UTRGV national third place in new Teach for America corps members

By Alvaro Ayala

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ranked third nationally on the Teach For America (TFA) list of colleges and universities contributing the most graduates to its teaching corps, making a second consecutive year of improvement.

UTRGV climbed seven spots from last year, according to the 2024 list for schools contributing the most TFA corps members. The university added 28 graduates to this year’s corps, an increase from 19 in 2023, in the large school category, which also includes Arizona State University and The University of Texas at Austin, each with 30 corps members.

UTRGV President Guy Bailey expressed his pride in the enduring connection the university and its legacy institutions have with Teach For America, which works alongside rural and urban communities to ensure every child receives an education that empowers them to learn, lead and thrive.

“The success of our graduates in the 2024 corps demonstrates their dedication to advancing educational equity and reflects our university’s values of service and leadership,” Bailey said. “Together with TFA, we are not only building stronger classrooms but also a brighter future for communities throughout the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.”

GUIDING THE NEXT GENERATION 

One UTRGV alumnus shaping young minds in the Rio Grande Valley is Felix Tamayo, a 2024 TFA corps member, who said he is deeply committed to giving back to his community as a teacher at his alma mater, Roma High School.

Tamayo, who earned his bachelor’s degree in biology this spring, credits UTRGV for helping him establish a strong academic foundation and leadership skills that are vital in his teaching career.

“The experiences that I went through at UTRGV helped me to understand how to engage with students from all backgrounds, especially those in underserved communities.” Tamayo said. “The resources that UTRGV gave me prepared me to guide my students into seeing that higher education is within their reach and that they can overcome any obstacles in their path.”

As an educator, Tamayo said his goal is to empower his students to follow their dreams and pursue higher education opportunities, regardless of their backgrounds or hardships.

Lynn Edler, a 2024 corps member and English teacher at Vanguard Van Gogh Elementary/Secondary in Pharr, took the non-traditional path in her educational journey when she went back to school at age 50. Originally from Prairie City, Iowa, Edler moved to the Valley in 2009.

Edler, who earned her bachelor’s degree in English this May, said she discovered Teach For America her junior year and found its mission aligned with her personal goals as an aspiring teacher.

“Once I learned what TFA was able to do to support my personal goals and strong beliefs in educational equity, I applied and was selected into the 2024 cohort before I even graduated in May,” said Edler, noting that 75% of her students speak Spanish as their first language.

These new educators joined classrooms nationwide, further expanding TFA’s network of more than 70,000 leaders.

According to TFA, the new corps members are set to significantly impact the Rio Grande Valley’s educational landscape and represent a diverse demographic as 81% identify as Latinx, 91% come from a low-income household and 79% are first-generation college graduates.

Ana González, Teach For America Rio Grande Valley (TFA-RGV) executive director, said the organization is proud of its strong partnership with UTRGV, highlighting how it connects them with a talented and culturally aware pool of educators who understand the unique needs of the community.

TFA-RGV, which currently has more than 295 alumni and corps members working throughout the region, recruits and develops a corps of leaders who make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to end educational inequity.

“UTRGV brings invaluable local expertise and academic diversity, enabling us to place leaders with a broad range of skills in our classrooms,” González said. “Together, we are fostering local collaboration, unity, and a long-term commitment to addressing educational inequity and improving the quality of education across the Rio Grande Valley.”

ABOUT TFA RIO GRANDE VALLEY

Founded in 1991, Teach For America Rio Grande Valley (TFA-RGV) works in partnership with communities across the Rio Grande Valley to expand educational opportunities for children. From classrooms to school districts to the social and private sector, they are reimagining education to realize the day when every child in the Valley has an equal opportunity to learn, lead, thrive and co-create a future filled with possibility. Teach For America is a proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network. To learn more about TFA-RGV, visit www.teachforamerica.org/riograndevalley