The HCISD Transition Academy, which stands near Harlingen School of Health Professions and Memorial Middle School, was completed at the end of last school year. However, the Harlingen Area Educational Foundation is funding additional projects around the home.
“We are going to lay out a sidewalk,” HAEF President Belinda Zapata said. “We are going to put in grass and there is going to be irrigation, a sprinkler system for it. A pergola is going to be built, and we are going to have cisterns that are going to collect water. It may not seem like a lot, but the landscaping is a big part of the academy itself.”
In February, HAEF applied for a grant from the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation.
“We asked for $50,000 because the project was going to be about $100,000,” Zapata said. “So, we presented it to the board, and we all voted that we should proceed forward. Then it was just a matter of the mechanics. We submitted everything on time and then we waited for a decision.”
At the end of July, the Harlingen Area Educational Foundation was notified that they were approved for the $50,000 grant.
“We are very excited about this,” Zapata said. “The fact that the HAEF board came together and saw how important this was not only to our students but to our entire community, you know, it just makes me so happy.”
Before receiving the grant, HAEF must complete a couple of other steps including some training and the final signing of the contract.
“I am so honored to work with such an amazing board like our HAEF board,” Zapata said. “We are honored to serve our community. We are honored to assist the school board and Dr. Noyola in her vision for HCISD, but more importantly, everything that we do is for our community, and so we are very happy to do what we can.”
