New Investments Launch Effort to Transform High Schools and Help Region One area Students Graduate Ready for College, Work

EDINBURG, Texas -- The Region One Education Service Center (ESC), in partnership with the Center for School Excellence (CSE) and the Institute for Research and Reform in Education (IRRE), today announced a $671,000 investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to create a comprehensive framework to transform high-poverty, low-performing high schools into high-performing communities of learning in southern Texas.

Region One ESC, which includes a seven-county region along the Texas-Mexico border, will use the year-long investment to design a plan that helps all students achieve at higher levels, particularly Hispanic students, who make up nearly 97 percent of the student population in the area. This design, which aims to serve the particular needs of immigrant, low-income students and English language learners in border communities, may also serve as a model for similar high school reform efforts throughout the country.

“What we are seeing is that our high school students are not performing academically or completing high school at the levels that we know are critical for life long success and economic vitality,” said Dr. Sylvia R. Hatton, Region One ESC Executive Director. “We want to customize a high school redesign framework to pilot and implement in Region One high schools built around successful models. The non-traditional structures and approaches will drive the redesign. Our expectations are very high and our students’ success will be our reward.”

While the area has strengthened its commitment to student achievement, it has been trailing behind in meeting the state’s graduation requirement. According to the state department of education, only 60 percent of students in the region met the state standard on the 2005 Grade 11 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), which is required for graduation.

The Region One ESC will model its effort after innovative and effective school design frameworks called the School Excellence Model developed by CSE and the First Things First model developed by IRRE. These models are designed to increase graduation rates and improve student achievement and transform schools into high-quality learning environments focused on rigorous coursework, smaller learning environments, improved teaching and more personalized support.

“In preparing this grant, our approach was to utilize the findings of successful school models to address our specific student population,” said Dr. Ellen M. Gonzalez of the Center for School Excellence. “In conjunction with Dr. Jim Connell, creator of the nationally recognized First Things First framework, we want to create a similar design that will work with the students that are in our schools. Region One students have unique circumstances including high poverty rates, high mobility rates, high levels of limited English proficiency that all contribute to how they perform in school.”

Region One ESC is seeking effective partnerships, as well as state, federal, and other funding sources, to secure $19.9 million to implement the completed framework in six high schools and their respective school districts for the 2006-07 school year. This funding would also assist in implementing the framework in 12 additional Region One high schools over the next five years.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested more than $50 million in Texas schools and districts, including the Texas High School Project (THSP), a statewide public-private partnership launched in 2003 to create 75 new and redesigned high schools throughout the state. Last month, the foundation supported the launch of the THSP’s new Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (TSTEM) Initiative designed to establish 35 small schools that offer focused teaching and learning opportunities in science, math, and technology.

”Every student deserves a high-quality education that gives them the skills they need for success in college and in the workplace,” said Steven G. Seleznow, program director for education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Thanks to the commitment and demonstrated leadership in this region, this innovative approach to serving the unique needs of students in southern Texas will provide the challenging coursework and support they need to compete and succeed in today’s competitive economy.”

To date, the foundation has invested about $1 billion on efforts throughout the nation to support high school improvement, including the creation of more than 1,900 high-quality high schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia. As of fall 2005, more than 550 of these new and transformed high schools have opened.

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Region One Education Service Center serves over 352,000 students and educators in seven counties in south Texas including Cameron, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Starr, Webb, Willacy and Zapata counties. Region One works to assist school districts in improving student performance, assist districts to operate more efficiently and economically, and implement initiatives assigned by the legislature or the Commissioner of Education.