CHS raises standards

Students entering Clarendon High School next fall will be met with a more stringent set of graduation requirements.

The Clarendon ISD Board of Trustees approved an additional year of math and science to the local requirements when they met in regular session November 26.

Next year’s freshmen will have to take a minimum of three years of math and science classes. Previous requirements only called for two years in each subject.

“We just want to help prepare our kids for college,” said CHS Principal Larry Jeffers. “Even if they choose not to go to college, that extra math will always help them.”

Jeffers said the school will start offering two new courses in math and science. Practical Applications of Algebra will focus on life-long math skills, and students will have the option of taking Geology-Meteorology-Oceanography (GMO) for a science credit.

In addition to helping the students, Jeffers said the school hopes the changes will prepare this year’s eighth graders for the TAAS-2 test their junior year. TAAS-2 will raise the bar for Texas students’ minimum skills.

The trustees also approved making the state’s recommended high school graduation plan the local district default plan. The basic difference will be requirements for taking two years of foreign language and one year of fine arts.

Students will still have different options, Jeffers said, but they will have to make a choice to go the easier route. Parents will also have to sign off on taking minimal requirements.

“We want the parents to be more proactive in choosing the graduation plan,” he said.

School officials say they believe the state will mandate that districts adopt the new requirements in the future.

Currently, about a third of CHS students take only the minimum requirements for graduation. More than 50 percent take the “recommended” requirements, and the remainder go an advanced route.

In other school business, a public hearing and discussion was conducted concerning the district’s AEIS Report for 1999-2000, Campus Performance Objectives & Actual Performance, and Violent, Criminal Incidents and Prevention, and Safety Policies.

A bid was accepted from A-1 Audio to upgrade the existing intercom system in the elementary building for $7,489.76.

The board approved the purchase and installation of a commercial stainless steel vent hood and electric grill for the Bronco Gym concession stand for $6,386 from the Activity Fund.

A motion was approved to designate $400,000 of the general fund balance for future construction, renovation, and repairs as presented.

The board accepted the resignation of the Bridget Christopherson and agreed to hire JoDawn Gifford as an at-will employee.