A San Marcos CISD school will not be eligible for grant funding aimed at improving educational outcomes, and Superintendent Mark Eads said he could not be happier.

Goodnight Middle School has been participating in the Raise Up Texas initiative through the E3 Alliance, a nonprofit education group based in Austin.

Goodnight began participating in the program because it was identified as needing extra academic support, but because the school's academic performance has improved so drastically since it began participation in 2011, it is no longer eligible to receive funding for the program.

In a letter to Eads, E3 Alliance Director Susan Dawson said San Marcos CISD is one of two school districts that have certified local coaches to support the teaching method championed by the E3 Alliance, known as the Strategic Instruction Model. Additionally, in 2014 the University of Kansas, where the model was developed, recognized Goodnight as one of four "national model schools" in the nation.

"It's rare one gets to right a letter of congratulations for not being eligible to participate in a grant opportunity," Dawson said.

Eads said the news about Goodnight's achievement was a good way to end the fall semester.

"It's obviously been very successful at Goodnight because they got national recognition for it," he said. "It's one of those things that's a double-edged sword. I was happy not to get money because we're doing too good."

The E3 Alliance raised $3 million to begin the project in 2011, training teachers at school districts throughout Central Texas, including SMCISD.

The SIM program is now being implemented at Miller Middle School.