El Paso High Schools -ethnicity, teasing , racial issues (Austin, El Paso: condo, house)

[ocean2026]

As this is a sensitive issue please read this in its entirety and THINK before commenting.

I'm fluent in Spanish and my son who graduated from UT last spring is half Hispanic and really proficient in Spanish. When I first moved to El Paso I deliberately picked a multi cultural neighborhood and eventually became President of the neighborhood Assn (Sunset Heights)

Over the next year or two I will move back and now have a house 3 blocks from El Paso high- I like that neighborhood too- its a lot like Sunset. Yes I could have choose a more affluent neighborhood on the West Side but didn't consider it.


My daughter is blonde and does not speak Spanish. ( she tried LOL). El Paso High is not a diverse school it is 95% Hispanic. With all this build up HERE is my question. Will SHE feel comfortable there? Kids often tease but will she be teased about ethnicity? She is concerned enough about being a "New Kid" but is that school cliquish? She of course has been brought up to have no prejudices- and her current school is about 20% Hispanic. I've been gone from El Paso for a while and just don't know what the kids there are thinking. Please tell me what you know -not what Your attitudes are or what you think they should be.

Thanks

[TexasCCW]

If your daughter is outgoing and friendly I don't believe she will have any problems. Most people will think she is from Ft. Bliss and leave her alone, for the most part. Was there any way to avoid the move? this will definitely affect her academically. Having to adjust to a new school and new educators can be tough.

[banal]

She will most likely want to transfer out after the first semester. Probably to Franklin or Coronado. Not sure what the ethnic make up is at those schools now but it would be better for a non Spanish speaker.

[mistabinks]

Sometimes we have to take a step back from our individual pro El Paso and/or anti El Paso stances. This is a school issue. Kids who are going to tease someone are going to find a reason to tease them. It is not as if, in El Paso, a student is going to suddenly feel the need to tease someone just because they are not hispanic. The kids that tease and bully are going to do what they do. I don't condone it and I am not saying it is okay. I have seem Hispanic kids make fun of other Hispanic kids whose accent was too strong, whose skin was too dark. Those kids were going to tease/bully and used what was readily available. A lot of the time, not all, but a lot of the time a white kid gets made fun of - it's not because they are white - it's the just easiest subject to use to mess with them. It is not as if El Paso is 95% Hispanic, with those 95% having parents who are 100% Hispanic. El Paso is a mixed bag. I'd be more concerned if my child wanted and/or needed to attend a "more white" high school.

[ocean2026]

Mista that was a thoughtful response. My child really is color-blind.

Banal Gee I assuemd the kdis at El Paso High would speak English even if they were Hispanic.

Texas CW- She can be really outgoing but usually is quiet. Shes in the top few percent in Texas in every subject except Social Studies where she is top 12%. Academics wont be a problem I'm sure she can pass some classes at UTEP right now. On the other hand I want her challenged. I've thoguht about the Harmony School of Innovation and he harmony Science Academy too but El Paso High is 2 blocks from our house - she lieks that.

[TexasCCW]

Please put her in a school where she will be challenged. This might not be the school for her. Please visit greatschools.org and read some of the parent reviews. Your child might do better in a private environment such as Radford or Lydia Patterson.

Visit the EPISD website and see the high schools that are adding the early college courses. She can graduate from high school and earn an associates degree at the same time.

http://bechs.episd.org/welcome/index

http://tmechs.episd.org/welcome/index

My childrens' education is important to me so that is why I chose my home based on the schools in the area. Once they become high schoolers I will reassess and make the choice then.

[joqua]

Taking a slightly different perspective...as someone who attended EPHigh when there was a state law that forbid speaking of Spanish on Texas school grounds. I wish I had more exposure to Spanish when I was going to school from kindergarten to university in El Paso. Perhaps I'd be bi-lingual today. And I wouldn't hesitate to send my kids to EPHigh if I were faced with that choice today.

I know of people who have sent their children to school in Mexico, just so they would have more of a chance to learn Spanish - language and customs. Usually they are fluent after one year there.

El Paso High has always had a higher percentage of Hispanics than high schools like Austin, Irvin, Burgess, Eastwood, etc. - but all El Paso schools have long enjoyed symbiotic, if not totally integrated, student bodies.