RGV FOCUS

Educate Texas oversees the work of RGV FOCUS, a collective impact initiative in the Rio Grande Valley. Its mission is to act as a trusted change agent to increase academic achievement and educational equity by leading programs, policy, and partnerships. #RGG #kerribriggs #EducateTexas #rgvfocus #riograndevalley https://lnkd.in/ghCbD7d3

Our sincerest gratitude to Point Isabel ISD Tarpons Superintendent Mrs. Capistran for coordinating our RGVF Leadership Team meeting at Port Isabel High School and to Dr. Mendoza, Ms. Ramos, and Chef Galindo for their amazing hospitality. A special thanks to the Culinary Arts students who worked so hard to prepare the delicious breakfast! We were all so impressed to walk through the new PI CTE building, and we look forward to seeing those programs and students thrive in their new space!

We had a fantastic meeting the Educator Effectiveness Community of Practice this morning. Thank you to Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District for their hospitality and for sharing insights into their strategic staffing models.

This morning, we had the first meeting of the year for the RGV CCMR PLC. This group is committed to maximizing college, career, and military readiness opportunities for students across RGV districts, and we are so proud of the collaboration that happens at every meeting! Thank you to Region One Education Service Center for presenting on the RGV CAREER rural collaborative and the dropout prevention and recovery efforts, to Brownsville Independent School District Career & Technical Education Director Benita Villarreal for presenting on BISD’s CCMR best practices, and to Teach For America Rio Grande Valley Executive Director Ana Gonzalez for sharing TFA-RGV’s goals and strategies and how they are supporting CCMR through their teacher-leaders.

Thank you Workforce Solutions for hosting the Transition Coalition Meeting yesterday! It was a very inspiring and insightful session discussing the great opportunities that exist to ensure the success of students with disabilities in the workforce and post secondary education! #inclusionmatters #DisabilityAdvocacy

We have had two fantastic days of learning as we move from a TIA and human capital management systems focus into Strategic Staffing and Strategic Scheduling. We are looking forward to a year of growth and systems change with the RGV Educator Effectiveness Community of Practice and the districts who will be diving deep through Dr. Socorro Espinoza’s technical assistance. Thank you to the Texas Impact Network for their support in this work.

We joined Region One Education Service Center for the quarterly Tri-Agency Regional Convener Grant leadership team meeting. The team has done such a tremendous job of outlining goals, priorities and metrics for the 5-year implementation plan. We truly go further when we go together!

Yesterday, we had the privilege of hosting over 20 RGV organizations (ISDs, IHEs, CBOs, workforce boards, and ESC 1) at the first RGV FOCUS Leadership Team meeting of the 24-25 school year. It was an amazing representation of the collective will to serve our region and impact our community! Thank you to our host, Our Lady of the Lake University RGV, to our presenters, and to our LT Chair and Point Isabel ISD Superintendent Teri Capistran. Together we create the magic and inspire dreams for all of our students! #collaboration #partnerships #oneregion

Thank you to Teach For America Rio Grande Valley for inviting RGV FOCUS Director Rebeca Lopez to moderate a panel discussion on College, Career, and Military Readiness in the Rio Grande Valley at their Board Retreat. The phenomenal panelists were all TFA-RGV alumna, now proudly representing IDEA Public Schools, CollegeSpring, and Region One Education Service Center. While we have made tremendous strides as a region, there is still so much to do to ensure equitable access and outcomes for our students. One thing is for certain, we will get there sooner by working together. Every student in the Rio Grande Valley deserves the opportunity to achieve their full potential.