Being economically challenged does not prevent students at IDEA McAllen College Prep from having access to the No. 1 most challenging curriculum in the U.S.

Nicolette Solomon found her way to teaching through her work for a nonprofit traveling into schools and counseling LGBTQ students, helping transgender children change their names and gay, lesbian or queer children come out to parents and peers.

Here's why superintendent Dania Bazzi said she, her administrators and school board members sat in the back of the room and didn't speak during her multicultural district's strategic planning meetings.