Without the philanthropic support of area businesses, Guadalupe Regional Middle School (GRMS), a tuition-free, three-year Catholic school, would not exist. Partnered with Brownsville businesses such as Ziwa Construction, the Martinez Barrera and Martinez law firm, Luke Fruia Motors, Falcon International Bank and Esco Marine, the compact urban school raises its entire budget through year-round contributions and sponsorship of events by committed business and organizations. The long term result is better-educated, more productive young adults.
The small school, part of the national, 60-school, NativityMiguel network, sparks charitable donations of time, expertise and funding because of its mission of providing a quality, free education to children from low-income families. In the 10 years since the school opened next to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, its graduates have achieved an impressive record: 100 percent completion of high school on time and 95 percent of them went on to enroll in college.
The opportunity to enable economically-disadvantaged students to achieve the dream of a Catholic education that they otherwise couldn’t afford caught the interest seven years ago of Polo Borrego, Regional President of Falcon International Bank and now chairman of the Guadalupe school board. Because of Borrego’s involvement, the Laredo-based bank has backed GRMS’s operation.
“From the very beginning we saw that the middle school years are very formative. We can help the students get ready for high school and put in their mind that college is always an option,” he said.
Falcon Bank asks its employees to be involved in their community, Borrego explained. “That’s one of our goals. The bank lets us decide which organization to support and where to contribute our time.” Time is an extremely valuable commodity, and Borrego’s time commitment as board chair is a large one.
Eighty percent of the bank’s local charitable funding goes to organizations where bank officers are actively involved. Borrego has also served on the UTB/TSC Development Board and Brownsville Community Foundation.
Guadalupe School, which is sponsored by congregations of Marist Brothers, Christian Brothers and Sisters of the Incarnate Word, has just under 90 students enrolled this year. With 15 to 18 kids per class, Guadalupe is typical of the small-community model of the NativityMiguel program.
“Our main goal is close the achievement gap,” said Michael Motyl, president of GRMS. “They are at risk because of their family’s low socio-economic status. Because of that, the achievement gaps keeps getting wider, putting them farther away from opportunities,” unless they can find support through a place like Guadalupe Middle School.
Read the entire story by Eileen Mattei in the December print edition of Valley Business Report, on newsstands now.