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La Joya ISD board spotlights dozens of student achievements across arts, academics and athletics
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Summary
La Joya ISD trustees spent their March meeting honoring students: campus Crime Stoppers awards, three high school mariachi ensembles advancing to the UIL State festival, multiple UIL and Scholastic Art & Writing honorees, Special Olympics qualifiers and numerous district academic and athletic champions. The meeting ended with a routine adjournment vote.
Board President Julian Alvarez opened the La Joya ISD board meeting at 6:02 p.m. and the board used most of the evening to recognize student achievements across the district.
Superintendent Marshall Sorensen said the evening was an opportunity to “remind ourselves how we're surrounded by excellence every single day,” thanking families, coaches and central office staff for supporting students’ extracurricular and academic accomplishments.
Chief Sanchez presented the district’s campus Crime Stoppers program, noting the program (established in 2002) had campus representatives attend a conference in Amarillo where students earned awards. Sanchez named Ariana Montoya as a student board representative of the year and recognized student ambassadors who will represent the program at the state level.
Ruben Adame, director of fine arts, led recognition of the district’s three high school mariachi programs. Adame reported that Juarez Lincoln High School, La Jolla High School and Palm View High School each advanced to the 2026 UIL State mariachi festival (Feb. 19–20). He named individual ensemble members and identified outstanding individual performers who received UIL medallions: Jonathan Hernandez (Juarez Lincoln), Alea Maldonado (La Jolla High) and Sofia Garcia, Ariana Marroquin and Melanie Morin (Palm View). Adame described the medallions as a rare individual honor awarded by adjudicators at the festival.
Adame also announced Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for students from Jimmy Carter Early College High School and La Jolla High School, noting one student’s Gold Key entry advanced to the national level for further judging.
Abel Samura (UIL academics coordinator) and campus coaches recognized a range of UIL academic qualifiers, including a Juarez Lincoln robotics team advancing in the UIL FIRST regional contest and dozens of middle- and elementary-school district champions across events such as oral reading, calculator/math contests, Spanish poetry and chess.
Jose Pena, the district’s executive director of athletics, recognized Special Olympics state qualifiers from the district’s comprehensive high schools and presented lists of regional and state qualifiers in wrestling, cross country, football, volleyball and other sports, naming student honorees, coaches and principals.
The board briefly reviewed calendar items for March — including elementary field days and spring break — and Superintendent Sorensen encouraged community attendance at district events, especially an upcoming elementary music festival. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn at 7:38 p.m.; the motion was seconded and members voted 'aye.'
