Adapting to the times

CLOVIS - As times change, so do schools. The Clovis Municipal Schools Board of Education on Tuesday discussed ways the district can augment its educational offerings to adjust to the changing times.

First, Robin Kuykendall, the director of extended learning at Clovis Community College, discussed an early college high school program that would allow Clovis students to graduate with their high school diploma and an associate's degree, certificate or license simultaneously.

Kuykendall said the partnership between CMS and CCC would serve Clovis High School students looking to either accelerate their college career or enter the workforce in a technical field straight out of high school.

Kuykendall said with most programs, students would still be eligible for high school athletics and extracurricular activities.

She said the program could begin as soon as the fall of 2019 and would likely initially operate with about 50 students but could expand to 200 or more in future years.

"I'm excited because I go both ways," Board President Terry Martin said, referring to his presence on the CCC board of trustees.

The next agenda item was a discussion of the CMS iAcademy, a proposed alternative school that would include a hybrid of two days in-class and three days of virtual school at home for students from sixth grade through high school with a focus on science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Joe Strickland said there are about 375 students in the last two years who have left the district but still live in the area and the CMS iAcademy would be a way to bring those kids back into Clovis schools, which could provide additional state funding.

"To me honestly this is a Band-Aid to try to catch these kids that were leaving, but five, 10 years down the road if we don't do some drastic changes to what's going on just in the regular classroom, we're really going to be behind ... Education is really moving in this direction anyway," Strickland said.

He said students of the CMS iAcademy would be housed at Lincoln Jackson Elementary for the in-class work, with the program beginning as soon as August 2019.

"I think it's a fabulous option and I appreciate the fact you are trying to reach all of the kids, the very at-risk kids and the kids who are not necessarily at-risk but they don't like the current configuration. I'm a big fan," Board Vice-President Cindy Osburn said.

Stephen Reynolds, president of the National Education Association in Clovis, told the board that he supported the proposed alternative school but he wanted the district to wait until after the upcoming legislative session before making any decisions regarding the CMS iAcademy due to potential changes in funding or educational guidelines from the state.

"While (incoming Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham) is making those changes and considering what she wants to do, those kids are still wandering off from our district and will never be recaptured," Superintendent Jody Balch said.

Both topics were discussion items on the agenda for which the board did not take action.

Board member Paul Cordova was absent.

Also at Tuesday's meeting (all votes 4-0):

• Barry Elementary Principal Tori Teague gave an update on the school.

Teague said the school's goals for this year are to raise math and reading proficiency by 10 percent in each grade, improve the school culture and increase family engagement.

• The board approved an updated health handbook.

• The board approved 17 changes to board policy, tabling an item regarding extracurricular activity eligibility for its next meeting.

Thirteen of the 17 approved changes dealt with transportation. Deputy Superintendent of Operations Carrie Bunce said the majority of the changes had already been made in practice but not the board policy, so she didn't expect parents and students to see much of a difference, if any.

• About 20 members of the Clovis High School Chamber Choir performed three Christmas carols at the beginning of the meeting.