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Edcouch-Elsa Early College High School projects 54 associate-degree graduates; district covers tuition costs
Summary
Associate-degree production has increased in recent years; the early college program now enrolls 275 students this spring and offers supports including TSI testing, tutoring and dedicated GO Center specialists.
Edcouch-Elsa ISD’s Early College High School is on track to graduate as many as 54 students with an associate degree this year, program leaders told the board during the required annual update.
Mary Garza, associate principal and early college coordinator, said the program enrolled 240 students in fall 2024 and 275 in spring 2025. She said the district covered tuition and course materials for participating students and reported a fall tuition cost of $92,826 for the college courses taken that semester.
Garza described program requirements and supports: students must pass the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) college-readiness exam before taking college courses; the district is a TSI testing site and offers weekly testing. Ninth graders may begin college classes in the spring semester; Garza said 65 freshmen started college courses immediately after the winter break.
The program partners with S.T.C. (identified in the presentation as the institution of higher education partner). Garza said students take transferable core classes, and GO Center specialists at the high school and North campus (Laura Olivares and Lisette Gonzalez) support college registration, financial aid and student advising. The district receives “starfish” progress reports from the college twice a semester and intervenes when students show risk flags.
Garza said the projected associate-degree graduates include 9 in a medical science pathway, 4 in engineering, 2 in criminal justice, 2 in business and the remainder in interdisciplinary studies. She told the board that the program has tripled associate-degree production over six years and that the district provides textbooks, access codes and tuition at no cost to families.
Board members asked about course transferability; Garza said most core courses are transferable within Texas and that GO Center staff help students check specific transfer equivalencies.
The presentation included an overview of recruitment: applications from eighth graders, parent meetings, a summer bridge camp for TSI preparation and a fall-summer testing and remediation plan for students who do not pass TSI in the summer.
The presentation was informational; no board vote was required.
