Archives for February 2017

Clarendon College set a new record for spring enrollment following the 12th class day last Wednesday with final headcounts coming in at 1,393.

That total reflects a 13.34 percent growth compared to the spring 2016 enrollment of 1,229. The new record is the highest spring enrollment in the school’s 118-year history and marks CC’s fourth consecutive semester of double-digit growth.

“Our success is due to hard work and a lot of effort on the parts of a lot of people,” CC President Robert Riza said. “Our faculty and staff are committed to student success and work very hard to achieve these goals.”

Dr. Riza pointed to growth in CC’s correctional education program and increasing dual credit among area high schools as reasons for the higher enrollment numbers.

“We also had two vocational nursing cohorts start in January when we realigned the program to better align with our bridge program,” the president said.

The number of students taking classes in correctional facilities was 82 higher than this time last year, and the number of high school students taking college classes grew by 85 with the largest growth coming from students in Pampa, Groom, and Amarillo.

Head counts on campuses in Clarendon, Childress, and Amarillo were down, but enrollment at the Pampa campus was up by 4.2 percent.

CC also saw more students taking classes online with growth in that segment of enrollment up 73.6 percent.

Contact hours, which is part of what the state uses to determine CC’s funding, was also up 10.7 percent.

Riza also says his administration has plans to build on this spring’s enrollment growth with proposals that will be put before the CC Board of Regents next week.

With just more than a week to go in filing, 12 candidates have stepped up to take positions on six local boards, but six seats have not yet drawn candidates.

As the February 17 filing deadline approaches next week, there have been no contested races emerge as of Tuesday afternoon.

At the City of Clarendon, Mayor Sandy Skelton has signed up for re-election, and Britton Hall has signed up for one of two positions open on the city council.

Howardwick has one incumbent, Alderman Eric Riddle, signed up so far with two board positions and the mayor’s seat available.

All of the incumbents have signed up for re-election at the City of Hedley, including Aldermen Carrie Butler, Kathy Spier, and Tonya Metcalf for full terms and Alderman Guy Watt for the remainder of the unexpired term he is serving.

All three incumbents have filed for re-election on the Donley County Hospital District Board. Those officials are Wayne Tubbs – Place One, Jeff Robertson – Place Two, and Melinda McAnear – Place Three.

Hedley ISD has had two candidates file, incumbent trustees Cindy Lambert and Troy Monroe. A third position is also open.

Clarendon ISD has not had anyone sign up with two board positions up for election.

All local boards are elected at-large, but hospital board candidates must file for a specific place on the ballot.

Elections are scheduled to be held Saturday, May 6, 2017.

Clarendon and Hedley students could start back to class earlier this fall as those schools become what the state calls “Districts of Innovation.”

School officials say becoming a District of Innovation simply allows more local control and more flexibility when it comes to scheduling and setting calendars.

Clarendon ISD Superintendent Mike Norrell said the designation is an option schools can pursue under House Bill 1842 that was approved two years ago.

The state doesn’t have to approve a district’s decision to become a District of Innovation. The district simply follows a procedure to inform the state of its decision.

“Becoming a District of Innovation gives us greater local control and allows us more flexibility to tailor programs and procedures, the calendar for example, in more innovative ways to the needs of our students, staff, parents, and community,” Norrell said.

Hedley ISD Superintendent Colby Waldrop said the HISD Board of Trustees approved becoming a District of Innovation last month and that his employees are in favor of the idea, and he says Hedley will look at starting school about a week earlier than the state calls for.

“It just puts too much pressure later in the year if we can’t start about two weeks before Labor Day,” Waldrop said. “We need more class time before the test than after the test.”

Clarendon ISD will hold a public hearing at 4 p.m. next Wednesday, February 15, to get citizens’ feedback before trustees give final approval to becoming a District of Innovation, Norrell said. If CISD chooses that option, the school calendar will also adopt an earlier start date.

“We want to be able to balance the semesters better,” Norrell said.

Both Clarendon and Hedley have already taken advantage of another law, House Bill 2610, that changed the requirement from a school year comprising 180 days of instruction to one that is comprised of 75,600 minutes. That change also gave more local control over scheduling and district calendars.

In Clarendon, the school has adopted more half-days, including one at the end of each semester and one at the end of each six-weeks grading period, to give teachers time to enter grades.

Norrell said becoming a District of Innovation would give CISD more opportunities to do things like that while keeping the last day of school where it is at the end of May. Norrell said the new freedoms also allow Clarendon to have more three-day weekends during the year.

Hedley took a different approach to meeting their 75,600-minutes requirement. Waldrop said HISD lengthened each school day by 15 minutes and shaved six days off the school calendar.

“We get out about a week before Clarendon does for summer,” Waldrop said.

Both superintendents say their schools studied the District of Innovation concept carefully and consulted with other schools before pursuing the designation.

“We looked at this for a while and couldn’t see any negatives,” Norrell said.

In addition to calendar flexibility, Districts of Innovation have a bit more freedom to locally certify people to teach in certain instances, Norrell said. A designation as a District of Innovation lasts for five years.

Clarendon CISD has announced that there are two opportunities for parents to be directly involved in the local school this month.

The first is the annual “Our Bronco Parents Matter Survey” that the district uses to make decisions on services they provide for students.

School officials believe parent involvement in Clarendon CISD is key for the success of students.  In order to understand the school’s effectiveness in building parental partnerships, they encourage people to participate and give feedback.

This year the school has two survey methods available – online or printed versions – in each of the district’s campuses.  Take a moment to fill out the confidential survey which will be available until February 17.

The second opportunity is a presentation by Dennis Eichelbaum, of the Educational Law Firm Eichelbaum, Wardell, Hansen, Powell, & Mehl, P.C.,  who will conduct a Social Media Training for CISD staff and interested parents and community members on Monday, February 13, from 3:45-5:00 p.m. in the CHS Auditorium.  No students will be permitted during this presentation.  Junior high and high school students will attend sessions at 1:00 and 2:15 earlier that day.

The school appreciates the community’s continued support and involvement in the school.

Clarendon College set a new record for spring enrollment following the 12th class day last Wednesday with final headcounts coming in at 1,393.

That total reflects a 13.34 percent growth compared to the spring 2016 enrollment of 1,229. The new record is the highest spring enrollment in the school’s 118-year history and marks CC’s fourth consecutive semester of double-digit growth.

“Our success is due to hard work and a lot of effort on the parts of a lot of people,” CC President Robert Riza said. “Our faculty and staff are committed to student success and work very hard to achieve these goals.”

Dr. Riza pointed to growth in CC’s correctional education program and increasing dual credit among area high schools as reasons for the higher enrollment numbers.

“We also had two vocational nursing cohorts start in January when we realigned the program to better align with our bridge program,” the president said.

The number of students taking classes in correctional facilities was 82 higher than this time last year, and the number of high school students taking college classes grew by 85 with the largest growth coming from students in Pampa, Groom, and Amarillo.

Head counts on campuses in Clarendon, Childress, and Amarillo were down, but enrollment at the Pampa campus was up by 4.2 percent.

CC also saw more students taking classes online with growth in that segment of enrollment up 73.6 percent.

Contact hours, which is part of what the state uses to determine CC’s funding, was also up 10.7 percent.

Riza also says his administration has plans to build on this spring’s enrollment growth with proposals that will be put before the CC Board of Regents next week.