Sylvia P. Atkinson's photostream

Sylvia Atkinson began her career in education in 1993 as an Advanced Academics Social Studies and Special Education teacher at James Pace High School in Brownsville, Texas. During the four years that Sylvia Atkinson spent at James Pace, she was named Pace High School's Social Studies Teacher of the Year and was also the recipient of its Teacher Who Made a Difference award. For her work in the Brownsville Independent School District, Sylvia Atkinson was recognized with KGBT-TV's Channel 14 "Top of the Class" award, as well as its "Class Act" award.

After James Pace, Sylvia Atkinson went on to serve as Campus Administrator/Liaison for the School of Technology for Medical and Health Professions at Homer Hanna High School in Brownsville. While at Homer Hanna, Sylvia Atkinson coordinated the involvement and participation of both parents and students affiliated with the Parent Student Teacher Association. She also worked with the University of Texas at San Antonio to develop a summer program for all Brownsville Independent School District students who expressed an interest in the University's Medical Health Science Center.

Sylvia Atkinson's participation with the University of Texas at San Antonio was not the first time she would demonstrate her commitment to ensuring that high school graduates developed both the desire and the means to pursue higher education, and it certainly would not be the last. During her time as Superintendent of Schools and HR Administrator with the Santa Rosa, Texas Independent School District, and later as Superintendent of Schools of the Socorro Independent School District, Sylvia Atkinson made certain that parents and students were granted all the resources they needed to accurately understand the opportunities of higher education and how they applied to each family's unique situation. Sylvia Atkinson's provisions of counseling staff, college fairs, Early College High Schools, and Go Centers are credited with significant increases in the number of scholarships received by high school seniors in her district.