The Ysleta ISD Board of Trustees honored Riverside High School senior Mariana Ramirez with the November President’s Award.

Mariana has demonstrated great leadership and service among her peers and the El Paso community. YISD officials add, “Mariana is the type of student who puts her values into practice for the betterment of others.”

As a JROTC cadet, Mariana has earned more than 300 community service hours by volunteering for charitable organizations that include the Ronald McDonald House; United Blood Services; and the Armed Forces YMCA.

In October, however, Mariana took it upon herself to organize the first-ever Community Breast Cancer Awareness Walk at Shawver Park, which successfully drew about 100 participants to support the fighters, admire the survivors, honor the taken, and encourage survivors to never give up hope.

Aside from her outstanding community service, Mariana has been a stellar JROTC cadet and student; She is not only Ysleta ISD’s highest-ranking JROTC Senior Cadet, but she is ranked in the top 10% of her graduating class, and she routinely offers to tutor students who are struggling academically.

The President’s Award is given by the President of the Board of Trustees to a YISD student who has demonstrated exceptional and/or innovative, out-of-the-ordinary service to others, particularly those within the YISD community.

Two East Point Elementary School counselors were recognized with a 2018 Lone Star State School Counselor Association Silver Award at the organization’s annual conference in Frisco, Texas.

Counselors Adriana Arenas and Maria McNulty received the notification in early October and will embark on the next level, the LSSSCA Gold Award.

In 2016, The Lone Star State School Counselor Association (LSSSCA) developed a progressive awards system that includes three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards.

Each level is met with increased levels of rigor designed to elevate school counselor programs to national recognition through The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) awards.

Schools receiving the LSSSCA Bronze, Silver or Gold award demonstrated outstanding comprehensive counseling programs that were data-driven, focused on goal completion and aligned to the ASCA National Model.

The LSSSCA Award System evaluates school counseling programs in 12 areas.  Each application packet was judged according to a rubric that is aligned to the national RAMP award.

According to their website, the LSSSCA mission is “to empower school counselors with the knowledge and skills in order to promote professionalism and ethical practices by providing leadership, advocacy, and professional development.”

The Ysleta ISD Board of Trustees honored Parkland High School running back and senior Deion Hankins with the October President’s Award.

Deion has not only proven himself as a dynamic athlete on the football field, but a true leader among his peers on campus.

In September, he broke a 14-year city record to become El Paso’s All-Time leading rusher.  With a few games still left in the season, Deion has racked up 6,125 career rushing yards, making him one of only 104 players in Texas state history to go over the 6,000 mark.

His career stats at Parkland High School are just as impressive, with 64 rushing touchdowns, and 563 yards receiving with 4 receiving touchdowns.

But Deion’s outstanding athleticism is just one part of what makes him a standout student.

On campus, he is known for being a humble, kind, and unselfish teammate and student. He has far exceeded the minimum number of 80 community service hours needed to graduate, mostly by volunteering at McCombs Baptist Church.

Every summer, he helps run the church’s Vacation Bible School, and works with children on Wednesday nights.

He continues his ministry on campus with peers through two extracurricular clubs – the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Youth For Christ – and at speaking events throughout the city.

Aside from all of this, Deion is also at the top of his academic game. He is currently ranked in the top 10 of his class while taking both Advanced Placement and dual-credit classes.

YISD officials add, “All told, Deion is a wonderful example of the hard work, dedication, and service excellence that we value at The District, and we are extremely proud to call him one of our own.”

The President’s Award is given by the President of the Board of Trustees to a YISD student who has demonstrated exceptional and/or innovative, out-of-the-ordinary service to others, particularly those within the YISD community.

Eligible YISD students must be nominated for the award by a school principal, assistant principal, or Trustee; and must be in good academic and disciplinary standing.

Two Ysleta ISD teachers pursuing their Master’s degrees were awarded a grant from District 19 Texas Retired Teachers Association.

Parkland Middle School T-STEM coordinator Raquel Jimenez and Eastwood Knolls International School fine arts teacher Christina Caraveo each received the $1,200 grant.

Ms. Jimenez is pursuing an Engineering Education Master’s Degree at UTEP. She will be among one of the first to earn the degree in December.

Ms. Caraveo is enrolled at Texas Tech University distance learning to obtain a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction.

The grant was available to any classroom teacher employed in Region 19 who is beginning or finishing up coursework for a Master’s Degree.

The teachers, along with their principals, were honored at a banquet in early October.

It was a fierce night at Socorro ISD’s SAC, as the Bel Air Highlanders battled the El Dorado Aztecs.

When the clock struck ‘0’ at the end of regulation, it was all knotted up and the teams went to overtime, where the Aztecs struck gold, downing the Highlanders 34-28.

Our very own Steven Cottingham was there and we bring you his view of the game in this, ‘Story in Many Pics.’

The Ysleta Indians headed north Friday night, landing in Big Red country to take on the Bel Air Highlanders.

The undefeated Indians played with determination, bolstered by an undefeated record, and while the Highlanders put up a good fight, the Tribe was too much, downing them 57-27.

Our very own Steven Cottingham was there and brings you his view of the battle in this “Story in Many Pics.”

Last weekend, the Bel Air band traveled to Midland, Texas to compete at the Bands of America West Texas regional championships.

The competition was a two-part contest with a preliminary round featuring 20 bands. The top 10 bands then advanced to the finals round.

The Big Red Pride Band distinguished itself by advancing to the finals round, and ended up placing 9th overall. What made the band’s accomplishment so great was the fact that they did this without performing their entire show, fielding only about three-quarters of their production ” Pillars of Life.”

Band director Manny Talamantes explained that he wanted the band to compete even at this early date in order to receive feedback from the judges to help improve the band’s overall performance.

The Highlanders performed first in the preliminary round, scoring a 64.1 for their early-morning performance. In the finals round they made an impressive improvement and posted a 67.45 score, which was the largest score bump at the contest.

Bel Air was the only band from El Paso competing in this particular contest. The band will travel one more time  to compete in the Bands of America Super Regional in Southern California on November 3.

Directors for the band include Manny Talamantes, Benjamin Perez, Luis Ibarra, Derek Andrade, and Melina Banuelos. Drum majors for the Highlander band include Belanna Castillo, Angel Ramos, and Jacob Leos.

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Author – Lorraine Kubala

For all things band and musical, visit Lorraine’s Facebook page: Musical Notes – The Blog

On Wednesday, Bel Air High School officials announced Christopher Carson, Highlander Class of 1986, as the Brenda Sandoval Honored Ex for 2018.

Of Carson, Bel Air school officials said, “His life exemplifies all that Bel Air expects from its graduates: a call to service, independence and responsibility.”

Carson, a graduate of the class of 1986, served as an airman with the United States Air Force. While serving our country, both here and abroad, he earned his degree in Engineering from New Mexico State University. He went on to work in the private sector for Boeing and the Hughes Corporation before accepting a position at NASA.

Carson also received his Masters degree from NMSU. He has continued to give back to his community as a guest presenter at various student career days, even here at Ysleta ISD.

Carson currently holds the title of Flight Integration Manager with NASA, which means that if you want to put a satellite into space, you need to talk to him.

He is married to another Bel Air alum, Beth Bailey and they have 3 beautiful daughters.

Click here to see a list of Homecoming activities.

Longtime Ysleta HS teacher Mr. Paul Cain will be remembered during the Ysleta HS Homecoming festivities on the reservation as Grand Marshal during the annual Homecoming parade.

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.

Thursday night again kicked off the week’s football action, as the Parkland Matadors ran south to meet up with the Jefferson Silver Foxes at their still-new home field.

The Matadors made the most of the trip to South-Central, topping the Foxes 55-6.

Our very own Andres ‘Ace’ Acosta was there and brings you his view of the game in this ‘Story in Many Pics’

The Burges Mustangs headed to the Lower Valley to take on the Riverside Rangers Friday night at the newly-renamed Tom Work Field at Riverside Stadium.

The Rangers did their best, but the Mustangs would not be denied after last week’s win-as-a-tie, and won the game 41-6.

Our very own Steven Cottingham was there and brings you his view of the game in this ‘Story in Many Pics.”

Live coverage of your favorite high school team is just a click away thanks to our partners over at TownTalk Sports El Paso.

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With the help of the Paso del Norte Foundation, the family of a longtime Eastwood High School educator is ensuring her memory lives on by helping students fund their college education while creating a lasting tribute to their daughter.

“Eastwood was Deby’s life; she wanted to make it the best place she possibly could,” Deby Lewis’ mother, Betty, said. “Her goal was to see that every student would become what they were capable of being.”

With Eastwood High currently undergoing extensive renovations, the Deby Lewis Foundation — `part of the Paso del Norte Foundation’s Community of Philanthropy — saw an opportunity to raise more money to help send kids to college and honor the memory of Deby Lewis.

Over the last several months, the foundation has been selling commemorative bricks that will be used to build a walkway at the school.

The bricks are engraved with names of Eastwood High students and faculty, past and present, and include their graduating class, high school legacy, groups, teams or a personal message.

Teachers, students and alumni have purchased about 560 commemorative bricks. Proceeds from the donations will go to fund scholarships for Eastwood High students.

The non-profit was founded by Betty Lewis to honor and memorialize longtime Eastwood High School educator Deby Lewis. Lewis was a graduate of Eastwood, who went on to a 36-year career as a tennis coach, student activities director and Ysleta Independent School District board member. Lewis passed away in 2015.

Since being founded in 2016, the Deby Lewis Foundation has awarded 16 scholarships to deserving students.

With construction nearing completion, officials with Ysleta ISD are inviting the community to take a grand tour of the new Bel Air Middle School on Saturday, August 25, from 9 a.m. to Noon.

District officials share that the new campus will accommodate 800 students in grades 7 and 8, with core capacity growth to 1,200 students.

The new school will be a state-of-the-art 21st Century Learning Campus with STEM labs, visual & performing arts, and full support for all athletics.

According to Ysleta ISD officials, the $40.6M project – as part of the Bond 2015 – replaced Ranchland Hills and Hillcrest middle schools.

The schools consolidated in 2016 and have been housed at the Hillcrest MS building on Yermoland.  The new school is located at 7909 Ranchland Drive.

On Monday, officials with the Ysleta Independent School District (YISD) announced the appointment of new principals at two campuses for the upcoming school year.

Alejandro “Alex” Armendariz, current principal at Valley View Middle School, has been appointed the new principal at Loma Terrace Elementary School, effective Aug. 13.

Armendariz began his professional career in 1999 as a science teacher at Hornedo Middle School, and has since worked as a support teacher and assistant principal. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Sul Ross State University.

Due to Armendariz’s new position at Loma Terrace Elementary School, Camino Real Middle School Principal Ida Perales has also been appointed principal of the nearby Valley View Middle School campus.

Perales will oversee both schools until January, when the campuses will be consolidated at the new Del Valle Middle School currently being built as part of a new K-8 combination campus with Mission Valley Elementary School.

Perales began her career in education in 2001 as a biology teacher at Ysleta HS, then worked in the El Paso and Socorro school districts for six years before returning to YISD in 2008 to serve as an instructional specialist, assistant principal, and principal. Perales has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from UTEP.

The K-8 combo campus consisting of Mission Valley Elementary School and Del Valle Middle School is one of several new construction projects made possible through the $430.5 million facilities bond approved by voters in November 2015.