Rural Schools Innovation Zone

Texas A&M University Kingsville

KINGSVILLE, TEXAS (News Release) — Representatives of the Rural Schools Innovation Zone (RSIZ), RSIZ School District Superintendents signed a Letter of Commitment to physically transport incoming college freshmen to Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) to begin a 42 Core Pathway during a ceremony Monday morning at the Texas A&M-Kingsville Founders Room.

The commitment was signed by Texas A&M University-Kingsville President Dr. Robert Vela, Brooks County ISD superintendent Scott Rogers, Freer ISD superintendent Conrad Cantu, Premont Superintendent Dr. Mike Barrera, Benavides ISD superintendent Dr. Sam Bueno and Agua Dulce ISD superintendent Jimmy Padilla.

Students from RSIZ school districts will begin an outlined pathway of 42 Core classes and will take ARTS 1303 and COMS 1315 during the fall and spring, respectively, or both in fall or spring depending on section availability. The districts also are committing their students to participate in a non-credit college orientation/success course to be taken the same day they are transported to the TAMUK campus.

“For (TAMUK) and (RSIZ), it means that we have shared values and a kind of a shared commitment to our backyard (of South Texas),” Vela said of the partnership. “We want to be able to leverage our resources not only from the university’s perspective, but from the ISD to create pathways for our students, so they are able to realize their dreams and their goal in education. It’s going to take all of us. It’s going to take a partnership; it’s going to take a collective impact for us to do something special for our community.”

Photo courtesy of Texas A&M University Kingsville.

The cohort model for the collaboration was created by TAMUK Director of Dual Enrollment Miranda Joiner and RSIZ Local Education Agency (LEA) Liaison Rick Ruiz with accessibility in mind for incoming freshmen.

“I really wanted to provide a way for these students to have an academic pathway to obtain that goal of getting a 42 Core,” Joiner said. “Rick and I came together and asked what model we wanted to pursue to help them obtain that. We decided to go with a cohort model and do the 42 Core plan. We are excited to see how this works. We felt that the success course was going to be a good foundational program to attach with those general study courses.

“It is important to me support these students in the region and hear from them about the success that they’ve had,” Joiner added. “It’s about being able to expand opportunities and know that a four-year degree is an option for them.”

The RSIZ is a partnership made up of ISDs from Brooks County, Freer, Premont, Agua Dulce and Benavides aimed at providing students in rural communities with high-quality opportunities for postsecondary success.

It was launched in 2019 with Brooks, Freer and Premont and expanded to Agua Dulce and Benavides in 2023.

The zone structure allows the five participating campuses a way to develop solutions geared towards challenges faced in rural regions.

That such as providing students with access to transportation to course work and teachers that would otherwise be unavailable while promoting collaboration between schools and teachers, making Monday’s signing for 42 Core Pathway a perfect fit.

“Dr. Vela has done a wonderful job of garnering all the talent in (South Texas),” RSIZ Executive Director Michael Gonzalez said. “It’s a situation where we want to keep our students here and give them a chance further their education and provide opportunities to enhance their lives.”