Before the 2026-2027 school year began, campuses across the Socorro Independent School District prepared for the upcoming year, building on the success of the previous school year while focusing on new opportunities to support student success.
During summer break, educators strengthened their skills through professional development trainings and conferences and prepared their classrooms to welcome students on the first day of school, July 27.
Celebrating community
On July 21, teachers from the Socorro High School feeder pattern gathered at the high school to celebrate their community and reassert their commitment to their students for a successful new school year.
Socorro High School Principal Dr. Ignacio Estorga welcomed educators from the eight elementary and middle schools, as well as the high school. He emphasized that the schools were at the heart of the city of Socorro’s community.
“We had a 95% graduation rate, and it’s going to get better because you guys continue to push our kids. But also, don’t forget to take care of yourselves as well because without you, our kids can’t learn. So, take care of yourselves. I always tell my faculty and staff, family is always first because when you come back to campus, you are their family,” Estorga said.
Keynote speaker George Couros, an author, speaker and worldwide leader in innovative teaching and learning, echoed Estorga’s remarks about the importance of schools in building strong communities. He said he was impressed by the connections Socorro teachers have with each other and with their students.
“The drive of what you do, the drive of what I do is how do we help these kids find a path to success that is meaningful to them, and I saw that in this room today and what a blessing you are to this community,” Couros said.
Empowering teachers through art
Since being selected for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Changing Education Through the Arts (CETA) National Pilot Program in 2024, teachers from the Paso Del Norte Fine Arts Academy have traveled to Washington, D.C., during the summer to participate in arts integration training led by renowned artists.
As one of only five schools nationwide selected for the program, Paso Del Norte teachers learned strategies to integrate the arts across various subjects and enhance student learning.
Vanessa Keyser, the theater arts teacher at the academy, was among the educators who traveled in June to the Kennedy Center to receive this training. This was her third year participating in the program. She planned to incorporate the training she received, particularly in artificial intelligence, into the curriculum to support her fellow teachers and enhance their instruction.
“I'm going to start using AI to develop apps that will allow teachers to integrate. They're going to take little bits of fine arts integration and be able to plug and play, drop them in, do a little bit of enhancement here, maybe a co-teach here, but they'll be able to put their own lessons together. So, I'm very excited about that,” Keyser said.
Making science learning fun
Teachers at John Drugan School and Escontrias STEAM Academy participated in professional development sessions a week before the school year began, aimed at helping students connect classroom learning to real-world experiences.
SISD’s Academic Services department offered over 90 training sessions across various departments and content areas, with nearly 1,500 educators participating during the summer.
During the training, teachers participated in hands-on activities to explore weather and wind, including an anchoring phenomenon routine. They examined a derecho, a powerful windstorm, to understand its effects on structures such as silos. This helped educators learn about patterns and cause-and-effect relationships that students will study throughout the year.
Monica Velarde, SISD elementary science instructional officer, said that the training aligned with the K-5 science framework and equipped teachers with strategies to lead students through scientific investigations. Teachers also developed interactive station materials and foldables that integrated science, reading, vocabulary and math concepts.
First-grade bilingual teacher Rosalba Herrera, who has taught at John Drugan for 17 years, was super excited for the new school year and looked forward to incorporating the materials into her lessons to nurture her students' curiosity.
“The best thing is their curiosity. They love to learn, they love to investigate, they’re not afraid to speak their mind. But what I love is that they’re really shapeable. I can really shape them, not just academically, but socially, so they can be really good citizens,” Herrera said.
Preparing classrooms for student success
Teachers across the district were busy decorating classrooms, organizing supplies and preparing to welcome students for a successful new school year from day one.
Lizette Cedillo, a 6th-grade world geography teacher at SSG Manuel R. Puentes Middle School, was excited to begin her fourth year in SISD. She and her co-teacher planned to do several projects to help students work together and engage in their lessons.
“We always look at what things worked last year and what we can do to improve this year. We’re looking forward to doing a lot of work with primary and secondary sources here in world geography and world history. We want the kids to use technology more as well since we have our computers ready to go for them,” Cedillo said.
Additionally, she was eager for her son to start sixth grade at the school this year and was looking forward to working with the new principal, Christopher Nwihim.
“We’re very excited. There’s so much professionalism and structure that we’ve seen so far. We’re really looking forward to new energy here at Puentes, and it looks like we’re all on the same page. It’s going to be great,” Cedillo said.
At Col. Ben Narbuth Elementary School, first-grade teacher Claudia Cortez and her partner, Mr. Googly Eyes, were thrilled about welcoming new students. Cortez and Mr. Googly Eyes, a plastic jar with wiggly eyes taped to it, have been teaching together for more than 10 years. The jar has helped Cortez connect with her students, who have grown so fond of him that they often return to visit them both after they move on.
Cortez was excited to build strong relationships with her new students and support their education over the next 12 years.
“It’s almost like an honor because you have these kids with you for eight hours and they become part of your family and you love them. So being the first ones, building the foundation is amazing to see,” Cortez said.