By Jacqueline Sierra
During the early to mid-20th century in El Paso, Texas, schools were extremely overcrowded. With only three high schools, El Paso High School, Austin High School, and Bowie High School supporting the entire city, each one teemed with teenagers. Eventually, parents in south-central El Paso asked EPISD (El Paso Independent School District) to build a new high school to relieve the overcrowding and to be more accessible to youth in South Central. At that point, their only option was to send their children to Bowie, or have them take a long bus ride to El Paso High. After World War II, Burleson High School was built on the grounds of Burleson Elementary School. In 1948, Burleson High was renamed to Thomas Jefferson High School, opened its doors to students the following year, and became the school we know it to be today. This school has supported generations of El Pasoans and continues to do so in the South Central side of El Paso.1
Jefferson High School became a central part of the community for many students. The various sports offered became a place where the community gathered to enjoy watching the youth of their city play. Whether football players aggressively ran across the field, basketball players juked one another, or cheerleaders enthusiastically encouraged their peers, the spirit of South Central El Paso grew in the hearts of the students at Jefferson High School.
Emma S. Villa was born and raised in the South Central area. She attended Lincoln Elementary School and has very fond memories of it. She later attended Zavala School for one year, and she noted how even though gangs were present at this school, she always felt safe. Villa then finished her education at Jefferson High School. Much like Lincoln, Villa deeply enjoyed her time at Jefferson.
In 2016, the University of Texas at El Paso's Institute of Oral History conducted an interview with Villa, during which she spoke about the electives she took. She can clearly remember each class and the lasting impacts they have on her life. For example, her crafts and homemaking class taught her how to build and maintain a family. Or journalism, where one can tell how proud she was of her own column in the school newspaper. The extent to which Mrs. Villa remembers her experience at Jefferson High shows how important this school was and continues to be for the community of South Central El Paso.3
Yolanda Diaz also grew up on the South side of El Paso, near the projects on Paisano Drive. Her upbringing was difficult, since she had a single mother and five siblings. Much like Mrs. Villa, Ms. Diaz has "nothing but beautiful memories" of her childhood and time at Jefferson High, and even went as far as to call her experience blessed.4
Jefferson High School is also known for two well-known alumni, Eddie Guerrero and Richard Ramirez. The late Eddie Guerrero was involved in WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), who unfortunately had a sudden death on November 13, 2005, due to a heart attack at 38 years old.5 An individual the community wants to forget is Richard Ramirez, also known as The Night Stalker. Ramirez is one of the most prolific serial killers of the 1970s, and although he may play a shameful part of south-central El Paso's history, he is one of the most infamous alumni of Jefferson High School.6
Today, Jefferson High continues its legacy of providing to the youth of the South Central side of El Paso. Jefferson now offers a magnet program for students wanting to pursue careers in the medical field, as well as robotics, law enforcement training, and a TAFE (Texas Association of Future Educators) program. In 2022, EPISD demolished the original school and constructed a new three-story school to support the growing student body more adequately.
First Image: Front of Jefferson High School
Second Image: Class yearbook photo of Jefferson High School in 1979.2
Third Image: Cheerleader squad of Jefferson High
Footnotes:
1 “School Information / Our School.” School Information / Our School. Accessed February 22, 2023. https://www.episd.org/domain/2916.
2 Photo Courtesy of Alma Sierra, Alumni of Jefferson High School.
3 Interview with Emma S. Villa by Yolanda Chávez Leyva, 2016, "Interview no. 1690," Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso. Photo courtesy of Alma Sierra, alumni of Jefferson High School.
4 Interview with Yolanda Diaz by Arlina Palacios, 2010, "Interview no. 1495," Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso. Photo Credits: Renovations / Renovations (episd.org).
5 “Eddie Guerrero,” IMDb, IMDb.com, Accessed February 22, 2023, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0346181/bio.
6 Editors, Biography.com, “Richard Ramirez Biography,” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, April 2, 2014, https://www.biography.com/crime/richard-ramirez.
References:
“Eddie Guerrero,” IMDb, IMDb.com, Accessed February 22, 2023,
Editors, Biography.com, “Richard Ramirez Biography,” Biography.com, A&E Networks
Television, April 2, 2014, https://www.biography.com/crime/richard-ramirez.
Interview with Emma S. Villa by Yolanda Chávez Leyva, 2016, "Interview no. 1690," Institute
of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso. Photo courtesy of Alma Sierra, alumni of Jefferson High School.
Interview with Yolanda Diaz by Arlina Palacios, 2010, "Interview no. 1495," Institute of Oral
History, University of Texas at El Paso.
“School Information / Our School.” School Information / Our School. Accessed February 22,
Photo Credits: Renovations / Renovations (episd.org).
Photos 1 and 2 Courtesy of Alma Sierra, Alumni of Jefferson High School.
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