HARLINGEN — The students clustered around a table with large wooden pencils waiting to be painted.
“I’m giving everybody a paintbrush and I’m going to give you black paint,” said Maira Gutierrez, special education teacher at the Transition Academy.
“Remember you can’t put a lot of paint because then you’re going to leave streaks,” Gutierrez said. “Remember it’s not a race so we want to be very very careful when we do this. It’s going to a special teacher, and we want to make sure it looks nice for them.”
It was a Thursday afternoon at the Transition Academy at 2000 N. 21st Street, and the Academy students were getting the pencils ready for Teacher Appreciation Week.
In the process, they were learning valuable skills as they “transition” into the workforce.
In the spacious dining area, the sounds of their industry, the dipping of paintbrushes and the chatter of hopeful voices filled the large kitchen area where sunlight from the backyard spilled across spotless white countertops.
Outside, a brand-new backyard funded by the Harlingen Area Education Foundation sported a walking trail, a pergola, and a water fountain. A vegetable garden featured tomatoes and jalapenos which the students would later use to make salsa.
The students planted the garden March 1 with the assistance of Andres Gonzalez’s agriculture class at Harlingen High School. Gutierrez spoke excitedly about the gardening experience for the kids.
“We collaborated with the Harlingen High School students,” she said. “Their students taught our students. We have basil, we have rosemary, we have oregano, we have cilantro, we have thyme.”
One of the next projects — and there are so many — will include researching recipes to learn how to use those herbs.
“The kids are excited,” she said. “We are learning as we go, and it’s great.”
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Academy took place in October 2020, and it was completed in April 2021.
Life skills students have been using it since August.
Superintendent Alicia Noyola is delighted at the Academy’s success.
“I am beyond thrilled about where we are today,” she said. “Our students have been visiting the Transition Academy regularly in the last few months. From making doggy treats in the kitchen to learning workforce skills at local businesses, they are gaining all sorts of different experiences.”
Transition Academy students have been attaining on the job training at Chick-Fil-A, Charlie Clark Nissan and other businesses.
“I am super proud of all that our students are accomplishing and all that our staff and community have done and continue to do for our students,” Noyola said. “You know a facility is a facility. It is still brick and mortar until you bring it to life. The work of our students, our teachers and staff, and our community, that’s what is bringing this facility to life.”
WHO IT SERVES
The Transition Academy serves life skills students from ninth to 12th grade. Once those students have graduated from high school, they can remain enrolled in the district until age 22.
During that time, high school graduates can build on their life skills training with more on the job instruction.
A continuous rotation of students moves in and out of the Academy’s doors each week.
Gutierrez said that Transition Academy students use the location on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
“We have about nine students that are at Harlingen South and we have nine students in the classroom at Harlingen High,” she said. “Mondays and Fridays we have our life skills students who come with their teachers and paraprofessionals. They come and we create lessons and that’s what they do here.”
Gutierrez said about five life skills classes from Harlingen High School use the Academy, and six from Harlingen South. Each class has about ten students.
“We also have visually impaired students that come twice a month on Wednesday,” she said. “It’s a wide variety. It’s not just one type of need. We try to offer this facility for all our students because we want them to have an opportunity to use it.”
AUTHENTIC LEARNING
The Transition Academy is the natural result of the Harlingen district’s emphasis on authentic learning. A tour of the building by Academy student Karina Sandoval revealed the application of that principle in fine detail.
“Here we have the master bedroom, and we do our beds right here,” said Karina, presenting a nice bedroom with clean sheets and quilts.
“And then right there is the cabinet where we can put everything away,” she said. “And over there is the restroom.”
Out in the hallway she turned to her left and gestured to a closet with washing machines.
She went through more rooms explaining where students did their makeup to prepare for work and back in the kitchen she proudly opened the pantry which was stocked up with food. And then there was the refrigerator, a stove with a password and a microwave.
Throughout the little tour Karina explained in clear detail the utility of each piece, demonstrating the implementation of authentic learning and its success.
A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
Another initiative of the Harlingen district is implementation of the 4 Cs: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking.
Numerous entities have taken part in the project, too many to name here. But putting so many pieces together required thorough communication among all parties, and they all had to engage in critical thinking for such a novel approach to take place.
It’s a creative approach to addressing the needs of life skills students, and all this happened through collaboration. HAEF funded the garden, HHS students taught gardening, and … the wood shop students at Harlingen High School South crafted the large wooden pencils the student were painting.
“There are so many wonderful things happening here at the Transition Academy,” Gutierrez said. “Our students are learning so many skills. Right now, at the moment, we are collaborating with the Texas Workforce Commission, and our students are being certified, they’re getting certificates, they are getting on the job training skills, they are taking courses, and they will be receiving a certificate with all those skills.”
That’s a lot but not all.
The students are also working on resume skills, they are learning how to interview, how to communicate with customers, and so much more. There is always something happening at the Transition Academy.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
“This facility has become the heart of our city,” Noyola said. “Our community has been with us every step of the way in turning the dream of the Transition Academy into reality. All that our students are accomplishing today is thanks to their continued support.”
And that support continues. The winding walkway outside has its first set of pavers with the names of those who have sponsored the project. There is still room for many more.
Anyone wishing to sponsor the project and have their name on a paver should call Maira Gutierrez at 956-368-6130.
