CREEED Launches New Achievement for All Initiative Recognizing Top-Performing Elementary Schools

The schools recognized had the highest percentage of all students, including economically disadvantaged students, at MEETS standards on both reading and math on the Texas STAAR exams. 

El Paso, TX—Today, CREEED launched its new CREEED Achievement for All initiative during an event co-hosted with Ysleta Independent School District at Vista Hills Elementary. The program will annually recognize educators and staff at the top five highest-performing elementary schools in El Paso County. In its inaugural year, the initiative will recognize six schools due to a tie for fifth place. 

Through the Achievement for All Initiative, CREEED recognizes and awards the five top-performing elementary schools in the region based on two combined measurements: the overall percentage of students who passed both Reading and Math at the MEETS standards level on the state STAAR exams and the percentage of economically disadvantaged students who passed both Reading and Math at the MEETS level. The rankings are reached by combining both percentages. By including the economically disadvantaged indicator, the initiative emphasizes a core belief: academic excellence is possible for every child and should not be predetermined by economic background.  

“One of CREEED’s core tenets is to increase educational attainment at all levels, and we often have discussions about why scores are low in El Paso and what we can do about it,” said Eddie Rodriguez, CREEED Executive Director. “We frequently hear that economic conditions impact academic performance. While this is true, we created the CREEED Achievement for All because a family’s income should not dictate a child’s potential. These schools prove that excellence is possible for all students.” 

Inaugural recipients of the CREEED Achievement for All distinction are:  

Six schools are being recognized this year due to a tie for 5th place. 

“We are thrilled to have schools from multiple districts represented in this inaugural cohort,” said Richard Castro, Chairman of the Board of CREEED. “CREEED is committed to supporting El Paso’s students and educators and ensuring all of our students are post-secondary and career ready, so it is exciting to see this level of great work happening and laying the foundation for future learning across the community.” 

“I couldn’t be prouder of the exceptional staff, teachers, and administrators at Glen Cove and Vista Hills elementary schools, who show up every day with heart, determination, and a firm belief that every child can succeed,” said Ysleta ISD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Xavier De La Torre. “We’re thankful for CREEED’s recognition and celebration of our schools because it not only honors our academic performance, but the purpose that drives our work – that education has the power to change lives.” 

CREEED recognizes that student success is driven by an entire school community – from teachers to front office staff, custodial teams, food service workers, and beyond. As part of this initiative, every educator and staff member at each top-performing school will receive a gift card in appreciation of their dedication to students. Glen Cove and Vista Hills staff were honored at today’s event, with additional recognition events scheduled in the coming weeks.  

For more information about CREEED and its efforts to increase student achievement and college readiness, visit www.creeed.org. 

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About CREEED 
CREEED is a non-profit organization focused on increasing college readiness and completion rates. We invest in high-performing schools and high-quality initiatives that have shown success in closing the achievement gap for all El Paso County students. CREEED supports organizations, initiatives, and policies across four focus areas: Students & Schools; Educators; College & Career; and Parent & Community Engagement.