Spring 2024: A day in the life of 14-year-old Sky starts off around 7:40 a.m. at dropoff. Sky attends Greg A. Garcia Early College Intermediate School on the Southside of San Antonio.
Under the watchful eye of a campus officer, the eighth-grader is welcomed by staff.
“This makes the school feel safe, and the visibility of the staff is great,” said Nataucha Gales, Sky’s mother, of the school at 9550 S. Zarzamora St. “I see the principal every morning.”
Gales also sees the close-knit relationship between students and staff, along with smaller classes and one-on-one attention.
“We were looking for a different way to educate our child than the traditional norm,” Gales said.
Gales said her daughter is already thinking about the next step in furthering her education, because she is learning a better mindset about scholarship.
“(It) feels like the staff is invested in your child like you are,” Gales said.
Sky is now graduated from Greg A. Garcia and is preparing to attend Frank L. Madla Early College High School in fall 2024.
Small campus and class sizes pave the way for big goals
Located about five minutes away from Texas A&M University San-Antonio, Greg A. Garcia has created an opportunity for children to get prepared and grow more comfortable with higher education.
The New Frontiers Public School District opened the school on Aug. 16, 2023.
Greg A. Garcia’s founding principal was Dr. Monica Villarreal. She’s had past experience working with New Frontiers Public School District as a former principal and served as the district’s Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction and Compliance.
Villarreal, principal of the school until summer 2024, said Greg A. Garcia aims to keep enrollment at the school low. The campus had a combined total of 122 students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades in spring 2024.
“Greg A. Garcia gives students a jumpstart to college,” said Arnold Hernandez.
Because students are exposed to things such as syllabi and the curriculum, it allows them to understand the proper steps kids need to take in order to get an A in their class. It allows flexibility for teachers to help avoid any students from falling in the education gaps in their community. This helps prepare them for college where students will be more familiarized with the materials and instruction.
Smaller class sizes at Greg A. Garcia allows teachers to give more attention, prioritize the needs of the students and build a relationship with students.
“Our building really is what we were hearing in response to our community,” Villarreal said in an interview in the spring. “We were hearing about classes in excess of 35 [students], even in elementary, and upwards in most cases up to 40. Our priorities are that our classes are set at 17 and they won’t exceed that.”
Exposing students to a collegiate experience allows them to get used to things such as a syllabus, so students can learn exactly what to expect for the semester and learn to advocate for themselves, says Villarreal.
“Greg A. Garcia gives students a jumpstart to college,” said Arnold Hernandez, the student recruitment and retention coordinator of the New Frontiers Public Schools. “The classes are smaller, and the students get one-on-one teaching. The school embraces higher education with college-ready classes.”
Although students are not able to receive college credit because it’s not considered appropriate for their age, they are allowed to receive high school credits. By getting credits such as physical education completed first, the students’ schedules open up once they transition to high school. With an empty slot, college classes can fill those spaces, Villarreal said.
Stephanie Simpson, CEO of the Association for Middle Level Education, says the early college middle school is still a new concept that she began hearing about in the last year or two.
“A lot of educators and others that work with young people are starting to realize that career exploration or college preparation is too late to start in high school, so a lot of that is starting to trickle down to the middle grades,” Simpson said.
Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, AMLE is an international association for middle school educators. Simpson said a public charter school in Dayton, Ohio, includes a middle school in its college readiness program.
Similar schools include Rayen Early College Middle School in Youngstown, Ohio; Early College Middle School at Lehman in Canton, Ohio; and Alsion Montessori Early College Middle School in Fremont, California.
Preparing students for the future begins right now
Dr. Duane Williams, associate vice provost of Student Success and Retention at A&M-San Antonio, said early college middle schools are an amazing opportunity to inspire and create a sense of belief in the formative years of kids.
“The foundation of anything needs to be strong, and the earlier you can invest in the mindset of young ones,” Williams said. “The longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes.”
Greg A. Garcia is the first early college middle school Williams has interacted with. An A&M-San Antonio graduate student who attended one of his campus lectures happened to work at Greg A. Garcia. The student encouraged him to do a workshop for teachers at the middle school.
Williams said a future collaboration might involve a pipeline between Greg A. Garcia and A&M-San Antonio’s College of Education. Students from Greg A. Garcia would benefit from experiencing campus life at A&M-San Antonio, while the university’s students gather real-world experience in the education field.
The New Frontiers district has 25 years of experience with charter schools, and the first one was founded in San Antonio. The Greg A. Garcia school is the first early college middle school in San Antonio. Students come from nearby districts to attend this school.
“The majority of the students are probably coming from (Interstate) 37 to Highway 90 and this immediate area, so we’ve got students from Harlandale, Southside district; a lot of the IDEA (Individuals Dedicated to Excellence and Achievement) kiddos,” Villarreal said. “We’ve also got some parole kids and some from the military.”
Many might think middle school aged children are too young to start preparing for college. However, research published in the journal of “Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice” revealed that students who excel in six factors during middle school are more prepared for college: achievement, behavior, motivation, social engagement, family circumstances and school characteristics.
Gales’ daughter attended seven classes every day.
Each class has a small learning environment. Sky got to choose her electives and her main core classes.
One unique class Sky took is Mariachi class where she has learned about a new culture and music. Two teachers a day give out homework to avoid overwhelming students, and teachers notify parents about assignments through an app to keep them up to date on their student’s workload.
Gales said her daughter feels like she can approach the teachers when she needs help. At other schools that she has attended, she did not feel comfortable getting help from teachers.
“She’s not uncomfortable here,” said Gales.
Dr. Theresa Garfield, a professor of special education at A&M-San Antonio, said she expects the school will inspire students to consider higher education.
“My hope is that it will create a pipeline for students to recognize that they can go to university or college afterwards; that they have the skills to be successful; that they increase their efficiency,” said Garfield, who has done research on middle-level education.
Villarreal said she knew every student and their parents at Greg A. Garcia. Making that connection was important to Villarreal because it helps close the gap between parents and educators while encouraging parents to be more active in their child’s academic life.
“I also think kids’ needs aren’t being met because when they’re not, they act out in a variety of ways,” Villarreal said of other school systems. “I think that’s our most special part. We don’t have ISS (in school suspension). We don’t need it, and students want to be here; they enjoy being here, and that is keeping it small by design. We’re trying to be small, so they can find themselves.”
College- and work-ready standards are often recommended to be implemented before high school. Students who are at-risk are more likely to benefit from early college prep, according to “Middle grades: 15 actions your state can take to maximize young adolescents’ readiness for grade 9–and college and careers,” published in The Progress of Education Reform in 2009.
“In most states, the considerable policy focus on high schools in recent years has not trickled down to a focus on the middle grades,” the article states. “Although research on best practices in the middle grades is less plentiful than research on other grade levels (i.e., early learning, high school), there is growing awareness of the need for states to shift attention to what happens in the middle grades if meaningful high school reform is to be realized.”
Garfield agrees that children who are familiarized with good study habits early on can have a better understanding of what’s in store years later.
“Once students have a good, solid foundation, it will carry through middle school, and then eventually the university,” Garfield said.
Unlike public schools, charter schools can have their own policies and private agencies; charter schools can determine teacher certification, are independently managed and publicly funded, said Villarreal. Publicly funded means that they use taxpayer money to fund itself. While public schools have government funding and larger class sizes, they both use T.E.K.S (Texas Essential Knowledge Skills), so if students transfer between public and charter middle schools they can be prepared regardless of where they’re relocated.
“Charter schools were always made to be seen as an enemy,” said Villarreal, “but in the functionality of what the school is, there really is no difference—we have kids, we have teachers.”
The charter school’s environment is made to feel like a private school with college ready courses available.
Hernandez said, “The greatest benefit to this charter school is exposure. It is never too early to explore the early college model and be provided the opportunity to an early jumpstart to their college careers.”
“When students feel good about what they’re learning, it in turn will give them more positive outcomes,” Garfield said.
Gales said it was very easy to apply online to enroll her child at Greg A. Garcia. As soon as parents apply online, the school notifies them quickly and walks them through the next steps, said Gales.
There is no deadline to apply. However, parents are encouraged to apply and submit the application for admission as soon as possible to secure a spot for their child in the upcoming school year.
For more information, visit https://gageci.newfrontierspublicschools.org/.
Anthony Talamantez contributed to this story.
