Ford PAS Follow-Up Session a Huge Success
Edinburg, TX - February 8, 2009

EDINBURG - Often one of the reason students drop out of high school is their lack of engagement in the classrooms. Therefore, educators across the Valley must continuously seek methods to enhance their effective teaching practices in order to keep students in school.

With this in mind, the Texas Valley Communities Foundation and educators across the Valley joined forces to create a teaching methodology that reinforce leadership skills through rigorous, hands on curriculum called Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies.

Ford PAS is an academically rigorous, project-based, interdisciplinary curriculum that brings relevance to the classroom and enhances student achievement. The Ford PAS curriculum consists of 20 modules that cover a gamete of disciplines such as business, science, math, economics, technology, engineering, social studies, and language arts and is now being implemented in over 26 campuses in South Texas.

More than 40 Ford PAS educators gathered at TVCOF for an annual follow-up session to share their classroom success, network with other Ford PAS teachers, and gain additional knowledge that will empower them to take teaching and learning to higher levels.

Teachers were provided with the use of protocols that were designed by the National School Reform Faculty. These protocols, along with the Ford PAS curriculum help create a classroom environment where the teacher becomes a facilitator of learning

"This philosophy of teaching helps enhance student's critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and teamwork skills and prepares them for college and the workplace," said Sal Flores, a high school teacher at McAllen High School.

Ford PAS has been in the Valley for less than four years. However, Horacio Barrera, senior at McAllen High School, is an example of how this curriculum can have an impact on the lives of students.

After participating in a Ford PAS classroom, Barrera was inspired to develop his own business plan and pursue this idea. His business idea came into fruition last November when he opened "8th Wonder", a local snack shop in McAllen.

These educational leaders experienced first-hand what the Ford PAS student encounters when in the classroom. Through this curriculum, students are provided with real-world, hands-on activities that build on their learning skills which include teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking and communication, all vital to their overall success at the postsecondary level as well as in the workplace.

The ENCORE team took this opportunity to offer the directors professional development sessions for the teachers on their campuses. These professional development sessions would provide their teachers with effective teaching practices to enhance student engagement in the classroom, thus having an impact on overall student success.

"Ford PAS really helped me understand that opening my own business was possible," Barrera said. "My future plans are to graduate from high school, continue running my business, and attend UTPA."