The rich history of the Rio Grande Valley reflects a unique blend of Texan and Mexican customs, languages, and lifestyles.
| Quick Stats |
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| Site Since: 1991 |
| Corps Size: 165 |
| Average yearly temperature: 71.6° |
| Car: Access to a car is essential |
Salary: See cost of living  |
Chad Richardson, professor of sociology at the University of Texas Pan-American, describes the Valley as a region where "rural meets urban, traditional confronts modern, enormous wealth grinds against abject poverty, and First World meets Third. Here, highly diverse groups mix, mesh, and mash into a kaleidoscope of cultural and social combinations."
Life
Corps members in the Rio Grande Valley reside in a three-county area encompassing 4,244 square miles of lakes, rivers, farmland, and beaches. There is ample shopping and dining on both sides of the border and the mountains of Mexico's interior are only a two-hour drive away. South Padre Island, one of the leading weekend getaways on the Gulf of Mexico, is just a short trip from anywhere in the Valley.
One of the greatest advantages of living in this region is the diversity of housing options in any of the small or larger communities that line the Valley. Although it is considered a rural site, the Rio Grande Valley has a population of approximately 1.1 million (including the metropolitan areas of McAllen and Brownsville) with an additional 1 million people living just across the Mexico-United States border. The appealing features of each town vary, but many corps members choose to live in the towns of Brownsville, Weslaco, McAllen, Rio Grande City, and Roma because of proximity to their schools.
McAllen is the fourth fastest-growing U.S. metropolitan area according to the most recent census statistics, has a population of over 100,000 people, and provides extensive access to popular chain stores, diverse cuisine, and lively nightlife. According to a recent survey, McAllen ranks as the second most economical place to live out of 295 metropolitan areas nationwide, making a salary of $80,000 in New York City equivalent to a salary of $31,500 in McAllen.
Corps Culture
The Teach For America • Rio Grande Valley corps is cohesive and focused on student success; corps members help each other and recognize that they are all working toward the same goals. In 2007, there are 169 corps members teaching in the Rio Grande Valley. In addition, there are over 100 Teach For America alumni still living in the region, with the vast majority still in the classroom. The Teach For America • Rio Grande Valley program staff supports corps members with various high-impact professional development options. For instance, the entire Rio Grande Valley corps meets on a monthly basis for professional development evenings. These meetings are designed specifically to meet corps members' teaching needs and serve as a clearinghouse for sharing best practices and effective teaching strategies. On a regular basis, corps members, alumni, and local master teachers teaching the same grade level or subject area, come together to collaborate on various aspects of excellent instruction. A recent addition to the professional development of corps members has been a year-long study of literacy in the classroom. Corps members also have the opportunity to attend workshops at the regional education service center and observe exemplary teachers in Valley schools to further their own practice.
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