Students and staff at Guillen Middle School celebrated Friday after the Texas Education Agency rated the campus a B, ending three straight years of F ratings.
The TEA’s A-to-F ratings consider factors including student achievement and school progress.
Principal Leticia Terrazas said one of the first challenges was getting students to accept higher expectations.
“There was pushback. I’m not going to lie. There was pushback at the beginning. But slowly but surely, the students were able to build the trust with their teachers, and they saw the good in things. We were able to make those gains because they finally understood the why behind this,” Terrazas said.
In December 2024, KFOX14/CBS4 reported that the El Paso Independent School District was redesigning Guillen.
Teachers who wanted to stay had to reapply for their jobs as the school prepared to adopt Accelerated Campus Excellence, or ACE.
EPISD said the model focuses on effective teachers and principals, instruction, an extended school day and support for students.
“Everyone that used to be here had the opportunity to reapply for their positions. And so there were a bunch of new teachers that came in,” Terrazas said.
“And quite honestly, we changed a lot of things to change the culture on the campus. We changed the expectations. We set very high expectations,” she said.
EPISD board President Leah Hanany, who represents Guillen, called the improvement significant and said the district’s responsibility is ensuring campuses have what they need.
“To go from an F to B is a remarkable accomplishment. You’ve had a change in leadership. You had a focus on academics…” Hanany said.
“It’s up to us to resource the schools. And it’s up to the students and the teachers to deliver, and they have,” she said.
Not every EPISD campus improved. One example is Logan Elementary in Northeast El Paso, which dropped from a C last year to an F this year. Hanany said the district will need to focus on campuses that underperformed.
“Every single school that has underperformed will certainly have a lens… a focus for administration. So that’s going to be up to Dr. Lusk and his team to address. We’ll certainly be watching carefully,” Hanany said.
You can view the full 2026 TEA accountability ratings here.
STORY:
Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest news, and turn on the notifications to get alerted when the big stories break as we bring them to you live!
For all the full stories seen here, go to KFOXTV.com.
Follow KFOX14 on our other social media pages for more photos, videos and reports:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Instagram:
If you see something newsworthy happen, or you just witness something incredible, hilarious or adorable, you can send your videos, photos and news tips to KFOXTV.com/chimein. We love sharing our favorites on KFOXTV.com, our social media and our broadcasts!
You can also email a news tips, or call our newsroom. Email: elpaso-assignmentsdesk@sbgtv.com
Call the Newsroom: 915-845-5369
_______________
KFOX14 is an El Paso-based station and a FOX Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. Sinclair owns and operates programs or provides sales services to nearly 200 television stations in 86 markets. Sinclair’s television group reaches close to 40% of US television households and includes FOX, ABC, MyTV, CW, CBS, NBC, Univision and Azteca affiliates
source