TEA recognizes 50 El Paso County schools for supporting students from military families
Cristina Carreon
Three El Paso County schools were recognized by the Texas Education Agency this month for supporting students from military families.
The TEA started a new program, the Purple Star Campus Designation, in the 2020-21 school year, accepting applications from 116 campuses across Texas that met criteria to receive the recognition.
The program was put in place to encourage districts to help military-connected children and their families transition between schools during events such as a change in station, including families moving into and out of Texas, according to the TEA.
Running active, effective military support programs during the pandemic can be as challenging for schools as the mass transition to remote learning this year, though not always in the same ways, officials said.
"Because of COVID, we haven't had the same level of activity with our military connected parents and students," said Carmen Olivas Graham, SISD director for administrative services.
"We're very equipped. We are improving our services. We're talking to parents about what else we can do and we try to move mountains to accommodate them when they are trying to register."
There were 50 El Paso County schools that were recognized in the El Paso, Socorro and Canutillo ISDs.
Of Socorro ISD's 49 schools, 40 were recognized with the distinction, as well as nine EPISD schools and one Canutillo ISD school.
School districts maintain daily enrollment of military connected students as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act and data on the number of these students fluctuates throughout the year, according to the Fort Bliss School Liaison Office.
The data on student enrollment provided by these districts is a "snapshot" showing the number of these students enrolled on a specific date, typically in October of each year.
The nine El Paso area school districts reported 11,582 military connected students enrolled in the public school system with 5,771 in El Paso ISD and 3,372 in Socorro ISD the latest data show. The Liaison Office also works with Gadsden ISD in Chaparral, New Mexico.
Schools located on the Fort Bliss installation or on federal property fall within the EPISD boundaries, according to the liaison office.
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At the El Paso Independent School District, approximately 10% of the district's enrollment is made up of military-connected students, and the district has five schools on military land, as well as a partnership with Fort Bliss.
The population of military connected students at Socorro ISD is on par with EPISD, at more than 11% of the student population.
There are approximately 5,300 military-connected students at SISD schools exclusively tied to Fort Bliss; the Lower Valley schools do not have as many of the students.
Olivas Graham said the district is working to adapt how it serves those students. As students have transitioned to remote learning, military liaisons have transitioned to having virtual meetings with military parents to address students' needs.
"So, we're just tightening up our efforts to do a better job in serving the military community," Olivas Carmen said.
There is a designated military liaison in every SISD school and this person could be an administrator, a parent liaison, or a social worker, Olivas Graham said.
Per the Military Parent Advisory Council, which was launched in August, military families work with the district to improve programs that serve this student population.
The Military Active Spouses program was started several years ago and is essentially a small club in each participating school to help military spouses learn skills. The program, which was started several years ago, is being expanded to all SISD schools.
The district also has a webpage for military families to peruse for resources, activities for military families, a counselor just for military-connected children, as well as a campus transition program. Fort Bliss also regularly works with the SISD on staff development, to ensure the students' needs are met.
"But again, right now everything is so virtual that it's not working as well as it did before," Olivas Graham said.
She added that the campus transition program puts local students in charge of helping military-connected students acclimate to their new schools, "so that the child has somebody to sit with during lunch, to take them around and show them the school until they make friends on their own."
"So, that's something that helps the children kind of connect with their school at a faster rate, so they are not by themselves. It's also a job that's given to the other students, so they can begin to take ownership of our other military-connected kiddos," Olivas Graham said.
The list of Purple Star school designations initially was published in late October, but the TEA determined 10 additional campuses met the criteria, including two additional EPISD schools and two more SISD schools.
Canutillo ISD
- Congressman Silvestre & Carolina Reyes Elementary School
El Paso ISD
- Captain John L. Chapin High School
- Bliss Elementary School
- Ross Middle School
- Austin High School
- Dr. Nixon Elementary School
- Logan Elementary School
- Hughey Elementary School
- Colin L. Powell Elementary School
- Milam Elementary School
Socorro ISD
- SSG Manuel R. Puentes Middle School
- Hurshel Antwine Middle School
- Socorro High School
- Cactus Trails Elementary School
- John Drugan PK-8
- Myrtle Cooper Elementary School
- O’Shea Keleher Elementary School
- Escontrias Early Childhood Center
- Elfida P. Chavez Elementary School
- Loma Verde Elementary School
- Chester Jordan Elementary School
- Vista Del Sol Elementary School
- El Dorado High School
- Socorro Middle School
- Campestre Elementary School
- Sgt. Jose F. Carrasco Elementary School
- Capt. Walter E. Clarke Middle School
- Col. John O. Ensor Middle School
- Montwood Middle School
- Salvador H. Sanchez Middle School
- Escontrias Elementary School
- Purple Heart Elementary School
- Helen Ball Elementary School
- Benito Martinez Elementary School
- Pebble Hills High School
- William D. Slider Middle School
- Hueco Elementary School
- Bill Sybert School, pre-K-eighth
- Sierra Vista Elementary
- H.D. Hilley Elementary School
- Sun Ridge Middle School
- Paso Del Norte Elementary School
- Americas High School
- Dr. Sue A. Shook Elementary School
- Montwood High School
- Mission Early College High School
- Sgt. Roberto Ituarte Elementary School
- Lujan-Chavez Elementary School
- James P. Butler Elementary School
- Spec. Rafael Hernando Middle School
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Cristina Carreon can be reached at ccarreon@elpasotimes.com or found on Twitter @Cris_carreon90.