Soon, the school district that has failed state academic standards since 2011, longer than any other Texas school district, will become a 1:1 district, providing Chromebook devices for all students in

The district has been under threat of closure by the Texas Education Agency for the past five years, and the state installed an appointed board of directors in place of the elected school board in 2017. As part of a district improvement plan that year, the new board approved a $53,000 batch of Chromebooks for middle school students. Now, under the leadership of a new superintendent, the coronavirus pandemic is leading the district to provide similar resources, and more, for all students.

When the state shut down schools in the spring, teachers struggled to keep students engaged with remote instruction; all Marlin ISD could offer at the time were paper packets for students, Henson said.

But things are going to be different this school year.

Hired by the state-appointed board of managers in the midst of the pandemic, Henson immediately got to work in late May by recruiting and retaining administrators and buying 384 Chromebook devices. Marlin ISD spent $109,234 on the computers, with a state coronavirus relief fund chipping in $68,532.

Additionally, the school district decided in the spring to participate in T-Mobile’s EmpowerEd program to buy heavily discounted hotspots and unlimited data plans to provide 250 LTE wireless internet connections for eligible Marlin ISD households at a cost of about $44,000, Henson said. Marlin ISD qualified for the program in part because most of its students — about 84% — are considered economically disadvantaged.