BISD college prep school recruiting third cohort of students

By this time next year, the first freshman class at Brownsville Early College High School — this year’s sophomores — will be halfway through its freshman year at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.

That reality illustrates the main priority at BECHS — getting students ready to become full-time college students in two years instead of four. The college prep school that opened in 2008 at the Brownsville Independent School District’s Clearwater Campus on Palm Boulevard enables students to graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree from UTB-TSC.

"That first cohort of students will be juniors next year, so they’ll be taking classes right alongside regular college students," said Stephen Rosales, UTB-TSC liaison for BECHS. "We’ve been helping them with study skills and time management skills because that’s what the research shows helps them the most. They’re coming along really well."

Really well indeed. Students in the first cohort also provided BECHS with a first for BISD — an exemplary rating from the Texas Education Agency, the first BISD high school to achieve TEA’s top rating.

BECHS is a partnership between BISD and UTB-TSC and has unusual entrance requirements: Enrollment is limited to students who would be the first in their family to complete a college degree. And middle-of-the-road students who have shown potential are preferred over high achievers.

The school is getting ready to recruit its third cohort of students. Prospective students must be the first in their family to complete a degree and an eighth-grader eligible for promotion to ninth. They need to complete an essay on why they want to come to BECHS, and they and their parents must complete an interview process, BECHS Principal Roni Rentfro said.

Applications will be available at BISD middle schools over the next two weeks and students need recommendations from teachers, she said.

Rentfro attributed her students’ success to focus fostered by the AVID curriculum. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. It teaches study skills such as note-taking, writing, learning to form study groups and time management.

"We’re trying to create this very comprehensive learning experience for the students," Rentfro said, noting that BECHS is part of the Texas High School Project and is based on the small learning community model.

"The kids, the parents and the teachers are all very cognizant of what a great opportunity this is," she said.

Reynaldo Uresti, a sophomore, said he expected classes to be harder at BECHS — and they are.

"At first it was really challenging, but because you work hard you start to get interested and you like it more and more," Uresti said. "In other schools there are more students, but here you get a hands-on experience and you get to learn more."

Uresti said he plans to go into an engineering field of some kind, probably computer engineering, and definitely plans to continue his education.

Classmate Roy Resendiz, a freshman, said he came to BECHS because "I wanted to get a head start in life. He said the school "is maybe a little hit harder" than he expected but that the AVID curriculum "helps us decide, helps us with our time management."

He plans to attend Texas A&M University in College Station to pursue a career in meteorology.