The Valley Times – October 4, 2017

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Weslaco Chamber to Host Candidate Forum for Upcoming City Elections

VOL. I, NO. 10

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Edinburg CISD Connects Interactive Panels in Classrooms

Sharyland Lead Librarian Chosen as TALL Texas Mentor

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017

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National Registration Day Rally

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County Pays $1 Million Support Payment Towards UTRGV School of Medicine

Commissioners Court approved a $1 million support payment towards the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Medical School which is pursuant to the Interlocal Agreement between Hidalgo County and the U.T. System.

“That will make this our fourth payment bringing the county’s total contribution to $4 million to date,” said Hidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia.

Since 2014, when the interlocal was signed, the county has honored its commitment by paying $1 million per year towards the development of the UTRGV Medical School. The medical school requires approximately $40 - $60 million a year to operate and is dependent on state and local funding.

The development of this school will yield economic opportunities for county residents, by creating thousands of high-paying jobs, and attracting new industries. The medical school is a much-needed local avenue for local students who wish to practice medicine and it will help provide better healthcare for this region that is in dire need of physicians and healthcare professionals.

“I am proud of Commissioners Court for having contributed financially to the development of this school,” said Judge Garcia.

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High Profile Cases Challenge, Stress County Jury Empanelment Process

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Wednesday, October 4, 2017

By GEORGE F. WILL On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments tempting it to plunge into an impenetrable political thicket. It will consider a lower court’s ruling that, if allowed to stand, will require the judiciary to determine whether and when partisanship in drawing electoral districts -- something as old as the Constitution

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OPINION

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Will The Supreme Court Fall Into A Political Thicket?

-- is unconstitutional. And courts will wrestle repeatedly with cases requiring them to decide how to decide how much partisanship is too much.

It is instructive that the phrase “partisan gerrymandering” -- the drawing of district lines by one party to disadvantage the other -- is a redundancy. It has been since 1812, when Massachusetts Democratic-Republicans, serving Gov. Elbridge Gerry, created a district resembling a salamander. By then, the practice was old hat for New York, which had been hard at it since 1788, the year the Constitution was ratified.

The practice has recently become hotly disputed. This is partly because Republicans control 66 of 98 partisan state legislative chambers, and both the legislatures and governorships of 26 states.

(A challenge to Maryland’s redistricting

by Democrats is percolating in the judicial system.) And it is partly because some members of the political science professoriate, which is as ideologically monochromic as academia generally, are inventing metrics that supposedly provide objective standards for identifying partisanship that is unconstitutionally excessive.

For several decades, federal courts produced redistricting plans for Wisconsin after decennial censuses because the Legislature could not agree on any. In 2010, however, Republicans won control of both houses of the Legislature and the governorship and produced a redistricting plan. In 2012, they won 60 of the 99 state Assembly seats with 48.6 percent of the statewide vote, and in 2014 they won 63 seats with 52 percent of the vote. However, under the court-devised plan in the previous decade, in five elections the Republicans won an average of 55.2 seats with an average of 49.1 percent of the statewide vote. This is partly because under requirements of the Voting Rights Act, Milwaukee’s “majority-minority” districts were protected. And it is partly because Democratic voters, in Wisconsin and nationally, are inefficiently distributed,

disproportionately concentrated in cities and college towns, such as Milwaukee and Madison. This is why in 2012, Barack Obama carried 27 congressional districts with at least 80 percent of the vote, whereas Mitt Romney carried only one that lopsidedly.

The 12 plaintiffs against the Republican plan have three problems, each fatal. First, they are contesting the entire statewide plan rather than their individual districts. So, they are asking the court to change its traditional standards for “standing” to sue, which require persons to demonstrate a “particularized injury” -- in this case, that the configurations of their individual districts somehow unconstitutionally devalue their votes. The lead plaintiff is a retired University of Wisconsin professor whose Assembly district in Madison has voted Democratic by an average of 67.2 percent in the last five elections. This does not sadden him. What does -- his supposed injury -- is that the statewide plan diminishes his chances of enjoying a Democratic majority in the Assembly.

Second, until 31 years ago, the court held that the inevitable political component of redistricting plans is a non-justiciable “political question” properly consigned to the political (elected) branches. In 1986, the court said a political gerrymander could conceivably be justiciable, but it has never discovered what Justice Anthony Kennedy terms “a manageable standard.”

Third, the plaintiffs want the court to plunge the judiciary into unending liti-

gation involving dueling professors who will cherry-pick concocted metrics to serve as standards. Tuesday’s arguments will illustrate why Wisconsin warns about a “social science hodgepodge.”

Plaintiffs will argue that an “efficiency gap” (the difference between all the loser’s votes and the surplus of votes in excess of those the winner needed for victory divided by the total number of votes cast) that exceeds 7 percent -- a figure plucked from the ether -- is presumptively unconstitutional. By this metric, one-third of all legislative redistricting maps in 41 states over 43 years were impermissibly partisan.

Using partisan social science, the plaintiffs are asking the court to find in the Constitution a hitherto unnoticed requirement for proportional representation. Justice Felix Frankfurter perhaps anticipated this.

When in 1962 the court first intervened in states’ redistricting practices, it propounded only the simple and neutral principle of “one person, one vote” -- districts must be numerically equal.

Nevertheless, Frankfurter dissented, having warned in 1946 against even entering “this political thicket.” He worried that someday the court might be drawn ever deeper into the fraught business of fine-tuning political processes. Unless the court is careful, that someday may have already arrived.

George Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com. (c) 2017, Washington Post Writers Group.

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Edinburg’s HEB Park Ranked No. 2 In Nation H-E-B Park, a $16.8+ million sports and entertainment outdoor complex that features a 9,700 seat capacity soccer-specific stadium, scored another major goal for its hometown with news that WalletHub, a national personal finance website, named Edinburg as Second Best Small City for Soccer Fans for 2017.

In addition, WalletHub rated Edinburg 29th best among all U.S. cities for soccer fans, an accomplishment that places it in the top 10 percent in the nation, among the cities involved in the study, for community involvement in that sport.

“Once more, a national, independent, and very credible source has concluded what we know very well here at home – Edinburg has a very high quality-of-life to offer its citizens from all walks of life,” said Agustín García, Executive Director for the Edinburg Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. “We have one of the best public school systems in the state, we feature one of the largest University of Texas campuses, with its own School of Medicine, our hospital systems are nationally-ranked, and by the time 2017 is completed, the construction of new homes and businesses in Edinburg for the year is anticipated to pass $200 million.”

Borja Angoitia, goalkeeper for the Rio Grande Valley Football Club Toros professional soccer team, helps defend against the Liga MX side C.F. Monterrey Rayados on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at the club’s new H-E-B Park for the venue’s inaugural game.

The state-of-the-art H-E-B Park in Edinburg has many amenities, including a full-service restaurant, executive lounges, a sports bar, and 33 suites. Suites include VIP amenities and a 16-seat capacity.

Park grounds include practice fields for 7v7 and 5v5 soccer, various bench areas

with picnic-sized tables, a playground, and an amphitheater with a capacity for more than 2,000 individuals.

“We are about three months away from opening the $88+ million Bert Ogden Arena, which will be the largest indoor sports and entertainment complex south

of San Antonio, and people from all over the Valley, Texas, and the U.S. have a direct, nonstop way to get to Edinburg because we are served by Interstate Highway 69 and the South Texas International Airport at Edinburg. Those assets are just the tip of the iceberg of what makes our community a ‘Destination City’,” García said.

“But most important, the vision of our elected, business and community leadership, and the amazing people of our community are who make Edinburg the American Success story that it has become.”

The Edinburg EDC is the jobs-creation arm entity for the city and Edinburg Mayor Richard García and the Edinburg City Council, which includes Mayor Pro Tem J.R. Betancourt, Councilmember Homer Jasso, Jr., Councilmember Richard Molina, and Councilmember David Torres.

The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mayor Richard García as President, Harvey Rodríguez, Jr. as Vice President, Elías Longoria, Jr. as Secretary/Treasurer, and Richard Ruppert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Mayor Richard García and Edinburg EDC Executive Director Agustín García, Jr. are not related.

A New ‘Mission CISD Reads’ Community Login Introduced The Mission CISD Reads project was a first of its kind effort when it launched in May. Mission CISD Reads brought together the Mission Consolidated Independent School District (CISD), with the cities of Alton, Mission, and Palmhurst to provide unlimited access to a vast digital library for the three communities.

Through the use of the “myON” online system, community members have access to digital books on any electronic device with internet access (computer, tablet, smartphone). There are sections for English readers and Spanish readers.

The system is also designed to help the struggling reader improve their reading skills and comprehension.

When the program was first launched there were two main community logins, Mission CISD Reads, and Alton Reads.

Now there is a third login, Palmhurst Reads. While members of the Palmhurst

community could login using the Mission CISD Reads login, the members of the partnership felt it was important to also have a login reflecting the Palmhurst community.

This will also allow administrators of the program to better track the use of the myON system by Palmhurst community members using the login. The system allows administrators to be able to see how many books are being read, how many hours are spent reading, etc. This way, everyone in the partnership can gauge the success of the program moving forward.

District and myON officials have looked at the statistics from the summer and are excited by the level of participation so far. From May 31, 2017- August 31, 2017, students and community members read a total of 10,420 books, and opened another 16,255. They spent

Staff at Mission’s Speer Memorial Library host an activity with children and parents as part of the Mission CISD Reads program.

a total of 147,000 minutes reading, “One of the main reasons why we chose to roll out the Mission CISD Reads project in May was to be able to have the myON digital library as a resource for our students to be able to continue reading during the summer, and that helps fight the traditional summer slide,” said Dr. Ricardo López, superintendent of schools.

“Not only do the statistics show strong use of myON during the summer, but also

by the communities at large. Over 3.200 books were read using the main community logins provided.”

Dr. López also indicated that the district plans to continue to build upon the momentum by reaching out to community partners to help spread the word about the free digital library, and to help show groups how useful a tool it can be for struggling readers in both English and Spanish.

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Wednesday, October 4, 2017

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McAllen Increases Water, Sewer Rates

Edinburg CISD has earned four National Blue Ribbon School recognitions in two years. Pictured L-R: ECISD Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Eva Tristan Torres; ECISD Area Director for Assessment & Special Populations Dahlia Z. Guzman (former principal at Canterbury Elementary School); ECISD Bilingual/ESL Director Cynthia Saenz (former principal at Trevino Elementary School); Austin Elementary School Principal Homero Cano; Jefferson Elementary School Principal Ana H. Salinas; and ECISD Superintendent Dr. René Gutiérrez.

Three Valley Schools Named National Blue Ribbon Schools U.S. Department of Education recognized three Valley schools among 342 schools nationwide as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2017. The recognition is based on a school’s overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.

For the second year in a row, two Edinburg CISD schools have earned the recognition. Austin Elementary School and Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in were included in this year’s list. Last year, Canterbury Elementary School and Trevino Elementary School received the awards.

The other school honored was Rancho Verde Elementary School in Los Fresnos CISD. “It’s an honor for Edinburg CISD to have four National Blue Ribbon Schools within the last two years,” said Edinburg CISD Superintendent Dr. René Gutiérrez.

“These four awards are a reflection of our community, students, staff, administration and school board members, and everyone’s efforts in putting all of this together. It’s all about student success and these honors exemplify that we have top-level schools in our district.”

“National Blue Ribbon Schools are active demonstrations of preparing every child for a bright future,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to

the honorees. “You are visionaries, innovators and leaders. You have much to teach us: some of you personalize student learning, others engage parents and communities in the work and life of your local schools and still others develop strong and forward-thinking leaders from among your teaching staff.”

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students achieve very high learning standards or are making notable improvements in closing the achievement gap.

This coveted award affirms the hard work of educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content.

All schools are honored in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates: 1. Exemplary High Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.

2. Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s subgroups and all students over the past five years.

The cost of a glass of water just went up in McAllen, if only a little bit, as did the cost of flushing your toilet. New water and sewer rates went into effect October 1.

McAllen city commissioners and the McAllen Public Utility Board trustees met jointly Monday, September 25, and voted unanimously to raise rates for the first time since 2015.

The monthly base fee for water went from $7.95 to $8.45, a bump of 6.3%.

The sewer base fee went from $10.00 to $10.50, a 5% increase.

Not only did the city raise the base fee for water service, the city also raised the charge for the amount of water used, socalled tiered service, and it changed the tiers for residential users. The more water used, the more users pay; as the volume of water increases, so does the bill.

It used to be residential customers were charged $1.35 per 1,000 gallons for the first 12,999 gallons and $1.35 for 13,000 to 17,999 gallons and $1.85 for every 1,000 gallons after that.

Starting October 1, the schedule is this: $1.35 per 1,000 gallons for the first 7,999 gallons; then $1.65 for 8,000 to 12,999

gallons; $1.85 for 13,000 to 17,999 gallons and $1.95 for every 1,000 gallons used after that.

Multi-family, commercial and industrial tiered water charges remain the same.

Commissioners and Public Utility Board trustees also bumped the base sewer rate for residential, multi-family, commercial and industrial users by 5%, from $10 per month to $10.50.

Residential users will continue to pay $1.60 per 1,000 gallons of water each month but only up to 19,999 gallons. The city added a new tier: you’ll pay $2.10 per 1,000 gallons above the 19,999. With water and sewer service in McAllen, the more you use, the more you pay.

Why the increases? According to a city press release, the city needs more money to pay for some big projects.

“The rate increase helps to cover the costs of additional debt that the McAllen Public Utility will incur for improvements and construction costs related to the South Water Treatment Plant, the North Waste Water Treatment Plant and capital improvement projects,” said Public Utility Board General Manager Mark Vega

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High Profile Cases Challenge, Stress County Jury Empanelment Process

At last week’s Hidalgo County Commissioners Court meeting, Hidalgo County District Clerk Laura Hinojosa briefed the court on recent Jury Empanelment process and the collaborative efforts taking place to make jury selection possible for the County Judicial System.

The Jury Empanelment Process is currently facing challenges due to several high-profile cases that are being tried simultaneously at the courthouse. These include the separate murder cases of Monica Melissa Patterson and John Feit.

“Most recently, we have been required to hold additional Jury Empanelments and summon additional jurors to meet the needs of the courts,” said Hinojosa. “As a result, we have

required additional space, additional equipment, and resources, not to mention the time and manpower.”

The insufficient size of the auditorium to fit the hundreds of jurors being summoned, and the lack of computer equipment has put a strain on resources and manpower of the District Clerk’s Office. Among the issues facing the District Clerk’s office are a lack of laptops, surge suppressors, and space.

As a result, Hinojosa and her staff have reached out to other county departments, including Elections, IT, Executive Office, Facilities Management, and the Sheriff’s Office, for assistance.

Together they have pulled their resources to achieve a successful jury selection process.

“This is a prime example of how county departments should collaborate to serve our constituency and you should be very proud,” said Hinojosa.

Hidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia asked Hinojosa how many constituents were being summoned for high-profile cases. Hinojosa explained that in order to select 205 qualified jurors, 900 constituents were summoned.

“It’s tricky fitting all of them into the auditorium, but we have a system of pre-screening and showing videos, so as some are exiting the room, others are entering,” said Hinojosa.

“You and your staff are doing an excellent job, especially with the lack of resources available to you,” said Garcia.

Hidalgo County District Clerk Laura Hinojosa reported on the challenges faced for Jury Empanelments in high-profile cases. These include the separate murder cases of Monica Melissa Patterson and John Feit.

WESLACO CHAMBER TO HOST CANDIDATE FORUM FOR UPCOMING CITY ELECTIONS

Edinburg CISD Connects Interactive Panels in Classrooms Third-grade students at Eisenhower Elementary School recently practiced their math skills using an interactive panel, which is one of the latest technology tools available to students and teachers in the classroom.

The Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District connected one Clear Touch Interactive Panel at each of its 37 elementary and middle schools at the start of this school year.

“The students have become very quick learners with the panels,” said Veronica Cortez, a teacher at Eisenhower Elementary School. “We started with one mathematical program and

then added a new one within a couple of days.”

The LED panels feature a multi-touch screen, allowing several students to be able to touch it simultaneously and use different educational programs at the same time.

Cortez said that her students are having a great time using the new display panels, which is making learning fun.

Eisenhower Principal Sylvia Faz said that the interactive panels have been met with so much enthusiasm by both teachers and students that she hopes in the near future to see at least one panel for each grade level in her school.

The Weslaco Chamber of Commerce is hosting a candidates’ forum on Tuesday, October 10 for the upcoming city elections. All four candidates for Weslaco City Commission Districts 2 and 3 are scheduled to appear.

The forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be held at the Weslaco Business Visitor & Event Center. This year, the candidates for District 2 are incumbent Greg Kerr and former Weslaco Mayor Mike Wise.

Candidates for District 3 are incumbent Olga Noriega and JP Rodriguez.

Doug Croft, Weslaco Chamber President/CEO stressed the importance of becoming an informed voter.

“Civic leadership is so important,” Croft remarked. “The Weslaco Chamber is pleased to offer this opportunity for the business community and public to make informed voter decisions. We encourage everyone to attend this forum

City commission candidates Letty Lopez, Lupe Rivera Jr. and Josh Pedraza (pictured) participated at last year’s Weslaco Chamber Candidate Forum. This year, the forum will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at the Business Visitor & Event Center. All four candidates for Weslaco City Commission Districts 2 and 3 will be present.

and then make an educated decision when it comes time to vote.”

Early voting begins Monday, October 23 and ends on Friday, November 3. Election Day is Tuesday, November 7, 2017.

Seating is limited, and is available on a first come, first serve basis. The Weslaco Business Visitor & Event Center is located at 275 S. Kansas. For more information, please call 956-968-2102.

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Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Major Texas Overhaul For College Prep WWW.RGVTIMES.COM

By Matthew Watkins, Texas Tribune

As Texas tries to educate a growing number of college students who come from struggling schools or speak English as a second language, a grim stat highlights the challenge it faces: 60 percent of all students who enroll in community college are not considered college ready.

Another grim number shows there’s no easy solution: Only 15 percent of students who take a math course designed to catch them up end up passing a single college-level math class.

That means a lot of students are striking out before their college careers really get started. This year, the state will attempt to radically change that. A new state law that passed this spring calls for an overhaul of developmental education in the state. Once implemented, it will dramatically shake up how most community colleges prepare their students for the rigor of higher education.

“These students need advising, they need direction, and what we are doing now simply isn’t working,” said Rep. Helen Giddings, D-DeSoto, who authored the law, House Bill 2223.

Community colleges are tentatively on board, saying they recognize the current system isn’t working. But they warn that bringing about a fix will take time and might be expensive.

This is the challenge they face: Anyone with a high school degree can enroll in a community college, no matter their educational background.

GPA, SAT scores and language skills don’t matter.

“We have students walking in our door who are reading at a ninth-grade level,” San

South Texas College and other Texas community colleges will have new tools to help students who are not prepared before entering college and help them succeed and graduate.

Jacinto College administrator Rebecca Goosen told lawmakers this spring. “We have students who don’t understand what a number line is. We have students who — fractions just kind of freak them out.

And they have high school diplomas.”

Right now, most colleges put students with low test scores in remedial courses, which are designed to teach those students what they should have learned in high school. The thinking is simple: You can’t take a college calculus class if you don’t know high school algebra.

But that can be frustrating.

Those courses don’t usually count for credit, and some students end up having to take —

and pay for — a year’s worth of remedial classes before moving on to standard course loads.

In addition, many of those students are poor and in school part time. Keeping those students in school is already a challenge. Any kind of disturbance — a sick parent, a change in job hours, a broken-down car that makes it harder to get to school — might force a student to put his or her education on hold.

The remedial courses lengthen the time it takes to earn a degree, making it more likely that something else will get in the way.

Giddings’ solution is to get those students in courses that count for credit sooner by im-

plementing what’s known as a major rethinking of how we a “corequisite” model, during provide instruction.”

But big changes always which the students take the remedial courses that run make people nervous. Some concurrently with their col- community college leaders predict that the new rules will lege-level classes.

Models can vary. In one fa- be expensive — some corequivored by many education re- site courses will probably reformers, remedial students quire two professors. And the take a standard three-hour reduction in class hours taken by students m a t h These students need could mean course but also have advising, they need direction, that colleges will lose some a one-hour state funding, course on and what we are doing now which is dethe side simply isn’t working termined in that helps them develop the skills needed part by the amount of hours to succeed in the main class. their students are taking.

But Giddings said she’s not That one-hour portion could work like a lab in a science too worried about the colleges’ course — it meets during an- hesitation. Her bill originally other time of the week in a required schools to have 100 percent of their students in smaller setting.

Another option, experts say, corequisite courses. The peris a semester broken into two centage was knocked down — the first eight weeks are re- at the request of the colleges, medial, the next eight are the which asked for a little more flexibility. standard courses.

But she points to Tennessee, What kind of courses the state would require will be which has a 100 percent modironed out by the Texas Higher el. In that state, the number Education Coordinating Board of remedial students passing in the coming months. But one a college-level math course thing is clear: By the 2020-21 jumped from 12 percent to academic year, colleges will be 51 percent after a corequisite required to have at least three- model was imposed, according fourths of their remedial stu- to one study by the state.

“I’m not worried at all about dents in corequisite courses.

That would put the state at whether we will reach our the forefront of a movement goal,” she said. “I’m concerned that has been slow to gain mo- that we didn’t go all the way.” mentum in other parts of the Disclosure: San Jacinto Colcountry.

“This is a major reform,” said lege and the Texas Association Jacob Fraire, president and of Community Colleges have CEO of the Texas Association been financial supporters of of Community Colleges. “It is The Texas Tribune.

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

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McAllen ISD Librarian Nominated Coding Curriculum To Be Part Of Mission Schools Mission Consolidated Independent for National Life Changer Award School District (CISD) will be joining

A McAllen ISD librarian has been nominated for a national award. Cynthia Cooksey of Dr. Pablo Perez Elementary, is up for the 2017-18 LifeChanger of the Year award.

Sponsored by the National Life Group Foundation, LifeChanger of the Year recognizes and rewards the very best K-12 educators and school district employees across the United States who are making a difference in the lives of students by exemplifying excellence, positive influence and leadership.

She is one of those educators who goes the extra mile to make a difference in the lives of children.

Cooksey often dresses up in costume and gets into character to engage young students in a story or educational game. She has continually won grants to supply her library and fund captivating lesson ideas for students. She has also implemented several programs and events to encourage students to improve their reading, including a Bluebonnet celebration, and an annual “Mystery Event” in which students must employ creative thinking.

Cooksey has won six grants from the McAllen Education Foundation, a Junior League grant, Texas Book Festival grant, Laura Bush grant and the Lois Lenski Covey grant.

Her awards include: •2017 – Texas State Librarian of the Year •2016 – McAllen ISD District Elementary Teacher of the Year •2011 – My Librarian Rocks Award Winner Additionally, Cooksey was credited for being a driving force behind the school robotics program (something she taught herself so she could teach her students), where her students have achieved state and national recognition the past two years.

She has helped foster a coding culture in the region by leading many training sessions for librarians, teachers and admin-

istrators to bring coding activities to the area’s schools. She has even been asked to join a panel of technology experts in the region to discuss the importance of coding.

Cooksey was nominated by a parent who wishes to remain anonymous. She was praised for going above and beyond for her students.

“I don’t know how she does it. The students and staff respect her, but more importantly, they love her. It is apparent in their love of reading and the library,” the nominator said.

Each school year, LifeChanger of the Year receives hundreds of nominations from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Seventeen individual LifeChanger of the Year awards will be given during the 2017-18 school year.

(1) Grand Prize Winner – will receive $10,000 to be shared with their school/ district.

(4) Grand Prize Finalists – will receive $5,000 to be shared with their school/district.

(10) LifeChanger Award Winners – will receive $3,000 to be shared with their school/district.

(1) Spirit Award Winner – This award is given to the nominee whose community demonstrates the most support for their nomination. The winner will receive $5,000 to be shared with their school/district.

(1) Spotlight Award Winner – This award will be given to a nominee in a specific discipline each year. For 2017-2018, the award will be given to a nominee who works in a support role, such as a secretary, administrative assistant, or office manager.

The winner will receive $5,000 to be shared with their school/district in fall 2017.

Winners are chosen by a selection committee comprised of former winners and education professionals. Nominees must be K-12 teachers or school district employees.

To be considered for an award, nominees must • Make a positive impact in the lives of students • Enhance their school or district’s atmosphere, culture and pride • Demonstrate exemplary leadership at the school and/or district level • Possess a proven record of professional excellence • Show commitment to building a nurturing environment that supports learning • Adhere to the highest moral and ethical standards

with the Mission Economic Development Corporation (EDC), and Code Interactive to implement a new instructional initiative that will impact all Mission CISD schools.

This unique partnership takes advantage of the growth of coding interest and programs supported by the Mission EDC. Mission CISD teachers will be taught how to implement a coding curriculum into Computer Science classes in a meaningful way. The curriculum involves a creative computing approach designed to build on a student’s creativity, imagination, and interests.

“The last three years, we have taken advantage of the national observance of An Hour of Code to spark student and teacher interest in coding,” explained Dr. Ricardo López, Superintendent of Schools. “Now we have reached the time to take advantage of that interest and build upon it with the help of our partners in this initiative.”

Mission CISD teachers from each ju-

nior high school and high school spent part of their summer going through training and instruction on how to incorporate the coding curriculum into their courses. That professional development will continue and expand to include instructional staff from the district’s elementary schools.

The formal announcement will take place at R. Cantu Jr. High School this Friday, October 6, 2017, at 9:30 a.m.

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Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Sharyland Lead Librarian Chosen as TALL Texan Mentor Nicole H. Cruz, Sharyland ISD Lead Librarian, was selected to attend the prestigious TALL Texans Leadership Development Institute. She was one of six mentors for the Institute.

The Institute was sponsored by the Texas Library Association, Demco, and Midwest Tape and held in June. It is intended to foster and extend the leadership abilities and interpersonal skills of 24 selected librarians and library laypersons.

These individuals are mid-career, and are chosen for their leadership potential. This marks the 24th year for the Institute.

Selection to the mentor group was highly competitive and based on the TLA Executive Board nominating individuals who have already demonstrated leadership at the local, state, and national level.

The mentors are drawn from school, public, academic and special libraries. Cruz was a participant for the Class of 2005.

Cruz was selected for her continued active leadership roles in the Texas Library Association. She has served on the Tejas Star Book List Committee, both as a member and as chair. She has advocated for school libraries as part of the TLA Legislative Committee. She was part of the

original 13 member Texas School Library Standards and Revision Committee.

Cruz is currently a member on the Texas Association of School Librarians Scholarship Committee. She is the Past President of Texas Association of School Library Administrators. She has earned recognition for her publications in the Texas Library Journal and The Voice-PTA. She was awarded the South Texas Literacy Coalition Outstanding School Librarian Award in 2005.

“I feel that it is important to inspire and build leadership capacity. By participating in this weeklong institute, I knew I would be among the best of school, academic, and public librarians in the state,” Cruz said about accepting the invitation to serve as a member to this year’s TALL Texan participants. “It is an opportunity for me to give back, but it also provides me with excitement and energy to observe the passion and dedication from new and future library leaders. I was honored to serve.”

Mentors are encouraged to stay connected through social media, phone calls, emails, and visits to the participants.

They offer support and advice as called upon by the Class of 2017.

McAllen Municipal Court Offers Amnesty Window Failure to appear charges to be waived for those who come in voluntarily If you failed to pay for a ticket or failed to show up for court in the City of McAllen, you have a short window of time to take care of the matter without having to pay the additional “failure to appear” charges that normally come into play for late payments.

For a period of five weeks, starting this week and continuing through Friday, November 3, 2017, City of McAllen Municipal Court will offer a Failure to Appear Amnesty Program.

During this time, the failure to appear charge will be waived for anyone who comes in voluntarily to make arrangements to pay their tickets where the defendant has not previously entered a plea on the Failure to Appear. However, if an officer is now or has been actively looking for a defendant, these defen-

dants will not qualify for amnesty.

“Offering the failure to appear amnesty is a great way to help bring in individuals who, for whatever reason, did not show up on their appointed court date and are now possibly living in fear of being arrested,” said Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Henley. “The amnesty provides them with an opportunity to pay, or make arrangements to pay their fines, without receiving additional fees.”

To receive the amnesty, individuals with outstanding tickets should go to the City of McAllen Municipal Court, located at the McAllen Police Headquarters, at 1601North Bicentennial, between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Violators cannot call and ask for the amnesty; they must come in and make the arrangements in person or handle their tickets online.

Please remember that purses, briefcases or bags of any kind are not allowed in the courtroom.

WWW.RGVTIMES.COM

RGV Barracudas Announce Schedule

The Rio Grande Valley Barracudas announce their schedule for the 20172018 season.

The Barracudas will start their season on the road when they take on division and in-state rival El Paso Coyotes on Saturday, October 28th at the El Paso County Coliseum with the kickoff set for 8:05 PM CST. Additionally the Barracudas home opener which will be on Saturday, November 4th at State Farm Arena at 7:05 CST PM as they will host the Florida Tropics of the Eastern Conference.

RGV Barracudas will head south of the border for the first of four trips beginning on Sunday, November 12th as they take on the Monterrey Flash at Arena Monterrey with the kickoff at 5:05 PM CST. Additionally the Barracudas will head to California four times starting Friday, December 15th when they take on the Turlock Express at the Turlock Indoor

Soccer with the kickoff starting at 9:05 PM CST. The schedule is also highlighted with visits from the Tacoma Stars of the Pacific Conference with the game scheduled for Saturday, January 20th, 2018 with the kickoff for set for 7:05 PM CST and the Cedar Rapids Rampage scheduled for Monday night, February 19th, 2018 with the kickoff set for 7:35 PM CST. The full schedule can be found at www.barracudasfc.com.

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

WWW.RGVTIMES.COM

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UTRGV Ranks Sixth Among 56 Texas Universities for Lowest Student loan Debt

PSJA ISD students register to vote during the annual National Voter Registration Day rally on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at the Boggus Ford Events Center in Pharr.

PSJA ISD High School Students Attend National Registration Day Rally Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD (PSJA) high school students participated in an annual National Voter Registration Day rally on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at the Boggus Ford Events Center in Pharr where they learned about the importance of voting and had the opportunity to register onsite.

The event was hosted by Project V.O.T.E (Voters of Tomorrow through Education) and Texas Education Code. Presenters included: PSJA School Board members, the Hidalgo County Elections Administrator, AACT Now (Advocacy Alliance Center of Texas) Representatives, the Hidalgo County District Attorney Ricardo Rodriguez, Hidalgo County Master Court Judge Nereida Singleterry and PSJA ISD Student Council Officers.

National Voter Registration Day is a nationwide nonpartisan effort created to bring volunteers, civic groups, and organizations together to register thousands of voters on a single day.

“You are tomorrow’s leaders,” PSJA School Board Vice-President Jesse Zambrano told students from all PSJA ISD high schools. “You must encourage your parents, friends, and family to exercise their right to vote.”

At PSJA ISD, this effort is also tied to

the district’s PSJA VOTES campaign, which successfully helped increased the number of registered voters within the school district and across the region with its 2016 campaign. A record high increase of 22 percent was recorded across the region, compared to other years. PSJA ISD alone, had an increase of 48.91 percent compared to the 2012 presidential election.

Every year, PSJA students enrolled in U.S. government courses, learn about their civic responsibilities. The goal of the event was to expand their knowledge of their civic duties, the voter registration process and criteria for voting in elections. In addition, students had the opportunity to register.

“Voting is a way to honor our history,” said Alyssa Hernandez a PSJA Early College High School senior and Student Council president. “It is now our turn to preserve the honor of those who came before us.”

The deadline to register or update voter registration information for the upcoming November elections is Oct. 10, 2017. For any questions regarding registration and voting, please individuals may contact 956-664-2228 or visit http://aactnow. org.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has been ranked No. 6 in Texas for lowest student loan debt.

The ranking, by LendEdu.com, evaluated 56 colleges and universities using data licensed from Peterson’s, a long-established college and graduate school resource for prospective students.

The site calculated the average student loan debt per borrower for the Class of 2016, the most recent and accurate data available for that cohort.

Following are the results for other UT System schools on the rankings list: • UT Arlington, fifth.

• UTRGV, sixth.

• UT Permian Basin, eighth.

• UT Dallas, 11th.

• UT Tyler, 12th.

• UT El Paso, 13th.

• UT Austin, 24th.

• UT San Antonio, 28th.

The top-ranked Texas school is Paul Quinn College; Baylor University is last on the list, at 56th.

The website ranked colleges in terms of average student loan debt, per borrower, at graduation. Its research shows that, overall, 60 percent of graduates

had student debt, and the average owed $27,975.

LendEdu.com found that at UTRGV, 58 percent of graduates had student debt, with an average debt per borrower of $15,731 upon graduation.

“Your school is doing a great job at helping students afford their college education without having to take on the significant amount of student debt that holds back so many young adults today,” according to a letter to UTRGV from the ranking organization.

Full results of the LendEdu.com study, by state, are available here: https://lendedu.com/blog/college-student-loan-debt-rankings-by-state-2017/

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