Commentary: Investing in children’s future

As a lifelong advocate for education, I have the privilege of leading Brownsville ISD, where my focus is on providing students with the resources they need to pursue fulfilling careers. In recent years, I have become increasingly optimistic about the transformation taking place in our local economy. I’m particularly excited about the wealth of opportunities for new career paths emerging right here in the Rio Grande Valley — opportunities that our students and families deserve.

Growing up in Brownsville, I witnessed firsthand the challenges that came with limited economic prospects. My family, like many others, understood that education was key to breaking the cycle of poverty and improving our lives. However, no matter how good an education is in any field, its true value depends on the availability of meaningful jobs. That’s why it’s crucial for us to embrace the fact that companies like Rio Grande LNG are investing billions of dollars into our region and bringing with them skilled, high-paying jobs that will transform the lives of our students and the future of our community.

Throughout my career, including 19 years with Round Rock ISD, I’ve seen the transformative impact of private economic investment. In Round Rock, district enrollment surged from 9,000 to 44,000 students, and with that growth came a dynamic economy where students could seek out opportunities and thrive. This experience reinforced the importance of local job creation, not only for the economy but for the area’s families. Now, I am eager to see these same opportunities open up for our students of Brownsville and reach the broader Rio Grande Valley region.

At Brownsville ISD, we’ve taken deliberate steps to shift our curriculum to the needs of our growing workforce opportunities. Our expanded focus on career and technical education programs equips students with the skills necessary to succeed in technical fields like LNG. By partnering with industry leaders like NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG, we’ve provided students hands-on experiences, events and internships in these technical fields, exposing our next generation of community and workforce leaders to opportunities that may have seemed out of reach here at home. These partnerships and career pipelines have allowed our students to envision futures they never dreamed to be possible — futures where they can stay in the Rio Grande Valley and build a successful, promising future for their families.

What’s particularly encouraging is that companies like NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG share my common belief in this vision of a flourishing region for generations to come. Their commitment to the future of the Rio Grande Valley goes beyond the well-documented economic development they’ll deliver — they’re actively investing in our region’s youth.

NextDecade’s partnership with the Stars Scholarship Fund exemplifies this. This summer, even after Rio Grande LNG began construction, NextDecade committed to supporting scholarships for 25 local students pursuing careers in STEM-related fields at the university of their choice, opening the doors to higher education and helping ensure our students have the skills to drive our future workforce. Investments in opportunities like these foster not only individual successes, but successes for our next generation in shaping the Valley’s future into a place they want it to be.

I am not the only superintendent in the Rio Grande Valley who supports and understands the unique opportunity that Rio Grande LNG and others have placed at our doorstep — Edcouch-Elsa ISD, Edinburg CISD, La Villa ISD, Lasara ISD, McAllen ISD, San Benito CISD, Santa Maria ISD, Harlingen CISD and Lyford CISD share these sentiments. Our students want the chance to find high-quality employment and fulfilling careers without having to leave the region they call home. It’s our responsibility to seize these opportunities, to work with industry drivers who are committed to our students’ success, and to provide our students with the tools they need to build prosperous lives in the Valley.

Now, more than ever, we must come together as a community of educators, business leaders and policymakers alike to support these LNG projects and the long-term growth they represent. Together, we can create a future where our students no longer need to look beyond the region that raised them in order to thrive.

Dr. Jesus H. Chavez was born in Brownsville and raised in the Southmost area and is the BISD superintendent of schools. He penned this piece with the support of and approval of several fellow superintendents in the Rio Grande Valley, including: Dr. Alda Benavides, Edcouch-Elsa ISD; Dr. Mario H. Salinas, Edinburg CISD; Robert Muñoz, La Villa ISD; Dr. Alejos Salazar, Lasara ISD; Dr. René Gutiérrez, McAllen ISD; Fred Perez, San Benito CISD; Dr. Joseph R. Villarreal, Santa Maria ISD; Dr. Veronica Kortan, Interim Superintendent, Harlingen CISD and Dr. Michelle C. DeWitt, Lyford CISD.