Alumni & Friends

Alumni Profile

JoAnn Gama knows the value of an education. As co-founder and chief operations officer of IDEA Public Schools, she has been preparing students in the Rio Grande Valley for higher education for more than 10 years by encouraging them to take more challenging courses and improving their college readiness. What started as an after-school program is now a growing network of 12 schools, which serve more than 5,300 pre-K-12 students from Brownsville to Mission. The Houston native received her bachelor's degree from Boston University and her master's in educational leadership from The University of Texas-Pan American in 2004. In May, the leadership team trio at IDEA was awarded the Peter Jennings Award for Civic Leadership, which is presented annually to Teach for America alumni who have significantly impacted an issue of critical importance in closing the academic achievement gap.

How did IDEA Public Schools come about?

I joined Teach For America's Rio Grande Valley corps in 1997, and the following year, co-founded an after-school program in the Donna Independent School District that grew into IDEA Public Schools. We created the program as a way to help combat some of the major educational deficiencies we saw in our students, focusing the program on student achievement and college readiness. The state granted a charter to IDEA in 2000. The flagship campus in Donna graduated its first class of seniors in 2007, 100 percent of whom are currently enrolled in a four-year college or university. Thirty-one seniors graduated in the Class of 2008 at the Donna campus in June 2008, and 100 percent of those students have matriculated to a four-year college or university - and just a few days ago, we sent 100 percent of the 46 students in our class of 2009 to college. Three-fourths of all IDEA graduates are firstgeneration college students.

How did your UTPA degree prepare you for the career you have now?

My colleague and I started IDEA after three years of teaching fourth and fifth grade. We were inexperienced educational administrators who were granted a state charter based on our student achievement results. However, sometime during our second year as an independent charter, I decided to enroll at UTPA and get my master's in educational leadership. I had several friends who were in the program, and they talked about how much more prepared they felt being a part of the program. Upon enrolling and attending class, I understood why. Several professors in the program were past school administrators and superintendents, and they were able to offer realworld solutions to problems we were facing. The course readings were very appropriate and allowed me to deepen my understanding of how successful schools operate. We were charged with shadowing current administrators in the local school districts. UTPA had the connections to allow that experience. There is no better preparation than witnessing how someone else does the job you do - or are preparing for. There were several professors and colleagues in general that are part of the UTPA family who helped me grow into the leader I am today. Several of them were former and or current superintendents. Having them share their real world experiences really helped me be a better school leader.

How did your UTPA education inspire you to create the IDEA Academy?

I co-lead a network of 12 schools across the Rio Grande Valley, where more than 75 percent of our 5,300 students are eligible for the federal lunch program. The educators and professors at UTPA know how to work with students from our region. They can give us the skills we need to ensure we are setting high expectations and helping students to achieve in the classroom. They can speak to specific programs, curriculum and strategies that our classrooms need, and policies and procedures that our schools can implement in order to ensure no student is left behind. IDEA students' achievement on all areas of the 2008 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) exceeded the state averages. Our flagship high school in Donna ranks among the nation's top 20 high schools, according to U.S. News & World Report. It is one of only two schools in the top 20 serving a population with at least 74 percent low-income students.

Why is the IDEA Academy approach to education so effective?

We operate our schools with a laser-like focus on college readiness that begins in the primary years and continues throughout middle and high school, culminating in 100 percent of IDEA students attending a four-year college or university. We do this through a high-quality, focused approach to teaching and learning that is derived from the rigorous International Baccalaureate model, a unique and powerful school culture, a small school size, a partnership with parents, and a vision based on IDEA's core beliefs.

What advice would you give UTPA students interested in a career in educational leadership?

One of the great things about UTPA's program is its accessibility. Most aspiring educational leaders are also full-time teachers. UTPA has experienced professionals in the classroom and has classes that will fit your schedule. The workload and information are specific to what you will be doing in your career field. Those of us in the educational leadership program are all aspiring principals. The assignments that are given out in class are applicable to the job of a principal. A small but very real example is writing curriculum or unit plans. I wrote plans in graduate school at UTPA that I was actually able to implement in the classes at IDEA. I was fulfilling a course requirement but at the same time I was having an impact in a classroom with 25 students.