EDITOR DANIEL CLIFTON Melissa Hinojosa was 17 years old when she joined the Texas Army National Guard in 1997 — not much older than many of the students she now teaches in her Marble Falls High School biology classes while still serving as a lieutenant colonel. The two worlds might seem quite different, but Hinojosa […]

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EDITOR DANIEL CLIFTON In Marble Falls High School art teacher Lerin Lockwood’s mind, all Josiah ‘Yaya’ Rojas had to do was “pinch” the vase to create a carafe. He had made enough vases, Lockwood told him with a laugh. But Rojas wasn’t satisfied with the piece of pottery spinning in front of him. He stopped […]

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EDITOR DANIEL CLIFTON Getting an education and going to college were important to Soor-el Puga’s parents for their eight children, all first-generation Americans. “It was something our parents wanted us to fulfill,” said the director of Marble Falls Independent School District’s bilingual/English as a second language programs. “My dad went to technical school, where he […]

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STAFF WRITER JENNIFER FIERRO Though he’s been gone for four years, Brother Max Copeland remains in the hearts of Marble Falls residents. Each season, the Marble Falls Independent School District chooses one of the high school football team’s home games to raise money for the scholarship named after the beloved former pastor of First Baptist […]

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EDITOR DANIEL CLIFTON Marble Falls Independent School District is educating local businesses and residents about questionable fundraisers claiming to be on behalf of the schools. “They’re just scams, some of them,” said Pam Parkman, executive director of the Marble Falls Education Foundation, which partners with the district in fundraising endeavors. Parkman regularly fields phone calls […]

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A 16-year-old Marble Falls High School student faces assault charges after punching another student several times in a classroom October 4. According to the Marble Falls Police Department, the incident occurred during a passing period while the teacher assigned to classroom was monitoring the hallway. “When the teacher returned to the classroom, all students had […]

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EDITOR DANIEL CLIFTON A 15-year-old Marble Falls Middle School student sustained minor injuries on campus after his head struck a slow-moving pickup truck’s passenger-side mirror October 1. Now, school officials are asking parents to tell their children to look both ways before crossing a road — even at school. “We want to remind parents and […]

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When you had a question about Marble Falls history, Madolyn Frasier had the answer. If she didn’t know it off the top of her head, she’d find it by digging through her vast collection of historical documents, photos, and memorabilia. She was, as some said, the Marble Falls historian. Frasier, a 1959 graduate of Marble […]

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The atmosphere on Marble Falls school district campuses, especially the high school, is charged this week as students, staff, and the community pull out a little extra purple and gold. It’s Homecoming Week 2019. Homecoming is traditionally when former students return to spend time on their old stomping grounds, but it’s also a chance for […]

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EDITOR DANIEL CLIFTON As Marble Falls High School student Irene Ortiz tweaked the latte mix and then a frozen coffee drink, she wrote down the changes on a notebook sitting on the nearby counter. Off to the side, business and entrepreneurship teacher Tucker Edwards watched. It’s part of the process, he said, of running a […]

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School boards in the Highland Lakes have met and set their 2019-20 budgets and tax rates. The good news: The three public school districts managed to cut their tax rates compared to last year’s. Texas House Bill 3, which passed earlier this year, helped provide property tax relief. The state earmarked about $5 billion for […]

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EDITOR DANIEL CLIFTON The three Highland Lakes public school districts scored B’s for overall performance in the latest Texas Education Agency accountability ratings.  Ratings are based on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams, college/career/military readiness, and graduation rates from the 2018-19 school year. Districts and campuses earn letter grades from A […]

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According to the state of Texas, the three Highland Lakes school districts are doing a “superior” job at managing taxpayers’ money. The Texas Education Agency released the the preliminary school Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas ratings August 9, and the three area public school districts — Burnet, Llano, and Marble Falls — each earned […]

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STAFF WRITER JENNIFER FIERRO Education has changed, and not solely due to technology. Today’s schools are taking a more holistic approach, focusing on all aspects of a student’s growth, not just academics. In the Marble Falls Independent School District, officials are proactive in addressing the social-emotional learning component. MFISD has brought on a total of […]

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STAFF WRITER JENNIFER FIERRO Falling through the gap in school terms often refers to students falling behind in class and never catching up. But another gap worried Marble Falls school officials: not having someone to help students, particularly ones considered at-risk, find their paths after graduation. Gibson Holmes has been tasked with filling that gap. […]

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EDITOR DANIEL CLIFTON Falls Career High School English teacher Mike Saenz admitted he bounced around in college before deciding education was the path for him. All that bouncing taught him not everyone travels at the same rate to get where they’re going, and it’s a lesson that has helped him as an educator. In June, […]

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EDITOR DANIEL CLIFTON All dedicated actors hope to get a callback, a chance to perform one more time. And four Marble Falls High School theater arts students, duos Abigail Collard and Charles “C.W.” Hellen and Charles McLean and Gillian Goff, earned that coveted callback at the International Thespian Festival with Collard and Hellen picked to […]

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STAFF WRITER JENNIFER FIERRO Spend a few minutes talking to new Falls Career High School Principal Allie Hampton, and you’ll quickly understand why Marble Falls Independent School District Superintendent Chris Allen recommended her for the job. (more…)

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STAFF WRITER JENNIFER FIERRO Anticipating continued growth in the Marble Falls Independent School District, board trustees adopted amendments to the long-range facilities plan at their regular meeting June 17. (more…)

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The Marble Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees honored several Eagle Scouts during its regular meeting June 17. (more…)

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STAFF WRITER JENNIFER FIERRO Teachers and staff in the Burnet and Marble Falls school districts are getting pay raises now that House Bill 3 has been signed into law. The boards of trustees for both districts voted in the pay increases at their meetings June 17. The increases — but not the amounts — were […]

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STAFF WRITER JARED FIELDS A grant to build a network of sidewalks connecting three school campuses and their surrounding neighborhoods is in the works for Marble Falls. The city applied for more than $500,000 worth of sidewalk construction through the Texas Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School project. (more…)

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STAFF WRITER JENNIFER FIERRO Taxpayers passing by Marble Falls Independent School District campuses might not be able to see it, but implementation of the projects they approved in a $55 million bond election last year are underway and on schedule, including programs and facility enhancements designed to make the schools safer. (more…)

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FROM STAFF REPORTS Though retired Marble Falls High School home economics teacher Lemmah A. Perry passed away in 2008, she continues to impact students’ education, even helping 2019 graduates to pursue their dreams of higher education. (more…)

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STAFF WRITER JENNIFER FIERRO When Leslie Talamantes stepped into the meeting chamber of the Marble Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees on June 3, she immediately felt right at home. (more…)

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FROM STAFF REPORTS A Cedar Park teen was transported to an Austin-area hospital after the SUV she was driving crashed into a Marble Falls Independent School District bus carrying 11 Colt Elementary School students Wednesday morning. (more…)

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