Mission CISD (Consolidated Independent School District) has joined with the Rio Grande Valley LEAD program and Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) to further develop its leading college and career opportunities. The most recent summit, convened by RGV LEAD, brought together education leaders from throughout the RGV to continue a process they all started earlier this school year.
“We already have the most comprehensive college and career programs in western Hidalgo County,” said Ricardo López, superintendent. “Through the Ford NGL process we are hoping to continue our transformation of our high school experience for students in the most effective and meaningful ways possible. A lot of it is about making things more relevant for students in designing our curriculums and plans.”
López said another key aspect of Ford NGL is how it helps bring in the business community and makes them an active participant in planning and implementing programs that will continue to help the Mission community and economy grow. “This also brings some of the national presenters to the RGV, which gives us much better access to that perspective on the high school transformation processes.”
The goals of Ford NGL focus on three main areas: transforming teaching and learning; transforming the secondary school experience, and transforming business and civic engagements sustaining change through business and civic leadership.
Each school district participating in the Ford NGL initiative is developing a very detailed plan that will bring together all three of those focus areas.
“By the end of this school year, it is our goal to have developed ideas and plans that will fine tune and further develop what has already started in Mission CISD,” López explained. “I feel we have built a pretty strong foundation in our educational programs and approaches. Now it is time to build something truly spectacular on that foundation.”
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