EPISD will Restructure the Academy, Moving the Campus
The El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) is making significant changes to its College, Career and Technology Academy (CCTA) program. This initiative involves moving the program from a single central campus in El Paso to four different high school campuses. The district claims this shift will better support at-risk students by bringing services closer to their homes.
District officials clarified that the move is not a closure of the CCTA program but rather a transformation in how it operates. Mark Paz, EPISD’s assistant superintendent of secondary schools, described CCTA as a “stumbling drop-off prevention program” for students who have fallen behind in their studies or lost credits at their traditional schools. These students often choose to attend CCTA to recover their academic standing.
Caption: Julia Spencer reports on El Paso ISD to close College Career and Technology Academy, move program to four schools (Credit: KFOX14)
Currently, the CCTA program is located at a central campus near Piedras and Grant. However, under the new plan, it will be distributed across four high school campuses:
- El Paso High School
- Burges High School
- Chapin High School
- Franklin High School
Paz explained that the goal of this change is to bring services to where the students are, rather than requiring them to travel to a centralized location. He emphasized that teachers will also be relocated to these campuses so that students can continue receiving individualized support from staff who understand their specific needs.
“We are taking the teachers to those sites so the people who are already doing the program with them,” Paz said. “They’re familiar with the students that know how to serve as students that have those academic needs.”
Administrative staff will also transition to support the four campuses. The decision to restructure the program was approved unanimously by the school board during a vote on Tuesday. However, no community meetings were held before the decision was made.
When asked about the lack of community meetings, Paz stated, “It’s hard to elaborate on a community meeting when that community is such a small group of students. I mean they really really is a unique pocket and to have like other external peoples and stakeholders involved in that process.”
Reaction to the change has been mixed. Some students see the move as beneficial, as it will allow them to stay closer to home. For example, one student mentioned that the new arrangement will make it easier for him to be near his family in Northeast El Paso.
However, others, like Susana Rosales, the grandmother of a CCTA student, expressed concerns. She noted that the current location has been convenient for her family and raised worries about transportation and the transition from a smaller setting to larger campuses.
“And it’s a big change for, especially for me, because I dropped off kids and then my two grad kids, and then work is down the street,” Rosales said. “So it is a big difference.”
Rosales also voiced concerns about how students will adjust to a larger environment. “This one’s very small. And mostly all the teachers, assistant principal, anybody here in OUG who you are,” she said. “So in the other ones, which is bigger, it’s going to be a lot, a lot different.”
EPISD has not yet decided what will happen to the soon-to-be vacant campus where the CCTA program is currently housed. The district continues to work on implementing the changes and addressing concerns from the community.
