More Juarez Teens Attending El Paso Schools

As the violence in Ciudad Juarez continues to escalate, we could see an increase in Mexican student enrollment at El Paso schools.

“There are so many families that have come here to live here. A lot of parents are looking for a place where their children can be safe,” said Dr. Socorro de Anda, director of the Lydia Patterson Institute. She said her private school has seen a 5% increase in enrollment this year compared to last. Most of the new students, she said, come from Ciudad Juarez.

“I would think that we’re gonna see a lot more,” added de Anda.

The same may go for the public schools in our area. Even before classes started, parents told ABC-7 they’ve heard school employees talk about a huge rise in enrollment of Mexican students. At Coronado High School this year parents had to present their child’s social security card at registration. A school administrator there told us about a surge in enrollment of several hundred students.

“There are many of us coming from Juarez,” said Coronado High student Eric Moctezuma in an interview during registration time last week. “We’re having trouble with the paperwork”.

Senior Grecia Saenz told us English as a Second Language classes filled up faster this year.

“They get full and then I have trouble getting in them– the language (classes)– for me and my sister because I can barely speak English!” she said.

ABC-7 called five local school districts to find out about their ESL class registration numbers. We’ll share that information once district officials get back to us.

Spokespeople for several local school districts tell us they can not confirm exactly how many Mexican students have enrolled this year compared to last. Students are not asked about their citizenship at registration– by law they must only prove they live in the district.

Though many students and parents reported an increase in class size at certain EPISD schools, a spokeswoman said overall district numbers appear to be slightly down from last year. In contrast, enrollment at the Socorro Independent School District is up about 1,300 students this year compared to last. At the Ysleta Independent School District, a spokeswoman said enrollment is down about 1,200 students this year.