CTE Advisory Board Gets Student Success Update

Members of the Los Fresnos CISD Career and Technical Education Advisory Board heard about several CTE accomplishments at its spring meeting Tuesday.

The Advisory Board, which meets twice a year, is comprised of community and business members from Los Fresnos and Brownsville who have partnered with CTE programs or have taken interns into their places of businesses or organizations.

Keynote speaker was Jaime Salazar, Chief of Staff of the Department of Homeland Security South Texas Corridor. Salazar, a San Benito native, and his family moved back to the area last summer after several years in the Washington, D.C. area. He has worked in several positions with DHS and is retiring this month.

Karen Weaver, Supervisory Park Ranger with the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park, located at FM 511 and FM 1847, also spoke to the group about the experiences with two Los Fresnos High School student interns this school year.

Weaver is one of more than a dozen area businesses and community organizations who have taken LFHS student interns for unpaid training and learning.

The park, which is the site of the first major battle of the U.S.-Mexican War, enjoys the unique distinction of being the only National Park Service unit to interpret the U.S.-Mexican War. The park has educational programs for children.

Weaver presented volunteer hour pins to students Zoe Arriaga and Daniel Maya.

CTE Director Ronnie Rodriguez reported on several other Career and Technical student organization (CTSO0 student achievements this school year including:

• FFA: Twenty-two Los Fresnos CISD students from Grades 3 to 12 made the sale at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show. Awards ranged from Reserved Grand Champion Market Poultry, Reserved Breed Champions, Reserved Division Champions, and several top three awards which qualifies students to the sale.
• HOSA: Four students are qualifiers to the national HOSA competition in Orlando, Fla. in June.
• DECA: Three students qualified for the international competition in Orlando in May.
• Sea Perch/Robotics: A team of students will participate in the International SeaPerch competition in Washington, D.C. in June.
• BPA: Two students will compete in the national leadership conference in Anaheim, Calif. in May.
• Falcon Law: Ten students competed in the state competition.
• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA): Thirty-two students volunteered to assist with 309 federal income tax returns that were accepted.
• CTE on Tour: CTSO programs visited two elementary schools to present to fifth-grade students about their respective programs.