LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Mark Estrada was nominated by Elayne Sapp and Ashley Horner. The following profile contains information from each nomination.

COVID-19 brought so many challenges, and Lockhart ISD was no exception. Like many school districts, the switch to virtual learning was nothing short of challenging for Lockhart's students and staff. Most schools handed out WiFi hotspots to students who needed internet access. Even though Lockhart did the same, nearly 40% of the families lived in rural areas without WiFi signals. Regardless of whether or not they had the means, these families lived in dead zones where their devices couldn't register a signal. How were the students supposed to be successful in virtual leaning when there was no Internet available?

Lockhart ISD’s superintendent, Mr. Estrada, wasn’t going to let his students suffer. In his determination to ensure virtual learning success, he approached the Board for approval to build Internet towers to make sure that all students in need would be able to access free WiFi.

Lockhart ISD partnered with Particle Communications and spent more than $600,000 to build five wireless towers within the district. These towers are meant to amplify the signal and maintain service. The district provides the network. Because of Mr. Estrada's efforts, Lockhart ISD was able to increase student internet access from only 64% to 93%. Those towers granted 1,600 students the ability to learn remotly from home, something that was not possible before.  

“We wanted to make sure that every student, regardless of their background or where they may live, has access to high-quality, high-speed internet”, Estrada told KVUE.

“I knew we were doing the right thing by making this investment, because so many kids are able to be at home and get the internet they need without having to work so hard to try and find somewhere to get connected. When I got to the district 10 years ago, we didn’t even have WiFi in the building, so we’ve gone from not having Wifi in our school classrooms to having it in our living rooms across the community,” Estrada told Katie Reilly with TIME.

Lockhart ISD not only made the impossible, possible, but they also established a bilingual helpline for the families. In addition to solving the internet crisis, Mr. Estrada also made sure that all students had access to meals and school supplies. As stated in the Lockhart Post-Register article by Miles Smith, Mr. Estrada mobilized school buses to start delivering free meals to students in rural areas, in addition to the curbside meal service.

During the 2020-21 school year, when many families faced hardships resulting from the pandemic, Mr. Estrada ensured every student received free school supplies. He continued bus delivery of meals to students who were distance learners to ensure they had access to nutritious food. In fact, during this time, LISD served a total of 1.26 million free meals to its students. His focus has been empowering everyone to thrive, identifying barriers to equitable access to education, and with the support of the Board, working to close the gaps.’

"It is truly inspiring that one man made such an astronomical and positive impact, not only in his students' lives, but his community, as well. He is the exact definition of someone who should carry the title of LifeChanger of the Year," said Horner.