Partnership supports rural districts, early-college programs
Susan Himes, Photo Gallery by Shelley E. Huguley | Apr 14, 2021
Texas A&M University’s Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, ALEC, is working with rural schools to make sure the future offers as many opportunities as possible for Texas youth.
The rural school partnership and program is one Matt Baker, head of the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Bryan-College Station, is extraordinarily passionate about.
Baker understands the importance of rural education firsthand, not just for students but for communities.
“I grew up in a small community close to where the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service Center at Vernon is,” he said. “When I was in eighth grade, our school consolidated due to an inadequate tax base to fund it. Although most of my fellow students transferred into the larger school district in the county, some transferred into a district in the neighboring county, and the buildings were shuttered.”