By News and Internal Communications

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – MAY 14, 2025 – UTRGV graduating senior Leslie Garcia spent her final year of university inside a fourth-grade classroom.

The immersion was an important part of her studies, she said, and a way to gain practical teaching experience.

Garcia, who is nearing the end of a year-long residency at the Los Fresnos school district’s Las Yescas Elementary School, said her experiences with the school and her students helped shape her as a teacher.

“Connecting with the students, watching them grow, learn and pass test scores – I love it all,” she said. “I truly don’t think I could have gotten that fulfillment from traditional clinical teaching.

Garcia’s journey with the UTRGV College of Education and P-16 Integration’s Yearlong Clinical Teaching Residency started when she applied in February 2024. After the interview process, Garcia was selected and placed at Las Yescas where she was paired with Claudia Rojas, a fourth-grade teacher. 

Later that semester, Garcia and eight other residents attended the school district’s induction ceremony for the residents. That is where she first met Rosas, and a short time later, she joined Rojas in the classroom. 

Residents are required to observe their mentor teacher for 30 hours prior to officially starting the program. Garcia completed her hours at the end of the 2023-24 school year. 

Leslie Garcia graduates from the UTRGV College of Education and P-16 Integration on Friday, May 17, at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg. She will receive her Bachelor of Science in Education with a concentration in English as a Second Language and EC-6th certification. (Courtesy Photo)

“I got to see my mentor’s structure and how she works with her students,” she said. “That’s when I started building my relationship with my mentor teacher.”

Garcia and Rojas follow the co-teaching model established between the Los Fresnos school district and UTRGV. That means Garcia follows Rojas everywhere, including to trainings, professional development and in the classroom.

“The co-teaching model was one of the things that guided me to Los Fresnos,” Garcia said. “I am able to follow my mentor teacher, as if I’m a real teacher already.”

The model helped Garcia establish her authority, confidence and presence in the classroom. In other models, student teachers may be used to cover for teachers and spend time in different areas of the school with students who may not be familiar with the resident.

“I am an authority in the classroom, which can be a very fine line when you are a student teacher,” Garcia said. “However, I have grown with my students, and they can see that I’m more confident in front of the classroom.”

GROWTH IN ADVERSITY

Garcia’s relationship with her students proved to be a beacon during a troubling time for the Las Yescas community. On Thursday, March 27, a torrential thunderstorm brought more than 17 inches of rain to parts of Cameron County, including the community that surrounds and attends Las Yescas.

“We had an event that night, but toward the end, we decided that we had to go because the rain was starting to pour,” Garcia said. “It was really bad.”

The downpour continued throughout the night, and Garcia woke to the news that numerous students had been affected. Some had lost personal belongings. For others, their homes and vehicles had flooded.

“It was surreal, because I live probably two miles away from them and my house was fine,” Garcia said. 

While all the schools in the school district were able to return to normal operations on Monday, Las Yescas had to delay the start of classes by an hour to ensure safe transportation for the students. 

“The district was offering shuttle buses, and the water up to the first step on the bus,” Garcia said. “In two of the classrooms, the roof fell in. We were the only elementary school affected at LFCISD.” 

On Tuesday, faculty and staff from Las Yescas got together and created a flier, asking for donations that ranged from food and clothing, to pillows and cleaning supplies. 

“I took that flier and spread it like wildfire,” Garcia said.

First, she shared it with her fellow residents and teachers, and with her doctor’s office. Then, after speaking with some old friends, they gathered a large donation of food and cleaning supplies. 

“The impact was immediate,” Garcia said. “The flier was made on Tuesday, we brought the donations in on Thursday, and by that Friday they were on a flatbed pulled by a tractor to get the donations to our community.” 

Garcia graduates from the UTRGV College of Education and P-16 Integration in a commencement ceremony on Friday, May 17, at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, where she will accept her Bachelor of Science in Education with a concentration in English as a Second Language, EC-6^th certification.

Her career direction is clearer to her than ever. 

“I plan to continue teaching children grades 3-5,” she said.

Visit utrgv.edu/commencement for more information on UTRGV Spring 2025 Commencement.

Leslie Garcia, who is pictured with one of her students, said her career direction has never been clearer. “I plan to continue teaching children in grades 3-5,” she shared. (Courtesy Photo)