Did Your Child's District Make the Grade?
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Did Your Child’s District Make the Grade? IDEA Public Schools is providing the Highest Quality Education in the Rio Grande Valley IDEA Public Schools learned in January that its network of 51 schools serving nearly 30,000 students has earned three As and one B on the TEA’s new A-F Accountability Ratings System. This makes IDEA one of the highest-performing school districts in the state of Texas, as only 16 districts earned equally high ratings. “The ratings validate IDEA’s commitment to recruiting, hiring, developing, and retaining the best teachers and leaders so that IDEA students have incredible educators encouraging their academic growth each and every day. This is the best thing we can do for our students,” said Tom Torkelson, IDEA Public Schools CEO and Founder. A-F Accountability Ratings A IDEA: B A A IDEA Frontier College A A A A Preparatory: Brownsville ISD: C A A C Donna ISD: F C B F Harlingen CISD: C B B C San Benito CISD: D F C C South Texas ISD: A B A A Weslaco ISD: D B B B The A-F ratings come on the heels of IDEA’s Best Year Yet, during which more of its schools were named to the U.S. News & World Report’s Best High Schools list. The network also made its debut on The Washington Post’s America’s Most Challenging High Schools list, and it was named America’s Best Charter School Network by the Broad Foundation. High Schools ranked Top 60 in Texas High Schools ranked Top 50 in the by U.S. News & World Report: nation by The Washington Post: 6 IDEA: IDEA: 5 0 Brownsville ISD: Brownsville ISD: 1 0 Donna ISD: Donna ISD: 0 Harlingen CISD: Harlingen CISD: 0 0 San Benito CISD: San Benito CISD: 0 South Texas ISD: 0 South Texas ISD: 3 Weslaco ISD: 4 Weslaco ISD: 0 0 “The impact IDEA is having on students makes me very proud. What they have done, and continue to do for kids throughout Texas is amazing.” - David Robinson, NBA legend and IDEA San Antonio Board Member Contributing to IDEA’s Best Year Yet was the celebration of a decade of 100% college acceptance! Since its first graduating class 10 years ago, IDEA has achieved a 100% college Percentage of Schools that Received All acceptance rate and a 99.6% matriculation Eligible 2016 Distinctions in the RGV rate. The school has maintained its near- perfect matriculation rate despite statewide IDEA: growth since 2000 - more than any other 80% charter school district in the nation during Brownsville ISD: 18% this time period. IDEA’s Class of 2016 was Donna ISD: accepted to more than 290 colleges and 0% universities across the nation and received Harlingen CISD: 7% more than $25 million in scholarships. San Benito CISD: What’s more, IDEA announced last week 0% that the Class of 2017 is poised to follow South Texas ISD: 50% suit as they just achieved 100% College Weslaco ISD: Acceptance. 0% Rounding out the incredible year, IDEA These collective successes reflect IDEA’s learned that 20 schools received all continued progress toward its mission of distinctions that they were eligible for in 2016. College For All Children. IDEA is committed The Texas Education Agency awards annual to ensuring that each of its graduates is designations for outstanding performance prepared to succeed in college through a in student achievement, student progress focus on a rigorous and high-quality Pre-K-12 and postsecondary readiness. Earning a education that includes individualized distinction from the state of Texas means instruction, college-level courses, college you’re the very best, and distinctions are a counseling, workshops, and college campus direct indicator of the remarkable education experiences throughout high school. a school provides. At IDEA, Our Best Teachers Make Top Dollar Recruiting, hiring, developing, and retaining the best teachers and leaders is the most important thing we can do as a school district. In 2015, IDEA launched the Teacher Career Pathway, a differentiated reward, recognition, and retention program for teachers at IDEA Public Schools. The Teacher Career Pathway synthesizes multiple components of a teacher’s performance in order to place him or her on a five-tier pathway. Each pathway level provides opportunities for earning differentiated rewards and recognitions in the categories of: public recognition, increased compensation, network- wide influence, personalized professional development, and more. Independent of years of experience, IDEA’s best teachers make top dollar. Teach At IDEA and Start Your Journey Toward Becoming a Master Teacher Armando Vela Elementary Math “I am honored and truly humbled to have been named a Master Teacher at IDEA Public Schools.” Nadya Zamarripa AP Calculus “Teaching requires constant self-reflection and innovation and as an IDEA teacher, I am not alone in these endeavors.” Caleb Swaringen Pre-AP English Language Arts “Teaching is my passion and my calling, and at IDEA I am seen as more than just a teacher. I am grateful that IDEA continues to elevate the teaching profession to the elite status it deserves.” Highest Salaries in the RGV! • Robust Benefits! • Earn Thousands in Stipends! Apply Today jobs.ideapublicschools.org IDEA athletic programs include basketball, baseball, cross-country, cheerleading, flag football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, and track and field, among IDEA BRINGS HOME FIVE others. IDEA students continue to excel in academics and extracurricular opportunities, with state championships in track and field (IDEA Quest and IDEA Allan), flag football (IDEA Donna), soccer (IDEA McAllen), and baseball (IDEA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS South Flores). In addition to a thriving sports scene, IDEA also offers a variety of clubs that span IDEA students excel in academics and many student interests - art, chess, cooking, dance, community service, farm and extracurricular activities. garden, languages, music, photography, politics, yearbooks, and much more. IDEA’s budding scientists advance to State Science Fair, earning half of the Rio Grande Valley’s available spots! IDEA’s science curriculum is designed to teach students a variety of critical thinking skills through doing. At IDEA, students are introduced to scientific principles early in Academy and build their knowledge all the way through College Prep to master a variety of science disciplines, including life science, earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics. Martin Villicana, a 9th grader at IDEA Mission, has won special awards and prizes at the regional science fair for the last two years. He will be attending the State Science Fair for the fourth consecutive year as he presents his project on water conservation. Congratulations to IDEA’s scientists. We look forward to seeing you represent IDEA Public Schools and the Rio Grande Valley. IDEA Students Thrive in Pre-K Program IDEA Public Schools believes the road to college starts at a young age. Our philosophy: Children excel in high school, college, and beyond if they’re fundamentally-sound readers, writers, mathematicians and thinkers. IDEA’s groundbreaking Pre-K program helps ensure that every student is prepared to thrive from Kindergarten onwards and never left behind. WHAT MAKES IDEA’S PRE-K PROGRAM SPECIAL: • Ninety-four percent of our young Pre-K learners finished the year beginning kindergarten work. • Students begin to learn the building blocks of literacy at 4 years of age. • Beyond fundamental instruction in reading, language, and math, our Pre-K curriculum also includes science lessons, field trips, and activities that promote the development of problem-solving and social skills. • It’s a half-day program that lends itself to small, intimate learning groups. IDEA will offer Pre-K at 15 campuses in the Rio Grande Valley in August. JOIN IDEA. ENROLL TODAY. Limited Spots Available Across the Rio Grande Valley IDEA ALAMO IDEA MISSION IDEA SAN BENITO GRADES PRE-K-12 GRADES PRE-K-12 GRADES PRE-K-12 IDEA BROWNSVILLE IDEA NORTH MISSION IDEA SAN JUAN GRADES K-11 GRADES PRE-K-3 & 6-8 GRADES PRE-K-12 IDEA DONNA IDEA PHARR IDEA TOROS GRADES PRE-K-12 GRADES PRE-K-12 GRADES 6-12 IDEA EDINBURG IDEA QUEST IDEA TRES LAGOS GRADES PRE-K-12 GRADES PRE-K-12 GRADES PRE-K-1 & 6 IDEA FRONTIER IDEA RIO GRANDE CITY IDEA WESLACO GRADES PRE-K-12 GRADES PRE-K-1 & 6 GRADES K-12 IDEA MCALLEN IDEA RIVERVIEW IDEA WESLACO PIKE GRADES PRE-K-11 GRADES PRE-K-3 & 6-8 GRADES PRE-K-9 ideapublicschools.org/apply 1-888-490-0393.