Socorro Independent School District principals, assistant principals, counselors, and teachers participated in a districtwide callout event Sept. 10 as part of the district’s annual Walk for Success initiative to encourage students back to school so they can graduate.
The callout is the first phase of SISD’s Walk for Success, in which district staff reach out to students, and/or their parents, with information on the opportunities available in SISD and provide guidance on the process to re-enroll.
“We want these students to know that SISD is still their home,” said Angelica Hernandez, SISD director of attendance, promotion, placement & retention. “We want them to be successful, we want them to pursue their high school diploma, or even their GED.”
Educators personally conducted phone calls to students who have not re-enrolled in school. They spoke with students, parents, or family members to explain to them about what resources and support SISD provides so students can re-enroll and continue their journey to earn a high school diploma.
Christopher Nwihim, an assistant principal at Socorro High School, said he recognizes that students can have a lot going on outside of their schooling like work or taking care of family. He hopes they’ll realize how much education can help them, which is why it is important to reach out and share the options with them.
“The Walk for Success callout is so crucial because we want to make sure that we give our students the resources that they need to be successful out there in the real world,” Nwihim said. “We want to make sure we get them to complete their high school education so that they can go out and obtain a career that is suitable for them and their family.”
Pebble Hills High School principal Ivan Ramirez said he was happy to reach out and be able to reconnect with students and families.
“What we are doing here really says a lot,” Ramirez said. “We are doing what we can to ensure they come back because we know the importance of an education.”
Students also are given information on alternative options to complete their high school education, such as attending the district’s alternative campus Options High School, where students are provided with a flexible schedule in a competency-based learning system or are guided on the steps they can take to earn their GED.
El Dorado High School counselor Ilka Molina said educators want to help students find their footing so that they can be headed on the right trajectory for their future, and that starts with a high school education.
“This is an amazing initiative,” Molina said. “We want them to know that we are not giving up on them, that they continue to be a part of our community, and we want them to be successful, whatever that success may look like.”
Mario Holguin, a social worker at KEYS Academy and Options High School, said that sometimes students are struggling or have had some type of hardship that causes them to step away from school. He said it is important that they have someone share why it’s so important for them to come back and complete their high school education.
“This shows that we care and that we are here for our students which is what we strive for,” Holguin said. “At our schools, our goal is to advocate for our students in every way possible, in education and beyond that."
The second phase of the district’s student recovery outreach will be on Sept. 17, when administrators, counselors and teachers participate in the Walk for Success. They will visit students’ homes in the district’s neighborhoods in an additional attempt to connect with students and their parents who they were not able to connect with in the first phase of the event.
Published September 15, 2022
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