Mission
TriPoint Academy provides opportunities for students to understand how the world around them is interconnected, as well as how they have an impact on the world they live in by providing a rigorous interdisciplinary academic focus integrating the arts and natural world exploration through critical thinking (rigorous academics), change (service learning), and connections.
Vision
At TriPoint Academy we firmly believe that all children can reach their full potential if provided with a comprehensive approach to supporting their needs as they work toward becoming an independent learner. This approach includes creating learning experiences that intertwine content, the arts, nature, and service. We believe students need strong relationships that are representative of a family. With our belief in a strong academic foundation, we push students to think deeper about their content by incorporating global themes and generalizations through open ended and abstract thinking to ensure they are prepared to step responsibly into the world around them.
Pillars
Critical Thinking
Change
Connections
Our Founding Team
Dr. Megan Correia - Founder / Director of Schools
Megan was a high performing teacher in Rhode Island and San Antonio. With both high achievement and student growth, she has a deep understanding of what quality curriculum and instruction look like. Alongside high quality instruction, Megan has implemented social-emotional learning and project-based learning into her educational philosophy as methods to ensure the needs of the “whole child” are met, while providing students with 21st century skills that help students understand their ability to make change in the world around them. Megan established herself as a teacher leader, through coaching and mentoring, as well as curriculum development for the district. Educational experiences in a variety of contexts have strengthened her belief that all students deserve a quality education rooted in strong curriculum and instruction.
After being named Lamar Teacher of the Year in 2019, she received her doctoral degree at Walden University, completing her EdD in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. Since joining the School Innovation Collaborative, she has designed and implemented numerous academic programs including a comprehensive literacy program aligned to the science of teaching, schoolwide intervention systems, blended learning structures, an afterschool program, and an additional school year days program. She has also successfully launched the Teacher Incentive Allotment in two different districts.
As a parent of three children, Megan understands that every child has unique needs. Each child deserves their needs to be met and their strengths to be celebrated. In addition to her education experiences, Megan holds a Bachelor’s in Human Development and Family Studies, as well as an Associates in accounting.
Douglas Dawson - Executive Director
Doug is a experienced systems-level leader driven by his background as an educator. He is a thought leader in launching district partnerships and designing innovative network models. Over the last two years, Doug has supported districts across the state to launch over 20 new partnership networks that have increased access to great schools for thousands of Texas students and families.
Doug’s journey in education began as a Teach for America Corp member in Dallas, TX where he served as a middle school teacher in a Title I school. Upon completing his corp experience, Doug completed his MBA at Rice University as part of the university’s education entrepreneurship program (REEP). He also served as a teacher and administrator with YES Prep Public schools, leading the launch of Fifth Ward High School.
Prior to launching the School Innovation Collaborative, Doug served as the Assistant Director for the Texas Education Agency’s Division of System Support & Innovation where he designed and launched multiple state-wide education reform initiatives aiming to empower school leaders and educators.
Victoria Martinez - Founding Learning Facilitator
Victoria Martinez educates tomorrow's future. She graduated with a masters degree in Education from Texas State University and a bachelors in psychology from Texas A&M International University. She has worked with Aric Bostick, one of the nation’s top motivational speakers and success trainers, author of the book "Fired Up! Success". She was trained in Steven Covey's 7 Habits in 2009 and has created a classroom environment in which the habits are a common language. Her personal struggles in school and life have brought her to a path of enlightenment. She has taken the scars placed on her and turned them into a driving force for change. She has made it her mission in life to motivate educators to leave marks, not scars, on students. Marks that remind them that anything is possible as long as they put first things first and believe they can reach their goals.
George Avery, previous parent of one of her students, best described Victoria as "a standout in the school community by traversing beyond expectations in her classroom teachings." She has impacted the entire school campus and community by setting the example and raising the bar of what it means to be an Educator. Victoria Martinez is unequivocally a “Firework”. Her work has recently extended beyond the classroom by forming lifelong relationships with experts in various fields in order to connect students with real-world experiences so that they can turn around and give back. She is ready to revolutionize education so that students can learn in a natural way that meets all of their needs and close gaps and help them understand 21st century soft and hard skills in order to become productive citizens of society equipped with goals and ambitions.
Kevin Pendleton - Founding Learning Facilitator of Innovations
Kevin is an artist born in Laredo, Texas and raised in Benavides, Texas. He is an alumnus of Texas A&M University - Kingsville's Fine Arts program and Graduate program for Educational Administration and Leadership.
While earning his BFA, Kevin served as an instructional aid to internationally acclaimed artists Fulden and Charles Wissinger where he began developing an interdisciplinary approach to the arts and teaching, facilitating the juxtaposition of "play" and "experimentation" with content and media for students. He collaborated with Dr. Brenda Melendy to create illustrations for an "ABC's of Genocide" instructional material for teaching 20th-Century genocides through art. The interdisciplinary overlaps through this collaborative effort resulted in what he considers "the first Innovations project", and the collection is now a permanent installation in Rhode Hall at TAMUK.
Kevin believes that student success relies heavily on authentic ownership of their own learning experience, and that this can be done intentionally by using art and relevant real-world integration as a medium to express and expand content knowledge. He is inspired by TriPoint's students and families who are his biggest reasons to dive into the programmatic work that he does day after day for all students to meet them where they are and push them forward.
