In 1990, the Socorro Independent School District began phasing in year-round education with intersession programs to improve academic achievement and better serve a rapidly increasing population. Intersession activities occur during the first two weeks of each month-long break. Participation in intersessions is voluntary, but students who have failed or fallen behind are encouraged to attend.
Most schools follow multi-track schedules to serve larger numbers of students.
The Socorro school district is located in El Paso County, which borders on Mexico and New Mexico. It serves about 17,900 students in the urban, primarily low-income communities of Socorro, Horizon City, and the eastern corridor of El Paso. Approximately 300 students are from migrant families. The district has the lowest dropout rate in the county, however, due primarily to prevention programs established in the 1980s. The district ranks in the bottom 10 percent of districts in the state in terms of per-pupil expenditures and was one of the original plaintiffs in the school finance lawsuit filed against the state in 1989.