Harlingen CISD Superintendent highlights new STEM Academy ahead of school year

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Students and teachers at Harlingen CISD head back to the classroom for a brand new school year this week. The district is opening a new campus for the 2025-2026 school year, Travis STEM Squared Academy.

The new STEM Academy, previously Travis Elementary School, is a kindergarten through 8th-grade school that will focus on Science, Technology, and Mathematics in all of the students' subjects, providing a pathway to the medical field as well as other STEM careers.

Harlingen CISD Superintendent Veronica Kortan tells ValleyCentral this new campus is aimed at taking its students to the next academic level that will set them up for life.

"This is going to be the place where STEM will come to life," Kortan said. "There's different lessons that we'll bring in here, and really, it's about curiosity. Our purpose is going to be the spark that helps to continue that fire and really get us to the next level of performance."

A big change for Harlingen CISD and all Texas school districts will be the enforcement of House Bill 1481, which bans all cellphones in classrooms. HCISD will be following the law. Just last week, the district posted an informative video on its social media pages detailing the policy to parents and students. All electronic devices, like cellphones and smartwatches, will not be allowed during the school day, including lunch periods, and must be kept in a backpack.

Another first this school year is that this year will be the first full school year for Kortan as HCISD Superintendent since stepping into the role back in 2024 following the resignation of former Superintendent J.A. Gonzalez.

"We learned a lot of lessons last year," Kortan said. "I'm proud of where we ended up last year, being able to overcome some challenges, no doubt that we had, we stayed unified. We had just to pause first of all. Just stop for a second, take a deep breath and start looking at what are some systems we can rethink all for the betterment of the school district."

Kortan is a product of Harlingen CISD herself and is humbled to have the opportunity to lead the school district she has been a part of for so many years.

What she looks forward to most is helping future generations achieve their educational goals.

"There is no feeling like sitting there and watching these kids with this look on their face of awe, that moment that you know as an educator, like this is why I'm here," Kortan said. "For me, that's just such a valuable feeling."