Education roundup — March 12

Health department releases vaccine data

The New Mexico Department of Health released vaccine exemption data for each public school district in the state March 5.

Clovis Municipal School District ranked No. 30 on the list of state districts, with 48 exemptions for 8,411 students, or 0.6 percent. Melrose ranked third with 3.3 percent of students with exemptions in the district, Fort Sumner ranked eight with 2.2 percent of students with exemptions in the district, Texico ranked 14th with 1.1 percent of students with exemptions in the district, and Portales ranked 28th with 0.7 percent of students with exemptions in the district.

According to a press release from the Department of Health, New Mexico law requires children be vaccinated to attend school, but exemptions are allowed for medical and religious reasons.

Senate bill 563 dies in senate

A bill that would add 25 school days to the year for students in K-5 died in the Senate Rules Committee Monday. Senate Bill 563, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Cervantes from Las Cruces, aimed to shorten long summer breaks with the goal of improving student achievement. The proposed state constitutional amendment was defeated on a 4-2 vote.

Governor appoints three ENMU regents to board

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez appointed three new regents to the Board of Regents at Eastern New Mexico University March 6. According to a release from the school, the new appointees are Terry Othick, Susan Tatum and student regent Veronica Ayala.

“We are pleased with the selection of the new regents,” said ENMU president Steven Gamble in the release. “They each bring unique skills and experiences that will greatly benefit Eastern New Mexico University, especially the students. We look forward to them helping us continue Eastern’s tradition of excellence in providing a quality education at an affordable price.”

Local cheerleaders take first place at UNM invitational

The Marshall Middle School Cheerleaders took first place in the “School Cheer with Music” And “School Game Day Divisions” March 7 at the University of New Mexico Spring Spirit Invitational in Albuquerque. According to a release from Clovis Municipal Schools, the School Game Day Division placed an emphasis on crowd involvement and the use of crowd leading material such as signs, poms, flags and megaphones.The team of 12 is coached by Charly Gibson. More than 65 middle school and high school teams participated in the competition.

“A Night of Dance” will display local dance team talent

The Clovis High Varsity Wildcadettes are hosting a night of dance 6 p.m. Monday at The Rock. Five teams will showcase their competition routines for the audience. Admission is free. Dance teams featured include the Clovis High Varsity Wildcadettes, Clovis High School Freshman Academy Wildcadettes, Marshall Middle School Sparklettes, Yucca Middle School Chap Dancers and Gattis Dance.