Education

El Paso and Texas will be unable to compete in the global economy if we fail to develop an educated, well trained workforce. State Senator José Rodríguez is working to improve educational opportunities by adequately funding public education; cutting our high drop out rates; supporting and enhancing early childhood education programs; increasing college financial aid; increasing teacher salaries; expanding job skills training; and obtaining Tier I status for El Paso’s universities.

The District Advisory Committee on Education is focused on: School finance; increasing graduation rates for El Paso’s students from colleges; strategizing to increase parental awareness-involvement; advocating for more accurate assessment of student performance (SAT or ACT score based, rather than TAKS). [View the report on the first Community Forum on Education]

More information on the District Advisory Committee on Education:

•Chairman: Chair Michael Coulehan, M.A. Applied English Linguistics, has taught Reading and English fulltime at El Paso Community College for over 15 years. He is President of the El Paso Council of Higher Education and is Statewide Vice President of the Texas Faculty Association.

•Staffed by: Nellie Tabarez

•Meeting Date: 10 a.m. every 3rd Saturday of each month.

•Meeting Location: Senate district office (100 N. Ochoa St., Suite A, El Paso, TX 79901).

•Areas of Interest: School finance; improve college graduation rates; increase parental awareness and involvement; advocate for more accurate assessment of student performance.

•Special Project in 2012: The members will plan and carry out a survey of El Paso ISD, Ysleta ISD and Socorro ISD students, teachers, administrators and parents to determine what they perceive as the top three challenges.