A Rural District with a Big Vision

Providing First Class Opportunities with the Student at Its Heart

In the heart of West Texas, just southeast of El Paso, Tornillo Independent School District serves as a pathway to possibility for its small, rural community. With two campuses, this highly engaged school district enrolls approximately 750 students but offers a range of opportunities that rival those of much larger systems. Superintendent Rosy Vega-Barrio emphasizes, “Everything that we do here in Tornillo ISD revolves around really grasping the essence of our community.”

A Commitment to Success

At the core of Tornillo Independent School District’s mission are four pillars: academic and career readiness, professional development, social-emotional learning, and family-community partnerships.

“The first area is the reason why we’re in education, and that is that every student is going to be academically and college and career ready when they leave our school,” Vega-Barrio outlines. “That pillar really takes shape with not just the academic sense of it, but the whole child.” As part of this, each student is expected to complete service work every year from Kindergarten to graduation, as well as participating in an extracurricular activity.

When it comes to professional development for teachers, Vega-Barrio says, “We ground ourselves, and we make sure that data is driving our instruction. We are also making sure that the culture within our community fits into all aspects of our academics.” With new teachers joining the district each year, Tornillo is committed to equipping them with the tools for success in the classroom.

“The only way to do that is to provide our teachers with professional development and mentorship that allows them to understand our culture,” she adds. “It’s very different, making sure that we understand what equitable access to an education is in the classroom for all of our kids.”

Tornillo prioritizes social emotional learning, providing a well rounded experience for students and staff. “We strive to keep a counselor at each of our campuses where their loads are literally less than 200 students per counselor,” Vega-Barrio imparts. Each classroom begins the day with a social emotion lesson, as a way for educators to connect with students.

“Our kids face a lot of challenges that perhaps some other rural districts don’t go through,” she acknowledges. “A lot of our kids come from Mexico not knowing the language, not knowing the culture. We have a lot of kids that commute every single day because we’re so close to the Mexico border here in Juarez and El Paso.”

As far as family and community connection, the emphasis is on identifying what parents really value in education and providing opportunities for families to be partners, offering professional development that allows them to help students at home.

“I can say that we live these every day,” asserts Vega-Barrio. “They’re symbolic pillars, but you can see them in action through our scheduling, through the professional development and materials that we pick, and most importantly, on graduation night, where we have over 90% of our kids walking out with a college or career certification or degree outside of their high school diploma.”

A Focus on Career Readiness

The district partners with El Paso Community College and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) to offer dual-credit courses to high school students, often busing them 30 to 45 miles each way. This year, Tornillo graduated its third cohort of early college students, but the opportunity doesn’t end there. Taking things one step further, the district is now sending graduating students to UTEP.

“In Tornillo we know how important it is for us to continue,” Vega-Barrio underscores. “It takes a lot of resources, but it is very, very important. We’ve had great success because of that.”

Through partnerships with Western Technical College students can also pursue certifications in welding, medical assistance, diesel mechanics, HVAC and more. On campus, students can pursue a teaching and learning certification through a “grow your own” education pathway, earn a business administration certificate or explore careers in law enforcement.

“One of our goals is that 100% of our kids are going to graduate with a degree or a certification, or that they’re going to walk into the military,” Vega-Barrio highlights. “There’s not one cent that comes out of our parents and our students’ pockets.”

Partnerships and Real-World Experience

Tornillo’s commitment to career readiness extends far beyond the classroom. Every pathway offered by the district is grounded in practical, real-world experience gained through community collaborations. “We have a lot of partnerships within the local area and also within the region, from service work to paid internships,” relays Vega-Barrio. “When it comes down to other community partnerships, we work really closely with Workforce Solutions.

The decision to embed work experience into every student’s journey was shaped by the district’s understanding of its student body. “One of our challenges was that our students were not participating in these extracurricular access programs that we had for them, because they were going out and working,” details Vega-Barrio. “And we were having a problem with dropouts.” Fortunately Tornillo came up with the solution of building paid internships into career pathways, giving students a way to earn income while staying engaged in their education. “Now our dropout data has almost diminished, which is something that I’m very proud of,” she shares.

Noting the efforts students put into making the most of these pathways and internships, and the pride the community takes in supporting them, Tornillo High School Principal Alejandro Olvera touts, “We  service like a big high school does. We offer everything from athletics to opportunities for post-secondary. I love the fact that everything is funded directly from the district. We use CTAE funds or the CCMR funds to cover tuition, cover the books at UTEP, and we pay for their transportation. The kids really take advantage of those opportunities.”

A Proactive Approach

Technology is another area where Tornillo ISD has invested deeply, long before it became a widespread necessity. Superintendent Vega-Barrio stresses, “We’ve been very fortunate that we have sought different grants to be able to provide all of our students with a device even before COVID hit.” That early action helped the district implement blended learning strategies that are now embedded from Pre-K through 12th grade.

Through a major grant awarded post-pandemic, the district has adopted hands-on, tech-integrated programs like Project Lead the Way in elementary grades. “We’re once again going back to professional development and internalizing lessons and developing lessons so that blended learning is a big part of what we do in the teaching and learning of Tornillo,” Vega-Barrio says.

In addition, the district has gained recognition for its cybersecurity infrastructure. “That’s something that I’m very proud of,” she conveys. “It’s a team of two individuals who make sure that our infrastructure is safe for our kids and us as users.” As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, Tornillo is embracing its use in the classroom. Olvera reports, “Right now, we’re trying to utilize it more as a tool, so that the kids can use it to benefit their learning across all content, from fine arts all the way to the early college side. It is very helpful if you use it properly.”

Looking Ahead

As Tornillo Independent School District enters its second century, its future is being built just as intentionally as its past has been preserved. Celebrating 100 years is more than just a milestone for the district, it’s a chance to carry the path forward, upgrading aging buildings and investing in infrastructure, clean energy, and technology of the future.

“If you walk into one of our oldest buildings, which happens to be the central office, you can’t tell it’s 100 years old,” boasts Vega-Barrio. “We have maintained, and we have made do with the funding that comes our way, which is limited, but with limitations, it makes you creative.”

The district takes a proactive approach, maintaining buildings, and keeping them at the highest of standards. “We don’t want our kids to feel like they are missing out when they go and see these beautiful, big, modern buildings in the city,” she expresses. “We don’t want them to leave because of aesthetics. So, from cleanliness all the way to the minimalist things that sometimes you can’t even see, there are important dollars poured in.”

Over the next few years the district is also aligning closely with local universities and new state-level investments. “Now that UTEP has started their computer science programming we’re really pushing that pathway,” expands Vega-Barrio. “Also the Texas legislative session just passed money for the university to be able to start the law program. I’ll be working with my Pre-K through 12th grade to see how we can bring the law pathway into Tornillo.”

With a highly engaged team and a supportive community, this small but mighty district continues to deliver big outcomes.

“I am very proud of the work that we’re doing,” reflects Vega-Barrio. “We are sending out a clear message, but most importantly, we are producing the outcomes. It’s a testament to my people. I can tell you that the heart is in the action that they take every single day.”

AT A GLANCE

Who: Tornillo Independent School District

What: A rural school district passionate about education and student success

Where: Tornillo, Texas

Website: www.tisd.us