McAllen RGV, Dr. James Ponce, the Superintendent of McAllen Independent School District has been selected as the recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Bilingual Educator Honoree Award. The award will be presented by the Rio Grande Valley-Texas Association for Bilingual Education (RGV-TABE) later this month.

“This award is given every year to individuals whose hard work and dedication have produced positive change in the field of bilingual education,” RGV-TABE President Karina Chapa wrote in a congratulatory letter. “Honorees, like you, are also individuals with a proven trajectory of supporting and celebrating linguistically diverse children and their families, thus opening doors and building dreams for them and their communities.”

The award will be presented at an Honoree Awards Luncheon during the annual RGV-TABE Conference at the South Padre Island Convention Centre on Saturday, January 16. During this ceremony, the RGV-TABE Board will be honoring people who have had a major influence in the bilingual education arena in this region.