MISSION – A Mission CISD teacher has been nominated as a finalist for Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year.

Twenty-nine years ago, Rhonda Pena moved to the Rio Grande Valley to start her career.

 “I was only going to stay one year but then I met my husband. Now, I don’t want to leave obviously,” says the Bryan Elementary fifth-grade math teacher. “So, I stayed and built my family with my school here.”

The Minnesota native says she was the recipient of the 2017 H-E-B Excellence in Education Lifetime Achievement Award.

KRGV’s Rick Diaz has more on Con Mi Gente.

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