Texas Graduate Center Newsletter 12-2013

MATHTEACH COLLABORATIVE COHORT III FORMING FOR JANUARY 2015

TEXAS GRADUATE CENTER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Texas Graduate Center

Newsletter

www.TxGradCenter.org

December 2013

In This Issue Meet Texas Graduate Center’s Cohort I

p. 2

Letter From the Excecutive Director

p. 3

Lecturer From University of Chicago Discusses Mathematics with RGV Teachers p. 4

Harvard Lecturer Visits the RGV p. 4 Texas Graduate CENTER 1098 W. Expressway 83 Mercedes, TX 78570 Ph: 956.903.4231 Follow us on our Social Networks

Standing L-R- Marvelia Balboa, Karina Araiza, Julio Tobias, Corazon Bautista, Ricardo Delgado, Dr. Mary Alice Reyes, Diana Garcia, Ramiro Ayala, Alejandro De La Garza and Juan Barrera.

Get to Know the Texas Graduate Center

The Texas Graduate Center (TGC) is a public-private initiative of the Texas Valley Communities Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Dr. Roland Arriola, President. The TGC supports innovative programs in higher education for the Rio Grande Valley. The goal of the TGC is to implement transformational change in local schools and communities. The TGC offers distance-learning graduate programs

from prestigious universities in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

For its inaugural graduate program, the TCG partnered with Harvard University to offer a Master’s degree in Mathematics for Teaching. This three-year program involves distance-learning classes at the TGC along with summer residency at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.

TEXAS GRADUATE CENTER PARTNERS WITH TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

The Texas Graduate Center is proud to announce its most recent collaboration with Texas A&M University. The TGC will offer a master’s in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas A&M beginning Fall, 2014.

The program is open to Rio Grande Valley residents who have a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering or related field such as Physics or Geology.

There are great opportunities for Rio Grande Valley residents in the field of Petroleum Engineering and the TGC is working to prepare world-class engineers to enter the workforce.

Classes will be taken at the TGC via distance learning. For more information, contact Adriana Lopez at 956-903-4231 or via email at alopez@tvcof.org.

Meet Texas Graduate Center’s Harvard Math for Teaching Cohort I

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Ramiro Ayala Donna ISD

Marvelia Balboa San Benito CISD

Juan Barrera PSJA ISD

Corazon Bautista Hidalgo ISD

Karina S. Ruiz de Araiza

Mr. Ayala is a secondgeneration immigrant from Northern Mexico.

He was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley and received his 8-12 certification through the University of Texas-Pan American.

He currently teaches at Donna North High School.

Ms. Balboa graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Texas Pan American with a bachelor’s of science in mathematics with Secondary Certification.

Ms. Balboa has been teaching at her high school alma mater, San Benito High School, for two years.

As a first-generation college student, Mr. Barrera struggled in his first year of college.

With only a few courses left to complete his core requirements, he took a pre-calculus course.

His experience in that class inspired him to become a Math teacher.

He currently teaches at PSJA Southwest ECHS.

Ms. Bautista hails from the Philippines, where she received her bachelor’s degree in industrial management along with her diploma in professional education.

She has been teaching for 20 years. She currently teaches at Hidalgo Early College High School.

Ms. Araiza has been teaching in the Rio Grande Valley for eight years. She was inspired to study mathematics by her 7th grade math teacher. Now, as an educator herself, she works to instill the same inspiration in her own students. Presently, she teaches at Southwest Early College High School in PSJA.

Alejandro De La Garza Lyford CISD

Diana Garcia South Texas ISD

Mr. De La Garza received his bachelor’s of science in mathematics along with his teacher certification from the University of Texas at Brownsville.

Before teaching, he worked for several companies, including Sprint and Primerica Financial.

He has been teaching mathematics for four years.

He currently teaches at Lyford High School.

Ms. Garcia joined South Texas Independent School District in 2008 as an In-School Suspension Paraprofessional.

When her daughter entered elementary, Ms. Garcia was inspired to become a teacher. She pusued her teaching certification and in 2009 began teaching mathematics at South Texas Prep Academy.

Julio Tobias Edinburg CISD Mr. Tobias graduated from Edinburg North High School in the top 10% of his class and received a full scholarship to the University of Texas Pan American.

After graduation, he returned to his former high school where he currently teaches Algebra. He has been teaching for three years.

Ricardo Delgado San Benito CISD In 2007, Mr. Delgado enrolled at the University of Texas at Brownsville uncertain of his major, but quite definite in his passion for mathematics. He pursued a bachelor’s of science degree in mathematics and currently teaches at San Benito High School.

DR. EDWIN LEMASTER

Dr. LeMaster is the

Dr. LeMaster is the Program Advisor for Program Advisor for the Texas the TexasGraduate Graduate Center.

Center. He He holds holds aa Ph.D. in physics Ph.D. in physicsand and mathematics from from mathematics The University of The University of Texas at Austin. He Texas servedatasAustin.

Dean of He the served Dean of the Collegeas of Science and Engineering College of Scienceat the University of and Engineering at Texas-Pan American the University of for 6 years.

Texas-Pan American for __ years.

Texas Graduate Center

Letter from the Executive Director Dr. Mary Alice Reyes

T

he Texas Graduate Center (TGC) is an initiative of the Texas Valley Communities Foundation created to impact student achievement, reduce the drop out rate and increase the college attainment level of the students in the Rio Grande Valley. Because mathematics is often considered a significant predictor of success in many fields of study, especially those in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), the Texas Graduate Center, in collaboration with Harvard University, has formed a MATHTEACH Collaborative to focus on teacher preparation as a means of impacting student achievement in mathematics.

The MATHTEACH Collaborative is composed of school districts and business and community partners, including Region

One GEAR UP and Texas Instruments, who provide support for teachers to earn a master’s degree in Mathematics for Teaching from Harvard University. This degree is specifically designed for middle school and high school mathematics teachers and is focused on the content covered at these levels as well as the pedagogy necessary to ensure concept mastery.

A teacher’s preparation and knowledge of content and pedagogy are critical to the success of the students in the classroom.

Twelve school districts are currently members of the MATHTEACH Collaborative: Donna ISD, Edinburg ISD, Hidalgo ISD, La Joya ISD, Lyford CISD, McAllen ISD, Mercedes ISD, PSJA ISD, San Benito CISD, South Texas ISD, and Weslaco ISD. School districts participating in the Collaborative will also benefit from training in mathematics

and leadership capacity building provided

by Harvard faculty along with college and career readiness presentations for students and parental engagement sessions for parents on preparing their children for postsecondary education.

The first cohort (Cohort I), composed of nine teachers, recently returned from their first summer session at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They are well on their way to completing their three-year course of study. This year, eight teachers have been selected to join Cohort II to begin their program in January 2014. The TGC expects to select a cohort each year thereafter. For more information on joining the MATHTEACH Collaborative and supporting teachers in the program, please feel free to visit our website at www.txgradcenter.org.

Texas Graduate Center

MATHTEACH COLLABORATIVE COHORT II TEACHERS SELECTED

The Texas Graduate Center is pleased to announce the selection of teachers for Cohort II of the Harvard University Mathematics for Teaching Graduate Program.

Dr. Rolando Balotro

PSJA North High School

PSJA ISD

Dayanara Garza

PSJA North High School

PSJA ISD

Queen Martin Crystal Chagoya Jose Villagomez Homero Colunga Reynaldo Jope Jose Constantino

Jimmy Carter Early College High School Cesar Chavez Middle School

La Joya ISD La Joya ISD

Weslaco High School

Weslaco ISD

Weslaco East High School

Weslaco ISD

Achieve Early College High School

McAllen ISD

Mercedes High School

Mercedes ISD

www.TxGradCenter.org

A public-private initiative of the Texas Valley Communities Foundation

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Senior Lecturer from the University of Chicago Discusses Mathematics with RGV Teachers

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r. John Boller, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Chicago, recently spoke to Rio Grande Valley Math teachers at Region One’s Education Center in Edinburg, Texas. The workshop was presented by The Texas Graduate Center as part of the MATHTEACH Collaborative. He spoke on

Harvard Senior Lecturer, Dr. Katherine Merseth, Visits RGV

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he Texas Graduate Center, in collaboration with Region One GEAR UP, welcomed Dr. Katherine Merseth, Harvard Senior Lecturer and Director of Teacher Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, to Region One’s Teachers as Leaders of Learning Conference on November 15, 2013.

Dr. Merseth delivered the keynote address as part of a three-part Leadership Series held at Region One Education Service Center in Edinburg, Texas. Her lecture, “Building a Culture of Achievement,” focused on the elements essential for creating successful learning for all students. She encouraged educators to set higher cognitive demands on students. “Students will learn to do the tasks we ask of them,” she said, stressing that “Task predicts performance.”

Attendees included local superintendents, principals, teachers, deans of instruction and administrators.

Dr. Merseth will be returning to Region One for two additional lectures on March 6th and 7th, 2014.

“Situational Mathematics: Connecting Higher Mathematics in the High School Classroom.”

Dr. Boller also taught as a Preceptor at Harvard University and helped establish the Masters in Mathematics for Teaching through Harvard Extension School.

TEXAS GRADUATE CENTER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HARVARD UNIVERSITY

MATHTEACH COLLABORATIVE

COHORT III FORMING FOR JANUARY 2015 • World Class Teacher Development through Harvard University • Mathematics Workshops for Teachers by Harvard Faculty • Leadership Workshops for Administrators by Harvard Faculty • Student College and Career Readiness Sessions • Parent Engagement Sessions

Participating School Districts COHORT I 2013 Donna ISD Edinburg CISD Hidalgo ISD Lyford CISD PSJA ISD San Benito CISD South Texas ISD

COHORT II 2014 La Joya ISD McAllen ISD Mercedes ISD PSJA ISD Weslaco ISD

For more information, contact Dr. Mary Alice Reyes, mareyes@tvcof.org, 956-903-4231 Visit us online at txgradcenter.org 4