IDEA Frontier

IDEA Frontier is an independently managed charter school within the IDEA Public Schools system in the Rio Grande Valley in deep South Texas. IDEA Frontier is located in Brownsville, TX, and was founded in 2006. The school has a significant focus on academics and is committed to ensuring that all of its graduating students will attend college. Faculty members in this charter school, along with the others within the system, adopt the mantra of "No Excuses!" showing their dedication to their students' success.[1]

IDEA Frontier
Address
2800 S. Dakota
Brownsville, Texas
Information
School type Public Charter
Motto No Excuses!
Opened 2006
Mascot Chargers

History

The IDEA Frontier campus was founded in 2006 under Ernesto Cantú, principal of the College Preparatory school, and Roberta Harris, principal of the Academy.

IDEA Frontier graduated its first class in 2011.[2]

Current

Currently, the College Prep principal is Michael Hardy. Dora Villegas has replaced Roberta Harris as the principal of the academy.[3][4]

In the News

Current Principal and former teacher, Michael hardy won the Texas State Educator awards through HEB in the Rising Star Secondary Category. Winning a $5,000 prize for his campus and another $5,000 for himself. Mr. Hardy has a record of high results both in and out of the classroom.[5]

Two years prior, former assistant Principal Marco Lopez of IDEA Frontier College Prep in Brownsville was nominated for the Texas State Educator awards through HEB in the Rising Star Secondary category. The winning teachers compete for a $5,000 prize for themselves and $5,000 for their campus.[6]

Facilities

The school is located at the intersection of Dakota and Dockberry in Brownsville, TX. During its first two years, all classes were held in portable buildings; however, the first permanent buildings were completed for Fall 2008, with grades PK-4 and 6-10. There are now six permanent buildings at IDEA Frontier. IDEA Frontier is now fully scaled, with students in every grade PK-12. PK-5 students belong to IDEA Frontier Academy and 6-12 students belong to IDEA Frontier College Prep. A new campus is expected to open in Brownsville as well in August 2012 at 4395 Paredes Line Road starting with kindergarten, first, second and sixth grades.[7]

Awards and Recognition

IDEA Frontier College Prep has been named to the TBEC Honor Roll for 2010. Among more than 8,000 Texas public schools, fewer than 4 percent receive this recognition by the Texas Business and Education Coalition. The TBEC Honor Roll is Texas’ most prestigious award for public schools, requiring three years of consistently high performance in all subjects compared to other schools serving similar student populations. TBEC Honor Roll schools have the highest percentage of students performing at the state’s most rigorous standard — commended — in all subjects on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.[4]

IDEA Frontier College Preparatory earned the rating of Recognized from the Texas Education Agency for the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 academic years and Exemplary for the 2009-2010 academic year. [8]

Videos that IDEA has been recognized for:[9]

In 2009 idea frontier got a recognition for reading a total of 200,000 minutes.

Part of IDEA Public Schools

IDEA Frontier is a charter school operated by the IDEA Public Schools System. IDEA was founded in 2000 by Tom Torkelson and JoAnn Gama, Teach For America corps members dedicated to making sure all underserved students can go to college.

System

All schools in the IDEA system are composed of two campuses, an Academy and a College Preparatory school. The Academy is the school for primary grades, generally kindergarten to fifth grade. The College Prep is a secondary school, a combination of middle school and high school, with grades six to twelve. Starting with College Preparatory classes, students have different teachers for different subjects, as in a traditional school system.

Selection of students is initially carried out by lottery; thereafter, students are taken from the waiting list, first-come, first-served. There is no tuition to attend the schools; however, some schools have an activity fee to help cover certain events, such as field trips or experiments. This fee may be made in payments and may be waived for families with financial limitations.

Each campus requires uniforms for each student. The standard uniform generally consists of a polo with the IDEA logo and campus name, khaki or navy pants or shorts, a belt, and tennis shoes and socks appropriate for the pants worn. On designated days, a "college uniform" may be worn, consisting of jeans and a t-shirt displaying a large, visible logo from a college or university of the student's choice.

References

  1. ↑ "Mission and Vision." IDEA Public Schools. Retrieved on July 28, 2011.
  2. ↑ IDEA Public Schools. IDEA Public Schools. Retrieved on October 19, 2011.
  3. ↑ "IDEA Frontier College Prep". Retrieved Jan 1, 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "IDEA Frontier." IDEA Public Schools. Retrieved on July 28, 2011.
  5. ↑ Long, Gary. "IDEA teacher wins H-E-B Excellence in Education award". Brownsville Herald. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  6. ↑ "Surprised principal named H-E-B finalist." Brownsville Herald. Retrieved on October 19, 2011.
  7. ↑ Thousands on Waiting List Prompt IDEA Public Schools to Open New Campus | KVEO News Center 23 | The Rio Grande Valley's News and Weather
  8. ↑ "." IDEA Public Schools. Retrieved on October 19, 2011
  9. ↑ "." kveo.com. Retrieved on october 19, 2011

External links