Early college high school programs causing some teachers to go back to school

McALLEN — High school teachers are rushing back to graduate school to keep ahead of students who are getting college degrees as they finish high school.

The Hidalgo school district’s program began last fall, and starting in August students in Harlingen, Progreso and Santa Rosa are expected to attend similar programs.

Veronica Garza-Kortan, director of Harlingen’s early college program, said she received about 35 applications from teachers interested in filling its first five teaching slots for the new school year. She teachers need a master’s degree if they want to work as dual enrollment or adjunct instructors with Texas State Technical College in Harlingen.

“There are a lot of educators in general who really want to have an opportunity to be part of this in Harlingen. It’s a milestone for our school district and our community.”

Patricia Gandy once taught biostatistics at Technologico de Monterrey before she went into teaching chemistry and environmental science to secondary students five years ago.

Gandy will eventually earn a master’s degree in chemistry at the University of Texas - Pan American so she can teach college-level chemistry to Hidalgo High School students who are all involved in its early college high school effort. She will do this even though she has post-graduate work done already, but not in the subject she will teach in.

Gandy said she, like other teachers going back to school, will try to research new skills to use in the classroom from which students can learn.

“We deal with a very different population in the high school,” she said. “Some of our kids are here but it’s a different situation — they have to be here.”

Progreso schools Superintendent Fernando Castillo said his district’s program should serve as a motivator for teachers to advance in their educations. The district is working on a plan with Grand Canyon University to offer teachers online classes to help them finish degree work quicker.

Some teachers will go back to school to finish master’s work they did not complete at traditional campuses.

Progreso High language arts teacher Teresa Rodriguez has three hours of master’s work and plans to go to the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College to finish her degree.

“It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do,” she said. “I had a lot of extracurricular activities at school,” she said.

Some of the 10 teachers set to teach in Progreso’s early college program this fall already have advanced degrees.

Progreso band teacher Juan Jose Meave is slated to teach college-level music appreciation this fall. He has two degrees from UTPA and said without his family and government help through his military duty, he never would have finished.

He said the teachers need to evolve because Progreso students are thinking more about their futures because of the early college high school effort.

“If we support each other in what we are doing, it will work,” Meave said.

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Daniel Perry covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4454. For this and other stories, visit www.themonitor.com.