Virtual Academy is 100 percent online.
STISD is the only all-magnet school district in the state, and offers Valley students an educational alternative. The district provides a personal environment, a strong scholastic program and hands-on training in vocational career fields.
Because STISD is a public school district, there is no cost for students to attend one of its six campuses, and bus transportation is also free of charge.
STISD schools maintain an open enrollment policy, meaning any student that wants to attend one of our seven campuses can as long as he or she resides within the tri-county area we serve.
At Virtual Academy, meet curious, collaborative and driven students just like you.
At Virtual Academy, there's more to experience than solely academics. Explore what life is like as an STISD student, and be part of the many virtual + in-person competitive sporting + academic opportunities.
The community here at Virtual Academy is diverse, interactive and vibrant. We take pride in each and every position that plays a part in making our district unique and consistently ranked among the best in the state and nation.
If you are looking for spunk and excitement and non-traditional methods of learning, the Virtual Academy community is the perfect match and offers endless opportunities.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
Virtual Academy Administration
Principal: Eric Gutierrez
Assistant Principal: Victoria Marin
Dean of Instruction: Itzahamara Moses
District Administration
Superintendent: Marco Antonio Lara, Jr., Ed.D.
Deputy Superintendent: Efrain Garza
Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations: Marla R. Knaub
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources: Lissa Frausto, MBA, SPHR
Executive Director for Student Support: Marcos L. Flores, M.Ed.
Executive Director for Special Programs: Brenda De La Garza, Ed.D.
Chief of Police: Steven Cortez
Executive Director for Public Relations & Marketing: Amanda Odom
Executive Director for Facilities and Construction: Frank Treviño
The South Texas ISD Board of Directors is partnering with the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) to conduct the search for the district’s next superintendent of schools. As part of this process, we are seeking community input to help shape the leadership profile of the superintendent who will guide South Texas ISD’s continued growth and success in the years ahead.
The STISD High School Selection process for current STISD 8th-graders and the In-District Transfer process for current STISD 6th-,7th- and 9th-graders wanting to transfer to another campus within STISD for the 2026-2027 school year are now open via Skyward Family Access and will remain open through Thursday, Jan. 22.
Families of emergent bilingual students are invited to attend an in-person session of the Emergent Bilingual Parent Institute Series next month. Three meeting options are available (January 13, 14, or 15 at 9:00 AM at Health Professions in Mercedes, Rising Scholars Academy in San Benito, or Preparatory Academy in Edinburg). Parents will learn how to support their child’s linguistic, cognitive and social emotional development at home.
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![Decorative image showing dates for upcoming High School Open Houses available to STISD 8th-graders]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1768241001/stisdnet/p1fxmutuxxn5hpmloffj/STISDInDistrictTransfers8thGradeHSSelection.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1768241001/stisdnet/p1fxmutuxxn5hpmloffj/STISDInDistrictTransfers8thGradeHSSelection.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1768241001/stisdnet/p1fxmutuxxn5hpmloffj/STISDInDistrictTransfers8thGradeHSSelection.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1768241001/stisdnet/p1fxmutuxxn5hpmloffj/STISDInDistrictTransfers8thGradeHSSelection.png","width":1080}])
![The image shows a happy, smiling family of six people, including two adults and four children, posing together outdoors against a backdrop of trees and a sunny day. The family appears to be the focus of the image, which also includes an invitation for parents to register for an Emergent Bilingual Parent Institute Series event.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1765906564/iyzvca6b6afabxvvzges/EnglishSTISDParentSession25-26_1.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1765906564/iyzvca6b6afabxvvzges/EnglishSTISDParentSession25-26_1.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1765906564/iyzvca6b6afabxvvzges/EnglishSTISDParentSession25-26_1.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1765906564/iyzvca6b6afabxvvzges/EnglishSTISDParentSession25-26_1.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1765906564/iyzvca6b6afabxvvzges/EnglishSTISDParentSession25-26_1.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1765906564/iyzvca6b6afabxvvzges/EnglishSTISDParentSession25-26_1.jpg","width":1700}])