Three-year regional program connects school districts and EPCC to help more students earn postsecondary credentials and enter high-demand careers
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath highlights student outcomes and college and career readiness at CREEED’s third annual Education Matters Summit
El Paso, TX – CREEED and regional education partners today launched Ascend: Building a Talent-Strong El Paso, a three-year program designed to help more El Paso students successfully move from high school into postsecondary education, earn credentials of value, and enter high-demand careers.
The program launches with Anthony, Canutillo, Socorro, and Ysleta ISDs and El Paso Community College (EPCC), with the opportunity to expand to additional districts in the future. Ascend was announced during the third annual CREEED Education Matters Summit, which convened education, business, and community leaders from across the region.
“CREEED believes El Paso already has many of the programs, institutions, and leaders we need to prepare our students for success,” said Ivette Savina, Ascend Program Director. “Ascend is about connecting those strengths so that a student’s path from K-8, high school, a post-secondary degree or credential, and ultimately a career, is clear and supported. When our education and workforce systems work together, more students succeed and our entire region benefits economically.”
Through Ascend, participating districts and EPCC will establish dedicated transition support for students moving from high school into postsecondary education and credential programs. District transition coaches will begin working with students before graduation, while dedicated coordination at EPCC will help students successfully make the transition to college and stay on a pathway toward a credential of value. Partners will also use shared data to identify where students are falling out of the pipeline and improve those handoffs.
Ascend grew out of a regional landscape analysis commissioned by CREEED examining how stronger coordination between El Paso school districts and El Paso Community College (EPCC) could help more students complete postsecondary credentials in high-demand fields.
The analysis found that El Paso already has strong Career and Technical Education programs, established dual-credit partnerships, and significant institutional commitment. But students can lose momentum as they move between high school and college when responsibility for those transitions is not clearly owned, supported by dedicated staff, or connected through shared data.
For the Class of 2024, the analysis estimates that El Paso-area school districts generated approximately $7.1 million in HB 3 outcomes bonus funding, compared to an estimated $51.4 million in potential funding tied to student outcomes. The $44.3 million difference illustrates the scale of the opportunity if more El Paso students successfully complete the college and career outcomes tied to the state funding formula.
“Strengthening the connection between our local ISDs, EPCC, and the workforce is essential to ensuring that every student can see a clear pathway from learning to career. Ascend: Building a Talent-Strong El Paso will help students make that connection earlier—building the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to successfully transition from high school to postsecondary education, earn credentials of value and prepare for high-demand careers in our region,” said Dr. William Serrata, EPCC President. “This collaboration with CREEED will bring education and workforce partners together around student success, which will strengthen the talent pipeline our region and employers need.”
Research cited in the Ascend analysis found that Texas students who completed dual credit or earned a credential while in high school later earned 15 to 20 percent more than peers who graduated without demonstrating college readiness. Students who completed dual credit were also significantly more likely to enroll in and complete college.
“El Paso has capable schools, higher education institutions and career programs, but we know too many students can lose momentum as they move from high school to postsecondary education and into the workforce,” said Eddie Rodriguez, Executive Director of CREEED. “Ascend gives our region an opportunity to take shared responsibility for those transitions so more students can earn valuable credentials, move into high-demand careers and build economically secure futures here in El Paso.”
CREEED has committed to securing and providing more than $1 million over three years to support Ascend and build the regional infrastructure needed to connect district and college efforts. That investment includes a $360,000 grant from the Trellis Foundation through 2029 to support the EPCC K-14 Student Transition position and the college-side coordination for Ascend, directly addressing one of the critical transition gaps identified in the regional analysis.
The GECU Foundation has also committed $150,000 over the next three years to support the program. Participating districts will co-invest in transition coaches, while EPCC will provide dedicated coordination and additional support, creating a shared investment model intended to sustain the work beyond the initial three-year period.
The Ascend announcement was part of CREEED’s third annual Education Matters Summit, which featured a keynote address from Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath.
“Texas is growing, and the opportunities available to our students are growing with it, said Mike Morath, TEA Commissioner. “Students deserve a clear path to college, a credential, a career, or the military. Keeping our focus on those outcomes is how we create lasting opportunity for students and strengthen communities for generations to come.”
The summit featured conversations on strengthening El Paso’s educator pipeline and preparing students for college and careers. CREEED also presented the Richard Castro Excellence in Education Award to Dr. Jesica Rendon Arellano, Executive Director at Canutillo ISD, recognizing her leadership and commitment to expanding educational opportunity in the region.
The CREEED Education Matters Summit is designed to bring together educators, policymakers, business leaders, and community partners around a shared goal: ensuring more El Paso students are prepared to succeed in college, career, and life.
The 2026 CREEED Education Matters Summit was made possible with support from Raiz Federal Credit Union, Sunflower Bank, The Hospitals of Providence, the University of Texas at El Paso College of Education, WestStar, and the Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation.
For more information about the Ascend program, or to support CREEED’s educational attainment programs, please visit creeed.org. More details, including the full data analysis of the Ascend report, can be found here.
Ivette Savina, CREEED’s Ascend Program Director; Dr. Oscar Troncoso, Anthony ISD Superintendent; Dr. Jesica Arellano, Executive Director of Elementary Schools at Canutillo ISD; Carlos Guerra, Associate Superintendent of Schools at Socorro ISD; Dr. William Serrata, President of EPCC; and Dr. Brenda Chacon-Robles, Chief Academic Officer at Ysleta ISD
