The parade will take place on Friday morning, September 21.
Mr. Cain was a member of the Ysleta High School faculty for the entire 42 years of his career. He was born in Syracuse, NY, son of Paul V. and Mary D. Cain. Raised in New York City, he attended St. Francis Xavier High School, St. Bonaventure University and achieved master degrees from Oklahoma University and UTEP.
After graduation from college, Paul fulfilled a lifelong ambition to serve and joined the army, serving 10 years. For his service in Vietnam, Paul was awarded numerous citations including the Bronze Star, the Air Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.
In 1976, Mr. Cain began teaching at Ysleta High School where he continued to teach math, computer science, statistics and physics for 42 years up until last June. He perpetually put off retirement saying he would retire when teaching wasn’t fun anymore. Since that moment never came, he never retired.
Mr. Cain was widely known as a driving force in academic competition in El Paso – running city-wide High-Q tournaments, guiding his students through Academic Decathlon and UIL Academic competitions.
Ysleta’s team has won the city High-Q championship 10 times – most recently last year in a special televised match from the historic Plaza Theater, broadcast on KCOS-TV where he had served as tournament director for more than 30 years.
He has been an advocate, supporter and motivator for decades of students and their families. In 1992, five students from Ysleta’s graduating class were accepted to MIT – a remarkable achievement for any school.
The New York Times article about the event quoted then-principal Roger Parks as saying, “Three things the five students have in common are strong scientific and mathematical skills and one teacher: Paul Cain, an instructor in computer mathematics. They gravitate to him, and with him they build themselves to a competitive edge.”
The article goes on to say, “Mr. Cain said that the parents of the five students deserve most of the credit for their children’s accomplishment.”
Paul was a humble man but he deeply cherished the honor of being named Teacher of the Year from the state of Texas in 2008 and the nation-wide community of fellow Teachers of the Year the honor brought him. Mr. Cain passed away in August.
“We are the Indians. Our saying ‘Once an Indian…always an Indian’ means something to everyone who has ever attended this school. We ARE the Indians.” – Paul Cain
Schedule of Event for Friday, Sept. 21
9 a.m. – Homecoming parade begins at Speaking Rock employee parking, proceeds west on Alameda, concluding on Davis St. Parade will file into Hutchins Stadium for the Homecoming pep rally.
Homecoming Pep Rally – Immediately following parade. Enjoy performing groups and a message from Mr. Paul Cain’s family. All alumni, faculty, staff and students are invited to attend.
7 p.m. – Homecoming football game vs. Bowie HS.
Via a news release, YISD officials say, “Given the numerous high-school students who stay on campus after school for sports, theater, band, or other clubs, the supper program gives students access to a nutritional meal in the cafeteria before rehearsal or practice.”
The supper program, which provides free and nutritious meals to active students who remain on campus after school for extracurricular activities, will be offered at the following campuses:
Bel Air High School
Del Valle High School
Hanks High School
Parkland High School
Riverside High School
Ysleta High School
Eastwood Middle School
Young Women’s Leadership Academy
The supper meals are being offered at various times depending on the campus, but generally begin about 4 p.m. The meals are free of charge to children 18 years and younger, and are available for purchase by adults.
The supper program was first piloted in January 2017 at Ysleta High School, and expanded to include four schools by September 2017.
This program is part of YISD’s overall efforts to increase student access to healthy meals – this includes free breakfast for all students at all YISD campuses throughout the year.
The supper program is funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Child and Adult Care Food Program.
In a bid to help support the wellness, health, and development of students, the Ysleta Independent School District has launched a new “supper program” at three high schools, primarily to provide free and nutritious meals to active students who remain on campus after school for extracurricular activities.
The supper meals are being offered from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. on school days at Del Valle, Hanks, and Ysleta high school. The meals are free of charge to children 18 years and younger, but are also available for purchase by adults.
The supper program is funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Child and Adult Care Food Program.
“We launched this program not only to support students, but to help parents who may be concerned their active children don’t have access to healthy food outside the traditional school day,” said Michael Vasquez, YISD’s Director of Child Nutrition Services.
“We have numerous high-school students who stay on campus after school for sports, theater, band, or other clubs,” Vasquez added. “Our new supper program assures parents that their children can easily stop by the school cafeteria and eat a nutritious meal on their way to rehearsal or practice – instead of simply curbing their appetites with chips, candy, or fast food.”
The supper program was first piloted in January at Ysleta High School, expanding to Del Valle and Hanks high schools in February, officials said.
This new program is just the latest effort by YISD to increase student access to healthy meals. Already, 33 schools in the Bel Air, Del Valle, Parkland, Riverside, and Ysleta learning communities provide free lunch meals to every student, regardless of family income. In addition, all YISD schools offer free breakfast meals to all students.
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