F O R I MME DI A TE RELE A SE
Contact: Mika Rao
646.530.0249
[email protected]
TEACH FOR AMERICA AND AMERICORPS WEEK DRAWS COMMUNITY
LEADERS AS GUEST PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS
The Honorable Imelda Barrera, Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., TV Anchor Marcy Martinez, and Others to Teach in
Classrooms as Part of a National Effort to End Educational Inequity
MCALLEN, Texas, March 1, 2016 – From March 7 – 11, leaders from across the region will serve as guest
teachers during Teach For America Week. Confirmed participants include State Representative Oscar
Longoria; Susan Valverde, executive director of Sylvan Learning Rio Grande Valley; John Kittleman, general
manager at KRGV Channel 5 News; Jennifer Nava, marketing manager at International Bank of Commerce;
Rosa Benavidez, president at Starr County Industrial Foundation; Bertha Garza, first vice president of
marketing at International Bank of Commerce; The Honorable Imelda Barrera - Brooks County Judge; Marcy
Martinez, lead anchor at KGBT Channel 4 News; Claudia Cantu-Grimaldo, district manager at Wells Fargo
Bank; State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr.; and State Representative Eddie Lucio III.
Teach For America and AmeriCorps Week draws community leaders nationwide to support the goal of
expanding educational opportunity. As guest teachers, these volunteers will visit the classrooms of Teach
For America teachers, known as corps members, and teach lessons that draw on their experience in
business, media, politics, and beyond. An annual event since 1997, Teach For America Week will be
celebrated in the Rio Grande Valley and across the country this year.
“We are fortunate to have the participation of such an exciting array of leaders in this year’s Teach For
America Week,” said Dr. Paula Garcia, executive director of Teach For America in the Rio Grande Valley.
“These dynamic individuals will bring their diverse backgrounds to the classroom, where their engagement
will make a lasting impression on hundreds of students in the Valley and raise the profile of public
education across the region.”
Teach For America, which celebrates its 25th anniversary nationally and in the Rio Grande Valley this year,
recruits a diverse group of our nation’s most promising leaders to make an enduring commitment to
educational equity, beginning with teaching for at least two years in high-need urban and rural schools. The
organization has been a part of the Rio Grande Valley educational fabric since 1991, partnering with district
and charter public schools to provide candidates for open teaching positions in underserved communities.
A national survey by the RAND Corporation found that 88 percent of principals who worked with Teach For
America teachers, including those in the Rio Grande Valley, believe those teachers had a positive impact,
and 95 percent of principals in the Rio Grande Valley stated they would hire another Teach For America
teacher in the future.
This year 125 Teach For America teachers, also known as corps members, are leading local classrooms,
while an additional 170 Teach For America alumni are working from all sectors to expand educational
opportunity in the Rio Grande Valley. Among that alumni leadership force, 97 percent work in roles
impacting education or low-income communities and more than half are classroom teachers.
Schedule for confirmed guest teachers during Teach For America Week:
John Kittleman, General Manager of KRGV Channel 5
IDEA College Prep Alamo, Monday March 7, 1:40 p.m. – 2:40 p.m.
st
Bertha Garza, 1 VP of Marketing at International Bank of Commerce
Harlingen School of Health Professions, Tuesday, March 8, 9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
State Representative Oscar Longoria
Juarez-Lincoln High School (La Joya ISD), Tuesday, March 8, 1:55 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Jennifer Nava, Marketing Manager at International Commerce Bank
IDEA College Prep Donna Tuesday March 8, 1:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. and
Wednesday, March 9, 7:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Rosa Benavidez, President of Starr County Industrial Foundation
Roma High School, Wednesday March 9, 11:34 a.m. – 12:22 p.m.
Susan Valverde, Executive Director of Sylvan Learning RGV
IDEA College Prep Mission, Wednesday, March 9, 2:45p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Marcy Martinez, Lead Anchor KGBT Channel 4 News
Pittman Elementary School (Raymondville ISD), Thursday March 10, 9:00 a.m.
State Representative Eddie Lucio III
Miller Jordan Middle School (San Benito CISD), Friday March 11, 8:20 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr.
Mercedes High School, Friday, March 11, 10:15 a.m. – 11:05 a.m.
The Honorable Imelda Barrera, Brooks County Judge
Falfurrias Junior High School, Thursday March 17, 2:30p.m – 3:30 p.m.
(please note, this guest teacher is joining the following week due to FJHS spring break during TFA Week)
About Teach For America
Teach For America works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity for children
facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps
of outstanding college graduates and professionals to make an initial two-year commitment to teach in
high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to end educational inequity. Today, 8,600 corps
members are teaching in 52 urban and rural regions across the country while more than 42,000 alumni
work across sectors to ensure that all children have access to an excellent education. Teach For America is a
proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network. For more information, visit
www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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