Rural Schools Innovation Zone

08/19/2026

Freer students committed to taking advantage of endless opportunities being provided to each of them through Freer ISD in collaboration with the Rural Schools Innovation Zone!! It’s good to be a great year!! Good luck to all!!

08/15/2026

Rural Schools Innovation Zone IS ON THE SXSW EDU PANEL PICKER!

We need your vote!!!!

The Rural Schools Innovation Zone (RSIZ) has been selected for the SXSW EDU Panel Picker, and our proposed session highlights the incredible work of our Next Generation Medical Academy (NGMA) and our partnership with Christus Spohn Health System.

This session showcases how rural schools can create innovative, real-world pathways that prepare students for careers in healthcare while connecting them directly with industry.

Please take a moment to click the link below and VOTE for RSIZ! Your support can help bring the RSIZ story—and the story of our rural students—to the SXSW EDU stage!

👉 CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO VOTE!

https://participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sxsw27/community-voting-edu/page/community-voting/session/1784845915464001mULL

Let’s show them what Rural Innovation looks like!
Falfurrias High School Benavides Independent School District Freer Chamber of Commerce Premont ISD Freer High School Del Mar College Texas A&M University-Kingsville Texas Rural Education Association Texas Association of Rural Schools Texas A&M University-Kingsville College of Education & Human Performance Texas Education Agency CareerCraft Empower Schools School Data Squad Del Mar College - West Campus

PanelPicker® is the official SXSW user-generated session proposal platform. Enter ideas and vote to help shape Conference programming for SXSW and SXSW EDU.

08/15/2026

RSIZ TRAVEL STARTS MONDAY, AUGUST 17TH!

The new RSIZ school year is almost here! Please make sure your student is aware of their departure time from their home district and is ready to travel each day.

Let’s make the most of this incredible opportunity! The RSIZ provides endless possibilities for OUR students to explore careers, earn college credit, gain valuable skills, and prepare for their future.

We are excited to get this journey started and can’t wait to see what our students accomplish this year!

Let’s GO, RSIZ! 💙 ❤️ 🖤 ❤️ 💚
Falfurrias High School Freer High School Premont ISD Agua Dulce High School Benavides Independent School District Freer Chamber of Commerce

08/12/2026

My Students, Your Students, OUR STUDENTS!!

07/31/2026

What a great experience for our NGMA students to be exposed to all of these opportunities for their future careers. The future is bright for OUR students!! Looking forward to this school year!!

07/28/2026

IGNITE has done a tremendous job for the students of South Texas. This is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of the Falfurrias High School staff and to Del Mar College. I am looking forward to an even better year!!!

We are thrilled to announce that the Texas Education Agency has recognized the Ignite Technical Institute at Falfurrias High School as a Designated with Distinction P-TECH campus for the 2026–2027 school year! 🎓✨

This prestigious recognition reflects the hard work, dedication, and teamwork of our educators, students, staff, and our partnership with the Rural Schools Innovation Zone (RSIZ).

Thank you to everyone who helped make this milestone possible. We look forward to continuing to provide top-tier Pathways in Technology Early College opportunities for our students and community! 💚

07/20/2026

What a great group of youngsters!! It was a great day for sure!!

07/17/2026

We are looking forward to another great year for our 2nd Core 42 Cohort that will be attending TAMUK in the Fall. This is just another facet that TAMUK is engaging with the RSIZ to provide more opportunities for the “backyard.”

The final day of the 2026 Summer Bridge Program is off to a great start! Our ECHS students are receiving great information and experience from the TAMUK Dual Enrollment Department!

06/24/2026

Phenomenal job by our GYO students!!

🎉🏆 NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS! 🏆🎉
Buckaroo Nation is celebrating a huge accomplishment!
Congratulations to Freer High School students Sophia Castro and Isabella Garza for earning 3rd Place at the National TAFE Competition in Oregon in the Inside Out Schools – Spanish Competition! 🇺🇸👏
Competing against top students from across the country, Sophia and Isabella showcased their knowledge, talent, and dedication while proudly representing Freer High School, Texas, and Buckaroo Nation on the national stage. Their achievement is a testament to the countless hours of preparation, hard work, and commitment they invested to reach this level of competition.
Your Buckaroo family could not be more proud! Thank you for representing our school with excellence and bringing home national recognition.
💙💛 Congratulations, Sophia and Isabella! The future is bright, and this is just the beginning!
💙💛🐴🏆

06/24/2026

Congratulations to our amazing students!! They represented their districts and communities extremely well!!

Congratulations to our amazing TAFE National finalist who competed in Portland, Oregon against more than 3000 students from across the nation!

🏆 Maite Tafoya, Shantay Regino , Isabella Garza, Sophia Castro, & Juliana Farias- Inside Our Schools Spanish: 3rd Place

🏆 Shantay Regino — Children’s Literature Spanish PreK: 2nd Place

🏆 Maite Tafoya & Caleb Salinas — Children’s Literature Spanish K-3: 2nd Place

🏆 Maddie Rodriguez— Interactive Board Elementary: 3rd Place