Cortez: Region One is No. 1

Published: Aug. 23, 2019, 1 p.m.

EDINBURG, RGV - Now it is No. 1 in Texas, Region One Education Service Center is looking beyond the state to see what best practices it can learn from more high-performing states.\xa0

So says Brownsville native Ruben Cortez, Jr, a Region One board member and representative for District 2 on the State Board of Education.

The Texas Education Agency recently announced that every school district and charter school in Region One achieved an \u201cA\u201d or \u201cB\u201d in the state accountability rankings. Those results have catapulted Region One to No. 1 in the state of Texas.\xa0

However, Texas only ranks as 38th in the nation for educational attainment. So, Region One leaders believe they must look beyond the Lone Star State for new ideas.

\u201cWe want to see if we can bring in any innovative ideas or best practices that are currently being done in some of the higher performing states, such as professional development or resources to our school districts,\u201d Cortez told the Rio Grande Guardian.\xa0

\u201cWe are no longer trying to compete with 19 other service centers to see who is going to be the best in getting our kids academically ready, college and career ready, post-secondary ready. We want to make sure they can compete in the global economy.\u201d

Click on the link above to listen to an exclusive interview with Ruben Cortez, Jr.


To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.