When Mark Eads began his current job as superintendent of San Marcos CISD in 2011, the district had what he called "an image problem." In 2011, 20 district students earned the designation of advanced placement scholars, and the district took home the third of what would eventually be six consecutive university interscholastic league debate championships. Students were achieving, Eads said, but a negative image of the district persisted. To combat this, partnerships were formed within the community to help publicize the students' achievements. Eads said the district's image has changed. Now SMCISD is looking to build on partnerships with the city of San Marcos, Texas State University and the city's business community to address issues such as a higher-than-average percentage of economically disadvantaged students and a graduation rate that lags behind the state average. "It is not just the job of school districts to educate children," said Kim Porterfield, former San Marcos city councilwoman and one of the driving forces behind the city's Youth Master Plan. "Municipalities that want to have a thriving middle class need to provide a ladder of opportunity to its citizens to move up."

Changes

Howell Wright, SMCISD assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and accountability, said the district's adoption of the teaching model known as Engage to Learn is changing how students are being taught. Instead of being asked to memorize dates and names, for example, students are now expected to understand how and why something happened. When a students offers an answer to a question, it is not unusual for a teacher to ask the student how he or she arrived at that answer, said Susan Seaton, a third-grade teacher at Crockett Elementary School. "In the past we would ask a student to give us an answer, and it would be sufficient if that answer was correct," Seaton said. "Now we ask them, 'How did you know that?" and, "How do you prove that?" "I've seen the rigor and high expectations increase each year. I've seen the students respond to that. I know we have a lot of talk about the achievement gaps. I can tell you that from a teacher and employee's point of view, those gaps are closing." Wright said he believes the increased rigor could help further improve the district's dropout rate, which was 0.3 percentage points lower than the state average in 2012, according to the Texas Education Agency's 2012-13 Academic Performance Report. "If we engage students more in the classroom, even with greater rigor, they'll want to stay in school more," Wright said. In response to Engage to Learn, some teachers have removed desks in favor of round tables in hopes of encouraging discussion and collaboration among students, Eads said. "The teachers have bought into it," Eads said. "We're going to be teaching differently. We're doing things differently. It's not the same way I went to school or Dr. Wright went to school.

Challenges

The district is cutting back on paper textbooks in favor of digital devices such as tablet computers. Administrators expect the move to reduce costs and waste. But the move to digital devices has also highlighted what Seaton called one of the biggest threats to academic success: In San Marcos CISD, 71.5 percent of students are considered economically disadvantaged, meaning the average annual income of a household of four is less than $44,123. The district's rate is 11.1 percentage points higher than the state average of 60.4 percent. Seaton said students are able to use tablets and other devices in classrooms, but when they go home the Wi-Fi infrastructure necessary to access lessons is often unavailable. "Right now we can get some devices into the hands of kids when they go home, but there's no Wi-Fi [at home], so it doesn't work," Seaton said. "We've seen people parked on the side of the road by our campus because they were using the Wi-Fi off of our campus. When students can go home at night and watch [lesson plans using Wi-Fi], the next day, instead of sitting in the back and not paying attention, they can raise their hand because they've already learned it." To help ensure students from low-income families have a fair shot at an education, feeding programs have been created to provide students with free meals throughout the school year and into the summer, Eads said. Michelle Hamilton, director of Texas State's Center for P-16 Initiatives, which aims to provide Central Texas students with increased college access and success, said one of the biggest steps the district could take in removing socioeconomics as a factor in education would be to enact a universal pre-kindergarten program.

Universal pre-K

In 2012 the city of San Marcos, Texas State, Hays County and SMCISD formed the Core Four, a group dedicated to improving education opportunities for students in kindergarten through college. One of the group's recommendations was implementing a universal pre-K program that would be free for all 4-year-olds. SMCISD took a major step toward carrying out the recommendation during the 2013–14 school year when it went from a half-day pre-K program to a full-day. Again progress was made when, in 2013, voters approved a bond that included $12.7 million for construction of a new pre-K campus. When the new school opens in January, it will have capacity for 600 students, and the district expects about 400 to enroll in the program this year. The program will be free to students who are considered educationally disadvantaged or meet other specific federal guidelines. Students who do not qualify under those guidelines must pay tuition. "I think there are a whole lot of people who are on that [income] threshold who really should qualify for [free] pre-k, and it will make a world of difference between their child having success and not doing well," she said. Eads said his "ultimate goal" is to expand the pre-K program so that it is a universal, free program to all San Marcos students one day, but estimates from San Marcos' Youth Master Plan peg the total cost of operating a universal, free pre-K program at about $1.2 million annually. In the mean time, Hamilton said the university will continue its partnership with the district in a program called Caminitos. Through the program, which began in 2010 and was significantly expanded in 2013, Texas State graduate students and staff assist the pre-K in areas such as fine motor skill and verbal skill development. "The investment in pre-k is a game changer," Hamilton said. "It is the best investment a community can make." In August, State District Judge John Dietz reaffirmed his previous ruling that Texas' school financing system is unconstitutional. If the decision holds, Texas school districts could see an infusion of billions of dollars. If money is dispersed to the state's school districts, SMCISD would have many areas to consider addressing with additional funds, including technology, career and technical education, transportation, and universal pre-K, Wright said. "We believe money doesn't resolve everything," Wright said. "But we know that to be able to do what's expected to prepare our students for their future and ensure students are meeting state assessments, it requires a little more funding."