Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Once again, we are approaching the time of year when we celebrate Clovis High School graduates who have gone out into the world and excelled in their fields. Organized by the Clovis Municipal Schools Education Foundation, this special event has been held for a number of years at the Clovis Civic Center. The Education Foundation strongly believes it is not only an opportunity to celebrate noteworthy alumni, but also to showcase examples of excellence for our current students,...
Recently, there was a great deal of reading taking place throughout the district. Doesn’t that always happen, one might ask. Of course. However, the recent increase was due to “Read Across America.” Back in the late 1990s, the NEA (National Education Association) wanted to come up with a special day to specifically celebrate reading, so “Read Across America” was born. Technically held on the Dr. Seuss’s birthday (March 2), the event has grown and expanded to weeks and even lo...
We visited Joy Martin’s third grade classroom at Cameo Elementary to learn about their Space Day. With a focus on STEM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), Martin’s students had been working on research projects to learn about the solar system. They’d already gone through earlier stages, developing a variety of projects along the way, working and collaborating with one another, presenting to each other, incorporating a range of research tools and resou...
The importance of music in the Clovis Municipal Schools is no surprise to most. As a school district we have long enjoyed a tradition of excellence in both vocal as well as instrumental programs. It is no longer surprising when we read or hear about our bands and choirs returning from performances and competitions, triumphant in victories, trophies in hand. In fact, it's more of a challenge to keep up with listing the wins of our students, whether for vocal accomplishments,...
Former U.S. business leader Lee Iacocca once noted, “In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest honor and the highest responsibility anyone could have.” In other countries, with demonstrably successful educational systems, one of the common denominators is the high esteem with which their teachers are hel...
Our own junior New Mexico student legislators recently returned from our state capital after completing an internship. The occasion was the 2018 ENLACE New Mexico Legislative Internship program. Adrian White, one of the facilitators, described the experience and the students who participated. ENLACE is a statewide collaborative to connect high school students through university and college partnerships to increase access and success in education. The NM Legislative Internship...
Today’s schools across America are incorporating more STEM into the classroom curriculum and are even adding an additional category, STEAM. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. STEAM represents the same with the addition of Art/Design into the mix. This movement provides support for efforts to prepare our students for jobs that may not even yet exist. The emphasis in no way excludes language arts, math, and social studies; these are folded in. In Joy M...
Remember the classroom days of using a hall pass to go to the restroom, the office, or the nurse? Teachers have become quite creative with selecting objects serving as hall passes, from luggage tags, to oversized objects of all kinds, to funny signs. A particularly noteworthy example was seen in a third-grade classroom at Parkview Elementary the other day. Dropping by to talk with teacher Vicki Guiffre about technology, she invited me to ask any of her students to explain how...
One of the great challenges in education remains effectively reaching students, whether in rural settings or inner cities. Our youth face great challenges these days, perhaps more than ever before. So many factors impact the ability to learn; the breakdown of the family, social pressures, or endless other distractions. One thing we do know: unless we’re able to build relationships based upon trust with our students it will remain difficult to reach and teach our students. T...
Walking into the Clovis Schools central office the other day, the first thing I saw was a table laden with enormous platters of cookies. Several ladies were organizing the plates, clearly getting ready to load for transport. Walking over to chat (no, not to get a cookie), I asked what was going on. I was told this was part of the 1,000 cookies the CMS school cafeterias bake and take to the Lighthouse Mission annually. Surprised, I headed on in to find Paul Klein, director of...
Arriving at the Arts Academy at Bella Vista (AABV) recently, I was just in time to be gently herded by fifth-grader Jasmyn De la Rosa into a seat next to hers. This young lady had a lanyard waiting, connected to an MP3 (audio player), which she gently put over my head, explaining how I would need to insert the earphones shortly. Settling in, we carefully listened to instructions by Christi Hartley, fifth grade teacher extraordinaire, as she explained what would take place...
What makes the music programs in the Clovis Municipal Schools so successful? Many factors could be identified as contributing to our remarkable successes over the years. One that stands out dramatically, however, is strong leadership with uncompromising standards of excellence. Brandon Boerio is the current director of music education, and we were fortunate to recently get a peek behind the scenes. One of Boerio's first comments: “We don't just want music programs; we want p...
Of course we should feel a sense of gratitude for what we have year round, but realistically, the busy-ness of daily life encroaches, and we rarely pause. Except at Thanksgiving. Maybe not such a bad thing, to pause deliberately to savor our blessings. Along with many others, I am extremely grateful for our school district. One particularly noteworthy characteristic about Clovis is the quality of people who live and work here. This community is so loyal to and appreciative of...
“I firmly believe education is the most honorable profession in the world. It’s the key that allows people to really change their lives, and I like being a part of that.” — Joe Strickland, deputy superintendent of instruction at Clovis Municipal Schools One of the nicest guys around, Joe Strickland has knack for bringing out the best in others. Originally from Artesia, Strickland grew up in Clovis and, after graduation, attended Eastern New Mexico University, Lesley Univers...
Why does anyone become a teacher? Asking around — from talking to various teachers to combing the internet — a lot of different answers surfaced. Not surprisingly, responses common to all included: to make a difference; to help kids; to make this world a better place; and to inspire the next generation. The conversations were heartening and reassuring, particularly in this current, crazy state of the world. This also prompted the thought of more in-depth conversations wit...
If you walk into any classroom at Sandia Elementary, you might hear the teacher calling out, “Class, Class;” immediately after which you'll hear the entire class respond, “Yes, Yes!” in exactly the same tone. Sometimes there are funny variations, such as, “Class-osaurus!” to which they reply, “Yes-osaurus!” or “Class-ity-class!” with “Yess-ity-yes!” Matthew Vetterly, principal at Sandia, said the entire school was now on board with a unique interactive system of instruction,...
Walking into La Casita Elementary to meet with Sylvia Martinez, principal, I waited as she finished wiping whipped cream off her face. She, along with some teachers, had just finished up their “Pie in the Face” competition, a great favorite with students. During the recent Hispanic Heritage month, La Casita students studied the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries and did a range of activities, from academic to artistic to fun. Martinez shared, “Among our Spani...
Life can be miserable for kids starting a new grade level at the beginning of the school year when unprepared academically. The New Mexico Public Education Department introduced a program a few years ago called K-3 Plus to help. The idea is: “increased time in kindergarten and the early grades narrows the achievement gap between at-risk students and other students.” The program works by extending the school year for students entering kindergarten through third grades; for tho...
Expect more drama in our schools this year than in the past. Happily, it’s the good kind. Among our 11 elementary schools is the Arts Academy at Bella Vista, an arts-infused K-5 magnet school whose primary focus is “to enhance academic learning through use of arts teaching tools as a learning methodology.” AABV is filled with fine arts activities infused into the regular curriculum, and there is a palpable sense of joy present. At the Arts Academy all students are given the o...
Increasingly, our elementary schools are holding multiple “Literacy Nights” or “Family Nights” during the course of the school year. This provides an opportunity for parents to come by the school, shortly after work, and visit their children’s classrooms. Principals and teachers plan a specific focus for the evening: for example, reading, numeracy, writing, or math skills. Parents not only learn unique tips and strategies for effectively helping their children at home, the...
This past week we received exciting news. A message from the New Mexico Public Education Department indicated Secretary-Designate Christopher Ruszkowski would be arriving at Sandia Elementary School to celebrate our schools receiving an “A” on our state evaluations. Overall we’ve done well; many schools went up a letter grade; others are working on specific strategies for addressing needs and improvements. Details regarding the criteria for school grading can be found on th...
The library at Gattis is more than a place to go to check out books. Librarian Kelly Martin, veteran librarian and certified teacher, brings together the world of technology and creativity. In addition to normal library duties and responsibilities, Martin magically merges these two areas through her digital storytelling classes. The overarching goals of digital storytelling are to teach kids about using computers safely and creatively. This includes developing discerning...
Continuing the topic of effectively integrated technology in the Clovis schools, we took a look at our secondary SmartLabs. We’ve had these labs for a number of years at our middle schools, but have expanded and updated the offerings in the last couple of years, with a view to possibly extending to upper grades as well as elementary schools, with grade-appropriate content. These multi-focused learning environments cover a wide range of topics, from circuitry, computer g...
With each passing year, Clovis Municipal Schools has expanded effective integration of technology in the classroom. Through careful planning schools are increasingly expanding access to current devices, as well as educational programs and software. School sites have multiple mobile laptop carts, shared among departments or grade levels as well as multiple digital tablet carts. Each classroom is equipped with a state-of-the-art interactive projector connected to a digital...
We’re off to a bang-up beginning of another new school year. With new and returning teachers on board, welcoming new and returning students, there’s still great anticipation in the air with our new year under way. Our Clovis Municipal Schools’ Operations Department was extremely busy this past summer. If you’ve happened to drive by the CHS Freshman Academy and Zia Elementary, you will have seen the beautiful new parking areas, much-needed improvements. Along with an extensi...
