Hilda C Escobar and Alicia C Rios
Hilda C Escobar
Hilda C Escobar is the daughter of Leopoldo and Elida Cavazos. Their belief in the importance of education is credited with being one of the key factors in guiding the path of Mrs. Escobar. Hilda C Escobar graduated, with honors, from Mission High School in 1958. She attended college at Pan American University where she earned a Bachelors Degree and a Masters Degree from Texas A&I University. Mrs. Escobar began her teaching career at Pearson Elementary School in January 1961. After serving as a teacher for eight years, she was promoted to Elementary Supervisor for Mission CISD. In this role, Mrs. Escobar provided on-going assistance to new teachers in implementing effective teaching practices, classroom management and organization. Mrs. Escobar was named principal of Person Elementary School in 1976. She served as principal for 12 years. Mrs. Escobar was the first female Hispanic principal in the district. During her time as principal, student performance at Pearson improved to the point that the school was recognized at the state level by Dr. Bill Kirby, Commissioner of Education, as one of the 20 top performing elementary schools. In 1988, Mrs. Escobar was promoted to Director of Elementary Education. Six years later, she was named Administrative Assistant for Accountability for Mission CISD. Hilda C Escobar retired from Mission CISD in 1996 after serving the staff and students for 36 years. Since that time, she has worked as an educational consultant, helping a number of schools in the area achieve success.
Alicia C Rios
Alicia C Rios is the daughter of Leopoldo and Elida Cavazos and youngest sister to Hilda C Escobar. Alicia C Rios graduated from Mission High School in 1969. She attended college at Pan American University where she earned a Bachelors Degree and a Masters Degree. In 1972, Mrs. Rios began her teaching career at Castro Elementary School. After serving Mission CISD as a teacher for 16 years at Castro Elementary and Pearson Elementary, she was promoted to Instructional Supervisor at Mims Elementary in 1989. Mrs. Rios served in that capacity for 12 years. In 2000, Mrs. Rios took the helm of Mims Elementary School as Principal. She continued to build upon the strong academic successes of her predecessor including honors such as Texas Blue Ribbon School status, the Texas Business Education Coalition Honor Roll, and the school's exemplary state rating. On January 16, 2004, Mrs. Rios collapsed in her office at Mims Elementary, passing away shortly thereafter, serving the district for 32 years.