The Rio Grande Valley is growing rapidly and is home to some of the poorest counties in the nation. Corps members teach in 44 schools in 12 school districts. While fluency in Spanish is not required of corps members, the Rio Grande Valley provides a wonderful opportunity for corps to learn the language.
A large number of corps members' students live in colonias (unincorporated neighborhoods often lacking in basic infrastructure such as paved roads, running water and electricity), which hinders their ability to study or even get to school. (A recent New York Times piece highlighted the challenges of life in the colonias in an article and multimedia presentation). Because of the large migrant population in the Rio Grande Valley, some students leave school in March or April to go north with their families to work in the fields. They then return in late September or October, usually missing anywhere from one to four months of the school year.
The achievement gap in Texas and the Rio Grande Valley is apparent when looking at student achievement across economic levels. On the 2006 eighth grade state standardized math test, 81 percent of students who do not receive free and reduced price meals met the standard for proficiency, while only 53 percent of students who do receive free and reduced-price meals met the standard. This disparity has real consequences, which plays out in graduation rates; students who receive free and reduced price meals complete high school at a rate of just above 50 percent, compared to Highland Park, an upper-middle class area of Dallas, where roughly 98 percent of students complete high school. (Source: Texas Education Agency, www.tea.state.tx.us).
Over the past 16 years Teach For America • Rio Grande Valley corps members have worked relentlessly in a number of contexts to address this achievement gap. In the short term, our corps members are classroom, school, and community leaders who work to open opportunities for their students. Corps members set and reach ambitious classroom goals that seek to close the achievement gap for their students, serve as representatives on their school’s site-based decision making committee, providing their perspective on campus and district wide problem solving. Corps members often contribute or spearhead district curriculum projects in the summer after their first year of teaching and beyond. Secondary corps members often assume the responsibility and leadership of Advanced Placement courses in our partner high schools, providing rigorous instruction that will help their students close the achievement gap in their post-secondary education. At the elementary level, Rio Grande Valley corps members work in primarily bilingual settings to provide their students with a foundation in literacy and math that will truly set them up for success.
After the two-year commitment, alumni continue to have an impact in classrooms across the region, whether continuing as teachers, serving as school leaders or making the move to district leadership. Over 90 percent of alumni living in the region are still involved in education in some way. A large number of alumni elect to stay in their placement schools and continue teaching. Alumni hold district level positions such as an assistant principal and secondary science coordinator in our partner districts. Alumni are also employed by IDEA Public Schools, a local high performing charter school network founded by two Rio Grande Valley alumni. Teach For America alumni represent two of six principals in IDEA Public Schools as well as other district level positions such as superintendent, chief operating officer and chief academic officer.
| School Districts: |
|---|
| Corps members teach in 45 schools in 12 school districts in the Rio Grande Valley. |
| Ethnic Breakdown-Student Population (Districts included: Brownsville, Donna, Edcouch-Elsa, Edinburg, La Joya, McAllen, Mercedes, Pharr, Rio Grande City, Roma, San Benito, and Weslaco) |
|---|
| < 1% African-American |
| 3% Caucasian |
| 97% Latino/Hispanic |
| < 1% Asian-American |
| < 1 Native American |
| N/A Other |
| Ethnic Breakdown - Brownsville, McAllen, Rio Grande City |
|---|
| 1% African-American |
| 14% Caucasian |
| 85% Latino/Hispanic |
| < 1 % Asian-American |
| < 1% Native American |
| N/A Other |
| Percentage of Students Qualifying for Free/Reduced-Price Lunch |
|---|
| 95-99% |
| Placement |
|---|
| 16% elementary |
| 84% secondary |
| 98% teach at a school with another corps member or alumnus |
K-12 grade level placements
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Our corps members
Placement regions
Corps and Alumni
