The mission of Dr. Americo Paredes Elementary School is to be an effective school through excellence in education with visionary, progressive, and technological learning opportunities which will prepare each student to function as a responsible member of our multicultural society, to achieve personal fulfillment, and to reach his or her maximum potential. This will be created through a combined effort of personnel, students, and parents, in order to establish an effective line of communication, allowing interaction to take place to maintain a campus where a strong positive attitude will prevail.

In 2001, Brownsville ISD dedicated its 31st elementary to Dr. Americo Paredes who served as a role model, outspoken advocate for social justice, and inspiration for Hispanics of every generation. Paredes spent a lifetime writing and singing about a subject close to his heart: the border of the United States and Mexico. He was a journalist, educator, poet, author, anthropologist, and singer during a life that included more than 30 years teaching at the University of Texas at Austin. Honored on both sides of the border, Paredes was still writing, singing and passing on his border folklore at the time of his death in 1999, at the age of 83.