The non-profit organization Children at Risk ranked five Roma ISD campuses as among the best for low income students in the area. The campus with the highest ranking — Delia G. Garcia Elementary — was ranked 14th in the state out of more than 4,000 schools.

According to Delia G. Garcia Elementary School Principal Citlali Gonzalez, 92% of the student population is economically disadvantaged.

The school bridges gaps for students through their efforts that include exposing students to career fields as much as possible, which Gonzalez said can be hard. 

“We're in a rural area. It’s very difficult for us to expose our students to museums, places for them to visit. So we try to bring them to our school,” Gonzalez said. “We bring the STEM mobile lab, we bring the planetarium, we bring the Jurassic experience to our school."

Gonzalez said the school tries to implement leadership lessons as well. 

While Gonzalez is thankful for the recognition from Children at Risk, she said she’s most proud of her students.

“We need to provide basic needs first for all of our students, and when those are met then we can focus on their academic needs,” Gonzalez said.

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