HARLINGEN — We often hear of student groups touring the state Capitol or the White House.
They speak excitedly of meeting their representatives in their offices and talking about their activities in government.
Well, this week, the legislators will come to the classrooms for the South Texas Independent School District’s Legislator Days at STISD.
“It’s exciting to see these people coming,” said Claudia Garza, a teacher at the Rising Scholars Academy of South Texas.
“Our legislators are going to see how education is being carried out on a day-to-day basis,” she said.
STISD is made up of six magnet schools in Mercedes, Olmito, San Benito and Edinburg. School district officials have long acknowledged the crucial role played by representatives in the growth of the schools. This is part of the reason so many are excited that several representatives are visiting the campuses Tuesday through Thursday.
The representatives include U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, (D-Brownsville), state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., (D-Brownsville), and U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-McAllen).
Throughout the tours, legislators will have the opportunity to visit classrooms on all six campuses, said Jaclyn Buelow, public relations and marketing assistant for the district.
During these visits, they’ll be able to hear from students and teachers for which they serve and advocate.
“Legislator Days at STISD was designed to recognize legislators in the Rio Grande Valley for their commitment to education and to give them an inside look into the classrooms and to see their efforts in action,” Buelow said. “Two campus tours and a recognition luncheon will occur on each of the three days.”
Representatives will be at the Science Academy of South Texas on Thursday.
“We are really excited,” said Irma Castillo, principal at Science Academy.
“Congressman Hinojosa should be visiting our campus and so we have our student ambassadors ready to give them tours,” she said.
She said some students are anxious to tell the legislators about their summer enrichment programs.
“Some of our kids were at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, some were at Cornell University in New York,” Castillo said. “Some were at Stanford University in California as well as at Rice University for an engineering program.”
Castillo, as have many others, expressed gratitude toward Hinojosa.
“I credit his vision of having a school like this in the Valley,” she said, referring to Science Academy.
Castillo credited Hinojosa with having the vision to model the South Texas High School for Health Professions after a prestigious school in Houston.
“He had that vision and he brought it to the Valley,” Castillo said. “Because of that we have the Science Academy and the other schools that have sort of branched out from that. So his vision and his work in legislation and that have brought all this to fruition.”
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