Texas Border Business
Rio Grande Valley, TX – Several IDEA Public Schools middle and high schools were ranked as some of the top schools in the Rio Grande Valley according to the rankings released by CHILDREN AT RISK, a Houston-based non-profit that drives change for children through research, education, and influencing public policy.
Due to the pandemic, this year’s rankings focused on three-year analyses that showcased campus and district consistency over time via its Three-Year Strong ranking.
IDEA Quest College Prep and IDEA Frontier College Prep ranked in the top ten high schools in the Rio Grande Valley, while IDEA College Prep McAllen and IDEA Quest College Prep ranked in the top five middle schools.
IDEA Public Schools in the RGV also had the following six high schools rank in the top 25: IDEA College Prep Alamo, IDEA College Prep San Juan, IDEA College Prep Pharr, IDEA College Prep San Benito, IDEA College Prep Mission and IDEA College Prep Donna.
The following eight IDEA middle school ranked in the top 20: IDEA College Prep Edinburg, IDEA College Prep Brownsville, IDEA College Prep Weslaco, IDEA Frontier College Prep, IDEA College Prep Mission, IDEA College Prep Alamo, IDEA College Prep Donna, IDEA Riverview College Prep and IDEA College Prep Weslaco.
IDEA Quest College Preparatory and IDEA Frontier College Preparatory ranked 1st and 2nd in the Racial Equity Index. The Racial Equity Index is a comparative measure indicating how well schools are serving students of color. The Racial Equity Index accounts for 25% of elementary and middle school campuses’ and 20% of high school campuses’ overall rank.
This new indicator accounts for relative performance based on campus race/ethnicity demographics, ratio of economically disadvantaged students that meet or exceeds grade level at that campus which measures performance for economically disadvantaged students, and ratio of students of color that meet or exceeds grade level at that campus which measures performance for students of color.
Additionally, IDEA College Prep McAllen, IDEA Quest College Prep, IDEA College Prep Edinburg and IDEA College Prep Brownsville were named Pandemic Proof Schools by Children at Risk. The designation is for campuses with 75% or more students classified as low-income that have been classified as high performing campuses (receiving A or B C@R Grades) for three years running.
“I am so proud of our all of our school’s accomplishments,” says JoAnn Gama, CEO of IDEA Public Schools. “This year has been marred with trials and uncertainty, but one thing remains true–IDEA scholars will continue their path to college.”
IDEA Public Schools was founded in the Rio Grande Valley in 2000. Since then, IDEA has opened schools in Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Tarrant County, Houston, Permian Basin and Southern Louisiana. Based on the demand from parents for more high-performing public schools that prepare their children for college, IDEA is growing within Texas and beyond. IDEA is the fastest-growing, highest-achieving charter school network in the country, with 120 schools currently serving nearly 66,000 students. IDEA Public Schools is on track to serve 100,000 students in the coming years.
