Marble Falls ISD rises to top of the class with state ratings
Audrey Beltran, a third-grade teacher at Spicewood Elementary School, prepares a lesson for her students. Marble Falls Independent School District credits educators across the district with helping campuses achieve a number of 'distinctions' and academic successes in the past two years. Courtesy photo
CONNIE SWINNEY • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — For teacher Audrey Beltran, educating students involves more than analyzing data or preparing for tests.
“The biggest part, for me, is getttng to know my students. I want them to want to do well for me and to want to do well for themselves, to inspire them,” said Beltran, a Spicewood Elementary School third-grade teacher who has been with the district for eight years. “My very favorite quote is, ‘The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.’ I focus on their inner voice.”
Marble Falls Independent School District administrators credit teachers such as Beltran for boosting the academic standings on all campuses and progressing students past challenges in test outcomes mandated by the state.
“It’s been well-documented that we went through a period where we had some struggles. We had a high school that was ‘academically unacceptable,'” said Eric Penrod, director of secondary academic programs. “I can adamantly defend that the high school was not unacceptable just because we had a label.”
The Texas Education Agency accountability ratings for 2013 are simply “met standard” or “improvement required” compared to the previous ratings of “exemplary,” “recognized,” “acceptable” and “unacceptable.”
All the campuses in the district earned the new “met standard” level.
Under the new system, campuses and districts also can earn an “academic distinction” moniker for performing high in math, reading and student progress.
Campuses are grouped with 40 comparable campuses across the state. A distinction is given to the top 25 percent of the group with index measures including graduation rates, student academic progress and the gap between the two lowest-performing groups.
“We actually received distinctions at the high school in the areas of math and student progress,” Penrod said. “That’s the area where we received the academically unacceptable rating two years ago, and now we’re being identified as one of the top 25 percent schools in the state.”
Marble Falls High School was listed in the top three in its 40 comparison campuses; Frenswood High and Kerrville Tivy were the other two.
“We’re the only ones in the state where every campus received at least one distinction,” he said.
Spicewood Elementary achieved academic distinctions in reading/English language arts, math and student progress.
“Spicewood, in their 40 comparison campuses, they were ranked number one. They were at the top of their class,” Penrod said. “We have made huge progress. It’s a huge credit to the teachers and, most importantly, the students.”
Beltran also credited her fellow educators for the recent success.
“They’re up here early. They leave late. They’re here on the weekends. Not because they’re forced to be, but because it’s their passion,” Beltran said. “We really truly focus on the individual kids and what they need. You have to be able to get that relationship with the kids. You have to bond with them. The kids become part of your heart. They are all important.”
connie@thepicayune.com