MISD students to benefit from Tyler JuCo promise

By Phil Major
publisher@wood.cm
Posted 5/20/21

Calling it an historic night for Mineola ISD, Superintendent Cody Mize formally announced the district’s partnership with Tyler Junior College Monday that will give students the opportunity to attend the college at no cost.

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MISD students to benefit from Tyler JuCo promise

Posted

Calling it an historic night for Mineola ISD, Superintendent Cody Mize formally announced the district’s partnership with Tyler Junior College Monday that will give students the opportunity to attend the college at no cost.

The Mineola TJC Promise, approved by the school board in a memorandum with the college, will allow students to attend TJC, beginning in 2025, as long as they follow the TJC Promise agreements and standards.

Students who are completing eighth grade at Mineola Middle School will have the chance to sign up for the promise in the fall, and upon completion when they graduate in May 2025, they can attend TJC.

The standards, which parents will also agree to, include academic achievement, persistence and community service. Parents will agree to provide an environment that will promote and encourage the student to achieve the standards.

“It will change the culture,” Mize said. Mineola students will show up, act right, be polite, do well academically, learn how to take care of other people and give back to the community.

Dr. Juan Mejia, TJC president, called it a night of celebration as the district and college partner for the betterment of students and communities.

Mize said that the real heroes are those who lived here who made their fortunes and left a legacy by leaving a portion of that fortune for the benefit of the district.

Those trusts and foundations, such as Reitch, Meredith, Wilson and English, will allow the district to fund tuition for students who successfully complete the promise.

Since the program starts with the Class of 2025, Mize said, the district also wanted to help students completing school before then and announced that any student who takes dual credit classes through TJC and maintains a grade of C will have that tuition paid for.

Matthew Ramirez, who directs the promise program, said that this marks the completion of the first year of TJC students who originally began in the promise program in 2016, and they outperformed their peers in grade point average, hours attained and retention.

When Mize was the superintendent at Winona, he helped develop the program for school districts within the TJC service area.

For far too long, he said, so many students have not had the opportunity to attain a college degree.

Ramirez noted that of 3,000 freshmen polled about wanting to attend college, all but a handful said yes. But financial and other factors often thwart that.

The program includes success coaches, a dedicated team that works with the seniors to help prepare them for college academically and mentally.

“Thank you for recognizing what we know,” Board President John Abbott said. “What a great night to be a Yellowjacket.”