July 22nd, 2010
Texas State, local education partners, receive $50K grant

STAFF REPORT

Texas State and its educational partners have a $50,000 grant by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for marketing college readiness in the San Marcos Area.

The higher education coordinating board’s 2011 College and Career Readiness Grant will go to Texas State’s Center of P-16 Initiatives, SOAR (Seeking Opportunities, Achieving Results) and the E3 (Education Equals Economics) Alliance.

The grant will fund a marketing campaign in San Marcos aimed at the current generation of primary education students to increase awareness of college opportunities, as well as the importance of a college education. The project will involve Texas State marketing students in the development of the media campaign.

“With this effort, we are striving to appeal to this generation of students the importance of going to college,” said Michelle Pope, director of the Center for P-16 Initiatives. “It is all part of the larger effort to close the gaps in educational attainment and eliminate educational disparities in Central Texas.”

The project is a part of the state’s new Generation TX initiative, a multi-year statewide effort to organize and mobilize entire communities to help Texas students and their families pursue college and career education beyond high school. The grassroots, community-based movement champions the message that every student belongs on the path to college or career education beyond high school.

“I am thrilled to see our district to be part of this opportunity,” said San Marcos CISD Superintendent Patty Shafer. “I think all of San Marcos students will benefit from the GenTX campaign. Our ultimate goal is to build a student ‘movement’ so that this generation of students all see themselves as having a path to college and career success after high school.”

The Center for P-16 Initiatives at Texas State is a central location for educational programming focused on promoting educational initiatives that create a seamless pipeline of success beginning in early childhood through college graduation.

SOAR’s educational partners consist of members representing Texas State, the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce, San Marcos CISD, the City of San Marcos, San Marcos Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Austin Community College, San Marcos Education Foundation and United Way of Hays County.