Socorro Independent School District trustees were honored and students, staff and volunteers were recognized at a special board meeting Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, that opened at 6:01 p.m. and adjourned at 6:44 p.m.

Daniel Escobar, chief communications officer for Socorro Independent School District (SISD), opened the board-honors portion of the meeting and summarized the district's recent accomplishments, saying, “This year's theme, leadership for tomorrow, highlights a vital role that our school board members play in shaping the future of our district and students.”

The recognitions highlighted academic, arts and athletics achievements and community partnerships. Escobar told the board that SISD led the region on the 2024 STAAR and EOC assessments, ranking No. 1 in more than half of 20 assessments; 82% of SISD campuses earned an A or B rating from the Texas Education Agency, and 12 campuses received an A rating. He also noted the district’s Purple Star designations, saying SISD celebrated 39 Purple Star campuses for the 2024–25 school year and has 46 Purple Star schools in total.

District and union leaders presented specific honors during the meeting. Veronica Hernandez, president of the Socorro American Federation of Teachers, presented six $500 Thrive scholarships supported by the local and state AFT organizations. Hernandez said the scholarship program drew “over 327 applications” and that the awards would be distributed to one student from each high school. The named recipients were Angie Gurusqueta (Pebble Hills High School), Paloma Del Rio (Socorro High School), Sergio Cordova (Americas High School), Angela Long (Montwood High School), Herman Belarde (El Dorado High School) and Trinity Praise (Eastlake High School), the latter not present at the meeting.

The board also recognized individuals and groups for extracurricular accomplishments. The Pebble Hills High School Spartan Marching Band was acknowledged for regional, national and international appearances, including performing in the Tournament of Roses Parade on Jan. 1, 2025, and selected performances at the Western International Band Clinic in Seattle. The district named Maximo Sierra as the band director.

A tennis coach, Mike Bezamek, was honored for his induction into the Texas Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame in December; the district noted he is the second person from El Paso to receive that honor. The board recognized Manuel Curola, a teacher and athletic trainer at El Dorado High School, for administering emergency treatment to a game official who showed signs of hypoglycemia during a halftime incident; district comments said Curola’s actions raised the official’s blood sugar and avoided ambulance transport.

Earlier in the program, students from John Druegan School, under instructor Laura Aragon, presented one-of-a-kind sea glass art pieces to each trustee as tokens of appreciation. School photographers will post high-resolution photos from the event on the district website’s SmugMug page, the district said.

The meeting contained no public comments and no formal motions or votes on policy items; trustees attended the recognitions and posed for photographs with students and honorees. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:44 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025.