Rio Hondo ISD Lifts Off

Rio Hondo, a tiny town in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley, is roughly 47 miles from SpaceX’s towering rocket production facility and test site.  

It’s the type of community where almost everyone comes together for events like Friday night football games at Rio Hondo High School. In this tight-knit community, most of the kids stay in the area after they graduate.  

When big companies like SpaceX and ACCIONA Energía came to the region, the school district knew its students were poised for big opportunities. Rio Hondo ISD Superintendent Raul J. Treviño and his board rose to the occasion, leading the way for Rio Hondo High School to become a P-TECH designated campus in 2021. The first cohort of P-TECH students graduated this May.  

“They’re [school leaders] relentless in their pursuit of advancing education in every way possible for the district,” said Jaime Lopez, Rio Hondo ISD’s school board president. 

“Our staff and our board are always looking to make things better. We’re always working together as a team of eight,” Lopez said. “It’s unique for a school district of our size [approximately 1,500 students] to be able to offer career and technology pathways. For us to be able to do that, it’s been a complete game changer for our district, but more importantly, for our kids.”  

Lopez, who has two sons who have graduated from the district, is looking forward to his youngest daughter trying the P-TECH curriculum when she starts high school this fall.  

“We want to prepare our kids for industries that are growing, that lead to careers,” said Lopez. To match the developing opportunities in the Valley, the district added a new engineering pathway this school year where students can learn how to program and earn certifications in Auto-CAD [computer-aided design].  

“It was really just a lot of people coming together and deciding to do something different for the future of our city,” said Treviño.  

Enhancing Students’ Opportunities  

Rio Hondo ISD is enhancing its STEM career pathways with a new, first-of-its-kind, mobile engineering classroom for high school students. The solar-powered mobile unit was obtained through the Texas Workforce Commission Jobs & Education for Texans (JET) Grant Program. It is fully equipped with a 3D printer, computers, monitors, industrial robots, and augmented reality headsets. The classroom will provide simulated workforce experiences through its augmented reality technology.  

How can other school districts prepare students for new careers in their area?  

“Embrace the opportunity and work at building a relationship with these big tech companies,” said Treviño. “Most have a social impact model and do want to partner with local schools in the area. It’s important for us to nurture that relationship as superintendents and principals, so they can see us as a partner in helping to create a pathway that connects students to those careers one day. Our school systems need to be malleable and ready to change our shape to provide our students the boost they need to obtain those careers.” 

Photo: Rio Hondo ISD students are able to learn real-life career skills through the P-TECH program.