EPISD celebrates completion of Navarrete Middle School on Fort Bliss grounds

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — The El Paso Independent School District celebrated the completion of Captain Gabriel L. Navarrete Middle School during a ceremony on Thursday.

The school opened its doors to more than 900 students in August.

The school comes together as a consolidation of the former Armendariz and Bassett middle schools located in Central El Paso.

RECOMMENDED: El Paso High School SAT answer documents lost in UPS transit, school district says

The $40 million campus boasts modern learning spaces with cutting-edge education technology, a gymnasium, a library, a fine arts wing, and ample student drop-off zones.

"There's a lot more technology, it's a lot bigger it's nicer. In the orchestra room, we have soundproof technology in there to keep it less as noisy as it would at Bassett. In the technology, we have sliding doors in the 8th-grade hallway to go into other classrooms if we needed," said Adrianna Bryant, an 8th grade student.

The school is El Paso ISD's 13th campus in the district’s bond program and is the sixth El Paso ISD campus on Fort Bliss grounds.

"My message to future students is they take advantage of the technology you have, take good care of it because it's not going to last forever and overall just be nice to the teachers," said Bryant.

The namesake of the campus, Capt. Gabriel L. Navarrete is recognized in the El Paso community as a military and community hero.

Navarrete was part of Company E, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, an all-Mexican-American unit primarily composed of young men from El Paso that fought in World War II.

Navarrete served as the El Paso County Veteran Services officer after the war.

RECOMMENDED: El Paso ISD's Hopes and Dreams 2.0 asks community's feedback on district's strategic plan

Sign up to receive the topmost interesting stories from in and around our community once a day in your inbox.