Texas Border Business
PHARR – Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD (PSJA ISD) hosted a Dedication and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for its newest facility the Dr. Daniel P. King PSJA College & University Center on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019.
This remodeled facility, which re-opened in the fall of 2018, houses various PSJA ISD programs and Early College initiatives. With state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, it serves as a college styled campus for students engaged in specialized programs in partnership with various colleges and universities. South Texas College is the primary partner, but University courses are also offered through the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Texas A&M University Kingsville. Other higher education institutions will soon be joining the partnership.
“This campus represents the future, past, and present of PSJA ISD,” said PSJA School Board President Jesse Zambrano. “Over the last 12 years, Dr. King has helped transform the district. Today, we want to honor him for all the work that he has done.”
This work has graduated thousands of students from high school with a head start on their college work and with up to an Associate Degree from South Texas College before receiving their high school diploma.
PSJA has established itself as the state and national leader in Early College Education. It is this work and Dr. King’s philosophy of truly providing “College For All” that has impacted not only the students pursuing these opportunities, but their families and in turn the entire tri-city community.
“From the State Capitol to everywhere I go, they are always talking about the work here at PSJA ISD. The changes Dr. King has made are revolutionary. The lives he’s changed and the things he’s done for our city, our community, our state and nation are remarkable,” said Texas House Representative Terry Canales. “If I had to describe PSJA ISD, I would say it is the sun and the rays have lit the entire county of Hidalgo and stretched across the great State of Texas.”
Representative Canales also presented Dr. King with a resolution for his retirement and a Texas Flag flown over the Capitol.
The College and University Center was the capstone project for Dr. King’s vision for designing an early college school system that has the potential to connect every student to and through post-secondary education and into a successful career. This was made possible, in part by his ability to find funding, in this case approximately $30,000,000, the majority of which came from zero interest federally supported bonds to be repaid with no interest over a 15-year period. As this campus represents his vision for the district, it is only fitting that it bears his name.
With emotion, the tenured Superintendent who has completed a total of 20 years as Superintendent and 42 years in public education thanked God, first and foremost for his guidance, his wife Sara King and his children and rest of his family for supporting and believing in him.
“Thank you to my PSJA Family for the support,” said Dr. King with emotion. “I want to thank all of our incredible teachers and counselors. Our faculty for leading the way at every level. We couldn’t do it without you.”
About the Dr. Daniel P. King PSJA College & University Center
The building was originally opened in 1960, and was the second home of PSJA High School, serving this purpose until the early 2000s. It was then used as San Juan Middle School which was renamed Raul H. Yzaguirre Middle School shortly before moving to a brand new campus on 495 in north San Juan. A remodeling project still in the works, the Dr. Daniel P. King PSJA College & University Center serves various district initiatives since the fall of 2018.
On the south side of the Center you can find the new PSJA Collegiate High School Program, currently housing 9th and 10th graders and growing a grade level a year.
On the north side of the campus, most buildings house the PSJA Academies, a cohort approach for PSJA ISD Juniors and Seniors enrolled in dual enrollment course work. They travel to and from their school to the academies daily to take dual enrollment classes through South Texas College and use state of the art equipment only available at this Center in various fields of study.
The campus has state of the art facilities and equipment for various medical programs, engineering, computer science, communications, science, welding, auto technology, diesel technology, auto body repair, culinary arts, and more. Some of these are already up and running, while others will be opening over the next few years. The campus also houses the new employee wellness center, and a clinic for employees, students and their families in partnership with DHR Health.
The Center also serves as the home base for the following district departments: College Readiness, College For All Project, Career & Technical Education and the Communications Department.
Possibly the most unique and advanced Early College Center in the nation, the vision is for it to serve as a hub for the highest quality of Early College education thereby providing even more academic opportunities for our students through certifications, degrees and hands-on experiences.
About Dr. Daniel P. King
A public school superintendent for the last 20 years, Dr. Daniel P. King was named the 2013 Texas Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators and was the 2006 Superintendent of the Year for the Texas Association of School Boards. Since July of 2007, he has led the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District (PSJA). Under his leadership, PSJA has made tremendous progress on some of the most significant challenges that face our state and nation.
At the start of his tenure at PSJA ISD, the district had a dropout rate almost double the state average. The number of annual dropouts has been cut dramatically, and the dropout rate is now less than half the state rate. The number of annual high school graduates has almost doubled and the four-year graduation rate and overall high school completion rate has surpassed the state average. PSJA has become a state and national model for dropout prevention and recovery, inspiring state legislation (SB 975) and replication of its innovative initiatives across Texas and the nation.
During his tenure, PSJA took an even bolder initiative College³ (All students: College Ready.College Connected.College Complete.™) Initiating and scaling up a network of Early College High Schools, concurrent and dual enrollment opportunities, and college and career connected career pathways, PSJA offers every single student the opportunity to earn at least 12 college hours by high school graduation, with many earning more – up to an Associate Degree.
Before coming to PSJA, Dr. King led Hidalgo ISD (3,300 students) for eight years. Under his leadership, a district that had once been among the lowest performing in the state of Texas became the first Early College School District in the nation. In 2006, Hidalgo High School transitioned into an Early College High School for all students. This initiative acted as an accelerant to the rapidly improving district. Hidalgo ISD had already seen a dramatic increase in student performance and was rated Exemplary or Recognized by TEA for 9 consecutive years. The dropout rate plummeted. The graduation rate climbed. College enrollment increased dramatically. In 2006, Hidalgo ISD (99% Hispanic, 93% economically disadvantaged) earned the H-E-B Excellence in Education Award as the most outstanding school district in Texas, and in 2007, U.S. News and World Report named Hidalgo High School the 11th best High School in the nation and #1 in Texas.
In both Hidalgo and PSJA, Dr. King replaced outdated bilingual education models with a dual language or dual immersion program, with the goal of developing college ready bi-literacy. With ever larger cohorts of bi-literate students moving up through the system, PSJA is a national leader in producing college ready, academically bi-literate high school graduates.
Dr. King earned his PhD from The University of Texas. His undergraduate and Master’s level work was completed at the University of Texas-Pan American. He is married to Sara King, has six children and four grandchildren.
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