The Socorro Independent School District achieved an all-time high in enrollment, surpassing 48,000 students in January 2023. SISD exceeded its record high of 47,000 students in 2019 due to enriching academic experiences and east El Paso’s rapidly growing population, along with the district’s robust bond programs that have enabled SISD to add new schools and improvements to campuses.
“In SISD, we strive to provide outstanding and equitable learning opportunities for all students to make them feel welcome and to prepare them for successful futures,” said SISD Superintendent Nate Carman, Ed.D. “We are the fastest-growing school district in El Paso County, and the substantial increase in our student population mirrors our rapidly growing community in far east El Paso, City of Socorro and Horizon City.”
When sixth grader Adrian Enriquez registered at Salvador H. Sanchez Middle School on Jan. 12, 2023, he became the first student to surpass the district’s enrollment record of 48,000 students.
The school hosted a ceremony in Adrian’s honor on Jan. 30 to celebrate this significant milestone in SISD history.
Red and white confetti fell to the floor as Adrian and Sanchez Middle School Principal Lisa Estrada-Batson walked into the school’s foyer where he received a gift basket full of school swag. The Sanchez Middle School drumline played in the background as the Sanchez cheerleaders rooted for the school’s newest Warrior.
“We seem to be adding more areas here in Socorro for housing and construction, and just welcoming all these families is amazing and an amazing adventure for all of us,” Estrada-Batson said. “Today is very special because we get to send that message out to our community that we continue to grow, we continue to receive all these wonderful students, and we continue to make their education a top priority.”
Paola Gutierrez, Adrian’s mom, said Sanchez Middle School has made her son feel welcome since his first day.
“From the first moment I brought him to Sanchez, he told me that he was very happy,” Gutierrez said in Spanish. She and her family recently moved to El Paso from Ciudad Juárez. “He really liked the people here, the school, the other kids, his friends, and the teachers teach him very well. That is what I have struggled with in some other schools that sometimes teachers do not pay enough attention to him or teach him English or other subjects well. But he immediately liked it here at Sanchez a lot.”
Team SISD's student population has increased by some 60 percent in the last 20 years. In 2003, the district's enrollment was 30,078. While other El Paso school districts experienced drops in enrollment during the pandemic, SISD held firm. In the last year, SISD gained more than 800 students.
To manage the district's growth needs, SISD opened its 50th school, Col. Ben Narbuth Elementary, in 2022 and Cactus Trails Elementary in 2019; both were approved through the 2017 bond program. Narbuth Elementary is part of a combo school with the new Eastlake Middle School, which is scheduled to open in 2023. The new combo school will serve students in the Eastlake High School feeder area.
Other 2017 bond projects, including the reconstruction of Socorro High School and facilities improvements at Americas, Montwood, and El Dorado high schools, are giving students outstanding learning spaces in modernized facilities.
While the district’s new and upgraded facilities continue to expand opportunities for students to excel, Team SISD has built a solid reputation for its high-quality instruction, innovative programs, and supportive and united community.
With free Pre-K for three- and four-year-olds, free college classes, innovative advanced academic academies, advanced career and technical training, award-winning fine arts, championship athletics, state-of-the art technologies, and world-class facilities, Team SISD students receive an unmatched educational experience that ensures they are successful now and in the future.
Published February 10, 2023
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