San Benito CISD honors students, staff and campuses at May 14 board meeting

SAN BENITO, Texas — At its May 14 regular meeting San Benito CISD highlighted student and staff achievements across academics, athletics and the arts, and presented campus recognitions earned during the 2024–25 school year.

District public-relations staff opened the recognitions portion by introducing multiple campus- and student-level honors. San Benito High School’s College and Career Center clerk, Lupita Pena, was named a 2025 Texas A&M “Very Important Counselor”; Texas A&M provided a one-year $1,000 scholarship tied to the recognition, awarded to San Benito senior Kevin Harper, according to the district presenter. Sullivan Environmental Science Academy received an Equal Rise Student Innovative Grant certificate for a Butterfly Bird Garden Rescue project funded by H‑E‑B. Riverside Middle School sixth-grader Isabella Renee Gamez won second place statewide in the Poetry Society of Texas competition for her poem “The Moon Over the Ocean.”

Transportation staff recognized San Benito High tenth-grader Yuvia Silva for first place in the 2025 Texas Association for Pupil Transportation bus-safety poster contest (Division 4). The district said it posted her artwork on the district Facebook page and that the poster will be entered in the national contest this summer.

Marie Partida, the district’s Special Olympics head of delegation, introduced athletes and coaches from the 18-plus, high-school, middle-school and elementary teams and reviewed each athlete’s events and participation. The board applauded the delegation and coaches for year-round programming that included bocce, basketball and track events.

San Benito High School’s top-10 graduates were introduced, including valedictorian Kayla Lizette Hernandez and salutatorian Sergio Luis Velasquez. The board also acknowledged more than a dozen students who earned associate degrees from Texas Southmost College prior to high-school graduation and recognized a large number of students who qualified for region and state-level solo/ensemble, band, choir and orchestra competitions — including three All-State vocalists and multiple UIL sweepstakes and superior ratings for middle- and high-school ensembles.

District staff also announced that 12 campuses earned Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase recognition for implementing that program districtwide; two campuses — Dr. C. M. Cash Elementary and Dr. Raul Garza Jr. STEAM Academy — were named to the ERP National Honor Roll for national academic achievement recognition.

In community highlights, the Miller Jordan Middle School ACE Barbecue Club and San Benito High School’s CTE culinary arts program tied for Best Food and Best Desserts at the local El Sabor de San Benito event hosted by the San Benito Chamber of Commerce; both groups received a $350 prize that the district said was split among student teams.

Presenters named dozens of teachers, principals, coaches and parent volunteers across campuses while the board and superintendent thanked families and staff for the level of extracurricular and academic engagement that generated the honors.

The presentation occupied a substantial portion of the meeting; trustees and the superintendent repeatedly praised the “it takes a village” approach and highlighted that many recognitions reflect coordinated work across counseling, fine arts, career and technical education, and athletics departments. The district posted photos and additional details on its official Facebook page, according to the presenters.

The board moved on to public comment and later to business and personnel items after the recognitions.