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July 2022 | Vol.3, Iss. 11 Introduction to the Teacher Externship a Big Success! This year’s Intro to Teacher Externship 3-day hands-on program was filled with various experiences. Some externs worked in offices such as the Pharr EDC, whereas others experienced the world of pipe fitting at the McAllen Careers Institute. Whatever the experience was, teachers from Brownsville and Port Isabel to La Joya ISD walked away with plenty of out-of-school lessons to share with their students in the fall of 2022. This month’s RGV Link features pictures of teachers with their employers. RGV LEAD, in conjunction with [...]

June 2022 | Vol.3, Iss. 10 Message from Luis Rodriguez A-L-A Virtual Summer Teacher Externship Huge Success! As the saying goes, if you get a great team together, you will be successful. No words could ring more accurately than this year’s Academic Leadership Alliance (A-L-A) Virtual Teacher Summer Externship program. Educators were privileged to listen to a variety of well-spoken professionals from the Rio Grande Valley and beyond. Doctors Hospital at Renaissance was well represented as pharmacists Daniela Bazan, Jonathan Cantu, and Rene Verduzco spoke about their career journeys and the roles they play at the hospital. Dr. [...]

May 2022 | Vol.3, Iss. 9 A-L-A Virtual Summer Teacher Externship Kick-Off ! RGV LEAD is pleased to announce that the 2nd Annual Virtual Academic Leadership Alliance will be held on the week of June 13th thru the 17th from 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. Participating school district teachers will hear presentations from professionals in the health science, business, and STEM careers. The externship is supported by the McAllen EDC, Region I, RGV LEAD, and Workforce Solutions. Dr. Norma Salaiz and Janie Johnston Lopez, RGV LEAD contractors, and Eliza Groff, RGV LEAD Program Coordinator, have organized the [...]

Vol.2, Iss. 10 | June 2021 Academic Leadership Alliance Kicks Off Virtual Externship RGV LEAD, in collaboration with the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, would like to thank the sponsors, employer partners, and IHE partners that presented and provided valuable feedback on the piloted virtual A-L-A Educator Externship. Teachers from La Joya ISD and San Perlita ISD collaborated virtually with various employers and college/university representatives to learn about critical employability skills that will benefit students and increase their chances of success in their chosen careers and college life. Eduardo Bravo and Alberto Gomez Isassi, Ph.D., Co-Founders & COO [...]

Vol. 2, Iss. 8 | April 2021 RGV LEAD Board member Elected to State Leadership Role It was with great pride that Lizzy de la Garza Putegnat announced to the RGV LEAD Board that Dr. Gonzalo Salazar, Los Fresnos CISD Superintendent, and RGV LEAD board member, was recently selected by the Texas Association of School Administrators to serve in a leadership role in the statewide organization. “Salazar, who has been the Los Fresnos superintendent since 2006, has been an active member of the association for 15 years. He has represented Region One on the TASA Executive Commit-tee for [...]

Vol. 2, Iss. 8 | April 2021 Academic Leadership Alliance Goes Virtual! Educators from several school districts across the Rio Grande Valley met on March 31st to gather information from RGV LEAD on the pilot A-L-A Summer Educator Externship which is scheduled to take place June 14 - 18. Educators participating in the program will be paired with businesses relative, but not limited to, to the subjects they are teaching. An example would be that a math teacher will visit a construction site to better understand how to integrate the need for math in the career area. Employer topics [...]

Vol. 2, Iss. 7 | March 2021 RGV LEAD Continues Planning Virtual Field Study Initiative: A-L-A Summer Teacher Externships “Living in a Virtual World!” It sounds like a song title, but the reality is that, until the pandemic is completely under control, many of RGV LEAD’s programs will live in a virtual world! As is the case in the Academic Leadership Alliance (A•L•A) Summer Educator Externship Program. RGV LEAD and the A•L•A planning committee met to discuss what a virtual externship might look like for participating school districts. Educators will continue to meet with business employers like they [...]

Vol. 2, Iss. 5 |January 2021 Academic Leadership Alliance Kick-Off Meeting One of the buzz words heard throughout the Rio Grande Valley school districts is “teacher externships.”  The externships allow educators to work side-by-side with business and industry, thus gaining insight into career fields outside of the school settings. The educators, then, return to the classrooms and share their findings with their students.  RGV LEAD, in conjunction with Workforce Solutions, has provided the Academic Leadership Alliance (A•L•A) externship experiences for Valley educators for the past several years...that was until the summer of 2020 - no thanks to COVID-19! RGV [...]