La Joya school district closes Zapata Elementary, consolidates students

LA JOYA — The school board here approved the closure of Emiliano Zapata Elementary and to restart Evangelina Garza Elementary and Juan N. Seguin Elementary under a model aimed to turnaround low-performing schools.

The board unanimously voted Wednesday to approve the plans as part of the district’s commitment to ensure students have access to high-quality education. The plan follows months of analysis and community engagement.

La Joya ISD Chief of Academics and School Leadership Derek Little gave a breakdown on the recommendation to close Zapata and restart Garza and Seguin under the ACE Model.

Emiliano Zapata Elementary is set to close at the end of the school year due to low performance, enrollment and facility concerns. The elementary school earned an F rating from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for the 2023-2024 school year.

Little also said the building itself is underutilized and would cost around $7.2 million to repair, which is significantly higher than the other campuses.

Students from the elementary school will be consolidated into the other two schools.

Evangelina Garza Elementary and Juan N. Seguin Elementary are set to be restarted under the ACE Model. The model is a turnaround approach for low-performing schools across Texas to turn them into high-performing campuses. Both elementary schools earned a D rating from TEA for the 2023-204 school year.

The ACE Model has five components: placing effective leaders and teachers at the schools, instructional excellence, extended day and out of school time, mental health and social resilience, and parent and community relationships.

Garza and Seguin’s school day will be extended by one hour and campuses will remain open until 6 p.m. daily for academic and extracurricular activities.

Little addressed the talk around the district that these changes are for a financial reason and he responded by saying this will actually cost them more money.

“This is not a cost-saving measure, it is only about what is in the best interest of our students,” Little said.

The model aims to push students deeper in their learning, receiving more individualized support and also engaging in social emotional support.

Jaime Miller and Derek Little are seen during a La Joya school board meeting Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Courtesy photo)

Data showed that the three mentioned schools performed significantly below the state average of 46% of elementary students in Texas. The three schools all scored below 32%.

LJISD Chief of Human Capital and Talent Development Jaime Miller also gave a breakdown of the staffing decisions for the campus restarts.

Miller said following policy with a program change that all positions will be filled through an application process and not through placements. All staff will have to apply for positions at one of the two ACE schools.

“This transition isn’t about any one teacher or any individual,” she said. “But, rather, about improving the culture and systems so that we have created lasting success for students on this campus.”

Miller added that effective principals and teachers are critical to the ACE Model with objective student growth, pedagogical expertise and cultural competencies.

The presentation gave a breakdown of the ACE Model, which calls for investing up to $1.5 million per year additionally into the students and staff at these schools.

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