S-WEST KEY MAY PARTNER WITH BISD TO TEACH MIGRANT KIDS

Southwest Key Programs Inc., the nonprofit that runs the state's largest operation taking in immigrant children separated from their parents, is considering partnering with Brownsville Independent School District to send teachers and counselors to some of its Brownsville shelters.

Southwest Key officials held a conference call Monday with Texas Education Agency officials and Brownsville ISD educators to start running through the details of the potential partnership, the day after  Dallas Morning News reported the nonprofit was also considering partnering with Promesa Public Schools, a charter network it founded.

The details of the potential arrangements have not yet been finalized. The federal government hires private contractors to run its shelters and detention centers, leaving it up to them to decide how to educate kids, within the bounds of specific regulations from the Office of Refugee Resettlement under the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

"Southwest Key decides which entity it would work with: one, or both, or none," said Salvador Cavazos, Southwest Key's vice president for education services.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement requires the contracting companies to assess students' educational needs within 72 hours of their arrival and to provide them with at least six hours of structured education Monday through Friday throughout the entire year in several basic academic areas.

The nonprofit, which is currently using a converted Walmart as a Brownsville shelter for more than 1,500 children, has been flagged by the state for hundreds of violations in the last three years, according to state health inspectors. Southwest Key spokespeople say the company immediately worked to correct those issues.

The current educational model at Southwest Key facilities is "proprietary," Cavazos said, refusing to give more details. But he said he believes the shelter's students would benefit from potential partnerships with Promesa Public Schools and Brownsville ISD, both of which have proposed sending their teachers into shelters. "We're looking to see if the model that we have can be enhanced with this partnership. We believe that it can be," he said.

Promesa Public Schools, formerly called East Austin College Prep, is a separate nonprofit created by Southwest Key that is currently enrolling students for a new campus in Brownsville this fall. It submitted a proposal to educate kids at one of Southwest Key's shelters, which include four in Brownsville and seven total in Cameron County, said Promesa Public Schools Superintendent Jaime Huerta.

Both Promesa Public Schools and Brownsville ISD could receive additional state funding for educating these students.

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