Texas Border Business
PHARR, Texas – Dozens of Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD educators received surprise visits from the PSJA Education Foundation as they announced the 2023-2024 Teacher Mini Grant recipients. The Foundation awarded a total of $42,239 to 47 PSJA educators during their annual Prize Patrol held December 11-12, 2023.
The PSJA Education Foundation was founded in 2013 and is an independent non-profit organization operating exclusively for the benefit of PSJA ISD faculty and students. Each year, the Foundation awards competitive teacher grants and student scholarships to PSJA teachers and students to help fund their college tuition, and to support teacher’s projects district wide.
Of 158 applications received, a total of 47 grants, ranging from $500 to $1,000 were awarded to PSJA ISD teachers for innovative classroom projects.
These opportunities are possible thanks to sponsorshipsand donations via payroll deduction from members of the community, local businesses, and district staff.
According to PSJA Education Foundation Vice-President Marlen Lopez, her motivation to give back to PSJA students and teachers stems from the support she received when she was in high school.
“What motivates me to give back is due to the investment in the future of our children at PSJA,” said Lopez. “As a member of the community and the PSJA Education Foundation, I recall when I was in high school, and many community members helped and invested in my education. It is time to give that back to our students, so I love to raise funds and give back to our community at PSJA because it is an investment in the next generation.”
For San Juanita Garcia, teacher at Allen & William Arnold Elementary, having the support of this organization lifts her spirits. She received a $500 grant to fund manipulatives that will help students with fluency and comprehension skills.
“It did it, I’m so excited,” said Garcia. “I am an interventionist for reading and dyslexia, so this is to service those kids that are strugglers and need extra help. I want to have those materials and those tools to help them reach higher than the expectation.”
In addition to teacher grants, the PSJA Education Foundation’s 2023-2024 Scholarship Application is now open. All current PSJA ISD seniors can apply at https://www.psjaedfoundation.org/scholarships.
To learn more about the PSJA Education Foundation, please visit www.psjaisd.us/foundation.
