...... Like many students in Galena Park ISD, Michael Garcia, senior, Accelerated Center for Education (ACE), has learned to balance a job and family obligations while completing his education. This summer Garcia and several of his classmates took some time from their studies for an honor that many long for.
...... Garcia, his classmates and GPISD hosted the U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Rod Paige, Governor Rick Perry and Education Commissioner Felipe Alains as they announced that Texas’ No Child Left Behind implementation plan had received federal approval. The approval clears the way for Texas to receive another $400 million in new federal funds to benefit Title I grants to help low-performing students. Texas will be getting a total of $2.3 billion this year.
...... “Texas was the model for President Bush’s No Child Left Behind legislation and we continue to lead the nation in innovative solutions to improve our schools,” Perry said. “The U.S. Department of Education’s stamp of approval means we can move forward with our plan to improve early childhood education, dropout prevention, teaching excellence, science education and our schools’ use of technology.”
...... Perry and Paige held their press conference at North Shore Senior High School in Galena Park Independent School District and commended the district’s alternative campus, ACE, for providing a quality education for all students.
“I was very nervous and honored to introduce the governor of Texas,” Garcia said.
...... Perry explained that Galena Park ISD was selected to host the press conference for two reasons.
...... “First, Galena Park ISD is an exemplary school district from the stand point of how it’s run, the focus, what they’ve done here, and the continuing example of how an independent school district should be run,” Perry said. The governor also sited the wonderful accomplishments of ACE as an example to all districts in Texas.
...... ACE is an alternative campus that succeeds at enhancing academic achievement, encouraging responsible citizenship and maximizing employability. Since 1994, a total of 626 students have graduated from ACE with a diploma or GED certification.
...... “We provide small classes, flexible scheduling, computer assisted and individualized instruction to our students,” Joyce Zotz, principal, ACE, said. “We take great pride in helping students reach their goals by receiving an education and we are thrilled that Dr. Rod Paige and Governor Rick Perry continue to support ACE and innovative programs in our district.”