New school board member targets at-risk students

HARLINGEN — Dr. Nolan Perez is eager to begin participating as the newest member of the Harlingen school board, hoping to shape the district’s programs to fill the needs of all students, he said.

Perez, 39, was appointed this week to replace school district trustee Omar Cano, who resigned in mid July. Perez was sworn into office Wednesday.

Perez grew up in Port Isabel and graduated from high school there in 1989. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993 and a doctorate from
the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1998, he said.

After medical school he served in the Navy as a Medical Corps officer for four years, and received the Navy Commendation and Navy Achievement medals, he said.

Cano, a professor at Texas State Technical College-Harlingen, resigned in mid July to spend more time with his grandchildren, he said. Only George McShan has served longer on the school board.

Perez said he wants to find more effective ways to reach all students in the district and to make high school more relevant for more students.

Construction of better facilities will be a high priority for the school board, and combining state funds with funds raised through a local bond issue will help provide a better environment for students, Perez said.

“I try to look at bigger educational sort of issues,” he said.

“I really have a passion for education and mentoring,” Perez said. “I think this community service can really be a vehicle for that passion that I have.

“I would really like to see the school district spend more time and effort promoting higher education and career readiness, rather than just focusing on test readiness and that kind of stuff.

“(The school district staff) are doing both — don’t get me wrong — but I think we can work harder at not only targeting the at-risk population to minimize dropouts and TAKS test failures,” he said of the scores from the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.

The district needs to do more for top-achieving students who plan to go to colleges and universities, but also help students who plan to focus on technical training and vocational skills prepare for the work force, Perez said.

“The bottom line is we have to switch our focus so that these students graduate with a career-ready mindset,” he said.

Perez said students need to learn that good behavior and hard work are needed for any field they plan to enter.

Students must set goals early so they are prepared to enter the work force, or to have an
organized approach toward getting a college education so they don’t graduate from college with large amounts of debt and no career goal, he said.

Perez is the founder of RGV Mentors, an organization whose mission is to match successful community professionals with aspiring high school students to ensure all participants graduate with a college and/or career-ready mindset, he said.

He serves on several boards in the medical field and on groups planning for expansion of higher education, he said.

His medical practice, Gastroenterology Consultants of South Texas, PA, is located on Victoria Lane in Harlingen.

He lives in Treasure Hills and is married to Sandy Perez. Their two children, Nolan, 10, and Natalie, 8, attend Treasure Hills Elementary School.

Perez will serve until the next school trustee election in May 2011. The winner of that election will serve out the remaining year of Cano’s term — to May 2012.