RGV Focus: Valley is making good progress in education

HARLINGEN, RGV Focus, a collective impact initiative of Educate Texas, has unveiled its 2019 annual report and scorecard.As with last year’s report, the title is “Contigo,” which is Spanish for “With You.”The scorecard tracks the key metrics RGV Focus has identified to be important in understanding education in the Rio Grande Valley. It also tracks how the Valley scores in comparison to those for the state of Texas. “In this year’s annual report you will see that Rio Grande Valley students now match or out-perform their Texas peers in eight out of 12 key indicators,” said Rodney H. Rodriguez, senior director at RGV Focus.Rodriguez offered a few highlights:51% of RGV high school students are completing Advanced Placement or Dual Credit Courses, exceeding the state average of 43 percent;73% of RGV seniors are completing the FAFSA application for higher education financial assistance, exceeding the state average of 64 percent;80% of RGV higher education graduates are finding employment or furthering their education at 4-year colleges, exceeding the state average of 75 percent.“This is big,” Rodriguez said. “Contigo, our collective efforts are working.”Editor's Note: Go to www.riograndeguardian.com for the full story.Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.