The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 44, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 4, 1990 Page: 3 of 8
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RIO (jRANDE HKkALI) . Thursday, October 4, 1990, Page 3
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Marihel Garcia shares findings in an education journal with other BESTT
participants, left to right, Maria Elena Gonzalez, I.uana Gonzalez, Veronica Salinas
^ and Marihel Hernandez. Looking on is BKSTT teacher Diane Shaffer.
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Laura Gomez shares what she has researched during BKSTT class with, left row.
Claudia Larson, Lidia (iarcia, and BKST'I teacher Diane Shaffer; right row. Diana
Saenz and Ludivina Longoria.
Pilot Program Aims At Preparing
Students For Teaching Profession
By 'I ISSA PETERSON
"We warn to be tomorrow's
'teachers that make a difference,' the
kind of teachers that motivate
students to want to learn," agreed
the participants in the BESTT
Program at Rio Grande City High
School
B E S T 'l --"Bringing the
Educational Scene for Teachers of
Tomorrow" is "
history in the making," according
to Diane Shaffer, one ol a
valley wide team ol proposal writers
for the program, "it is challenging
to teach a course for the first time
that has never been taught before."
The course, offering one elective
credit, is designed as an introduction
to the teaching profession lor
interested youth. Pending TEA
approval, participants also may cam
concurrently three hours of college
credit at Texas Southmosi College.
Six school districts in Texas, all
from the Rio Grande Valley, are
piloting the program during the
1990-91 school year. Rio Grande
City, La Joya, and Mercedes have
initiated the course this semester,
and PSJA, San Benito, and Hidalgo
will begin BEST!' next semester.
Playing a key role in developing
the course o,as Aurora Clarke, Rio
Grande Cits High School Assistant
Principal/Curriculum, who worked
with consultants on the proposal
writing team, made up ol Virginia
Lopez, T.E.A. Special Project
Liaison; Eustolia Perez, Program
Director for Teacher Certification
and Recruitment Project Region I;
John Ethrulge. BESTT teacher,
PSJA; Jerry Loll. BESTT teacher,
Mercedes; Diane Shaller, BESTT
teachers, Rio Grande City; and Pam
Mcndiola, BESTT teacher, La Joya.
BESTT is a part of Region I s
Certification and Recruitment
Project, which also sponsored the
first conference for teacher aides in
the valley last year. According to
Gilberto E. Garcia, Personnel
Director for the RGCCISD, "We
need quality teachers in the Rio
Grande Valley. and the best wa> to
accomplish this is to grow our
own.'" He added, "We can do this
by encouraging more students to
consider teaching as a future
profession and by encouraging and
enabling our teacher aides to
complete their certification
requirements."
Eligibility for the BESTT Project
shall be based on academic records
of juniors and seniors who have
indicated a desire to become a
teacher and who have maintained a
passing average in the Regular,
Advanced Academic, or Honors
High School Program. Criteria lor
computing averages will be deferred
to local school board polices.
Students will be nominated by two
core teachers, a community leader,
counselor, and the high school
administrator.
The BESTT course is designed to
provide early exposure to the
leaching career which w ill lv carried
out through a variety of approaches,
including lecture, theory, critical
analysis, problem solving, and field
experience. The primary focus ol
the BESTT project is to introduce
high school students to the
concepts of teaching as a career;
education as a profession; effective
teaching; effective teaching models;
the role ol the teacher in the
education process; and the
interrelationship among teacher,
students, and parents
Diane Shaffer adds that the
Essential Elements ol the course are
History and Philosophy of
Education; Educational Career
Orientation; The Effective Teacher;
1 liter national Communication
Skills; Planning for Instruction;
Instructional Presentation Skills.
Classroom Management and
Organization; and the Classroom
Culture: Bridging the Gap between
School and Community. "They are
doing college level work," Shatter
added.
Experiences will include
observation in grades K 12 and then
field practice. Participants at Rio
High are particularly excited about
the prospect of doing some
teaching. Interviewed during one of
their Monday through Friday fifty
minute class sessions. Seniors
Jesus Ba/an, Lidia Garcia, Manbcl
Garcia, Laura Gomez, Maria Elena
Gonzalez, I.uana Gonzalez, Oneida
Guerrero, Maribel Hernandez,
Claudia Larson, Ludivina Longoria,
Diana Saenz, and Veronica Salinas
shared their impressions of the
course.
Claudia Larson stated that she has
enjoyed the class "We're still
getting into it Its been ver>
interesting so lar." Maribel
Hernandez agreed that it is very
interesting and added, "It will help
us in the long run to be teachers in
the future."
Laura Gome/ Icels that "This
program will help me become that
excellent teacher that will make a
difference. It's an educational
experience. I feel we have a great
future." Maribel Garcia added,
"We're still students, so we can
benefit from the program. We learn
from our teacher, and she learns
from us."
Luana Gonzalez slated that "even
it you don't go into education, you
learn from the process of teaching."
Ludivina Longoria admitted, "1 was
not even sure that I would be
interested in teaching when 1 came
here, but BESTT has changed m\
opinion."
The students agreed that the\
have learned a lot through sharing
w ith each other and by keeping a
journal. We get motivated by our
teacher. They couldn't have picked
a belter one."
Mrs. Shaffer, who is also
keeping a journal, says, "I couldn't
ask for finer young people. 1 hope
they all become teachers. We need
teachers of this caliber." She added
that the students made up their own
acronym for the program, a very
luting one. Bettering the
Educational Standards for
Tomorrow s Teachers'. Either way,
is spells, BESTT, and the students
and teacher prftudly feel that it is
indeed the "best" class.
Roque Guerra
pro
Meeting Monday
i he Parent- t eacher Organization
(PTO)ol Roque Guerra Meinentary
School will be holding a meeting
and barbecue Monday evening.
The activities are scheduled to
begin at 7 p.m. Monday. There will
be discussions concerning the w ants
and needs of the children attending
the school.
All children attending Roque
Guerra and all parents arc invited
and encouraged to attend the
meeting
There will be live entertainment
provided, and many of the children
will entertain the audience. Door
pn/es will also be given
I he parents pictured above participated in a session in parental/community
involvement in the Rio Grande City CISD schools. From left to right are Klias
Solis, Grulla Jr. High; Gonzalo Bazan, La Lnion; Basilio Villarreal, Jr., Roque
Guerra; Arnoldo Galvan, Ringgold Elementary; Zoila Martinez, La Union; Minerva
Gonzalez, John and Olive llinojosa Elementary; and Yolanda /.anibrano, Grulla
Elementary. Not pictured is W. Casares, Early Childhood Center.
RGCCISD Parents Getting Involved
A group of parents, teachers and
administrators from the Rio Grande
City CISD campuses met at the
MPC Hall on Thursday, Sept. 27
to hear a presentation by Sylvia
Hatlon and Ellen Gonzalez,
administrators in the La Joya ISD.
The session focused on parental
and community involvement of the
schools. The same presentation had
been given to members of the
Texas School Improvement
Initiative (TSTI) Program of the
Texas Education Agency in Austin
in July. Attending that session were
Walter N. Watson and Ricardo
Rccio of the RGCCISD.
"There were 300 practicing
administrators from all over Texas
at that session. Every one was
impressed with the program and the
presentation made by these La Joya
Administrators," stated Watson.
"We (Ricardo and 1) gave the
information to Jose M. Longoria,
Director of Staff
Devclopmcnt/Effcclivc Schools and
he got permission Irom Dr.
Zamora, Superintendent ol La Joya
schools to allow them to address
our group."
The presentation centered on
different ways to get parents and
community members into the
schools and into the educational
process of their children. Several
programs such as the HOST (Help
One Student Succeed) were
discussed. Ideas were exchanged
between the presenters and the
audience.
It was a highly successful
session, commented Longoria.
I he presentations were excellent
and the interaction was exciting to
see. We have a good nucelous to
work with."
A district-wide parental
involvement program is being
planned. This was the first session
and served as an awareness exercise
to the participants. In the future,
more inscrvice will be given and
the end product should be more
ellcctivc parental and community
involvement in our campuses.
Shell Century Three Leaders
Scholarship Competition Announced
High school students with
outstanding leadership ability can
will a 510,000 college scholarship
and meet some of America's top
business and government leaders.
The opportunity comes in the
annual Shell Century Three Leaders
program, which awards more than
S250.000 in scholarships. High
school seniors in public, private,
and parochial schools arc eligible to
enter Shell Oil Company
Foundation and administered by the
National Association of Secondary
School Principals (NASSP).
Competition begins at the school
level where students must complete
an application stressing their
community and school service and
academic achievement, take a
current events exam, and write a
two-paragraph description
identifying a challenge lacing
America in its third century. The
entry deadline is Octobcr 19.
School winners are eligible to
compete at the state level where
two winners are announced in
January.
The winners each earn SI,500
college scholarships and
all-cxpcnsc-paid trips to the Shell
Century I hree National Meeting in
Colonial Williamsburg,
Virginia,March 21 -25. Two state
alternates each received $500
scholarships, and six other finalists
get SI00 scholarships.
'The 102 state winners have a
tremendous opportunity at the
national meeting," said Dale
Hawlcy, director of NASSP's
Division ol Student Activities.
"They spend lour days with some ol
America s lop government,
education, and business leaders,
discuss the challenges lacing the
nation, and make recommendations
to solve those problems. Frank
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Roberts, Kenneth. The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 44, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 4, 1990, newspaper, October 4, 1990; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth195257/m1/3/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.