Texas Border Business
MISSION, TEXAS (September 15, 2015) — Earlier this summer, Mission EDC and its partners, Sylvan Learning RGV and Border Kids Code, answered the call for Bright Spots in Hispanic Education, an effort by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. Today, this unique public-private partnership is honored to announce the tremendous recognition.
As a Bright Spot, Code the Town, will be part of a national online catalog that includes over 230 programs that invest in key education priorities for Hispanics. The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics seeks to leverage these Bright Spots to encourage collaboration between stakeholders focused on similar issues in sharing data-driven approaches, promising practices, peer advice, and effective partnerships, ultimately resulting in increased support for the educational attainment of the Hispanic community, from cradle-to-career.
The announcement was made by Alejandra Ceja, Executive Director of the Initiative on September 15, 2015 at the launch of Hispanic Heritage Month and in honor of the Initiative’s 25th anniversary in Washington, D.C. “There has been notable progress in Hispanic educational achievement, and it is due to the efforts of these Bright Spots in Hispanic Education, programs and organizations working throughout the country to help Hispanic students reach their full potential,” said Ceja.
The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics was established in 1990 to address the educational disparities faced by the Hispanic community. To learn more about the Initiative and to view the Bright Spots in Hispanic Education national online catalog visit www.ed.gov/HispanicInitiative.
Coding skills, digital literacy and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education are crucial components for job growth across the United States. Recognizing the need for educational and workforce development opportunities in the Texas Rio Grande Valley region, the Mission Economic Development Corporation, invited strategic local partners, Sylvan Learning and Border Kids Code, to join in creating Code the Town.
Code the Town was launched in Fall of 2014 as an initiative that provides students and teachers with knowledge in the specialized technology skills so critical in today’s classrooms and workplaces. Code the Town represents a public/private partnership that is unique to the Mission community, and the project is setting the pace for innovative alliances that can drive educational and economic progress in communities nationwide.
