Rio Grande Valley Linking Economic and Academic Development

The Texas regional pathways network (trpn) was launched in 2019 to support governor abbott's tri-agency workforce initiative, through which the Texas education agency, Texas higher education coordinating board, and Texas workforce commission are working collaboratively to increase Economic prosperity in Texas by Linking education and industry. With a vision that all texans are prepared to contribute to an inclusive and competitive Texas economy, the trpn aims to build regional talent pipelines that spur Economic growth across the state and ensure that all texans have the skills and credentials needed for Economic advancement. The trpn is a growing community of regions across the state working to develop, refine, and scale high-quality career and education pathways. Through the network, grantees can share knowledge and best practices, make strategic connections and build intentional partnerships across regions in service of their goals. Rgv lead serves as the intermediary for 3 cohorts serving: la feria, Rio hondo, santa rosa, san isidro, lasara, san perlita, vanguard academy, donna and raymondville. We bring together school leaderships, educators, workforce boards, higher education institutions, and employers to bring real change to the school and local area. Some areas of study include welding, wind energy, communications, and health care--these areas of study fall in the high-demand occupation of the south Texas region.

Miscellaneous local expenditures are required for workshops and lunches to gain support for and participation in the various projects and programs. The workforce solutions agreement is a collaborative project in which the lower Rio Grande Valley workforce Development board d.b.a. Workforce solutions entered into a contract with rgv lead to assist with management of summer educator externships. Rgv lead works with workforce solutions, multiple school districts, and other partners to establish and/or enhance existing career academies aligned with house bill 5 requirements by recruiting, training, and supporting teacher externships. Rgv lead serves as a liaison to school districts and as externship project coordinator under the terms of the contract. The project is aligned with the Academic leadership alliance summer educator externships.