When superintendents came together at the RGV LEAD quarterly Superintendents’ Meeting on January 27th, they knew they would leave with an enriched knowledge of data initiatives and the labor market demands in the Rio Grande Valley. RGV LEAD Executive Director, Luis Rodriguez, welcomed Valley superintendents and district representatives, then handed the floor over to Teri Capistran (pictured), Point Isabel Superintendent, who explained the goals of the RGV LEAD School District Report.

Teri explained in greater detail how to implement the school district data. Data is provided by Texas Education Research (ERC) at the University of Texas at Austin. It compares outcomes for college and career-focused students to non-college and career (CTE) students, looks at student cohorts, and utilizes data from TEA, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Texas Workforce Commission. She focused on higher education enrollment by cohort and stated “Data indicates that participation in college and career-focused programs has a positive correlation with a higher likelihood of college enrollment.” 

Capistran’s report was followed by labor market information within the Rio Grande Valley region. Presenting the report were Pat Hobbs (picture left), Workforce Solutions Cameron Executive Director, and Felipe Salinas (pictured right), Contexto Consulting LLC, and RGV LEAD contractor.