Texas Border Business
PHARR – Eighth grade students currently attending Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD (PSJA) middle schools and others from across the Rio Grande Valley joined PSJA Thomas Jefferson T-STEM Early College High School’s 6th Annual STEM Camp virtually on Thursday, March 11, 2021.
The virtual camp was held as part of the school’s efforts to continue exposing students to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics or STEM fields while demonstrating the different opportunities available at the campus for current and future students.
“We are so excited to continue exposing our students to the different life-changing opportunities available at PSJA ISD,” said PSJA Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jorge L. Arredondo. “We want to remind parents living anywhere in the RGV that their children can attend our schools and be part of our great academic programs such as those highlighted during this event at PSJA T-STEM.”
According to PSJA T. Jefferson T-STEM ECHS Assistant Principal Minette Dueñas, this year’s theme STEM Dojo was inspired by the Netflix popular Show Cobra Kai to generate excitement for the camp among teenagers. It featured several interactive sessions on anatomy, physics, botany, biology and arts.
As one of PSJA ISD’s designated Early College campuses by the Texas Education Agency, PSJA T-STEM provides advanced educational opportunities to all students so they may graduate from high school with up to 60 college credit hours or an Associate Degree from South Texas College.
In addition to teachers holding live lessons from the classrooms, several students also helped lead some of the sessions. For Junior Kailey Wilson getting to help with the camp was a special experience as her love for STEM and her campus was first sparked as a middle school student.
“This is an extraordinary school,” said Wilson, who is pursuing an Associate Degree in Mathematics. “I remember the STEM Camp is how I chose this school. People went to our middle school and told us about it, but I didn’t get to experience it until I came to the camp and heard from the high school students.”
While this STEM Camp has been unlike any they have previously hosted due to the pandemic, PSJA T. Jefferson T-STEM ECHS Assistant Principal Minette Duenas shared that it is a prime example of the high-quality instruction that has continued virtually at her campus and all PSJA ISD schools.
“We take pride in offering quality instruction to our students and making it happen every day,” said Assistant Principal Duenas. “To parents, no matter if your student is learning from home or in-person, they’re going to get engagement and that engagement leads to learning and learning leads to many opportunities. We’re a small school, but we make big dreams happen.”
As an open-enrollment school district, PSJA ISD welcomes any student living anywhere in the Rio Grande Valley. Registration for the 2020-2021 school year is now open. Parents or students interested in learning more about the opportunities available at PSJA ISD, can visit www.psjaisd.us/register.
 middle schools and others from across the Rio Grande Valley joined PSJA Thomas Jefferson T-STEM Early College High School's 6th Annual STEM Camp virtually on Thursday, March 11, 2021.){kind=link}