Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Even though we have returned to normalcy, most would agree we are still experiencing residual effects of the pandemic. One ongoing challenge in our schools is consistency in school attendance. Students in home environments where there is little or no parental involvement or support struggled to keep up when we were all having to function virtually, and virtual attendance was a perpetual problem. In returning to school physically, it’s remained a significant challenge to get s...
“National Read Across America Day” was March 2. Launched in 1998 by the National Education Association, it has come to be a well-established annual celebration in school districts across the nation. The idea is to celebrate reading by carving out a special time to motivate students to read. This event also happens to coincide with the birthday of Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, whose stories and characters are sprinkled throughout the event. In our district, man...
In past years, we have shared information about our Federal Programs Department, covering all the varied activities which, in fact, have changed during the last couple of years. Now called LCARS, the acronym stands for Language, Culture, & At-Risk Services. Under the LCARS umbrella, we have our Family Services partnering with schools to increase school attendance, help with community resources, empowering families to become self-sufficient. In addition, Family Services...
Parents and guardians will be aware of many of the safety practices in our schools. They will have read documentation, heard information, listened to talks and/or received news about safety features and measures at their child’s school. Fact is, the idea of safety in our schools has changed considerably over the years. Between the long-ago days of my own childhood, when the “iron curtain” was feared, and we were told to “duck and cover” (under our school desks) and today’s c...
Taking advantage of a recent opportunity to sit in on part of a training for a district-wide behavior program – “Capturing Kids’ Hearts” (CKH), I stayed longer than planned. The company trainer was positively galvanizing, exhibiting all the wonderful traits and features of the program itself. It was evident the Yucca Junior High school staff were fully engaged and actively participating. The idea of the CKH program is to proactively build positive relationships between...
The famous quote, “It takes a village to raise a child,” is apparently an African proverb that exists in a wide variety of African languages across the continent. Not only has it come to be popular in our own culture, but it has also recently taken on greater significance. While things have returned to normal – albeit a new normal – we, in education, are still dealing daily with the residual effects of the pandemic. Readers may have noticed ads, job fairs, and other messagi...
The Taste-Testing Panel crew is at it again. Our Clovis Municipal Schools food services department remains increasingly proactive when it comes to encouraging students to eat healthy foods. Last fall our nutrition crew, headed up by Deborah Westbrook and Sharon Garcia, began taste-testing in the district to solicit feedback from students when new food items are introduced. The first taste-testing was done at CHS Freshman Academy. With positive response from the student test...
If you have a child’s heart … you have a child’s mind. This is the premise of a behavior program we have been implementing the last few years called, “Capturing Kids’ Hearts.” This research-based program provides the training and skills for social-emotional wellbeing, relationship-driven culture, and student connectedness. Yucca Middle School is one of our sites that has been determined in efforts to implement this program with fidelity. The intricacies of the program are...
“The Clovis Municipal Schools is committed to the optimal development of every student,” reads the first line of our district's Wellness Plan & Implementation Guide. Although it follows state and federal guidelines, it has been tweaked to best suit our own community. Developed by the School Health Advisory Council committee, this sizable, living document is regularly adjusted to accommodate new or changing needs. The SHAC committee comprises CMS staff from a wide variety of...
Every year, enrollment at each school site varies, some years more than others. The last couple of years have seen a somewhat more extensive shift in enrollment numbers. This is hardly surprising, given the tumultuous times of the pandemic period. Partly as a result, partly due to naturally evolving and changing instructional needs, we have undergone various systemic changes. One of these is the creation of a position called TOSAs — Teachers On Special Assignment. Taking t...
Although none of us would like to repeat 2020, we did gain some valuable skills in having to learn how to effectively function in a variety of new ways, both in face-to-face (socially distanced) situations as well as in virtual environments. Our technology skills and knowledge blossomed overnight in just about every arena, including our Employee Services Department (formerly known as Human Resources). After returning to a more or less normal working situation, many...
On Friday, there were pumpkins, jack-O’-Lanterns, corn shucks, costumes, candy, cupcakes, and much more abounding across the district, celebrating Halloween since it fell on the weekend this year. Walking into the Arts Academy at Bella Vista, I found myself almost immediately at the end of the line of Ruth Bridgwater’s second-grade class, making their way to the library. These little ones insisted I join them in their “Tour of the Spooky Library.” Librarian Jamie Petty, all dr...
If you’ve never seen the delight of itty-bitty students launched upon a pumpkin patch, then you haven’t lived. Educator extraordinaire Kathi Shaw is now in her 33rd year of teaching early childhood grades and is still all smiles and warm laughter when interacting with her students. While Shaw has spent the majority of her teaching career in pre-K, she also taught kindergarten, second and third grades. Hearing about a field trip to a local pumpkin patch, I contacted Shaw to hea...
As many are aware, music education is an important part of our school district's offerings. We have long maintained extremely high standards, with outstanding certified music educators at every school site, from kindergarten through 12th grades for many years. Research has shown unequivocally that music supports and enhances cognitive development across all other subject areas. A poster recently encountered reads, somewhat abbreviated: “Why Music? Music is Math (rhythm b...
Accepting an invitation to tag along on a tasty expedition recently with our amazing food services folks who have been working on some expansive projects was an hour well spent. With the craziness of the pandemic year, along with students coming back to more or less normal attendance this school year, the numbers for cafeteria meals for students have been inconsistent. Since precise planning is key in feeding our students, it’s useful to be as consistent as possible, particula...
Having waded through a difficult past year, many of the common traditions seem to have taken on greater significance. One of these is “homecoming.” While the actual origins of homecoming are uncertain, the event and its associated celebrations have been around since the 1800s. Dropping by Clovis High School to hear about this year’s homecoming preparations, I experienced a delightful revelation: faith in humanity, specifically, our youth — restored. The CHS Student Council...
We have always provided additional help via tutoring and a wide variety of intervention programs for those students needing it. During the past year and a half, that academic help has expanded even more than usual, given the challenges students experienced during the past year. One of our most successful programs was our CMS Summer Academy held this past summer. We had an amazing turnout, with over 600 students enrolling in this program. Ordinarily, the grades covered in a...
According to the School Nutrition Association (SNA), “today’s school lunches meet strict nutrition standards, including limits on calories, sodium, and unhealthy fats.” They report that 30 million students enjoy healthy lunches every school day, which include: at least three quarters of a cup of vegetables; a half cup of fruit; and entrées including whole grains and lean protein. With rigidly enforced high standards, especially combined with the challenges presented by not on...
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” are among the last lines of Emma Lazarus’ sonnet, The New Colossus, written for a fundraiser for the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty still rests. Regardless of one’s stance on immigration issues, as a public school district we welcome all students; our doors and hearts are open to all who cross our thresholds. I’m reminded of our bilingual programs from La Casita and Lockwood elementary...
The beginning of each year is always filled with a variety of preparations before students walk through the doors; professional development, meetings, trainings, and such. I do believe this year has been unique in that all of us — from students to teachers to custodians to food service workers to support staff to principals — have responded to this year’s school start with a new sense of appreciation, having endured this past year. A return to simple normalcy, more or less,...
A pent-up eager anticipation is in the air. It usually is this time of year, but generally more for students. This year both staff and students are excited about coming back to school in person. Both new and returning staff are noticeably more animated, as are students. With a difficult stretch behind us, it’s not surprising we’re all so ready to be together again in person for this adventure called school. With the flurry of activities — staff trainings and workshops, stude...
One of the more amazing entities within our district is Food Services. Under ideal circumstances, the daily feeding of up to 8,000 students — twice in a day — seems incredible. However, during this past year of the pandemic, the performance of this department was nothing short of miraculous. While most stayed home, figuring out how to function in the new virtual, online work environment, our incredible Food Services folks never missed a beat as they continued to function, as...
An essential department functioning primarily in the background is our Operations Department. John King, deputy director of Operations, oversees the myriad activities that go on behind the scenes, essential tasks and responsibilities that keep us up and running as a district. The Operations Department ensures we have clean, safe, and secure buildings where teachers can come teach and students can come learn. When King stopped by and began talking about all the projects and...
As with other organizations, school districts have a department that deals with all things relating to the people who work there. This department is typically called, Personnel or maybe Human Resources … HR, for short. While HR is often a group satirized in media for being the bearer of bad news and pink slips, it's a necessary function in an organization. In the Clovis Municipal School district, this department is called “Employee Services.” An opportunity arose to chat...
It's no surprise to most that education has changed dramatically in recent years. One of the reasons is, of course, the integration of technology in many forms: from the network infrastructures to integrating devices, such as laptops, wireless projectors, digital tablets, online learning environments, and more. The physical walls of the classroom have come down, so to speak. There are many other factors influencing change, both positive and negative. Like it or not,...
