The First Interactive Tool Allows Parents to Learn About and Navigate More than 240 Pre-K – 12 Schools Across El Paso County
El PASO, TX – Today, CREEED officially launched El Paso School Finder, the region’s first online tool to help parents find and compare public schools across El Paso County. The free website offers a comprehensive online resource that provides information on school enrollment, campus services, academic programs and testing data for more than 240 PreK-12 public schools in El Paso County.
El Paso School Finder is located at www.elpasoschoolfinder.com. It allows parents and guardians to search for schools by location (using a zip code or address) or by school type. Each school has a unique profile with detailed information about its services and programs – for example, whether after-school programs are offered or if transportation is available – as well as publicly-available academic performance data, as reported by the Texas Education Agency.
”We are both excited and proud to offer this comprehensive tool to help parents understand the differences in the education options they are choosing among,” said Nadia Tellez, CREEED Choose to Excel Director. “We believe in empowering parents with knowledge, and that is what this new resource does. El Paso School Finder showcases the many wonderful things that schools in our community have to offer.”
The School Finder was announced at CREEED’s inaugural Education Matters Summit, a convening of over 100 leaders committed to improving education across El Paso. In addition to hosting educational panel discussions, the event recognized and featured brief remarks by Woody Hunt of the Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation. The Hunt Family Foundation recently committed $10 million over the next five years to support CREEED’s efforts to improve education outcomes in El Paso and help more local students attend and complete college.
“The El Paso School Finder has been a priority project for CREEED, and it is a fitting way to mark our 10-year anniversary and to kick off our first Education Matters Summit,” said Eddie Rodriguez, Executive Director for CREEED. “Parents have continually asked for a resource that provides accurate information about area schools so they can identify the right school for their child’s unique needs. Previously, parents had to conduct their own research on a district-by-district basis. Now El Paso School Finder provides data on over 240 free public schools at their fingertips.”
Each school profile contains academic performance data that will be updated annually. It indicates the percentage of students who passed the relevant State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams at or above the MEETS level, which indicates whether a student is meeting expectations for their grade and is academically prepared to move on to the next grade. This information is publicly available but often hard to track down and compare.
“If you’re a parent like me, you want to do right by your kids but you also only have so many hours in your day,” said Rubi Gordillo, parent and CREEED Parent Education Leadership Fellowship member. “With a tool like El Paso School Finder, I don’t have to search a dozen different websites trying to find the information I need in order to compare local schools or to find the best programs and opportunities for my children, everything is available in one spot.”
The El Paso School Finder database includes information about free public schools within Anthony ISD, Canutillo ISD, Clint ISD, El Paso ISD, Fabens ISD, San Elizario ISD, Socorro ISD, Tornillo ISD, and Ysleta ISD, as well as IDEA Public Schools, Harmony Public Schools, Burnham Wood Charter Schools, and other free charter schools. With El Paso School Finder, schools are able to continually review and update their profile information to ensure parents have the most up to date information about what they offer. For more information, please visit www.elpasoschoolfinder.com.
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About CREEED
CREEED is a not-for-profit organization focused on increasing the number of high-performing seats in El Paso’s public education system. This is accomplished by investing in initiatives that are creating measurable outcomes to close the achievement gap for El Paso students. CREEED supports organizations, initiatives, and policies that prepare students to succeed in college and in our future workforce. CREEED’s efforts are focused on increasing the quality of education that students receive in El Paso. Our efforts fall into three categories: Increasing Student Attainment; Increasing Teacher Talent & Leadership Development; and Increasing Parent and Community Engagement.