Raquel Rodriguez, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service family and community health agent for Val Verde County, recently received the Stand Up for Texas Public Schools award from the Texas Association of School Boards.
The Texas Association of School Boards, TASB, is a statewide voluntary, nonprofit educational association serving and representing Texas’ local school boards.
Rodriguez received the award in recognition for her work in implementing AgriLife Extension’s Walk Across Texas! program and Take A Stand! anti-bullying program, in addition to her work promoting youth nutrition and supporting the Head Start program.
TASB, in a letter of appreciation that accompanied the award, stated, “The task of educating the young people of Texas is a critically important one, and a task that requires the best efforts of educators, parents and the community. It is not a task that can be left to others or put off until a more convenient time. When you step up to help, you participate in a noble cause.”
“We are glad the Texas Association of School Boards has recognized Raquel for her work in serving the agency’s mission of improving the lives of Texans,” said Jeff Hyde, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension director, Bryan-College Station. “Her work is an example of how our agents throughout the state offer community support and service as well as provide educational programming to benefit the health and wellness of Texas youth.”
Take A Stand!
Rodriguez, who also serves as one of the county’s 4-H agents, said her bringing the Take A Stand! program to educate youth about positive strategies for managing conflict and bullying was among her most rewarding efforts.
The Take A Stand! program was developed as a collaboration between AgriLife Extension, Texas 4-H Youth Development Foundation and Texas Rural Mediation Services-Dispute Resolution Center of Lubbock County.
The five-lesson curriculum has three age levels — elementary, middle school and high school. It uses interactive and hands-on activities to engage youth in coping with negative feelings of anger, effective communication, conflict resolution, etiquette and teamwork.
“We met with school counselors in the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated ISD, and they shared with us that bullying was a problem in many of their schools,” Rodriguez said. “They previously had their own program, which was more of a character-building program, but had to disband it.”
She said the Take A Stand! program worked well because it not only addressed bullying but also focused on developing respect and empathy for others as well as understanding diversity and individual differences.
“It is as much a program about developing character,” she said. “It really showed them how to be better citizens and better people.”
She said in the past two years, during which she presented weekly Take A Stand! lessons to students at Lonnie Green Elementary in Del Rio, more than 500 students and teachers have benefited from the program.
Walk Across Texas! Youth
Walk Across Texas! is a community-based AgriLife Extension program helping Texans of all ages adopt a more physically active lifestyle.
In this wellness program, youth and adult participants engage in team-oriented activities. Teams are challenged to “virtually” walk the distance across the state of Texas – 832 miles – over eight weeks. There are Walk Across Texas!-sponsored events facilitated by AgriLife Extension agents throughout the state, allowing for year-round participation.
Program coordinators estimate that from 1996 to 2020, there have been some 618,399 participants in the Walk Across Texas! effort.
“I coordinated the Walk Across Texas! Youth program in partnership with Ruben Chavira Elementary,” Rodriguez said. “During the past two years, more than 1,000 children and teachers participated in that program.”
She said the program taught youth participants how important starting and maintaining a regular exercise program can be in their overall health and wellness.
Promoting youth nutrition
“In Val Verde County, instances of obesity and diabetes are high in relation to both the state and the nation,” Rodriguez said. “It’s important to have young people understand how their food choices and eating habits can affect their health.”
In her role supporting the agency’s Better Living for Texans, or BLT, program, she collaborated with the Del Rio Police Department and Housing Authority of the city of Del Rio to connect with community residents through presenting youth nutrition programming.
“Better Living for Texans is an AgriLife Extension nutrition-education program for adults and children who are either in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or eligible for SNAP,” she said. “The BLT program helps people learn how to make healthy meals, improve their physical fitness, save money at the grocery store, grow their own foods and adopt better food safety habits.”
While her BLT participation mainly involved presenting nutrition programs to youth, adults were also allowed to attend.
“We collaborated with Raquel and AgriLife Extension to bring the health and nutrition classes to our housing authority residents,” said Isidro Valdez Fernandez, executive director for the Housing Authority of the City of Del Rio. “This partnership was unique in the fact that we partnered with both AgriLife Extension and the Del Rio Police Department to provide these classes, so it was a real community effort.
“The programs Raquel presented were successful because they were hands-on and involved the entire family. They also helped our agency form a relationship with our tenants by letting them know we were all there to help them.”
Other community support
Rodriguez also serves on the Health Service Advisory Committee for the Irene C. Cardwell Head Start and Pre-K program. It is implemented by the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated ISD, which is the grantee for the early childhood Head Start program in Val Verde County. It is the largest agency in the community providing services to disadvantaged children and their families through Head Start, Title 1 and state pre-kindergarten programs.
The advisory committee includes local health providers, such as pediatricians, nurses, dentists, nutritionists and mental health providers, as well as various agencies providing health education and other services.
Rodriguez has also been a member of the Community Health Improvement Coalition for more than 15 years.
“Through this coalition, I have provided educational workshops and presentations to both adult and youth on topics ranging in diabetes, cancer, health and wellness, chronic disease, mental health and character-building,” she said.
Rodriguez also serves on the community Unmet Needs Committee and Emergency Food and Shelter board.
“I enjoy working for an agency that provides so many programs, educational materials and collaborative opportunities to help individuals and communities,” Rodriguez said. “While the award I received was for the work I did to support youth in Val Verde County, AgriLife Extension provides a number of programs to help promote health and wellness and improve the quality of life for Texans of all ages.”
