PSJA ISD continues to provide a high quality and rigorous academic experience for all students. We commend the work of our students, families, faculty and staff this school year as they have had to adjust to virtual learning and a slow and safe transition to in-person instruction.

This year, Kelly-Pharr Elementary was the only school in the Rio Grande Valley to be designated a National Blue Ribbon School by the US Department of Education, making it the 6th PSJA ISD school to receive this honor.

Two schools, Cesar Chavez Elementary and Graciela Garcia Elementary were recognized as National Association of ESEA Distinguished Schools for exceptional student achievement in 2020. The only two selected by the Texas Education Agency to be recognized at the National level.

As part of our commitment to continue to be a National leader in Dual Language Education for all students, our School Board unanimously passed a Dual Language Program Policy to ensure the program receives the support needed to continue to make a difference by providing students the opportunity to learn academic English and Spanish, while pursuing a third language such as Chinese Mandarin or Arabic.

Despite the pandemic and virtual environment, 86 PSJA students graduated from South Texas College this fall. Eighty-three of them receiving an Associate Degree and three of them College Certificates, all free of cost to them and their families, giving them a head start to complete their post-secondary education.

PSJA ISD was also awarded with a Superior “A” Rating by the Texas Education Agency as part of its Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) for the 2019-2020 fiscal year for demonstrating high quality financial management.

Our Athletics and Fine Arts programs had a late start to their Fall season, but were able to prove the talent we have at PSJA schools by having two schools, PSJA North Early College High School and PSJA Southwest Early College High School advance to the football playoffs, with the latter doing it for the first time in school history.

Numerous Fine Arts students in Orchestra, Choir and Band reached the State level, placing in various categories, and we had two students advance to the UIL State Congress Debate Tournament.

All of these accomplishments would not be possible without the dedication and support of our entire PSJA Family!

During this uncertain 2020, PSJA ISD has also:

+Invested more than $1.3 million for personal protective equipment and facility upgrades to protect students and staff against COVID-19 and ensure their continued health and safety.

+Equipped all facilities with desk partitions, teacher partitions, plexiglass, social distancing markings and signage, as well as installed over 600 air purifiers districtwide, and more than 2,500 hand sanitizer units throughout our facilities and school buses.

+Created a COVID-19 Dashboard to keep focus on transparency efforts about the number of cases reported within our school district, and a PSJA COVID-19 Hotline & PSJA Safety Compliance Taskforce, providing additional support systems to ensure proper health and safety protocols are followed at all times.

+We also invested in Social and Emotional Wellness and have hired licensed counselors and wraparound specialists to increase the level of support provided to students and staff.

Learn more about this work by visiting our website at www.psjaisd.us and following us @PSJAISD on all social channels.