Teach For America Rio Grande Valley Annual Report 2021-22

DearFriendsandSupporters,

On behalf of Teach for America Rio Grande Valley, I thank you for your support during another year of adaptive yet hopeful times as our educators continue responding to new challenges as we emerge from the pandemic. Last year remained very unpredictable for new and seasoned educators alike. Our TFA network focused on being responsive to student needs this past school year by investing in socialemotional practices to aid our children in making the difficult, often unstable, transition back to in person learning.

Beyond emotional wellness, we know our students need additional academic support to meet, and surpass, pre pandemic achievement levels We also know that the Valley, with its decade long history of working collectively to boost student outcomes, is uniquely positioned to work together towards equity and impact to get our students back on track and designing their own pathways for success in school and life

To reach this reality for our students, Teach For America Rio Grande Valley has a bold goal: By 2030, twice as many children in the communities where we work will reach key college and career readiness milestones indicating they are on a path to economic mobility and a future filled with possibility.

We cannot work in silos to achieve this ambitious goal Our community must continue coming together to determine how each stakeholder can play a role in achieving equitable economic mobility for our children and their families in the Valley. As you will learn more about in the enclosed report, Teach For America engaged the region’s key educational stakeholders in “Cafecito Conversations” last school year These conversations focused on the vision for our region’s education landscape and informed the strategic priorities that will drive our work in pursuit of achieving our 2030 goal.

As we are Grounded in Community; Pointed Towards the Future, we will be a convening force driving equitable growth in the Rio Grande Valley, seeking to change the prevailing narrative around what’s possible for our students I look forward to sharing our progress next year i h

Executive Director

Teach For America Rio Grande Valley

THEROADTOALOCALPRE-SERVICE

2020-2021

2022

1991-2019 New Pre-Service

Houston Institute

Virtual Training&Teaching

This summer, our newest corps members participated in the first ever training experience completely in the Rio Grande Valley Combining the best national experts delivering virtual sessions with local in person staff providing orientation to the community and on the ground support, the new hybrid approach was more flexible and responsive to the needs of a new teacher. The greatest and most exciting change was partnering locally to ensure our corps members supported summer school instruction under the mentorship of veteran teachers.

CAFECITO

CONVERSATIONS

From Rio Grande City to Brownsville, educational stakeholders participated in one of our many “Cafecito Conversations” last school year. Students, parents, educators, and the broader community shared their hopes for the future of education and the types of opportunities they wanted for their community In addition to informing our strategic priorities, the conversations sparked many new connections among attendees and instilled a shared commitment toward advancing opportunities for young people.

BY 2030, TWICE AS MANY CHILDREN IN THE COMMUNITIES WHERE WE WORK WILL REACH KEY EDUCATIONAL MILESTONES INDICATING THEY ARE ON A PATH TO ECONOMIC MOBILITY AND A FUTURE FILLED WITH POSSIBILITY.

OUR2030GOAL

POINTEDTOWARDSTHEFUTURE

OURCORPSMEMBERS

Teach

Teach

Anna Reye RGV '20

Anna Reyes a She chose to join Teach For America to be part of a committed, collaborative community of educators Because of her continued dedication to the teaching profession, she was selected as this year’s winner of the Melina Recio Teacher Leadership Award. A generous local donor underwrote this award, named after one of his child’s favorite TFA teachers, and promotes ongoing learning among our alumni teachers.

Tim Sears RGV '01

It will take many different approaches to grow our local teacher pipelines Tim Sears (RGV ‘01) was a founding faculty member of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley UTeach program, focused on training new secondary math and science teachers. Teach For America is expanding its partnerships locally and nationally to inspire our next generation of corps members to teach and serve in our Rio Grande Valley schools

OURDONORS:SCHOOLYEAR2021-2022

Teach For America Rio Grande Valley is deeply grateful for the support of the following individuals, corporations, and foundations that contributed $250+ to our efforts in our most recent fiscal year (June 1, 2021-May 31, 2022).

$25,000 - 100,000+

GreaterTexasFoundation

H E B

IDEAPublicSchools

OneStarFoundation

Pharr SanJuan AlamoIndependent SchoolDistrict

RobertJ Kleberg,Jr andHelenC KlebergFoundation

TexasEducationAgency TheMeadowsFoundation

$10,000-$24,999

BrownsvilleFoundationforHealthand Education

CollinsFamilyFoundation/LoringCook Foundation

DonnaIndependentSchoolDistrict DynamicChildrenTherapyServices

Edcouch ElsaIndependentSchool District

HarlingenConsolidatedIndependent SchoolDistrict JohnG andMarieStellaKenedy MemorialFoundation PanasonicFoundation

RaulTijerina,Jr Foundation

RioGrandeCity GrullaIndependent SchoolDistrict

ThePeterJenningsFoundation

TheRobertP andMarianaScripps FamilyFoundation

TrullFoundation

U.SDepartmentofEducation VTX1 WellsFargo

$5,000-$9,999

CharlesClarkChevroletCo /Clark Knapp Honda

CityofPharr

FrostBank

MagicValleyElectricCooperative

MissionEconomicDevelopment Corporation

Nolan&SandyPerez

PeñaEyeInstitute PharrEDC PNCBank

PointIsabelIndependentSchoolDistrict RhodesEnterprises,Inc

RomaIndependentSchoolDistrict

SanBenitoConsolidatedIndependent SchoolDistrict

SerafyFoundation

TexasDigestiveSpecialists VanguardAcademy

$1,000-$4,999

Alonzo&YolandaCantu Ana&GilbertoGonzalez AnneMahle

AtlasElectric,AirConditioning, Refrigeration&PlumbingServices Atlas,Hall,&Rodriguez,L L P BankofAmerica

BlueWaveExpressCarWash Bobby&RobinFarris

BoggusFordHarlingen CassandraAlaniz StateFarmInsurance Agency Chick fil ABrownsvilleBocaChica CityofMcAllen CoBank

ContrerasGutierrezandAssociates Daniel&HandrelClark Dave&MarilynOsborn CommissionerDavidFuentes&Yvonne

Ortegon DHRHealth EducateTexas FinancialBenefitServices GirlRising GrandeProduceLTDCo Guerra&SaboP L L C Hershal&PriyankaPatel Illuminations

IndependentInsuranceAgentsoftheRio GrandeValley JPMorganChase&Co. KendraScottLLC KillamDevelopment,Ltd KiwanisClubofMcAllenInc AnnetteandJohnDavidFranz LeahWiseLawFirm

LoneStarNationalBank MaterialesElValleInc

McDonald's FredDelBarrioFranchise Melden&HuntInc

MissionRegionalMedicalCenter NobleTexasBuilders

NorthParkLexusRioGrandeValley Omar&NormaGuevara

PalmValleyDentalandOrthodontics

PlainsCapitalBank

RaiseYourHandTexas RGVCollege

RioBank

RioGrandeValleyHispanicChamberof Commerce RiosofMercedesBootCompany SafeGuardInsurance

SAMES,Inc

SammyCarr

SantaPaula&JoséLuisGarcia SharonAlmaguer Socialife

$1,000-$4,999

Socialife

SouthTexasCollege St Michael'sAmbulance,LLC

StarrCountyIndustrialFoundation

TexasGasService

TexasNationalBank

TexasRegionalBank

TheCookDaltonFamilyFoundation

TheUniversityofTexasRioGrandeValley ValleyGrandeInstituteforAcademic Studies

ValleyLandTitleCo.

WalshMcGurkCordovaNixonPLLC ZamsStarLLC

$250-$999

Aimee&RichardJones

BarryGlasser Bonnie&MarkBrown CarlosSanchez

ConCariñoPrimaryHomeCare DanielChavez Daniel&SaraKing

DavidandCynthiaStevens DavidandSusieOliveira Deanna&MikeMurphy

DeborahCordova&GermanSegura EdwardsAbstract&TitleCompany

EricFernandez

Felicia&AlexisVillarreal

Gina&GusGarcia

IlianaVillalobos

IzaguirreEngineeringLLC

Jacob&LeslieHill

JacquelynRex

JasonHess

JuanPadron&AdrienneHowell Rick&LauraBurns

MartyEthridge

RamiroGarza

RioGrandeRegionalHospital

RioGrandeValleyPartnership Foundation

SenatorJuan"Chuy"Hinojosa

Change is something we all are constantly experiencing Sometimes change occurs more rapidly Sometimes change can be more surprising We all have been through what might feel like constant, significant, and potentially unwelcome change over the past few years I know I have Yet, I also know I am a different person now than I was before, and because of this I am better equipped to handle whatever comes my way.

Similarly, at Teach For America Rio Grande Valley, we have navigated constant and often disruptive change to come out on the other side both stronger and more convicted than ever about improving educational opportunities for our region’s most historically marginalized students. For example, this past summer the region trained its newest corps members via a hybrid approach which included in school training here locally in the Valley. Regional staff, alumni working part time, and veteran school district teachers partnered to provide a new approach to training teachers Supplemented by virtual, customized, and flexible components, our newest TFA teachers received a training experience responsive to their needs and those of students

You, our community of supporters, make it possible for our mission to endure and sharpen You share positive stories of impact, show up to events, and generously provide philanthropic contributions Sometimes we see the immediate results of our efforts in the smile on a student's face, in improved academic performance, and in the increasing leadership roles of our TFA alumni. Other times, the seeds planted take time to realize their full potential. While in Washington, DC this summer as a University of Texas Archer Fellow, one of our regional board members shared her story via our @tfargv Instagram account. As she explained her purpose to other Fellows, one current medical student shared a story about his former TFA teacher, who not only taught him math back in middle school but also provided motivation for his long educational journey. As serendipitous as this encounter might sound, I know there are so many more examples out there and our TFA network is creating even more now thanks to your support Together as a community, we point towards this bright future for all RGV students

In Partnership,

Gina Garcia

Chair, Teach For America RGV Regional Advisory Board

Board Chair

SVP, Relationship Manager Corporate and Institutional Banking PNC Bank

Vice Chairs

Deborah Cordova Partner

Walsh, McGurk, Cordova, and Nixon

Juan Padron

Partner Safeguard Insurance Rose Benavidez President Starr County Industrial Foundation

Member:

Daniel Clark

Partner Clark Chevrolet/Clark Knapp Honda

Katherine Diaz Regional Ecosystem Director Texas A&M RGV Advanced Manufacturing Hub

A.

Raquel Limas

Director of Operations Con Cariño Primary Home Care

Priscilla Noriega

Staff Attorney and Medical Legal Partnership Manager Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid

Evelyn Cano

President/Co Founder Disability Chamber of Commerce RGV Co Owner Grande Produce LTD & Cano and Sons Trucking

Marilyn Osborn

Education Consultant VTX1 Companies

Robert Rosell

VP, Community Manager JPMorgan Chase & Co

Daniel Silva President and CEO RGV Partnership

Gina Garcia