Morgan Wheatly

Based on a report by Reeve Hamilton, Texas Tribune

 Donley County youth beat the state statistic in a recent study of kids who go on to earn a higher education credential with six years of graduating high school.

Among young Texans who started eighth grade in 2000, less than one-fifth went on to earn a higher education credential, according to data analyzed by two state education agencies and presented last Tuesday in a Texas Tribune news application.

However, the application revealed that of the 60 students in Donley County who began 8th grade in 2000 – students who are now in their 20s — 33.3 percent received a higher education degree or certificate within six years of their anticipated high school graduation date.

That rate is 13.9 percentage points higher than the statewide rate

Donley County students also beat the regional data which found that of 5,887 eighth graders served by Region 16 in 2000 in the Texas Panhandle, only 20.3 percent received a college degree or certificate, which was just more than one percentage point higher than the state rate.

Local students also beat neighboring county higher education achievement rates, including Armstrong 16.0, Briscoe 20.0, Carson 31.5, Collingsworth 9.6, Hall 26.9, Gray 24.1, and Childress 28.4.

Most students from nearby counties fared better with eighth graders who started in 2001. Donley County’s rate stayed at 33.3 percent, Armstrong rose to 22.6, Briscoe came up to 26.1, Carson was closest to Donley at 33.0, Collingsworth rose considerably to 31.7, Hall fell to 10.5, Gray was just above even at 24.5, and Childress dropped slightly to 24.5

The highest local performing class in the study range 1997-2001, were eighth graders who started in 1998. Of the 54 students in that cohort, 38.9 percent earned a college degree or certification, beating the state rate for that class by more than 20 points.

Clarendon College President Dr. Robert Riza said the success of local students is helped by the presence of a community college at home but that other factors also contribute.

“This shows the fine job the ISDs are doing and the importance of the college working closely with the ISDs,” Riza said. “It also goes back to the community itself and the focus families place on education.”

Since 2012, Houston Endowment, a philanthropic foundation and sponsor of the news app, has advocated for the use of “cohort tracking” to evaluate the state’s education pipeline. The analysis begins with all Texas students entering eighth grade in a given year and follows them for 11 years, giving them six years after high school to earn a post-secondary degree.

George Grainger, senior program officer for Houston Endowment’s education initiatives, said he believes it’s a valid performance index for the entire education pipeline, not just higher education. “We felt if we put our name on this, we can talk about it in a way that a state agency is perhaps not able to,” he said.

Cohort tracking is something the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board had been doing for some time — but quietly. Houston Endowment approached the agency about running the numbers again and providing an annual snapshot of the education system, this time for public consumption.

Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes called the idea of using the simple, easy-to-understand metric — rather than standard metrics like college graduation rates — “a minor act of genius.”

“If your final number is 19 out of 100 students receiving some form of post-secondary credential, you know there’s an awful lot of leakage in the pipeline,” Paredes said.

Houston Endowment is careful not to be prescriptive in its cohort analysis.

“We’re very careful in saying that we don’t know what the goal for the state should be for this index,” Grainger said, “nor are we saying how to get there.”

But he acknowledged that “intuitively,” the fact that just one out of five Texas students completes a post-secondary degree is “not what Texas needs, not what the kids of Texas need, not what employers need.”

Texas’ data collection isn’t perfect. The cohort analysis, for example, does not account for some productive post-secondary endeavors, such as military service and apprenticeship programs.

Plus, if students move out of state, the system loses track of them until they move back in — meaning those who attend out-of-state colleges or universities and don’t return aren’t counted.

This omission could be corrected, Grainger said, but Texas does not currently pay to access National Student Clearinghouse data.

 A man accused of attacking a Clarendon woman has been sentenced to prison after accepting a plea agreement in district court last Monday, February 10.

Devonte Deshun Hardaway was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in the Institutional Division of Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the second degree felony offense of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Hardaway is required to pay $398 in court costs.

Hardaway, a 20-year-old resident of Clarendon, was arrested in Donley County for the offense that took place November 3, 2013, by Donley County Deputy Sonny Marasco.

According to published reports, a 17-year-old woman was severely beaten and stabbed early Sunday morning, November 3. Sheriff Butch Blackburn said the woman, identified by social media sources as Shantel Harris, was walking home from a birthday party when she was attacked in a vacant lot near the North Ward Park and beaten and stabbed in the neck.

Harris identified Hardaway and Tyler Lee Smith, age 19, of Memphis as her attackers. Smith remains in the Donley County Jail at press time.

Hardaway’s plea came before District Judge Stuart Messer in Panhandle. District Attorney Luke Inman, assisted by Scott Sherwood, prosecuted the cases for the State of Texas.

Candidates continue to line up for this spring as sign-ups for seven boards continues.

Clarendon Aldermen Larry Jeffers and Beverly Burrow has signed up to seek two of the three terms available on the city board. They will be joined on the ballot by challenger John Lockhart, who announced his candidacy Tuesday afternoon. Aldermen Will Thompson, whose term is expiring, has not filed to run again.

The City of Hedley has three positions available on the May ballot. The terms of Mayor Leon Ward and Aldermen Lonnie Roby and Carrie Butler are up this year. Roby and Ward are running for reelection, and Diana Postma has filed for the board.

The Clarendon College District has three seats available on the Board of Regents, and the positions are held by Dr. John Howard, Dr. Bill Sansing, and Jack Moreman. All three incumbents have signed up to run for re-election.

Incumbent Ted Wright and challengers Troy Monroe and Michelle McCann have signed up to run for three positions on the Hedley ISD Board of Trustees. The other two posts are currently held by Karen Watt and Tonja Ruthardt.

The Donley County Hospital Board has four positions up for election this year. Those seats are currently held by Jan Farris – Place 4, Jeannie Owens – Place 5, Mark C. White – Place 6, and Lori Howard – Place 7. All four incumbents have signed up to run again.

H.L. Baird is running for the city board in Howardwick where three positions are open. Those seats are currently held by Gene Rogers, Cory Longan, and Robert Brewster.

Clarendon ISD has two trustee positions up this year, which are held by Reneé Betts and Weldon Sears. Only Sears has filed for re-election at press time.

Filing for local positions runs through February 28. Elections will be held May 10.

Planning is underway for the second annual Chance Mark Jones Memorial 5K, which will be held Saturday, April 12, and help fund new playground equipment at City Park.

The race and playground project is sponsored by the Clarendon Lions Club in conjunction with Child Abuse Prevention Month to raise awareness of child abuse.

Last year’s race and subsequent donations, including most recently $1,000 from the Bairfield Foundation, have raised more than $23,000 of the needed $33,000 to purchase playground equipment.

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen gave their blessing to the playground project last week and approved placing the equipment in the southwest corner of the park near the covered pavilion there.

The equipment when installed will be 21 feet by 15 feet and will accommodate up to 29 children in ages ranging from two to 12. The playground will also be designed to include four play components that will meet the needs of children with disabilities.

The race and playground are intended to honor the life of four-year-old Jones, who died from abuse in 2011.

Sponsorships are now being sought for the race and registrations for runners/walkers are also being accepted.

This year’s race will start and end at Clarendon College and will run through town and by the future site of the playground equipment. The start time is 9 a.m.

The event is expected to draw several out-of-town athletes to the community, as running events continue to gain in popularity and participation in them increases. Last year’s event drew more than 200 participants.

For more information, contact Boss Lion Ashlee Estlack at ashlee.estlack@clarendoncollege.edu or 806-874-4808 or 806-662-4687 or Lion Chandra Eggemeyer at tourism@cityofclarendon.com or 806-874-2421 or 325-234-3401. Race registrations are available at the Clarendon Visitor Center at the Mulkey Theatre or online at http://bit.ly/1dF0BdH.