Category Archives: Education

Pharr EDC Foundation Scholarship Now Open

Community e-Brief Features Education News Comments
Pharr EDC Foundation Scholarship

The Pharr EDC Foundation, in partnership with the Pharr Economic Development Corporation and the City of Pharr, is currently accepting applications from eligible students for the 2024-2025 Pharr EDC Foundation Scholarship. Applications are available online with a submission deadline of March 14 by 5 p.m. “The Pharr EDC Foundation is dedicated to investing in the future of our students by providing financial assistance for higher education,” said Victor Perez, president…

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STC Earns Designation for Online Excellence

e-Brief Features Education News Comments
South Texas College has earned an “Exemplary Program” designation by Quality Matters indicating the highest level of achievement for all its online courses.

More than five years in the making, South Texas College Digital Learning has become the only online program in the state of Texas to earn an “Exemplary Program” designation indicating the highest level of achievement for all its online courses. The designation awarded by Quality Matters, an international leader for quality assurance in online and digital environments, came about through a college-wide effort where STC met rigorous standards of online…

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Grant Sparks Smart Learning

Education News Comments
Fourth-grade students begin their journey with animation in the SmartLab at St. John’s Episcopal School in McAllen. (Photo Courtesy of St. John’s Episcopal School)

It was the second week in January and the first day for second graders at St. John’s Episcopal School in McAllen to visit the school’s new SmartLab. A second grader, Lily, said she wasn’t sure she wanted to return after the first half hour of instruction.  “It’s kind of confusing,” she said. “This is your left, but it’s not the robot’s left.”  Lily’s SmartLab partner for the day, Juliet, saw…

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Living History Day Brings the Past into the Present

Community Events e-Brief Features Education News Comments
Living History Day

Texas Southmost College will host its latest installment of its Living History Day on Feb. 1 at the TSC South Hall Lawn. The event is free and open to the public. Since 2017, Living History Day has been an event of sights and sounds of the past, celebrating the impact of both global and local historical eras. Visitors are encouraged to wear their best historical time-period costumes, meaning that it’s…

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UTRGV Names New Liberal Arts Dean

e-Brief Features Education News Comments
Jose Dávila-Montes

Dr. Jose Dávila-Montes, professor of Translation and Interpreting in the UTRGV Department of Writing and Language Studies, is the dean of the College of Liberal Arts, effective Jan.1. Dávila-Montes has been at UTRGV and legacy institution UT Brownsville since 2005 and has served as interim dean of Liberal Arts since June 2024. He holds bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Translation and Cross-Cultural Studies from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,…

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VIDA Support Turns Student’s Worries Into Success

e-Brief Features Education Healthcare News Non-Profit Comments

McAllen resident Rachel Tauli Batallang works as a patient sitter, a health-care worker with specialized training to intently monitor and assist patients requiring close supervision. When she started in this position, Batallang earned $9.30 an hour; however, her pay has increased to $12.07 per hour. Batallang enjoys this job but longed to be a nurse. Former classmates of Battalang told her about the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement. This…

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STC Dual Credit Receives National Representation

e-Brief Features Education Moving On Up News Comments
Rebecca De Leon

South Texas College Associate Vice President of Dual Credit Programs and School District Partnerships Rebecca De Leon is making history as the first from STC to be appointed as president-elect on the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships board of directors. “This was unexpected. I’m still taking it all in, but it is exciting and I’m honored. It could not have come at a better time, as we kickoff 25…

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South Texas ISD Celebrates 60 Years

Education News Comments
Community leaders from Mercedes and other RGV cities join South Texas ISD leadership for a late-2024 ribbon cutting of the district’s new administrative headquarters.

A school district that began in 1964 as a rehabilitation facility and today has career and technical campuses across two counties is celebrating its 60th anniversary. The South Texas Independent School District is based in Mercedes – the city where it got started – and grown far beyond its original mission. In the mid-1980s, the district opened South Texas High School for Health Professions (Med High). It was the first…

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Pushing Through a Journey of Hurdles

Education News Non-Profit Comments
Alyssa Soto

When it comes to surmounting barriers to higher education, Alyssa Soto of Pharr could be a first-place hurdler. In her mid-30s, Soto is a single mother of three children, ages 8, 9 and 14. Prior to 2022, she had been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years. When her circumstances changed, Soto realized she needed to pursue a degree; she chose nursing and gained acceptance to South Texas College in the…

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McAllen Students Reach Elite Level

Education News Comments
The Lamar Academy IB Science Olympiad Team will represent McAllen and South Texas at the 11th annual MIT Science Olympiad Invitation Tournament in January 2025.

The students sat around a large table in the science lab at Lamar Academy in McAllen. Their exuberance felt palpable, smiling as their teammates spoke. The Lamar Academy International Baccalaureate Science Olympiad Team discussed how they got to this point. In January, the 20-member team will travel to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. to compete against 65 other teams in a national tournament. The Lamar Academy Team…

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