UTRGV in partnership with Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District (HCISD) and the City of Harlingen broke ground on a new early college high school early this month.
Deputy President and Interim Provost Janna Arney said UTRGV “is the Valley’s university” and is ready to serve the needs of its community.
“To be approached and to be asked to be a partner and to be trusted in that regard is huge and we are honored to be able to do it,” Arney said. “But we are also glad that our local districts are allowing us to be a partner because we both know, the district and the university, that students with that [ early college] experience are better prepared for college.”
HCISD Superintendent Art Cavazos said the new high school is expected to open by August 2021 and will give entering 9th-grade students the opportunity to earn up to 60 credit hours and a direct path to a bachelor’s degree at UTRGV.
According to Cavazos, the pathways of computer science, engineering and education were chosen based on professions in high demand.
“One of the things that we do with our programming in Harlingen is that we want to align it closely to the workforce industry,” Cavasos said. “So, we look at what are the employment opportunities for students moving forward.”
Cavazos said the partnership is unique in that students are on a direct path to a bachelor’s degree rather than an associate degree which is a popular early college high school model.
According to a UTRGV news release, the groundbreaking took place on Sept. 1 at the school’s future site of 2901 Medical Drive in Harlingen.
UTRGV and the school district entered an agreement in fall 2017 to offer college-level courses at the current Pecan Street campus. The new school will replace the campus with a 64,000 square foot facility on 6.3 acres gifted by the City of Harlingen.
Cavazos says HCISD and UTRGV will split the approximate cost of $16 million dollars 50/50.
For more information on the new school, visit hcisd.org.
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