Harlandale Family,
We're nearing the fall season and I can already sense the excitement. The air is getting cooler, but I can still feel the warmth that radiates from our incredible district. It's been wonderful to see our students, staff and community back in our schools. I enjoy seeing our Harlandale Family enjoying our athletics games, extra curricular activities and fall festivities. This is what makes our legacy at Harlandale ISD. We have several exciting community events planned in the coming weeks, so I am looking forward to seeing our Harlandale Family coming together to celebrate. The next few months also hold a lot of promise for student success, and hopefully some cooler weather!
I want to begin this week’s newsletter by congratulating Harlandale High School art teacher Noe Garza for being selected to participate in a new project that is being spearheaded by Bishop & Valderas, LLC., Centro Cultural Aztlan, and the U.S. Department of Education. The project will center around a new Chican@ Art Curriculum in San Antonio. It will bring together Chicano artists, historians, cultural experts, folklorists and educators to develop teaching materials focused on Chicano art, cultural traditions and key moments in Chicano/Mexican-American history. The project will conclude with the End of Year Student Exhibition at Centro Cultural Aztlan in May 2024. Way to represent Harlandale ISD!
I am delighted to announce that STEM ECHS teacher Meghan Guerrero has been named a 2023 DoSeum Educator of the Year! Ms. Guerrero was one of just three educators selected out of hundreds submitted for consideration in the San Antonio area. The Educator of the Year Award is given to an educator who demonstrates outstanding leadership, creativity and dedication to their profession. I think we can all agree she checks every box. Ms. Guerrero will be honored at the DoSeum during a special ceremony in early October. Congratulations!
Sebastian Hernandez, one of our very own students, was selected to speak at Texas A&M University-San Antonio about its new Jaguar Promise initiative. The Jaguar Promise is a new program that provides free tuition to eligible transfer students and incoming freshmen who graduate in the top 35 percent of their class. Sebastian, who is a member of Harlandale High School’s student newspaper, plans to use the Jaguar Promise to pursue his dreams of becoming a Sports Journalist. Learn more about the Jaguar Promise program here: www.tamusa.edu/jaguar-promise.
Please join me in congratulating Adams Elementary student Ricardo Quinones and Harlandale High School 11th grade student Yaneli Gutierrez, for being selected to have their visual art on exhibit at the Annual TASA/TASB State Convention in Dallas later this month. They will be the sole student artists representing our district and we could not be prouder. I'd also like to give a shoutout to Ms. Celeste Tillman, who is Ricardo’s art teacher at Adams Elementary, and Mr. Noe Garza, who is Yanelis' art teacher at Harlandale High School, for their incredible work in inspiring these talented young artists. We are grateful for their dedication for teaching students about the importance of art. Congratulations Ricardo and Yaneli!
We recently celebrated Labor Day, so I want to take a moment to thank our incredible staff for your service and dedication to our Harlandale Family. We appreciate everything you do for our district. I look forward to seeing what we will continue achieving together as part of the Harlandale Legacy.
Sincerely,
Gerardo Soto
Harlandale ISD Superintendent of Schools