Pharr and ISD Partners Host Census 2020 Parental Workshop
Pharr, Texas – Pharr joins thousands of cities across the United States in proactively working with the community to ensure a complete count in each of our jurisdictions and municipalities during the fast-approaching 2020 Census. As part of its efforts to promote an accurate count in the 2020 Census, the City of Pharr recently partnered with local school districts to host a 2020 Census Parental Workshop at the Pharr Development and Research Center. Partnering districts included Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District, Hidalgo Independent School District, Valley View Independent School District, and Vanguard Academy Charter School. Among the guest speakers were Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D. Dr. Narcisco Garcia, Superintendent of Vanguard Academy, and Xavier Salinas, Superintendent of Hidalgo ISD.
“An accurate Census count is important to ensuring we have fair representation in Congress and at the state level, and that we are distributed federal funds to our communities’ vital programs over the next decade – impacting housing, education, transportation, employment, health care, public policy, and more,” said Mayor Hernandez during his welcoming remarks at the event.
The goal of the workshop was to encourage parents to become advocates for their communities and assist the city in the efforts of collecting an accurate count in 2020. Without a correct count, critical resources that families rely on could be affected, including the amount of assistance they receive from the federal government.
“Most importantly, the 2020 Census helps determine how much money communities receive for the critical resources that children and families will depend on for the next 10 years – basically when you think about it, an entire childhood or generation will be affected by this count,” Hernandez added. “Resources that impact our families and children include food assistance, Head Start, childcare, housing support, public schools, early intervention services for children with special needs, and children’s health insurance,” he continued.
Pharr officials and partners want to remind all residents that when counting a household, everyone counts, no matter how young. Oftentimes, households forget to include children under 5 and newborns, and these are critical counts as this age group will most benefit from the resources that will be provided during the next ten years as a result of the Census. Mayor Hernandez stressed the important role that parents play in schools and the community, reminding them that the census is built on trust and that the only way to get an accurate count is to work together to advocate in educating their families and friends about the importance of being counted in the Census and participating in the process.
“It is especially important that as parents with children in school you understand the impact to our local schools,” said Hernandez. “An accurate count in the 2020 Census will help determine future funding for special education, teacher training, technology, school lunch assistance, Head Start, after-school programs, and more,” Hernandez said.
At the end of the workshop, parents were asked to become Official Census Ambassadors; about 60 parents signed up. An official induction ceremony will be held for these parent ambassadors in December. The U. S. Census was also in attendance and held a job fair after the event, providing parents an opportunity to apply for a Census job. The City of Pharr thanks all partnering districts for their commitment to the 2020 Census count and the over 200 parents who attended the workshop, even on the coldest day of the year. Pharr will continue to work with parents, school districts, and the community to host workshops to inform the public about the importance of being counted in the 2020 Census, as well as hosting job fairs to help people become employed as official census workers.
Pharr, Texas – The City of Pharr joins thousands of cities across the United States in acting proactively to ensure a complete count in each of our jurisdictions and municipalities during the fast-approaching 2020 Census, and has partnered with local school districts in Pharr to join efforts to promote the Census among Pharr families to ensure a complete count.
Partnering districts include Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District, Hidalgo Independent School District, Valley View Independent School District, and Vanguard Academy Charter School. The partners have joined forces and will be holding a Parental Workshop for all Pharr families to become informed about the 2020 Census process and its importance to inform funding, representation, and public policy. The goal of the workshop is to encourage parents to become advocates for their communities and assist the city in the efforts of collecting the count in 2020. As a reminder, federal law protects the confidentiality of all individual responses the Census Bureau collects.
The Parental Workshop will be held at 9 am on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, at the City of Pharr Development and Research Center (850 W. Dicker Road in Pharr).
All media and the public are invited to attend.
DETAILS
WHAT: Census 2020 Parental Workshop
WHEN: Tuesday, November 12, 2019, from 9:00 am to 11:30 am
WHERE: City of Pharr Development and Research Center, 850 W. Dicker Road in Pharr.
Pharr, Texas – In honor of all Veterans who served in our United States military and armed forces, the City of Pharr is proud to host and celebrate Veterans Day on Saturday, November 9, 2019, with a “Salute to Veterans” parade and fireworks! The parade will begin at 4:30 pm and will be followed by a fireworks show at 6:30 pm. City of Pharr officials invite all Pharr residents and families to attend and show their support as we honor the men and women who have served and who are currently serving in the United States military.
The parade and fireworks will be held in Downtown Pharr, along Cage Blvd.
“Pharr is proud to salute all Veterans in our community, and we honor the many brave men and women who have served in the armed forces to protect our freedom and our country,” said Mayor Hernandez. “On behalf of the entire Pharr City Commission, we invite the public, our citizens, and all our veterans to come and enjoy the festivities,” he added.
This event is FREE and open to the public. All media and the public are invited to attend.
DETAILS
WHAT: City of Pharr Veterans Day Parade, Fireworks, & Concert
WHEN: Saturday, November 9, 2019 (Parade at 4:30 pm, Fireworks at 6:30 pm)
Pharr, Texas – During today’s Pharr City Commission meeting, Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D., and city leaders announced that City Clerk Hilda Pedraza and Human Resources Director Anali Alanis have been promoted to new Assistant City Managers. The promotions come as Pharr moves to improve the city’s organizational structure to better serve the needs of the community.
“When evaluating performance for consideration of promotions, decisionmakers traditionally reward past performance and results,” said Hernandez. “In Pharr, we have adopted a more forward-thinking mentality as we evaluate the types of leaders we want to cultivate,” he continued. “We not only look at what they have done, but what they can do,” he added.
Known for their passion, drive, and leadership, both Pedraza and Alanis have dedicated over ten years of service to the city and citizens of Pharr. They have been recognized for their work as they continue to evolve and climb the ranks not only within their respective positions and fields but also academically. Both women were recently featured by their alma maters, South Texas College (STC) and the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), for their tenacity and determination to continue their higher education while devoting their professional careers to public service.
Hilda Pedraza City ClerkAnali Alanis Human Resources Director
Pedraza holds an Associate of Applied Science in Public Administration Degree from STC, is certified as a Texas Registered Municipal Clerk, and is currently working on obtaining her Bachelor of Applied Science in Organizational Leadership from STC. Alanis earned an Associate of Business Administration and Bachelor of Applied Technology Management from STC, and also obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from UTRGV. Both are Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certified.
“These types of leaders are always learning, growing, and adapting to a fast-paced and ever-changing environment,” Hernandez said. “Their leadership is the key to our success and sustainability and will keep Pharr moving forward across generations of administrations,” he added. “We are proud of their dedication and passion and cannot wait to see the innovative, collaborative, and forward-thinking service and leadership they will provide in these new capacities alongside our City Manager, Alex Meade,” he stated.
All Pharr Department Directors Trained and Certified in Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt; Pharr is the First Government Entity Trained through this Program
Pharr, Texas – As part of its efforts to maximize productivity and to reduce inefficiencies in government operations, Pharr city leaders have made it a priority to ensure all employees are functioning at their highest level of effectiveness. Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D., has implemented a business-oriented mentality in the workplace, streamlining government services to better serve Pharr constituents. As such, city officials partnered with the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley’s Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC) to have all department heads go through a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt training and certification program. The training was held over two days last week and was provided by TMAC. According to TMAC, Pharr is the first government entity that it has trained through this program, which is typically utilized by companies in the manufacturing industry.
The Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt training and certification program provides participants a two-day, in-depth overview on the concepts and methodologies of Lean Six Sigma (known as LSS) and the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) process. According to TMAC, this program is beneficial for those who would like to become familiarized with Lean Six Sigma and how it can impact an organization by effectively supporting improvement efforts in their organization. Key points covered in this training include determining customer value, defining and identifying waste, understanding standard deviation and sigma levels, roles and levels of LSS Belts, defining variance, repeatability and accuracy.
“Pharr is leading the way to better serve our community, and we are always searching for ways to improve our delivery of government services,” said Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D. “By thinking outside of the box and looking toward proven methods that have worked in other industries, we can implement these operational procedures and make them work for us in government, ultimately benefiting our community and the citizens we serve,” Hernandez continued. “I am proud of our staff’s commitment to continue striving toward excellence and for adopting our administration’s focus on ensuring we are providing the best service to our community,” he added.
TMAC Business Development and Continuous Improvement Specialist Jesus Cano agreed. “There has always been the common misconception that Lean and Six Sigma only apply to manufacturing settings, but many other industries and governmental entities have reaped the benefits from utilizing these tools and concepts,” said Cano. “We’re excited and commend the City of Pharr for taking this initiative to learn these powerful tools, this clearly shows the commitment they have to the people and city of Pharr!” Cano added.
About TMAC
TMAC is an affiliate of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) of The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) which falls under the U.S. Department of Commerce. TMAC is hosted at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (previously UTPA) under the College of Engineering and Computer Science and has been in service for over 20 years. Our main goal is to assist small to medium-sized U.S manufacturing companies to help them create and retain jobs, increase profits, become more efficient and ultimately save time and money. TMAC does this by providing open enrollment trainings and certifications in the areas of Lean, Quality, Six Sigma, Safety, Strategic Planning, Smart Manufacturing, Cybersecurity and many more. It also develops customized trainings depending on the customer’s needs and provides consulting and/or coaching services.
South Texas College welcomed the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) to its Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence Oct. 10. Secret Service Social Science Research Specialist Steven Driscoll (above) presented a four-hour course on research, training, and consultation on threat assessment and the prevention of targeted violence.
Pharr, TX (Oct. 16, 2019) – A recent training on identifying potential threats within schools has proved to be invaluable, especially for law enforcement within local ISDs, according to organizers of a National Threat Assessment Center Presentation Oct. 10.
The South Texas College Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence (RCPSE) hosted more than 100 law enforcement officers and representatives from various agencies, cities and ISDs who attended a four-hour course provided by personnel from the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), a component of the U.S. Secret Service.
NTAC specializes in research, training, and consultation on threat assessment and the prevention of targeted violence. It offered an intensive look into mitigating threats for those in attendance.
Secret Service Special Agent in Charge at the San Antonio Field Office Paul Duran and Resident Agent in Charge at McAllen’s Secret Service office Brian Gibson helped coordinate the presentation. Pharr mayor Dr. Ambrosio Hernandez gave opening remarks to attendees.
“We want to make sure we have this type of education available to the entire Rio Grande Valley,” said Mayor Hernandez. “We believe strongly in law enforcement, and we believe strongly that at the core of our great democracy is faith. We have faith in our law enforcement training, and we know you put your life at risk every single day.
“We are so grateful for what you do, and the City of Pharr will always be here to help any and all law enforcement as well as this campus,” he said.
NTAC’s presentation at RCPSE addressed topics including identifying possible potential threats, investigating and gathering information, assessing poses of threats or violence, developing risk management strategies and interventions, and interactive case studies.
The training was provided free of charge, and was open to school resource officers, police investigators, school administrators, school counselors, school psychologists or anyone else potentially involved in a risk detection/management position.
“Threat assessment is something that is in the DNA of the Secret Service, it’s something that every agent, office, and analyst does,” said Secret Service Social Science Research Specialist Steven Driscoll. “This program is something we have been doing for decades, instituting best practices at school districts.”
Despite extensive research on the subject, there remains no accurate “profile” of students who engaged in targeted school violence, according to NTAC.
Between 2015 and 2016, there were 827,030 incidents of crime in school ranging from simple assaults to serious violent incidents nationwide, according to NTAC citing figures from U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Acting RCPSE campus administrator Sgt. Jose Moroles expressed that the training was invaluable, especially for law enforcement within schools.
“Some of the training dealt with identifying potential threats and students who may be exhibiting concerning behaviors, as well as investigating and gathering information on the background and behaviors of concerning students,” Moroles said. “The course was extremely useful for threat assessment training for school officials.”
STC’s RCPSE provides training for local, county, state and federal professionals in law enforcement, public safety, fire science, and homeland security along the US/Mexico border.
STC is dedicated to providing excellence in educational programs and accessibility to a diverse population. The RCPSE campus specializes in continuous opportunities for professional growth and access to training. The center also serves to strengthen public safety, and benefit those who make public service a career.
