PHARR – This summer 12 teachers from Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD (PSJA) participated in externships at various businesses throughout the community as part of the American Leadership Alliance (ALA) Summer Educator Externships Program. 
Founded in 2003, ALA is a partnership created by the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, Region One Education Service Center and Tech Prep of the Rio Grande Valley to strengthen employer/educator connections through activities that bring relevance into the classroom.
Businesses that offered these externships included: NAFT Federal Credit Union, Entravision, International Bank of Commerce, UTRGV Accessibility Services, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), South Texas Health System, McAllen Economic Development Corporation & Foreign Trade Zone, Workforce Solutions and Double Tree Suites by Hilton McAllen.
The externships took place this summer from June 12 through June 30. Participating PSJA ISD teachers included:
|
Teacher |
Campus |
Business |
|
Isabel Quintero |
PSJA ECHS |
NAFT |
|
Pedro Leija |
PSJA ECHS |
Entravision |
|
Saul Hernandez |
PSJA ECHS |
International Bank of Commerce |
|
Rebecca Gil |
PSJA ECHS |
UTRGV |
|
Jessie M. Garcia |
PSJA ECHS |
USDA |
|
Christy Zambrano |
PSJA Memorial ECHS |
South Texas Health System |
|
Linda Gutierrez |
PSJA Memorial ECHS |
USDA |
|
Aaron Alonzo |
PSJA North ECHS |
McAllen EDC & Foreign Trade Zone |
|
Denise Alonzo |
PSJA North ECHS |
Workforce Solutions |
|
Roselyn Defino |
PSJA North ECHS |
Entravision |
|
Yvonne Chamblin |
PSJA T. Jefferson T-STEM ECHS |
Double Tree Suites by Hilton McAllen |
For Linda Gutierrez, science teacher at PSJA Memorial ECHS, her externship at the USDA helped her gain more valuable skills and knowledge she hopes to share with her students.
"My experience helped me design unique lessons that I will present to my Forensic Science students," said Gutierrez. "I highly recommend other teachers to participate in this awesome ALA program. The collaborative relationships formed with the business partners help further enhance our ability to create real world connections that we can bring back to our classrooms."
