Angelic Hernandez, a freshman at Santa Rosa High School, said, “ I thought the activities were very interesting. I learned how to do CPR and how to work with the technology that is available.” He also said the activites were fun, and he enjoyed learning with his classmates.He had not been involved in making such a project since elementary when he was part of the after school science club. Sanchez says he wants to become an architect engineer and design rotating towers.

ENCOREMotivates Studentsto Engage in STEM



Spring 2014 // 31


“I like the ENCORE Program because you get to learn about all kinds of science and engineering and especially because you get to make projects that are fun,” Sanchez said.

This year marks the 5th anniversary of the Engaging Communities for College Readiness Career Awareness and Mentorship Program (ENCORE CAMP). Seven years ago the Texas Valley Communities Foundation was approached by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct a research study on the Rio Grande Valley’s perception of college readiness. Faculty from Rice University, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Texas-Pan American collaborated to survey over 3000 high school and college students, parents, teachers, and business and community leaders on their perception of college readiness. This effort yielded Understanding the Perception of College Readiness in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, a comprehensive report

that gave birth to the ENCORE CAMPs. “Today was awesome; I like that we are making a robotic

hand,” said Mikey Davila of Edcouch-Elsa Ybarra Middle School.

Amanda Luna, a six grade student, said the robotic project was a little bit diffi cult, but it was very fun. She said the ENCORE CAMP is really fun and that the ENCORE mentors are very helpful.

“It was really fun connecting all the pieces and using all the tools to make the mouse trap car,” said Aurreliso Sanchez.

PSJA LBJ Middle School students build race cars made from common materials. On Saturdays, students from schools throughout the Rio Grande Valley participate in activites that stimulate a love of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

”

”


// 32


Students win Verizon Innovative App Award

Cassandra Baquero, Grecia Cano, Caitlyn Gonzalez, Kayleen Gonzalez, Janessa Leija, and Jacqueline Garcia Torres – earned a Best in Region Award in the second annual Verizon Innovative App Challenge.

Healthcare is the largest and fastest-growing industry in the United States. Sharyland High School offers a Health Science course that is designed to provide for the develop-

ment of advanced knowledge and skills related to a wide variety of health careers.

Sharyland High School students receive hands-on ex-periences for continued knowledge and skill develop-ment while job shadowing at Rio Grande Regional Hos-pital. Students also learn and practice skills that prepare them for diverse post high school education and training opportunities, from apprenticeships and two-year college

programs to four-year college and graduate programs. Last July, Health Science teacher, Cynthia Aldape,

was honored with the Diamond Teacher of the Year State Award for the second time. The award was pre-sented to Aldape because her Pharmacy and IV Tech-nician programs at Sharyland High School had a 100% passing rate on their State Exams. “Our students re-ceive ‘real-world’ practical experience through inter-active labs and activities that better prepare them to enter the Healthcare fi eld at a technician level.” said Aldape. The Kaduceus Pharmacy Technician Pro-gram, Instructed by Aldape, is a 180 hour course that

Los Fresnos Resaca Middle School students helping visually-impaired friend

I nspired by their visually-impaired friend, Andres Salas, a group of six Resaca Middle School girls has made their school proud by earning a Best in Re-gion Award in the second annual Verizon Innova-

tive App Challenge.Th e national program is aimed at boosting students’

interest in science, technology, engineering and math-ematics. Resaca will now receive a $5,000 cash grant for its school.

Th eir app concept, called Hello Navi, is designed to assist a visually impaired person to navigate inside a building. It integrates a variety of digital tools such as a compass, scanner, VoiceOver, optical braille readers, and Google indoor navigation technology.

Th e design has been set up to guide Andres around the halls of Resaca Middle School. Student teams from across the country submitted more than 770 app concepts. Nearly 1,300 teams entered the contest.

Sharyland High Sharyland High School Prepares School Prepares

Students for Students for Careers in Careers in

Health CareHealth Care

provides students with skills and habits that will guide them closer to their future job in the Pharmacy fi eld.

The benefi cial factor about this program is that students acquire real medical experience, which is a huge advantage for students who want to break into the fi eld. Not only that, but the hands-on-approach could bring clarity to an unsure mind. A student can decide whether he or she wants to pursue the medical fi eld or not.

Nevertheless, the Health Science course allows stu-dents to encounter actual medical situations and learn outside of the classroom.

Our students receive ‘real-world’ practical experience through interactive labs and activities that bett er prepare them to enter the Healthcare fi eld at a technician level.

Sharyland High School students receive hands-on training and job shadowing as part of health science course at Rio Grande Regional Hospital.

Spring 2014 // 33


www.khanacademy.org/sat

Students taking the SAT in 2014/15 can start practicing today with hundreds of previously unreleased Math, Reading, and Writing questions from real SATs and more than 200 videos that show step-by-step solutions to each question.

loved ones and articles that he authored for the popular San Antonio daily, La Prensa. All the while, he would record what one usually fi nds in war diaries,

the horrible fi ght-ing and appalling deaths, the fear among huddled soldiers trying to avoid the deadly cannonade, the longing for peace, the unforgettable bonds that the doughboys es-tablished among themselves, the c o n v e r s a t i o n s of home, and so forth. Sáenz did this for sixteenth months and only missed four daily entries between 1918 and 1919.

His diary was also signifi cant

because of the striking observations that he made regarding the signifi cance of the war as an experience that would al-low Mexican Americans to advance the fi ght for equal rights. Over and over again, he would point out that it was necessary for Mexican soldiers to make the ultimate sacrifi ce on the battlefi elds

so that future generations could claim equal rights. He would also say that the fi ght against totalitarian rule in Europe was like the cause against undemocratic practices in the United States and that this gave Mexican civil rights leaders the moral right to challenge segregation and discrimination at home. Finally, he pro-claimed that the true Americans were the civil rights activists who promoted and embraced the defi ning democratic prin-ciples in the foundational US documents like the Constitution. He implemented these ideas as a co-founder (1929) and major fi gure in the history of the League of United Latin American Citizens be-tween the 1930s and the 1950s.

Th e well-known San Antonio publish-ing house, Artes Gráfi cas, published the 298-page diary in 1933 as Los México-Americanos en la Gran Guerra y Su Con-tingente en Pro de la Democracia, La Humanidad, y La Justicia. Most of the copies of the book remained in Mexican homes—public and university libraries apparently took little interest in purchas-ing it. Now available for wider distribu-tion, the diary will no doubt establish José de la Luz Sáenz as a leading and prescient luminary emerging out of the Mexican American community of the twentieth century.

And so it was with the life of José de la Luz Sáenz, who was born into an almost destitute Mexi-can American family in

the rural community of Realitos, Texas in 1888 and came to achieve the great distinction of authoring and publishing a WWI diary, the only work of its kind written by a Mexican American and one of the very few personal accounts pub-lished by a U.S. serviceman in all the ma-jor wars. We now have available a taste of the life of Sáenz, thanks to Emilio Zamo-ra, History Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He has edited and co-translated the diary that now appears as Th e World War I Diary of José de la Luz Sáenz, as a 2014 Texas A&M University Press imprint.

Aft er a hardscrabble life in Realitos, the family moved to Alice so that Sáenz and his siblings could attend the better schools of Alice. Saenz attended the local high school as well as two private Mexi-can schools, aft er which he began to teach children during the day and adults in the evening in a nearby settlement of railroad workers’ families, named El Palo del Oso.

Th is is how Sáenz began a teaching ca-reer of over 40 years in schools from Cen-tral and South Texas. According to family lore, he moved frequently between schools because he continuously critiqued the segregation of Mexican children and drew

the ire of offi cials, especially in Central Texas where the problem was most severe. When he died in 1953, he had taught all grades in thirty public schools and served as a principal in el-ementary schools and high schools in the Texas com-munities of La Joya, Benavides, Oilton, and McAllen.

Sáenz was teach-ing in San Agustín, a town outside Pleasanton, when the United States entered the war and President Woodrow Wilson announced the registration of able-bodied men for military ser-vice. Although he was exempted from service because of his age (29) and his status as the head of a household with children, Sáenz volun-teered and served in the 360th Infantry Regiment of the 90th (Texas-Oklahoma) Division.

While at the front, Sáenz recorded thoughts and observations in what-ever kind of paper that he could get his hands on. He also collected letters to his

The WORLD WAR I DIARY ofJOSÉ DE LA LUZ SÁENZ

Edited and with an Introduction by

Emilio ZamoraTranslated by Emilio Zamora with Ben Maya

The World War I Diary of J. Luz Sáenz

The book was edited by Dr. Emilio Zamora, Associate Professor at UT Austin

// 34


I joined Video Game Design to explore what career options were available for creatives like me and found that game development is in my future.Giovanni Gutierrez, Economedes High School Junior

iMacs that most students have also never used before.”

The fi rst few weeks of school involves the students navigating around the Mac OS (operating system) and learning basics like opening, saving, quitting apps along with how to properly eject external devic-es. Students learn to leave their comfort zone and seem to pick up the new OS at ease. Their ability to adapt to new tech-nology is attributed to the fact that they belong to a generation of digital natives.

Once the basics are out of the way the students begin to work with each of the software they will be using in class. Ado-be’s Creative Suite (currently CS6) al-lows students to play the role of graphics designer by working with graphics soft-ware like Photoshop and Illustrator. Stu-dents use these to create and edit graph-ics for their games including characters, backgrounds, menu buttons, etc.

The students learn how to manage graph-ic fi les and also different fi le types that are optimal for mobile games for best perfor-mance. Students are encouraged to use a vector program like Adobe Illustrator for logos and game graphics. The students be-come music composers using Apple’s Ga-rageBand to mix and create musical loops that they will use in their games for menu and stage music, intro songs, and sound ef-fects.

“Our students live in a world where their questions are instantly answered by a few clicks of a mouse or a few swipes of their fi nger,” Hernandez said. “They are accustomed to use sites like Google for anything and everything including searching for and downloading photos.”

Most students assume that if an image is on the Internet that it’s free to use and that is not correct. Part of the class involves covering copyright laws and work ethic practices for video game design and Web technologies.

Students learn how to fi lter their searches to only search for, “free-to-use, share or modify, even commercially,” us-age rights images. They also learn how to search to see if the indie game design company they have come up with has not already been taken. Students learn the dif-ference between copyrighting, trademark-ing and registered services and products.

Most recently, the students have com-pleted two games that have the potential to become a popular choice in Apple’s App Store. One such game, “Storm Es-cape,” follows a pilot who has to fl y a

The face of gaming has changed. It is no longer entertainment that nerdy types spend hours playing. Today’s gaming lends

itself to “Edutainment,” i.e., entertain-ment designed to be educational. Kids’ games are being developed to not only entertain children, but to educate them.

At Edinburg CISD, CTE students have the opportunity to sign up for Mr. James Hernandez’s Video Game Design class, a one semester introductory course into video game design. What they learn dur-ing the semester can open their minds to career options they may want to pur-sue. Career options range from Game Developer, Game Designer, Program-mer, Graphics Designer, Producer, Mu-sic Mixer, Mobile App Developer, and Animator. Video Game Design aligns with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Students are expected to demonstrate full knowledge of the tech-nical requirements of the video game industry and demonstrate proper infor-mation acquisition that will assist them to solve problems when working in the career fi eld of their choice.

The Video Game Design course is in its third year at Edinburg CISD. First year enrollment was low because the class was called Computer Programming, a name that didn’t appeal to students. When the name of the course was changed to Video Game Design, word got around the four high schools and class numbers soared. By the third year (2013-2014), additional computers and tables have been added to the classroom to accommodate the new students. Students are bused in to the CTE building at South Middle School from their home schools: Edinburg High School, Edinburg North HS, Robert Vela HS, and Johnny Economedes HS. The combined class group encourages a fun classroom rivalry environment where each school aims to “one-up” each other in gameplay and design.

“Most students entering my course have had little to no experience with graphics software like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator CS6, music creation soft-ware like GarageBand and especially with game design software like Game-Salad,” said Hernandez. “The classroom is equipped with top-of-the-line, 27inch

Edinburg CTE students learning the rigor of developing video games

”Edinburg CISD teacher, James Hernandez, with his Video Game Design students.

dangerous mission through a thunder and lighting storm. The objective is to use touch buttons on the iPad to scroll the airplane right or left to avoid storm clouds and lighting as the plane fl ies. The player tries to see how long they can sur-vive and is in competition to beat their own time.

Another game called “Robot Shootout” is a multi-player game that puts the players in birds-eye view of a battle arena where two ro-bots are controlled using multi-player touch controls on the iPad. Players are situated across one another on the iPad and play fac-ing their opponents. This was a unique game-play that a team of two made to change up the way players interacted with each other. The objective here is to beat your opponent by de-stroying their robot before they destroy yours. This game keeps high score and also features multiple worlds and arenas to fi ght in.

Hernandez’s ultimate goal for the class is to have an advanced gaming class so that students from fi rst year can continue to build on their skills technical and game developing skills to make “Edutainment” apps/games for the school district.

“I am a big believer in edutainment (computer games, with an educational aspect) in the classroom. Our class, in collaboration with other classes, will work on creating learning games for each subject that will follow the TEKS and enhance learning in the class-room.” Hernandez said that students can use these games to prepare for ex-ams or to brush up on their skills.

Spring 2014 // 35


Dance Fever in Brownsville makes Ballroom Dancing Hot ElectiveBrownsville ISD has grown

well beyond simply offering band, choir, and theatre as ex-tra-curricular choices. A state

leader in fi ne arts education, the district is enjoying growing popularity and partici-pation in ballroom dancing.

National interest in a television pro-gram that promotes dance performances has been the catalyst for Brownsville’s own version of “Dancing with the Stars.” The district’s annual showcase event in mid-May known as the “Red Hot Ball-room Dance Program” is a highlight for students, parents, and community mem-bers interested in Brownsville fi ne arts.

Growth of the district’s popular ball-

room program has been steady since it began in 2007. In the fi rst year, 300 fi fth grade students from 10 elementary schools took a bold, initial step. Then, they took another step, and a couple of more steps. Before they knew it, they were dancing. From those humble begin-nings, the program has grown to almost 1,000 talented dancers in grades 5-12 rep-resenting 42 campuses.

The model for instruction in the ballroom program is the Fred Astaire Dance Technique. The training in this method is intense and year-round, and focuses on 12 different styles of dance. Throughout the year, the 84 teachers that volunteer their time are offered

eight training sessions that are all based on the Fred Astaire Curriculum.

Preparation for the fi nal district showcase event intensifi es in the spring. Students must work towards two days of preliminary competition in May fol-lowed by the fi nale held at the Browns-ville Events Center. Large crowds cheer on their favorites in this fi nal dance contest of the school year.

For many students, ballroom dancing is their very fi rst fi ne arts activity. The benefi ts are specifi c. Students enjoy a sense of belonging, greater self-esteem, and improved social skills. There are also physical benefi ts. Dancing encour-ages enhanced strength, coordination,

and aerobic endurance. The discipline of learning dance can also add to im-proved academic performance. Danc-ers must pass all their classes in order to compete.

Dr. Rebecca V. Rendon is the Browns-ville ISD Administrator of Fine Arts. She believes the district’s ballroom dancing program is not just about the steps and the music. This activity is a proven winner in motivating students to succeed. “I have personally witnessed how participating in this dance pro-gram has helped our students improve academically. It has served to keep stu-dents in school and involved through-out the school year.”

// 36


A group of local teachers are currently pursuing their master’s degree through Harvard University as part of the Texas Graduate Center’s MATHTEACH Collaborative, a distance learning program set up in

partnership with Harvard University. The Texas Graduate Center (TGC), now in its second year,

has enrolled a record number of 16 Valley teachers in Harvard’s Math for Teaching graduate program—the most enrollees from a single Valley educational institution. The goal of the program is to improve student performance in the area of mathematics. The three-year graduate program consists of distance learning classes taken at the TGC along with a summer residency at Harvard University.

The program’s focus on pedagogy has instant benefi ts. “The impact of the program has been immediate as teachers incorporate what they are learning at Harvard into their high school mathematics classrooms,” said Dr. Mary Alice Reyes, Executive Director of the TGC. “The teachers’ knowledge and skills have also broadened as they are challenged through their coursework to look at mathematics from a different and unique perspective. As a result, the Harvard experience has challenged teachers to raise their expectations for themselves as teachers and learners and to challenge their own students to achieve and perform at higher levels of excellence.”

Juan Barrera, in his second year of the Harvard program, echoed this sentiment, “After taking my fi rst [Harvard Graduate] class, I noticed my teaching style was changing for the better. I

was no longer focused on what I was going to teach, but on how I would teach it. I began restructuring my entire planning process around the idea of ‘how’ – how can I relate this material to the students? How can I best teach these concepts?”

Local school districts participating in the MATHTEACH Collaborative include: Donna ISD, Edinburg CISD, Hidalgo ISD, La Joya ISD, Lyford ISD, McAllen ISD, Mercedes ISD, PSJA ISD, San Benito CISD, South Texas ISD, and Weslaco ISD.

Texas Graduate Center Opens Harvard Gates to Valley Math Teachers

There is something transformative

happening in high school mathematics

classrooms in the Rio Grande Valley. Students are receiving

instruction from Harvard-educated math teachers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

PLEASE CONTACT:

ADRIANA LOPEZ

Ph: 956.903.4231

Email: [email protected] Johnston Gate is one of the several entrances to Harvard Yard in Campbridge, Massachusetts

Spring 2014 // 37


“Aft er taking my fi rst [Harvard Graduate] class, I noticed my teaching style was changing for the bett er. I was no longer focused on what I was going to teach, but on how I would teach it.”

FRONT: Marvelia Balboa - San Benito ISD, SECOND ROW (L-R): Corazon Bautista - Hidalgo ISD, Dr. Rolando Balotro - PSJA ISD, Queen Martin - La Joya ISD, Reynaldo Jope - McAllen ISD, THIRD ROW (L-R): Homer Colunga - Weslaco ISD, Crystal Chagoya - La Joya ISD, Dayanara Imhoff - PSJA ISD, Jose Villagomez - Weslaco ISD, Juan Barerra - PSJA ISD, Julio Tobias - Edinburg ISD, BACK ROW (L-R): Alejandro Garza - Lyford ISD, Ricardo Delgado - San Benito ISD, Jose Constantino - Mercedes ISD, NOT PICTURED: Diana Garcia - South Texas ISD, Karina Araiza - PSJA ISD

- Juan Barerra,PSJA ISD

”

”

// 38


Pedro R. Garza: A Renaissance Man

The Latino Living Legends Series pays tribute to Latino individuals who, through their leadership, strength, creativity, courage, compassion and vision, are making outstanding contributions to the social, educational, cultural, and economic progress of the Rio Grande Valley, the State of Texas and the nation.

Pedro R. Garza is a modern day Renais-sance man who, as the Southwestern Region Director of the U.S. Department of Com-merce’s Economic De-

velopment Administration, has taken on the enormous task of transforming the economic landscape of a fi ve-state re-gion including Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Garza uses the power of collaboration and proactive impact to change outcomes.

His life, his journey, his gift is expressed through the synergy of empowerment and inspiration. Garza’s journey of a lifetime is a story of one man’s fulfi llment of the American Dream not only for himself and his family, but also for thousands of Lati-nos throughout the nation.

Growing up in the tiny community of Santa Rosa in the Rio Grande Valley, Garza saw his mom do the washing for other people to make ends meet for her family.

Through hard work and diligent study, Garza, a former migrant worker, gradu-

Pedro R. GarzaRegional Director

EDA, Southwestern Region

Latino Living Legends Series

ated summa cum laude (with highest honors) from Texas A&M University and earned his Master’s in Public Ad-ministration from the prestigious Ivy League Woodrow Wilson School of Pub-lic and International Affairs at Princeton University.

With a world-class education under his belt, Garza began a lifetime journey of public service that has resulted in the creation of tens of thousands of jobs for Latinos in diverse communities through-out America. Following college, Garza served his country as a Lieutenant in the United States Army, worked for the United Nations Development Program in New York and in the Offi ce of the Secre-tary of Defense in Washington, DC.

His next big challenge was to serve as the National President of SER-Jobs for Progress, Inc. from 1979 to 1984. Gar-za wrote the original grant applications that laid the groundwork for two leading Latino organizations in the country: the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the American G.I. Forum’s National Veterans’ Outreach Program. As Na-tional President of SER, Garza signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Labor establishing the SER Alternative High School in Washington DC. That school today is known as the Bell Multi-cultural High School. Later in his career, Garza worked with the Ford Foundation on its Hispanic Leadership Opportunities Program, evaluating and making recom-mendations on programs operated by LULAC, MALDEF, ASPIRA, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Insti-

tute. In the mid-eighties, Garza was the founder of the Ruiz Garza Review, a bi-weekly newsletter that focused on issues central to Latino communities across the country. In the mid-90s, Garza served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Commerce, under a great American, the late Secretary Ron Brown. Garza has been recognized by the Inter-national Economic Development Coun-cil as the recipient of the Leadership in Economic Development Programs Award. From guest editorials in publica-tions such as: Vista Magazine, the Aus-tin American Statesman, USA Today, the Houston Chronicle, and the Dallas Times Herald---to his administration of Latino national programs, to his invest-ments in technology learning centers, minority serving institutions, and small business assistance centers, Garza has devoted a lifetime of effort to promoting and enhancing opportunities for Latino individuals, communities, organizations and educational institutions throughout the nation.

Garza makes us proud each time his name is linked with the Rio Grande Val-ley. He has accomplished great things in his career, yet he continually demon-strates that the Rio Grande Valley has a very special place in his heart; that senti-ment is very much mutual. For a lifetime of achievement and for always making Rio Grande Valley residents who know of his wonderful deeds beam with pride and satisfaction, the Latino Education Magazine is proud to recognize Pedro R. Garza as a Living Legend.

By Roland Arriola

Pedro Garza served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Commerce, under a great American, the late Secretary Ron Brown. Garza has been recognized by the International Economic Development Council as the recipient of the Leadership in Economic Development Programs Award.

Latino Education Magazine

Spring 2014 // 39


Harold Vance Department of

PETROLEUM ENGINEERINGT e x a s A & M U n i v e r s i t y

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

ADRIANA LOPEZPh: 956.903.4231

Email: [email protected] W. Expressway 83

Mercedes, TX 78570

FULL SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

www.TxGradCenter.org

TEXAS GRADUATE CENTER

www.TxGradCenter.org A public-private initiative of the Texas Valley Communities

Foundation

Transforming Higher Education for the 21st Century

PROGRAM ADVISOR: DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING-UTPA (RETIRED)

TGC

MASTERS OF PETROLEUM

ENGINEERING

MASTERS OF PETROLEUM

ENGINEERING

// 40


Donna ISDEdinburg CISDHidalgo ISD

Lyford CISDPSJA ISDSan Benito CISD

A public-private initiative of the Texas Valley Communities Foundation

MATHTEACH MATHTEACH COLLABORATIVE

TEXAS GRADUATE CENTER IN PARTNERSHIP TEXAS GRADUATE CENTER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HARVARD UNIVERSITYWITH HARVARD UNIVERSITY

PARTICIPATING SCHOOL DISTRICTS

COHORT I 2013

La Joya ISDMcAllen ISD

Mercedes ISDPSJA ISD

COHORT II 2014

COHORT III FORMING FOR JANUARY 2015

COHORT III FORMING FOR JANUARY 2015

Earn a Master’s Degree in

• World Class Master Teacher Development• Mathematics Workshops for Teachers• Leadership Workshops for Administrators

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: ADRIANA LOPEZPh: 956.903.4231 ● Email: [email protected]

Ph: 956.903.4231TEXAS GRADUATE CENTER

• Student College and Career Readiness

www.txgradcenter.org

South Texas ISD

Weslaco ISD

• Parent Engagement Sessions

Harvard Universityat the Texas Graduate Center

Mathematics for Teaching from

Full Scholarships Available for Secondary Math Teachers

Documents

Latino Education Magazine 2014