Timothy Chapman
02/13/2022
McAllen Independent School District will offer a first of its kind study abroad program where high school juniors will get the opportunity to study in Salamanca, Spain for two weeks.
The opportunity will result in approximately 50 credit hours toward college education, which will classify students as juniors if they decide to attend, according to Mcallen ISD Superintendent J.A Gonzalez.
He said it is the spirit of McAllen ISD to be innovative and creative when coming up with programs to further improve the education of students.
“Students at the end of their junior year are going to have the opportunity to sign up to take this trip and really just go over to Salamanca Spain, stay in the dormitories for two weeks, go on a number of excursions with the university professors and also get college credit for it, as we’re able to cross walk what they’re going to learn in that class back into their graduation plan on our side,” Gonzalez said.
He said McAllen ISD is currently in the visioning stages of potential partnerships with other countries in order to expand on this study abroad program and he believes the district could bring exchange students to come to the Rio Grande Valley.
“We are working to find another ivy world school that we can create a relationship with on one of our continents so that we can create that same experience for our students, and then maybe do it the other way for students from another country to have an opportunity to come to South Texas,” Gonzalez said.
Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services Rosalba De Hoyos said the study abroad program is not a field trip but rather an experience.
“The program is not only to take the students to a foreign country to get college credit, it’s also to immerse the students into the culture and at least experience the life as a local person there,” De Hoyos said.
She said the students will travel across Spain to historical locations, eat local food and experience the culture.
“The excursions are going to be to historical places in Spain. Toledo, which was the previous capital of Spain, to Madrid to Salamanca, around there. This is for them to be able to experience the culture, the meals, the history there in Spain,” De Hoyos said.
McAllen ISD superintendent J.A. Gonzalez said he is proud of the unique opportunities McAllen ISD continues to offer that is not available anywhere else in the state of Texas.
“McAllen ISD is a trailblazer across the world for offering opportunities, yeah we’re beyond the valley,” Gonzalez said.
The study abroad program departs for Spain this summer on June 10, and will stay till June 23.
