Jubilee Academies Impressive at Each Turn

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Jubilee Academies Impressive at Each Turn

Principal Tanya Perez cuts the ribbon as school administrators, area dignitaries, teachers and students celebrate the opening of the new Jubilee Harlingen campus.
Principal Tanya Perez cuts the ribbon as school administrators, area dignitaries, teachers and students celebrate the opening of the new Jubilee Harlingen campus.

Some teachers, parents and students waited eight years for this.

On Aug. 9, three days before the official first school day, they beamed with pride and happiness as they walked through the halls of their brand new 43,000-square-foot Jubilee Academies Harlingen.

“This is the best-built facility at Jubilee,” said Daniel Amador, Jubilee Academies RGV district superintendent. “We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the parents who stayed with us. We love Harlingen and the RGV.” 

Located on South Palm Drive just north of Interstate 2 on the west side of Harlingen, this new school merges the previous Harlingen and Destiny campuses into one. It serves pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It also features state-of-the-art science and art labs, a full-size gym and full-service kitchen. There also will be Chromebooks and Smart TVs to enhance learning and teaching. 

This is the first time Jubilee-Harlingen has a full-size gymnasium between the two campuses.
This is the first time Jubilee-Harlingen has a full-size gymnasium between the two campuses.

A great first impression

“Wow” was parent Bonnie Sterlin’s only word when she gazed into the indoor playground. Both her boys David and William were excited to walk on the artificial bright green grass. Tricycles and basketballs as well as soccer balls and games pepper the room.

“We are really impressed with all there is here,” Sterlin said excitedly as she and daughter Emma walked toward the new library. “The newness, the technology, the gym, the indoor playground, I can’t wait for the first day.”

The new school, as well as its speedy seven-month construction period, also left an impression on Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell.

“The philosophy here is much like the city,” he said. “You focus on leadership, character and excellence to provide a family-oriented and nurturing environment within the schools and that is the kind of city we aspire to be. What a great fit for Jubilee to be here and part of our community.” 

Classrooms in the new building are larger and include whiteboards and smart TVs for all educational purposes and uses.
Classrooms in the new building are larger and include whiteboards and smart TVs for all educational purposes and uses.

Jubilee-Harlingen is a public, open-enrollment charter school that opened in 2011. The school started with just 92 students. Two years later was the opening of a second campus, Jubilee Destiny. There were then a total of 280 students at the separate locations. One was near Harlingen South and the other in the Faith Pleases God Church facility on the west frontage road a couple miles from the new school. 

This school year, the merged school welcomes more than 600 students. Both door-to-door enrollment and marketing efforts account for about 450 of that total coming in as new students. Administrators and other school personnel talked to people in neighborhoods around the new school. They then spread out to the area around Harlingen South, then San Benito, La Feria and Raymondville to garner the new students.  

Teachers gather at the request of Principal Tanya Perez in thanks for their efforts to get the school ready.
Teachers gather at the request of Principal Tanya Perez in thanks for their efforts to get the school ready.

Planning for the future

With an expectation of growth, the new campus now accommodates 720 students.

Fourth-year teacher Brad Dandurand was proud to show off his new, large and bright social studies classroom for anyone who came in. It will be his first year teaching the subject. 

“I am excited,” he said about the new year and new school. “This is magnificent.”

“I love it,” Jubilee Academies RGV Director of Marketing Sal Martinez said while standing near his favorite area – the library.

This new school isn’t all Jubilee has planned in Harlingen. 

“We think with the end in mind and behind this building will be our high school coming up,” Amador said to a round of applause from the family members and staff in attendance at the ribbon cutting. Martinez said there was no timetable for that next step, but is excited about what the future holds.

“Our vision is more schools in Harlingen and the RGV,” Amador said. 

Several gather around the library area. The curve shape of the room with a one-side glass enclosure creates a light and vibrant area for students. According to director of marketing Sal Martinez, Jubilee Harlingen is working with some local partnerships to provide the best materials for students.
Several gather around the library area. The curve shape of the room with a one-side glass enclosure creates a light and vibrant area for students. According to director of marketing Sal Martinez, Jubilee Harlingen is working with some local partnerships to provide the best materials for students.

Inform. Educate. Entertain. Inspire. Those are the four key components Lisa believes must be present in “the perfect story” and accomplishing that is her goal every time she sits down to write. Lisa is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years in the industry as a newspaper reporter, editor, photographer and page designer. In June of 2019, she left the Valley Morning Star after four years as its editor. During her stint at the VMS, she also created and was the editor of Valley Women Inspire, a magazine published by AIM Media Texas, owners of the Valley Morning Star, McAllen Monitor and Brownsville Herald. Originally from Southeastern Wisconsin, Seiser was the editor of a weekly newspaper, the Lake Geneva Regional News. She then moved to Junction City, Kansas, to be the editor of the Daily Union in that city before relocating to the RGV to work at the Valley Morning Star. Seiser has lived in Harlingen since June of 2015 and loves palm trees, the beach, traveling, golfing and her three rescue dogs.

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