You’ve got your alarm set. Your outfit picked out. You’re excited, and maybe a little nervous because tomorrow is the first day of school at EPLA East! Are your expectations high or low, wondering if you’ll get the one “good” teacher or if you’ll get lost in a huge shuffle of students trudging up the steps of school? Welcome to your new normal…where no student gets lost in the shuffle, where we build fun into learning, and where you will become your best self. These first two weeks of school will be like no other you’ve experienced.
Back up for a minute…
Before that first bell rings on the first day of school, we’ve already offered ways for you to connect and get comfortable at our small, tuition-free public school. We have an orientation before school starts, followed by a meet-and-greet with teachers a few days before classes begin. You can explore our amazing facility (please, try the full story indoor slide…it’s there for YOU!) and meet our incredible educators and staff who want to meet you too! You’ll feel cool, calm and confident heading into your first day.
Ready to Play?
It’s a bit of a downer when you’re super excited for the first day of school only to arrive, sit down, and then glaze over as the teacher recites a long list of do’s and don’ts, watching the clock tick down until the next class slumberfest. Well, you can get that idea out of your head right now, because that is NOT how we do things at EPLA East!
At our close-knit middle and high school, we spend the first two weeks getting to know one another and making connections through games and play. We prepare you for academic achievement by first setting you up for social and emotional success because to us, that’s just as important!
We introduce clubs you can join- held during the day to ensure everyone can join in- so you can meet kids with similar interests. Try Yearbook, Party-Planning, Robotics, National Junior Honors Society (NJHS), Esports, or our Pokémon Club!
Besides clubs, sports also play a big part in our vibrant school life so this is the time to learn more about our soccer, flag football, softball, baseball, and volleyball teams.
In Middle School, we join together to lead a weekly assembly celebrating our CRSHH program. We kick-start this at the beginning of school, explaining and demonstrating the core values of the program: collaboration, responsibility, smart decision-making, humbleness, and/or a hungriness to succeed.
In our high school, we connect kids who don’t know each other through our House system. We have a system a little like the sorting hat in Harry Potter! First, you ace a personality questionnaire, and that, coupled with teacher input and your top three choices, decides your placement, at least until the end of ninth grade.
During the first weeks of school, we also establish our incredible Entrepreneurship Program where you set up your very own business. Through a series of classes over four years, you learn how to run a successful business. Don’t know the difference between taxable and tax-exempt and what either have to do with running a shop? You will by the time you graduate!
Now You’re Set, Go!
All right, you’ve caught up with old friends and made new ones and you’re feeling confident and ready to go, now what? While you’ve been having so much fun, teachers have been busy adapting educational goals just for you! We’ve analyzed assessment results so we can help you be your best. Maybe you need to catch up to grade level reading or review some math facts or maybe you’ve taken your TSI and need to choose which college courses you want to take this year. Together, we work toward your academic goals, supporting you along the way and challenging you to be your best self. It’s going to be a fantastic year!
Come prepared to learn the first couple weeks of school…but in the innovative, fun, always original EPLA East way! Details about enrolling available now at EPLA East or by calling us at (915) 298-3901. Fill out an application today and join our cutting-edge middle and high school!
About El Paso Leadership Academy East
El Paso Leadership Academy East (EPLA East) is a small, tuition-free public charter school serving middle and high school students in El Paso Texas. We’re reimagining education from the ground up, starting with our intentionally designed building and continuing that with our scholars’ innovative and personalized education. We work with community partnerships in preparing our scholars to become dynamic leaders in the 21st century. We stress the importance of collaboration and accountability in all we do. Enroll today!
