San Jacinto Adult Learning Center History

The Central School, located on the corner of Myrtle and Campbell Streets, served its purpose for many years. As El Paso grew, the need for change became apparent.

In January 1905, 12 lots of the Magoffin Homestead addition were purchased by the City School Board for $1,200. The land became the present site of San Jacinto School. The building, designed by Edward Kneezell, would occupy a ground space of 148 x 75 feet.

At that time, the building was considered one of the best of the Southwest. It was, as it is today, a three-story, red brick building. It contained 21 classrooms, an auditorium and janitor's quarters. Originally, the windows were of frosted glass, which was supposed to soften the rays of the sun. An innovation in construction was the deeply beveled window casings, which cast the least possible shadow.

San Jacinto School was named to commemorate the Battle of San Jacinto in which Texas won independence from Mexico. The school was opened on November 20, 1905. The pupils reported to their classes in Central School that morning, as usual, collected their belongs, and marched to the new San Jacinto. The school housed kindergarten through eighth grade.

In 1908, domestic science and manual training were added to the curriculum. These training programs were discontinued in 1933 due to the depression.

San Jacinto students took an active interest in athletics. The various teams won a number of trophies in soccer, football, basketball, volleyball, and baseball. The oldest trophy is a basketball shield that was won in 1910.

In 1974, the third through sixth grades were moved to Hart Elementary. In 1976, the remaining kindergarten-through third-grades were also moved to Hart. San Jacinto Elementary School was closed.

1978 - Present

In 1978, the Adult Learning Center moved into San Jacinto and offered one class in English as a Second Language (ESL) and one class in General Educational Development (GED).

It was in 1979 that the Out-of-School Youth (OSY) program and the Adult Performance Level (APL) programs were located at San Jacinto. The adult training and retraining programs utilized classroom space and the Adult Learning Center experienced a slow growth until 1986.

That year, the Adult Learning Center accepted dislocated workers who were referred to San Jacinto by the Texas Employment Commission and the Private Industry Council. Since then, the Adult Learning Center has continued to grow.

Starting with longtime director Mr. Don Vickers, then followed by Mr. Gilberto Gutierrez, the San Jacinto Adult Learning Center continued to grow and expand; with our present director, Ms. Blanca Andrade, joining our staff in the Fall of 2000. At the present time, all existing classrooms are being used and more than 600 adults are enrolled in ESL and GED courses.

Questions? E-Mail sanjacinto@episd.org