Get to Know the Texas Graduate Center

Texas Graduate CenterNewsletter

The Texas Graduate Center (TGC) is a public-private initiative of the Texas Valley Communities Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Dr. Roland Arriola, President. The TGC supports innovative programs in higher education for the Rio Grande Valley. The goal of the TGC is to implement transformational change in local schools and communities. The TGC offers distance-learning graduate programs

from prestigious universities in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

For its inaugural graduate program, the TCG partnered with Harvard University to offer a Master’s degree in Mathematics for Teaching. This three-year program involves distance-learning classes at the TGC along with summer residency at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.

TEXAS GRADUATE CENTER PARTNERS WITH TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

The Texas Graduate Center is proud to announce its most recent collaboration with Texas A&M University. The TGC will offer a master’s in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas A&M beginning Fall, 2014.

The program is open to Rio Grande Valley residents who have a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering or related field such as Physics or Geology.

There are great opportunities for Rio Grande Valley residents in the field of Petroleum Engineering and the TGC is working to prepare world-class engineers to enter the workforce.

Classes will be taken at the TGC via distance learning. For more information, contact Adriana Lopez at 956-903-4231 or via email at alopez@tvcof.org.

Standing L-R- Marvelia Balboa, Karina Araiza, Julio Tobias, Corazon Bautista, Ricardo Delgado, Dr. Mary Alice Reyes, Diana Garcia, Ramiro Ayala, Alejandro De La Garza and Juan Barrera.

December 2013www.TxGradCenter.org

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In This Issue

Meet Texas Graduate Center’s Cohort I p. 2

Letter From the Excecutive Director p. 3

Lecturer From University of Chicago Discusses Mathematics with RGV Teachers p. 4

Harvard Lecturer Visits the RGV p. 4

COHORT III FORMING FOR JANUARY 2015TEXAS GRADUATE CENTER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HARVARD UNIVERSITY

MATHTEACH COLLABORATIVE

Texas Graduate CENTER1098 W. Expressway 83Mercedes, TX 78570Ph: 956.903.4231

Dr. LeMaster is the Program Advisor for the Texas Graduate Center. He holds a Ph.D. in physics and mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin. He served as Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Texas-Pan American for __ years.

DR. EDWIN LEMASTER

Ramiro AyalaDonna ISD

Corazon BautistaHidalgo ISD

Juan BarreraPSJA ISD

Karina S. Ruiz de Araiza

Marvelia BalboaSan Benito CISD

Alejandro De La GarzaLyford CISD

Diana GarciaSouth Texas ISD

Julio TobiasEdinburg CISD

Ricardo DelgadoSan Benito CISD

Mr. Ayala is a second-generation immigrant from Northern Mexico. He was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley and received his 8-12 certification through the University of Texas-Pan American. He currently teaches at Donna North High School.

Ms. Bautista hails from the Philippines, where she received her bachelor’s degree in industrial management along with her diploma in professional education. She has been teaching for 20 years. She currently teaches at Hidalgo Early College High School.

As a first-generation college student, Mr. Barrera struggled in his first year of college. With only a few courses left to complete his core requirements, he took a pre-calculus course. His experience in that class inspired him to become a Math teacher. He currently teaches at PSJA Southwest ECHS.

Ms. Araiza has been teaching in the Rio Grande Valley for eight years. She was inspired to study mathemat-ics by her 7th grade math teacher. Now, as an educator herself, she works to instill the same inspiration in her own students. Present-ly, she teaches at South-west Early College High School in PSJA.

Ms. Balboa graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Texas Pan American with a bachelor’s of science in mathematics with Secondary Certification. Ms. Balboa has been teaching at her high school alma mater, San Benito High School, for two years.

Mr. De La Garza re-ceived his bachelor’s of science in mathematics along with his teacher certification from the University of Texas at Brownsville. Before teaching, he worked for several companies, including Sprint and Primerica Financial. He has been teaching mathematics for four years. He currently teaches at Lyford High School.

Ms. Garcia joined South Texas Independent School District in 2008 as an In-School Suspension Para-professional. When her daughter entered elementary, Ms. Garcia was inspired to become a teacher. She pusued her teaching certification and in 2009 began teaching mathematics at South Texas Prep Academy.

Mr. Tobias graduated from Edinburg North High School in the top 10% of his class and received a full scholarship to the University of Texas Pan American. After graduation, he returned to his former high school where he currently teaches Algebra. He has been teaching for three years.

In 2007, Mr. Delgado enrolled at the University of Texas at Brownsville uncertain of his major, but quite definite in his passion for mathematics. He pursued a bachelor’s of science degree in mathematics and currently teaches at San Benito High School.

Meet Texas Graduate Center’s Harvard Math for Teaching Cohort I

2

Dr. LeMaster is the Program Advisor for the Texas Graduate Center. He holds a Ph.D. in physics and mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin. He served as Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Texas-Pan American for 6 years.

The Texas Graduate Center (TGC) is an initiative of the Texas Valley Communities Foundation created to impact student achievement,

reduce the drop out rate and increase the college attainment level of the students in the Rio Grande Valley. Because mathematics is often considered a significant predictor of success in many fields of study, especially those in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), the Texas Graduate Center, in collaboration with Harvard University, has formed a MATHTEACH Collaborative to focus on teacher preparation as a means of impacting student achievement in mathematics.

The MATHTEACH Collaborative is composed of school districts and business and community partners, including Region

One GEAR UP and Texas Instruments, who provide support for teachers to earn a master’s degree in Mathematics for Teaching from Harvard University. This degree is specifically designed for middle school and high school mathematics teachers and is focused on the content covered at these levels as well as the pedagogy necessary to ensure concept mastery. A teacher’s preparation and knowledge of content and pedagogy are critical to the success of the students in the classroom.

Twelve school districts are currently members of the MATHTEACH Collaborative: Donna ISD, Edinburg ISD, Hidalgo ISD, La Joya ISD, Lyford CISD, McAllen ISD, Mercedes ISD, PSJA ISD, San Benito CISD, South Texas ISD, and Weslaco ISD. School districts participating in the Collaborative will also benefit from training in mathematics

and leadership capacity building provided by Harvard faculty along with college and career readiness presentations for students and parental engagement sessions for parents on preparing their children for postsecondary education.

The first cohort (Cohort I), composed of nine teachers, recently returned from their first summer session at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They are well on their way to completing their three-year course of study. This year, eight teachers have been selected to join Cohort II to begin their program in January 2014. The TGC expects to select a cohort each year thereafter. For more information on joining the MATHTEACH Collaborative and supporting teachers in the program, please feel free to visit our website at www.txgradcenter.org.

Letter from the Executive DirectorDr. Mary Alice Reyes

Texas Graduate Center

MATHTEACH COLLABORATIVECOHORT II TEACHERS SELECTEDThe Texas Graduate Center is pleased to announce the selection of teachers for Cohort II of the Harvard University Mathematics for Teaching Graduate Program.

Texas Graduate Center

Dr. Rolando Balotro

Dayanara Garza

Queen Martin

Crystal Chagoya

Jose Villagomez

Homero Colunga

Reynaldo Jope

Jose Constantino

PSJA North High School

PSJA North High School

Jimmy Carter Early College High School

Cesar Chavez Middle School

Weslaco High School

Weslaco East High School

Achieve Early College High School

Mercedes High School Mercedes ISD

McAllen ISD

Weslaco ISD

Weslaco ISD

La Joya ISD

La Joya ISD

PSJA ISD

PSJA ISD

www.TxGradCenter.orgA public-private initiative of the Texas Valley Communities Foundation

3

D r. John Boller, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at the Uni-versity of Chicago, recently spoke to Rio Grande Valley Math teachers at Region One’s Education Center in Ed-

inburg, Texas. The workshop was presented by The Texas Gradu-ate Center as part of the MATHTEACH Collaborative. He spoke on

“Situational Mathematics: Connecting Higher Mathematics in the High School Classroom.”

Dr. Boller also taught as a Preceptor at Harvard University and helped establish the Masters in Mathematics for Teaching through Har-vard Extension School.

T he Texas Graduate Center, in

collaboration with Region One GEAR UP, welcomed Dr. Katherine Merseth, Harvard Senior Lec-turer and Director of Teacher Educa-tion at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, to Re-gion One’s Teachers as Leaders of Learning Conference on November 15, 2013.

Dr. Merseth delivered the keynote address as part of a three-part Leadership Series held at Region One Education Service Center in Ed-inburg, Texas. Her lecture, “Building a Culture of Achievement,” fo-cused on the elements essential for creating successful learning for all students. She encouraged educators to set higher cognitive demands on students. “Students will learn to do the tasks we ask of them,” she said, stressing that “Task predicts performance.”

Attendees included local superintendents, principals, teachers, deans of instruction and administrators.

Dr. Merseth will be returning to Region One for two additional lec-tures on March 6th and 7th, 2014.

Harvard Senior Lecturer, Dr. Katherine Merseth, Visits RGV

4

Senior Lecturer from the University of Chicago Discusses Mathematics with RGV Teachers

COHORT III FORMING FOR JANUARY 2015

Participating School Districts

• World Class Teacher Development through Harvard University• Mathematics Workshops for Teachers by Harvard Faculty• Leadership Workshops for Administrators by Harvard Faculty• Student College and Career Readiness Sessions• Parent Engagement Sessions

TEXAS GRADUATE CENTER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HARVARD UNIVERSITY

COHORT I 2013Donna ISDEdinburg CISDHidalgo ISDLyford CISDPSJA ISDSan Benito CISDSouth Texas ISD

COHORT II 2014 La Joya ISD McAllen ISD Mercedes ISD PSJA ISD Weslaco ISD

MATHTEACH COLLABORATIVE

For more information, contact Dr. Mary Alice Reyes, mareyes@tvcof.org, 956-903-4231

Visit us online at txgradcenter.org