No more students coming to ask about college. No more organizing SAT and ACT tests. No more advising students on Advanced Placement or Dual Credit.

Director of College and Career Readiness Mark Schroeder, left the Texas High family after working at the high school for 10 years. Schroeder’s new position will be head principal at New Boston High School.

“I have mixed feelings about making the move because I have developed great relationships with the students and staff,” Schroeder said. “The students were my reason for coming to school each day to help them realize their dreams.”

Schroeder hopes to bring this enthusiasm to his new new job along with his new responsibilities as principal although he is wary of the change.

“I look forward to working with a new group of students and staff that will realize the possibilities of college and career readiness,” Schroeder said. “I am most concerned about acceptance.”

Even though there may be some hiccups, Schroeder hopes to continue his philosophies about college and career readiness.

“The culture at New Boston will need to change in that the staff believes all students can be prepared for college or career,” Schroeder said. “I know that the students and staff trust me in how we advised the students to focus on the courses we offered at Texas High School.”

Schroeder is sad to leave the students and faculty, but hopes the program continues to grow.

“I enjoyed calling students to my office and finding students waiting for me before and after school,” Schroeder said. “I want the AP and DC programs to continue to grow so that students can realize the opportunities that are available in college acceptance and scholarships.”

A growth in the AP and DC program is also shared by head principal Brad Bailey.

“Our plans are to increase the number of honor graduates, continue to identify students for Associate’s Degrees, increase certifications for our students in high school, continue to increase AP and DC enrollment, and have more counseling with our students on college and career readiness opportunities,” Bailey said. “We will also implement the Naviance program to help students with career goals.”

Naviance, a program to aid students in the college application process, will continue to be headed by Assistant Principal for Ross Perot STEM Academy, Cathy Klopper. Klopper has been working with Schroeder for a couple of years on scheduling and many of his other duties.

“I feel this will be an easy transition from Mr. Schroeder to me because Mr. Schroeder trained me well,” Klopper said. “I feel confident because I had a good teacher.”

Klopper is excited for her new job duties because of the challenge of constructing student schedules.

“I love a challenge and learning new things,” Klopper said. “The thing that I am most excited about is spending more time talking to students about course selections, schedules, graduation requirements, class rank and all the other topics that go along with scheduling.”

Klopper’s love of being able to connect with students was also what Bailey feels Schroeder did so well.

“His impact reaches beyond the classroom, he developed relationships with students, parents, and staff,” Bailey said. “Whether it be a 5th grader or a senior, he planned their future and was driven to help not only the students but to help our campus keep succeeding.”

Students also feel that Schroeder was helpful in preparing them for college and life beyond the halls of Texas High

“Mr. Schroeder made a huge impact on students by guiding us in the right direction for our future careers when we leave high school whether it be for college or another life goal,” senior Alex Hart said. “He always made sure we had everything to be properly prepared for college.”

Helping students succeed outside the classroom is what his main goal was and students believe this shows in the graduates.

“[Schroeder’s] legacy will definitely be shown throughout the past students he helped and worked with to become successful,” Hart said. “This legacy will continue even without his presence because of the knowledge of his predecessors.”