A Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District alum and former educator has been named as chair of the Department of Teacher Education in the College of Education at Texas Tech University in Lubbock effective June 2022, the school district announced in a release Monday.
Dr. Fernando Valle currently serves as the interim chair for the inaugural Department of Special Education at Tech, a position he achieved after a career in education with roots that trace back to PSJA, the release said.
Valle graduated from PSJA High in 1989 and later worked as a teacher at Austin Middle School in San Juan and as a counselor and assistant principal at PSJA Memorial Early College High School in Alamo.
In the release, Valle describes his family and Rio Grande Valley roots as a “constant motivation.”
“We are standing on the shoulders of folks who cleared the way for us. When I walk into a room, I have my family on one shoulder, and the Valley, my 956, on the other,” he wrote. “I am really blessed and really proud to always represent my community.”
The youngest of four siblings, a migrant and first-generation college student, the PSJA alum described the importance of his heritage.
“When you become a first-generation college student you also eventually become a first-generation masters and doctorate student in your family,” he wrote. “But like I always tell my team, ‘le tienes que hechar sabor a los tacos.’ We have to bring our culture into everything we do. That’s what I am proudest of, my culture just goes with me everywhere I go. I know who I am and where I come from and I am proud of that.”
Who Valle is and where he comes has often played a key role in his career.
“I have been the only Latino at the table many times…we think in the Valley that it’s like that everywhere and no, once you leave, the world changes. It’s a whole different ball game, but it’s definitely helped me grow,” he wrote. “The reason I have stayed is to advocate for Latino students and all of our kids. There’s a lot of students in West Texas that need that.”
Valle will continue giving back to his alma mater in his new role, the release said, as a faculty coach for the Principal Residency Program at PSJA ISD offered in partnership with Texas Tech.
“The Principal Residency is funded by a Texas Education Agency grant of up to $350,000 aimed to help support five PSJA ISD staff members to become campus principals thus helping to increase the number of well prepared, diverse instructional leaders, ready to assume campus leadership positions when they become available,” the release said. “PSJA ISD was among only 14 school districts in the state to receive this competitive grant.”
Valle wrote that in the position he’ll be able to go into elementary and middle schools, impacting the district and its leaders.
“It’s powerful to come full circle,” he wrote. “We’re very proud of the program. I am grateful for the opportunity to bring a state and nationally recognized program to PSJA ISD.”
