Math/Science Tutoring Help is Available

Below is an email discussion I have had with Tom Krajci. It is posted with his permission. He is interested in providing tutoring in the math/science area. As I have said before, there are a lot of local resources that our schools could be tapping into, but no one seems to know how to take advantage of them! If any of you have suggestions, how about letting Tom or me know.

On 11/9/2011 6:44 PM, Margo Whitt wrote:

Hi Tom,

There is definitely a need for tutoring in upper level math. I don't know of any formal tutoring list, however, I do know that Debbie Rabon tutored some kids to help them do better on the ACT and it was somehow done at the school during class time. I think that's something that you would need to work out with Roman. Debbie only had a few kids that showed up, but I think she made a big difference to those few kids.

That's just my observation. I'd be glad to post something on the blog. It would be most productive if you first had something worked out with the school so there could be definite times, topics, etc.

Tom's reply today: 

Two weeks ago I called the high school and left a message on Debbie Dalton's machine...offering tutoring help as a volunteer in math/science...asking that she please spread the word far and wide.

Nothing happened.

Last week I spoke with Roman Renteria and told him I was a volunteer tutor, flexible as to time, location, group size, topic, etc.  Roman sounded happy to hear what I had to say.

Nothing happened.

I have wasted two weeks by attempting things through official channels.  Lesson learned for me.

Please tell me of students that need help.  Or tell students about me.  Or tell parents of students about me.  Or get me plugged into the local parents/student network.

Home phone:  575-682-2028

Cell:  575-921-1335

primary email:  tom_krajci@tularosa.net

secondary email:  tom.krajci@gmail.com

Thanks in advance,

Tom Krajci

Any School Board News?

No luck on finding anyone with a recorder, so there is no podcast of the last two school board meetings. If anyone attended them and would like to offer a summary for the blog, just email me.

Looking for Help for November's School Board Meeting

Hello to all who follow this blog. I have been on a fire assignment which caused me to miss the last meeting and will cause me to miss this next meeting as well.

If anyone has a way of recording the meeting and getting it to a .wav file, then I can do the rest to get the podcast completed. If you can help out, please email me and we'll hammer out the details prior to this Tuesday's school board meeting.

Thanks - Margo

School Board Meeting Tuesday October 18, 2011

Here is the agenda for Tuesday's meeting.

School Board Meeting September 20, 2011

The podcast is available for last night's meeting.

The board approved the bid for a retaining wall to run in front of the school along the west side where the flooding occurs.

There was some discussion about the closing of the campus. (under the principal's report). There was also discussion about the grass at the football field (under superintendent's report).

Enrollment at the school has risen to 408 students. Since each student is worth about $8K to the school, that's an extra $160K that the school didn't think it had at the end of the last school year.

Regular School Board Meeting Tuesday Night

Here is the agenda for the school board meeting, to be held on Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 6 p.m.

Athletics Back in the School Day (Part II)

As I stated in my post of August 4, 2011, the following is the reply to my questions about athletics being back in the school day. I continue to have conversations with Mr. Hancock about how athletics has been incorporated into the curriculum, but I don't think it would be in the best interest of the students to publish that. I will share my correspondence offline with any parent or teacher who is interested, just send me an email.

Margo,

1. Will athletics count as a PE credit, and if not, is it an elective?

Athletics will count as an elective.

2. Who will be teaching this "class" and what standards/benchmarks are
being applied?

Certified Teachers/Coaches:  Lane, Watson, Ward, Terry, Rogers

3. What will students be doing when they are not in a sport?

Off season Curriculum, Weights and Conditioning, Dual Credit courses for
students who qualify (sophomores may take dual credit if they have a 3.7
GPA)

4. Is it mandatory that student athletes enroll in athletics during the
7th period?

Yes, but they can change at semester into another course (elective) or
if they qualify may take dual credit.

5. Is athletics still considered extracurricular?

Co-Curricular

6. Will student athletes be expected to practice on Mondays?

Not at this time.

Cloudcroft High School Athletics
Curriculum and Competency Framework
2011-2012

General Competencies

The following general competencies will be addressed in the CHS
athletics elective, regardless of which sport the student had chosen for
his or her focus: 
1. Knowledge and understanding of the activity, including the
history, philosophy rules, terminology, strategies and tactics, and the
value of the sport as a lifetime activity.
2.  Acquisition and practice of skills and of proper attitudes
regarding competition, sportsmanship, cooperation and teamwork.
3. Acquisition and practice of positive values and behaviors,
including work ethics, pride, commitment, motivation, aspiration,
discipline, respect for others, appreciation of healthy competition,
goal setting and attainment, self-control, self-esteem, and individual
responsibility.

Athletic Competencies

The following athletic competencies will be addressed in the CHS
athletics elective, as modified by each instructor based on whether the
student's focus is Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Track & Field,
or Volleyball:
1. Knowledge and understanding of biomechanical, psychological,
physiological, safety, nutritional, and health aspects of the sport.
2. Acquisition of knowledge and skill regarding injury prevention
and care.
3. Participation in a program of progressive fitness designed for
lifelong application.
4. Acquisition and practice of healthy behavior.
5. Cooperation, sportsmanship and developing a proper perspective
regarding competition.
6. Goal setting and achievement.
7. Appreciation of pride in achievement, teamwork, and fair play.

Assessment

Grading will be assessed on participation in and performance of
activities that address the competencies listed above. Students' grades
will be based on attendance and participation in daily activities, along
with a semester exam which will include a physical performance component
and may also include a written knowledge component.  Final grades will
be either "S" or "U." Students earning a final grade of "S" will
received credit for the elective.

If you need any additional information, please contact me.
Thanks.
Lisa Morales

Handouts from August 16, 2011 Board Meeting

Here are the policy revisions which were presented for their first reading at last night's meeting:
Board Member Conflict of Interest (B-0800)
Contracts for Purchases and Services (D-2450)
Staff Conflict of Interest (G-0700)
Prohibited Personnel Practices (G-1900)

Here are the copies I received of the AYP presentation:
PDF version
XLS
Powerpoint

It was also mentioned at the meeting that Shannon Porch will be retiring the first of October. I know all of the Middle and Elementary school kids are going to really miss her hugs and smiles.

Here is the article from the Alamogordo Daily News that ran on Wednesday.

School Board Meeting August 16, 2011

About 40 people showed up for tonight's meeting, even after the extensive robo-calling that the Heart of Dreams (aka Buckhorn Renovation) owners would not be attending. In fact, the owners did send a statement to the school late today, and superintendent Hancock read the statement during the Visitor's section of the meeting. (the podcast is posted at http://cmsbears.podbean.com, the statement is also carried on the school's website under the "superintendent's corner." Bottom line, the owners say they have decided not to open their center in Cloudcroft, a statement which was met with applause.

Mr. Snoddy gave a powerpoint presentation on AYP. I will post a copy of the presentation when I receive it.

There was also discussion about the school upgrading its sound system and making other investments in electronics, with E-Rate funding covering 84% of the $800,000 cost.

During the Superintendent's discussion, Mr. Hancock said that the school had been able to hire everyone back, with the exception of the former transportation director, since enrollment had increased by 11 students since the end of the last school year.

Buckhorn Renovation Speaker Cancels (Updated)

There will still be a school board meeting tonight, but my understanding is that the Buckhorn Renovation will not be addressed and the owner of the Heart of Dreams will not attend the meeting.

Here is the article about tonight's meeting that appeared in the Alamogordo Daily News.

Brochure for "Buckhorn Renovation"

Here is the brochure for the Heart of Dreams facility planned for the old Buckhorn cabins, across the street from the High School. I learned of the brochure from the Adult Probation and Parole folks down in Alamogordo.

School Board Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday, August 16

Here is the agenda for the next school board meeting.

The "Buckhorn Renovation Project," found under "Information" should be a presentation by Mr. John Baldonado, who is renovating the cabins (which are located directly across the street from the High School) to turn them into a "Counseling and Clinic Services" live-in facility called "Heart of Dreams." He is also the owner of Canyon Light Counseling, in Alamogordo. To see more information on Mr. Baldonado, visit www.canyonlightcounseling.com. My understanding is that the department of corrections and the judicial branch refer folks to Canyon Light for counseling on things like sex offenses, substance abuse, anger management, and mental health issues. (When the DOC and judicial branch are referring people, that generally means they are on parole or probation.) It is not clear to me what a live-in facility like Heart of Dreams will mean. In the world of parole and probation, a live-in facility that offers learning and life skills, but where the residents are free to come and go, is called a "halfway house." People are generally paroled there after their stay in prison so they can learn to adjust to society, gain life skills, seek employment, and get counseling for the problems that got them into trouble in the first place. (Did I mention that this is directly across the street from the High School?)

I spoke with Dave Venable today and asked about the facility. I didn't get a lot of information, other than the fact that they will be paying a lodger's tax. Dave said the facility was zoned as a rental facility or hotel or motel. He could not say how long folks would be staying at the Heart of Dreams, nor could he say where they were being employed. He said the facility was to provide "learning skills." My understanding is Heart of Dreams got a variance this week to put a fence around the facility. (Speaking of fences, how do you like that razor wire job around the lift station?)

Athletics Back in the School Day

When registering this week, I noticed that athletics has now been added to the school schedule as a 7th period class. To get more details on how this is supposed to work, I have sent the following email to counselor Lisa Morales, with copies to Roman Renteria and Tommy Hancock.

Since athletics has been added back to the schedule as a 7th period class in the high school this year, I would appreciate knowing:

1. Will athletics count as a PE credit, and if not, is it an elective?
2. Who will be teaching this "class" and what standards/benchmarks are being applied?
3. What will students be doing when they are not in a sport?
3. Is it mandatory that student athletes enroll in athletics during the 7th period?
4. Is athletics still considered extracurricular?
5. Will student athletes be expected to practice on Mondays?

Thank you
Margo Whitt

Special Board Meeting July 28, 2011

While the robo-call (and the agenda) said that the only topic to be covered at this special 8 a.m. meeting was the propane contract, that wasn't the case. About half of the 30 minute meeting was spent going over why Cloudcroft did not make AYP this year. There were several handouts provided by Mr. Hancock, which I have included here:

AYP Quick Facts
AYP District Summaries
Cloudcroft Schools Accountability Reports
Advances in New Mexico's Assessment & Accountability System

The bottom line is, way back in 2001-2002, No Child Left Behind (a Federal program), required states to submit plans with benchmarks. The overall goal was that 100% of students would meet proficiency goals in Math and Reading by 2014. In the classic style of kicking the can down the road, New Mexico set the bar low in the first several years, resulting in catch up in the later years. So now, we're in the later years and the bar is getting raised much faster, and the schools that puffed up and touted how great they were because they were meeting AYP in those earlier years (i.e. Cloudcroft) are now disavowing AYP as a valid measurement of anything, and the state of New Mexico is probably going to seek a waiver so it can create its own measurement of success.

To quote our school's superintendent: "There's two ways to make improvement: either really and truly improve, or make the test easier so that it looks like you're improving." So now that only 3 school districts in the entire state are meeting AYP...New Mexico is scrambling around to change the test.

Here is the article covering the meeting from the Alamogordo Daily News.

Special Board Meeting Scheduled for Thursday Morning

Here is the Agenda for the special meeting, to be held at 8 a.m. Thursday morning.