Dear El Paso ISD,

We’ve made it to March! The month has already brought a flurry of exciting activity that strongly accentuates the remarkable things going on in El Paso’s District.

For starters, the No. 18-ranked Chapin High School boys basketball team takes the floor tonight in the regional semifinal round of the UIL Class 5A playoffs. The Huskies face No. 9 Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt at 6 p.m. CST at Kay Yeager Coliseum in Wichita Falls. Chapin got here after defeating Parkland 56-53 on Tuesday in a momentous regional quarterfinal played at the Don Haskins Center. If the Huskies advance today, they will play in the Region I final at 11 a.m. Saturday for the right to go to the state Final Four. Let’s go, Huskies!

Earlier this week, our student musicians hit some high notes. Our talented band and orchestra performers showcased their skills during pre-UIL competitions. Seven El Paso ISD high schools advanced to bi-district competitions. Last weekend, three students — Anais Cristina Santos from Franklin High school, and Coronado’s Kendall Uribe and Daniela Montemayor — were recognized as UIL Mariachi Outstanding Performers during state competition in Seguin, Texas. Congratulations to our talented musicians!

This week, we began March Into Literacy Month. I had the privilege of kicking off the celebration by reading to young students at Coach Archie Duran Elementary School. Early literacy is vital to continued academic success and I was happy to see the enthusiasm these young learners expressed. During my visit, I also got to visit with students in their classrooms and was amazed at the magnitude of their work.

For example, students in Stormy Daniels’ second-grade classroom are facilitating a service project where they are collecting used school uniforms that will be washed and distributed to students in need. The trio of Zeus Navarro, Bella Barrera and Ozias Martinez described how they filmed a video promoting their donation campaign, produced flyers to distribute and placed a collection bin outside their classroom. Through their efforts, they expect to help 75 students and they expressed immense pride in being able to help fellow students in their community. What a wonderful way to give back!

This weekend, El Paso ISD is hosting a hiring fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Downtown El Paso. El Paso’s District will be hiring for all positions including teachers, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, clerical workers, food and nutrition workers, nurses, special education instructors and various other vacancies. We are excited to connect with talented individuals in our community who can help us continue to fulfill our mission.

We have one week left until the end of our El Paso Employee Giving campaign! Last year, the EPISD Education Foundation awarded the Class of 2022 approximately $100,000 in scholarships. We hope to raise even more to benefit our graduating seniors. Your generosity can make a difference! Click here to give today.

Next week, we begin spring intersession, which will be followed by spring break. Learning won’t stop when our regular school schedule ends.

Amy Martinez Perez — the El Paso ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year who is a dual language teacher at Don Haskins PK-8 School — will leave next week for a 10-day study abroad program in New Zealand to learn about special education and inclusion programs at the Victoria University of Wellington. The trip is part of her studies as a Texas A&M graduate student and will help her continue to hone the skill set she needs to fulfill the district’s vision of the future, including in the realms of whole child development and equitable education offerings. Read more about Amy here.

While we’re on intersession, free breakfast and lunch will be served to all students — whether attending intersession classes or not — at all our campuses March 6-10.

Thank you, all, for everything you’ve done to get us to this juncture. Regardless of where we are, we remain committed to inspiring and empowering our students to thrive.

It starts with us.

Sincerely,

Diana Sayavedra
Superintendent of Schools

March 3, 2023