If you want to control the future, you have to create it. And that’s exactly what we did with our El Paso ISD community this week.

Whether it’s parents and stakeholders at our Hopes and Dreams 2.0 listening sessions, industry partners who provide STEM education opportunities, or our military family at Fort Bliss helping us celebrate a new campus, our mission to inspire and empower our students is enhanced by our partners.

Hopes and Dreams 2.0 kicked off this week and has been inspirational, generating further insights for us to solidify a strategic blueprint for the district’s future. It was great to see the collaboration and enthusiasm throughout the week from regional feeder patterns. Tinajero PK-8 seventh-grader Maribel Martinez cautioned us about the potential for overreliance on technology. Maribel relayed a story about a day when her classroom’s computers were rendered inoperable due to needed software updates. Without a readily available supply of paper and pencils, Maribel and her classmates were left saying, “What do we do?”

We exist to serve students. As such, student voices are critical for us to create a prosperous future. We have one more Hopes and Dreams 2.0 session scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7, at Chapin High School. Make plans to attend and make your voice heard.

Capt. John L. Chapin, the namesake of our next Hopes and Dreams location, played a role in another milestone we celebrated this week. Fort Bliss leadership joined us to celebrate the completion of the new $40 million Captain Gabriel L. Navarrete Middle School, our sixth school on Fort Bliss property. The school bears the name of World War II hero Capt. Gabriel L. Navarrete, who served the U.S. Army’s legendary Company E, which was comprised mostly of Mexican-American men from El Paso who attended Bowie High School. He served under Capt. Chapin and, fittingly, many of the Navarrete Knights will attend Chapin High School.

El Paso ISD is also thankful for its partners in industry. Students at Hawkins Elementary and Ross Middle learned about STEM education and careers when the Mobile Energy Learning Unit – an exhibit made possible through a partnership between Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s El Paso Refinery and the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) – took a weeklong tour of El Paso.

Good luck to our six volleyball teams competing in the area round of the state playoffs this weekend as well as our football teams that are closing out the regular season Friday night. You represent El Paso ISD well.  

Lastly, a reminder that the November general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Some of our campuses will operate as polling sites that day. Any of our teachers, staff, parents or community members interested in casting ballots can find more information on polling locations and what to expect when voting here.

It starts with us.

Sincerely,

Diana Sayavedra
Superintendent of Schools