Princeton University student Wendy Kopp formulated the idea of Teach For America in 1989 for her undergraduate thesis.
The first participants in the nascent TFA program began their lifelong pursuit of educational excellence in 1990. Teach for America Rio Grande Valley was founded the following year. The national organization and its affiliates around the country are non-profit institutions. They recruit and train recent college graduates and professionals to teach in mostly lower-income communities for at least two years.
More than 30 new TFA Corps members are spending the summer months preparing to welcome RGV students for the 2025-26 school year. They devote their mornings to teaching at middle schools in the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district. The TFA participants do so under the supervision of district teachers. Their afternoons are spent in TFA training sessions.
“It’s like accelerated student teaching,” said Jon Stevens, a senior managing director for TFA in the Valley.
Stevens emphasized the value of having PSJA ISD mentor teachers and a TFA coach working together to support and provide immediate feedback to Corps members.
“When they start the school year, they are already used to working with colleagues,” Stevens said.
Working In Teams
The third partner in the mix is ACT-RGV.
It’s a state-accredited alternative certification program that works with TFA Corps members so they can earn their official Texas teacher certification. Earning the certification is a rigorous process. There is a requirement of 50 hours of observation by Texas-certified teachers and 150 training/workshop hours mandated to obtain their intern certificate.
This certificate is mandatory in most Valley districts. Corps members receive a standard Texas teacher certificate after completion of their first year of teaching and meeting all alternative certification requirements. The TFA program is expertly designed to avoid overwhelming Corps members.
“We do not duplicate support because then it’s not support, it’s a burden,” Stevens said.
Another important summer assignment is going through the process of interviewing for available teaching positions in TFA partner districts in the Valley. Among those seeking positions are new TFA Corp participants Cynthia Irwin and Alek Galarza.
Irwin graduated from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio and participated in AmeriCorps in working with at-risk children in underserved communities.
“I saw a lot of myself in many of them,” said Irwin, who was born in Monterrey. “It was a pivotal time in my life.”
She knew she wanted to return to the Valley, where her family moved when she was seven. Irwin enrolled at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, rekindling her passion for education and science. She considered becoming a physician assistant but changed her mind when she became a mother.
“I reflected on what aligned best with family,” Irwin said.
The TFA Investment
Galarza is a graduate of Edcouch-Elsa High School and finished those years with an associate degree.
He played collegiate tennis in Wisconsin for one semester before coming home and completing his degree at UTRGV at the age of 20. He considered law school, but his passion for writing steered him in the direction of education and TFA.
“I believe I’m a piece of every mentor I’ve had,” Galarza said. “I want to give a piece of myself to my students.”
Galarza shared that he is “big on structure and planning” while realizing that “every day in the classroom will be different.”
Irwin and Galarza can’t wait to step into their own classrooms to bring the TFA mission to life. For Irwin that means “students celebrating progress with me cheering, establishing a growth mindset in my classroom, raising the bar and challenging my students.”
Galarza says he and his fellow Corps members are in this together.
“The goal we all have is to better our community, to better our students,” he said. “And TFA is investing in us.”
The new teachers will become part of the TFA alumni after their two-year commitment and become “free agents,” Stevens said. Corps members present action projects, sharing how they have grown in leadership and their plan for making a long-term impact.
There are approximately 220 TFA RGV alumni who live in the Valley. Seventy percent of these alumni are still working in education. Next year is the 35th anniversary of TFA RGV. The nearly 1,800 TFA RGV alumni will be invited to attend an Alumni Reunion in February 2026. TFA is a nonprofit organization, relying on grants, donations and sponsorships to keep their Corps thriving.