New San Marcos High School Principal Twila Guajardo meets with parents as they begin to prepare for the new school year.
Photo courtesy of SMCISD
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Photo courtesy of SMCISD
The 2024-2025 school year will bring exciting changes to San Marcos High School including the arrival of a new principal who is excited to grow relationships with students, adults and the community. Twila Guajardo is entering her 20th year in education and is excited about the opportunity to be leading the only high school in San Marcos CISD.
“I am already proud to be the principal here, and I'm so excited about this opportunity,” Guajardo said. “I very much look forward to taking the foundational pieces that are here and putting them together.”
She hopes to make this community proud, and for students and their families to know that they've gotten an exceptional education when they've been at San Marcos High School.
Guajardo wishes to make student success, as well as community involvement, a focus of her time as the high school campus leader.
“The short term goal is really to establish relationships with the adults, with the community, and with our kiddos, and really because I want people to know that they can count on me,” Guajardo said. In the long term, she hopes to provide the foundation for high quality, Tier 1 instruction. “I think every kid needs to have the opportunity to do what they choose and be armed with the skills and the dispositions to be able to navigate all those choices.”
Guajardo is passionate when it comes to the work involved in ensuring student success.
“What inspires me personally, is helping eliminate barriers to success,” Guajardo said. “I think there are kids who have no idea what they're capable of because they just haven't seen it, so they must have adults who know that and, can see it, and believe in it. There is nothing better than a kid’s own sense of pride.”
Meeting with teachers, staff members and community members has been a priority for Guajardo from the very start of her tenure.
“We're really only going to be an excellent school if we are working in partnership with our community and with our parents,” Guajardo said. “Parents are the most influential in their child's life, and so there's nothing that an educator can do truly without the support of the family, and what I know about families is they want what's best for their kid. I know that for sure, and so as educators, we’re going to try to do a better job of that communication and bringing parents and families into the fold, and including them in the education of their child.”
Guajardo grew up in Jourdanton, and draws parallels between her hometown and San Marcos.
“It is a town with lots of community pride and the school was really kind of a center of the community, so it very much kind of mirrors San Marcos because I know there's lots of Rattler pride here in San Marcos,” Guajardo said.
She began her career in Humble ISD, as an instructional aide in a social studies classroom before transitioning to classroom teacher, instructional coach and then moving into an assistant principal role. She previously served as principal at Pleasanton High School, and most recently was principal at Travis Early College High School in SAISD before coming to San Marcos.
Guajardo is married to her husband Frank, and they are proud parents of two children. Their daughter is a recent graduate of Texas A&M University, who lives in Houston, and their son is about to begin an apprenticeship at an electrical company.
“We're super excited and proud of both of our kids,” Guajardo said.
When asked about what she enjoys doing, Guajardo said a lot revolved around school activities.
“Another reason I wanted to come here is because I love the comprehensive experience. I love sports, [and] I love student performances. I love all the opportunities, and San Marcos High School has opportunities. What is offered to kids is incredible. The state of the art facilities are second to none. It is clear education is very important to our community.”
Megan Bading is a teacher with SMCISD. She wrote this article as part of the Summer Teacher Externship Program with San Marcos Chamber of Commerce and Texas Workforce Solutions
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