District updated on STARR, mental health
San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District tackled topics at a long regularly scheduled meeting Monday. The board of trustees received a mental health program update, heard how the new scoring matrix for STARR testing would likely impact scores and heard about a proposed redistricting plan that would result in seven single-member districts.
Adriana Guerrero, director of social/emotional learning and guidance, gave a presentation on the project, Advancing Awareness and Resiliency in Education, and then provided an overview of SMCISD’s mental health services. She said project AWARE currently has representatives at Bonham PreKindergarten, at San Marcos High School and at Rodriguez Elementary who “identify any barriers [to positive mental health] that are schoolbased for our students and our families, and that’s how they develop a plan to support our students.” She said the representatives are tracking behavioral, academic and attendance data.
Guerrero noted that there is also a new program called Gear Up, which involves virtual behavioral health for children and teens.
“Children and families can choose board certified professionals that match what their needs are,” Guerrero said.
AWARE Community Project Manager Jenny Parker said project AWARE is a grant funded program– funded through 2026–and is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. She said the project goals are to increase and improve access to school and community-based mental health services for youth, increase awareness and identification of mental health issues among adults, help students develop competencies in self-regulation and prosocial behaviors to overcome adversity and develop infrastructure that will sustain mental health services at SMCISD.
Parker said the local outside partners being utilized for the project are Hill Country MHDD/Scheib Center, Bluebonnet Trails, Greater San Marcos Youth Council, Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center, Cenikor/ San Marcos Treatment Center, Austin Oaks Branches, Community Action and Local Mental Health Clinicians.
We’re trying not to do this in isolation,” Parker said. “We’re all working together.”
Parker said the School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation was put into practice by SMCISD last year. She said SHAPE is based on teacher observations that will be looked at multiple times throughout the year.
“So we were able to see what ways we’re doing really well,” Parker said. “And some areas where we need some growth.”
Parker said at 6 p.m. on Oct. 1, there will be a virtual parent training, “Bullying: Stop the Cycle.” She said the parents can remain anonymous during that session if they so choose. She said at the end of the year there will be a Mental Health Wellness Fair, but the date for that has not been finalized. She said in June there will be a “Be The Change Youth Training Program,” which is a partnership between SMCISD and Community Action that is “another way to empower our students.”
Beth Nash, director of Data and Accountability, gave a presentation to the trustees on STARR testing scoring and how that has changed, as well as the implications this will have when final results are available– the release of these scores has been pushed back by the state. Nash said the main scoring factor that will likely result in lower scores across the board is the CCMR, which is a lagging indicator that is based on students who have graduated. She said the main issue with CCMR is the change in how it is scaled. For example, from 2018 to 2022, a CCMR score of 60 scaled to 90–an A, and for 2023 the Texas Education Agency has proposed that a CCMR score of 88 be scaled to 90.
Nash said TEA has stated that 2022 scores versus 2023 is not an apples to apples comparison: Schools that scored an A in 2022, and their students improved in 2023 could receive a B. Nash provided “what if” scores, which calculate what the scores would have been for 2022 if the 2023 scoring matrix was used. She said SMCISD as a whole would drop 13 points: San Marcos High School would drop 15 points, Goodnight Middle School would drop four points, Miller Middle School would drop three points, Bowie Elementary would drop six points, Crockett Elementary would increase by five points, De Zavala Elementary would drop seven points, Hernandez Elementary would increase by one point, Mendez Elementary would increase by one point, Rodriguez Elementary would stay the same and Travis Elementary would drop by one point.
The trustees heard a presentation from redistricting committee member Eduardo Rios, who showed trustees the new district maps, the product of work his committee was tasked with creating. He said the new configuration for the board of trustees, if approved, would be composed of seven single-member districts instead of the current five single-member districts and two at-large trustees. He added that the redistricting committee was composed of seven members with each trustee selecting one member to represent themselves.
Rios said the new district map meets the requirement of minority distribution and constitutionality for a voting district; the requirement is less than 10% standard deviation, and he said the new map is just under 8%.
He said the voting districts are specifically structured around the elementary schools, and each trustee in this new plan would represent their own district.
He added that with the booming population growth in the area, it may require additional evaluation for constitutionality compliance in 2030.
