The Brownsville
E ducation in the Rio Grande Valley has long fought negative characterizations, both of the schools and of the families whose children need a good education to help improve their future prospects. Absenteeism in the past was high, higher education offerings were inadequate, and p...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District employees gathered at the Bert Ogden Arena on Tuesday to highlight the successes of the 2025-2026 school year and introduce new ongoing initiatives for the upcoming year. According to a PSJA spoke...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Monday marked the first day back to school at the McAllen Independent School District. To start the school year on a positive note, students from Thigpen-Zavala Elementary had McAllen ISD Superintendent Rene Gutierrez ride along with them on the...
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer EDINBURG — The countdown to Year 2 of UTRGV Vaqueros football continues, as does RGVSports.com ’s fall camp position room breakdowns leading up to Week 0. Through spring ball, summer workouts and fall camp, the biggest question surrounding the Vaqueros ...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — IDEA Palmview welcomed its first-ever senior class on Monday for the first day of school. The campus first opened in 2020 and added one grade level each year. Six years later, the campus is fully scaled and is celebrating its first-ever senior c...
E very single team across the Rio Grande Valley is officially back on the practice field this week as the countdown to kick off of the 2026 Texas high school football season continues. With Week 1 of the regular season less than two weeks away, the RGVSports.com staff continues i...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District announced it has officially approved the employment contract of Dr. Joseph Villarreal as Superintendent of Schools. According to a news release from Los Fresnos CISD, the Board of Trustees...
Los Fresnos Izzy Guerra, right, slams a ball past Edinburg Vela’s Lily Carter, left, during the championship match pound fest at McAllen High school gymnasium Saturday August 15,2026 in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez | dlopez@themonitor.com) Edinburg Vela’s Madeleine Luedeker, left, hit ...
IVAN PALACIOS | STAFF WRITER EDITOR’S NOTE: This story continues our position-by-position look at the top returning high school football players in the Rio Grande Valley. Follow the series in the coming weeks as we count down to the release of our annual Top 30 players list. The ...
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer EDINBURG — The countdown to Year 2 of UTRGV Vaqueros football continues, as does RGVSports.com ’s fall camp position room breakdowns leading up to Week 0. Today, we’ll dive inside a Vaqueros running back room featuring several returners who ran wild dur...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — With back-to-school season underway, kids might feel nervous about heading back to class. Bob Cooper, a licensed clinical social worker and the director of Utilization Review at STHS Behavioral, has tips for parents to support their children's m...
Students at Texas Southmost College (TSC) and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) can ride BMetro free of charge by simply showing a valid school identification card to the bus driver....
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — As Rio Grande Valley school districts begin a brand new year, students are not just going back to the classroom — they're also resuming their sports activities. While student athletes across the Valley practice hard to have a successful season, ...
EDWARD SEVERN | STAFF WRITER EDITOR’S NOTE: This story continues our position-by-position look at the top returning high school football players in the Rio Grande Valley. Follow the series in the coming weeks as we count down to the release of our annual Top 30 players list. The ...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Students heading back to school Friday morning will be greeted by warm temperatures and clear skies, with readings expected to range from 80 to 83 degrees across the Valley. Conditions will remain quiet early, but southeast winds will gradually ...
M ost Rio Grande Valley students are back in class by now, and parents can enjoy the break from having to keep their children occupied and out of trouble during the summer break. Many students and families now reflect on the past few months — a “what I did on my summer vacation” ...
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer Every single team across the Rio Grande Valley is officially back on the practice field this week as the countdown to kick off of the 2026 Texas high school football season continues. With Week 1 of the regular season less than two weeks away, the RGVSp...
As students head back to the classroom, the City of Brownsville Parks and Recreation Department is giving local children and teens a fun, active, and welcoming place to spend their afternoons....
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer EDINBURG — We continue our fall camp position room breakdowns of the UTRGV football team with a dive into the Vaqueros’ defensive backfield. UTRGV’s secondary combined to make 11 interceptions, force five fumbles and recover four fumbles in their inaugu...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Many students across the Valley are heading back to school this week, including those in the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District, who kicked off their first day Tuesday morning. ValleyCentral paid a visit to one school to see how ...
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer Every single team across the Rio Grande Valley is officially back on the practice field this week as the countdown to kick off of the 2026 Texas high school football season continues. With Week 1 of the regular season less than two weeks away, the RGVSp...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — It might be back to school season but Mother Nature is still giving us hot, humid and sunny weather across the Valley. A high-pressure system that is centered over the state of Louisiana enforces a little to no rain weather pattern, high tempera...
MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Food insecurity is rising across Texas, and college students in the Rio Grande Valley are among those feeling the impact of higher grocery and gas prices. New data from Feeding America shows Texas’ food insecurity rate increased from 17.6% last ye...
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer EDINBURG — The UTRGV Vaqueros have wrapped up Week 2 of fall camp as the countdown to Year 2 of college football in the Rio Grande Valley continues. Three weeks from today, UTRGV will kick off the 2026 season against UT Permian Basin at 7 p.m. Saturday,...
McAllen ISD Homer J. Morris Middle School sixth-grade math teacher Alissa Shirah was named one of the Rio Grande Valley’s teachers of the year by the Region One Education Service Center. (Courtesy: Region One Education Service Center) R egion One Education Service Center (ESC) an...
T he Brownsville Independent School District and its roughly 33,000 students are heading back to classes on Monday with a new sense of optimism now that Timothy Cuff is the district’s new superintendent. Cuff was named the lone finalist for the job earlier this summer and started...
STAFF REPORT EDITOR’S NOTE: Coaches, please send corrections or results to ivan@themonitor.com. 38th Annual Yellow Jacket Invitational Carlos F. Traun Middle School Elsa, TX BOYS 5K INDIVIDUAL 1. Ryan Aguirre, Mission High, 16:18.74; 2. Rosbel Galvan, Edinburg Economedes, 16:32.8...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The first day of school is coming up and ValleyCentral is asking for back-to-school pictures! Whether it is your kids or yourself heading out for class, we want you to share it with us. Teachers and college students are also more than welcome to...
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer EDINBURG — Over the next three weeks, RGVSports.com will take you inside fall camp with the UTRGV Vaqueros as they prepare to kick off the 2026 season against UT Permian Basin in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Vackar Stadium in Edinbur...
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer EDITOR’S NOTE: This story continues our position-by-position look at the top returning high school football players in the Rio Grande Valley. Follow the series in the coming weeks as we count down to the release of our annual Top 30 players list. The 20...
As students across Brownsville head back to the classroom, the Brownsville Public Library is helping families start the school year with confidence by providing free, on-demand access to professional tutors through Tutor.com....
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer EDINBURG — Before kicking off their inaugural season in 2025, the first-year UTRGV Vaqueros were predicted to finish 10th out of 10 teams in the Southland Conference’s preseason poll. After a 9-3 record in Year 1 and going 5-3 in conference play to fini...
A cclaimed actor and engineering enthusiast Terrence Howard visited Edinburg last week to meet with UTRGV in regards to a potential research and development project. He is developing omnidirectional flight vehicles under his company “Lynchpin By Terrence Howard.” The company deve...
E DINBURG — UTRGV fifth-year defensive back Jordan Ford lives by the motto, “Stay down til you come up.” Hard-working, humble, and hungry, the Tyler, Texas native made stops at two different junior colleges before ultimately landing a spot with the Vaqueros as a walk-on last seas...
H ARLINGEN — The young musicians stood in ready formation and played haunting and mysterious riffs about gargoyles creeping through the night. The gargoyles dark and gothic may only come out after dark, but last week the Harlingen High School South marching band told the story of...
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer EDINBURG — Ingleside alumni Aidan Jakobsohn and Jaydon Smith lit up scoreboards across South Texas during their days together with the Mustangs. Best friends since about kindergarten, Smith estimates, the two went their separate ways upon graduation. Sm...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District Board of Trustees officially named Rosalba De Hoyos as the new Superintendent of Schools. The school board took action on Thursday to name De Hoyos following a state-mandated 21-day waiting period. Ho...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — South Texas Health Systems is holding a back-to-school block party on Saturday in Edinburg. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the main parking lot at South Texas Health Systems Children's, located at 1102 W. Trenton Road. Free ...
New Horizon Health Center in Brownsville has opened its Care Closet to help patients with clothing needs. (Courtesy Photo) A pair of shoes, maybe a nice shirt for an interview or even some new clothes for school — all these items are necessities that have become increasingly more...
Football fans and young athletes are invited to a UTRGV football open practice and free youth clinic at Sams Memorial Stadium on Wednesday, August 6.
EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Vaqueros are lacing up for their sophomore campaign as football season returns to the Rio Grande Valley. Last year, UTRGV emerged as one of the top teams in the Southland Conference. The Vaqueros finished 2025 with a 9-3 record and went undef...
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer EDINBURG — Just in case people thought the UTRGV Vaqueros were satisfied with putting together the winningest inaugural FCS season by a startup program in 2025, they’re chasing a conference championship in Year 2, and head coach Travis Bush reminded his...
Joseph Villarreal T he Los Fresnos CISD Board of Trustees has named Joseph Villarreal the lone finalist for the district’s next superintendent of schools. Following a comprehensive nationwide search and extensive community input, the board selected Villarreal as the leader best s...
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer EDINBURG — After delivering the winningest inaugural season by a first-year program in FCS history, the UTRGV Vaqueros are one sleep away from kicking off their second fall camp in preparation for the 2026 campaign. UTRGV set the standard in Year 1, fin...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Hundreds of students and parents stopped by San Benito High School on Thursday to attend a back-to-school bash hosted by the San Benito Consolidated Independent School District. The event served as an opportunity to prepare families with resourc...
T he University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine (SOM) just held its class of 2030 white coat ceremony, a symbolic event for students starting medical school that featured 56 members with just over 60% of them being from the Valley — the largest in the school’s histo...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Starting Aug. 1, the University Scholastic League (UIL) will require all school athletic teams and marching bands to follow heat safety guidelines. The guidelines are designed to protect students from overheating when practicing outdoors. The Ha...
The Brownsville Public Library System is helping local families get ready for the new school year with its annual Back-to-School Fair, taking place on Sunday, August 3, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Main Branch Library, 2600 Central Blvd....
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District superintendent position continues to remain open following Saturday's scheduled special-called board meeting. The Board of Trustees met for approximately six hours to discuss superintendent c...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees named a lone finalist for superintendent during a board meeting on Thursday. According to a news release, Joseph Villarreal was selected after a nationwide search and ext...
The City of Brownsville’s Department of Health, Wellness and Animal Services invites the community to celebrate the start of a new school year at a free Back-to-School Block Party on Thursday, August 6, from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM at 655 E. St. Charles St....
HOUSTON, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley football team is participating in the Southland Conference Opening Drive media day on Tuesday at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. Watch the livestream in the video player above. UTRGV foot...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees officially named its new superintendent during a meeting on Friday. The school district approved an employment contract for Timothy E. Cuff following a state-mandated 21-day waiting p...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — With back-to-school season just around the corner, Driscoll Health is partnering with dozens of sponsors, including the RGV Vipers, to get thousands of Valley families ready for the coming school year. On Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., all Val...
Students looking to elevate their musical talents and prepare for All-State Mariachi auditions are invited to participate in the Texas Southmost College (TSC) Mariachi All-State Clinic....
The U.S. News & World Report has issued its annual ranking of universities in the country, and Rio Grande Valley campuses have earned respectable ratings. The data should give residents and prospective students confidence that the education they receive here compares well with in...
UTRGV and the Harlingen school district announced a new campaign called “Living Longer by Design” to prevent diabetes in young people on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Courtesy of Harlingen CISD) HARLINGEN — We’re a fast-food nation. We love our Whataburgers, our Big Macs, and our peppe...
EDWARD SEVERN | STAFF WRITER EDITOR’S NOTE: This story continues our position-by-position look at the top returning high school football players in the Rio Grande Valley. Follow the series in the coming weeks as we count down to the release of our annual Top 30 players list in Au...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A former Donna Independent School District employee took office as the new president of the Texas State Teachers Association on Wednesday. According to TSTA, Linda Estrada was born in Weslaco and grew up in Donna, where she went on to have a 3...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Dozens of law enforcement officers, many wearing full riot gear, gathered at Hanna Early College High School Tuesday morning as the Brownsville Independent School District partnered with multiple agencies for a full-scale active attack training ...
