Some residents on board with Freshman Academy move

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of stories looking at Clovis Municipal Schools plans for closure and repurposing. The series will continue over the next three weeks.

Among the changes proposed by Clovis Municipal schools in their Facilities Master Plan is the moving of the CMS Freshman Academy to the campus of Clovis High School.

Some local residents seem to support the proposal.

Michelle Bjorklund had two of her three children recently attend the Freshman Academy.

“I wish they would have done it sooner. My kids were bused back and forth between CHSFA and CHS throughout the day and it was hard on testing days or days when transportation just wasn’t available,” Bjorklund posted on Facebook.

Samantha McKenna wrote via Facebook Messenger, “I have three kids. My last will go to ninth grade in a couple years.”

McKenna wrote last year her son went to the Freshman Academy and was in JROTC.

“It was inconvenient being in two schools back and forth. I feel like the school would be better utilized for another elementary school or the I-Academy,” McKenna wrote.

McKenna noted she has seen the ninth and 12th grades in the same school “and the kids do just fine.”

“I don’t see the problem,” McKenna wrote.

Cindy Whary’s children have graduated.

“But I always felt ninth grade should be at the high school. My daughter was in band, so it would have made a difference for us,” Whary wrote via Facebook Messenger.

“I was born and raised in Clovis…One thing I have noticed is that Clovis struggles with change so when change occurs it is upsetting to people,” Keri Reeves posted on Facebook.

Reeves told The News Monday her children have all graduated.

“But my daughter was in band from ninth to 12th grades and was back and forth on the bus as a Freshman,” Reeves wrote via Facebook Messenger.

Reeves believes the change is a good idea.

“It will be more of a high school experience with better options for classes…Freshmen will have a chance to be a part of extracurricular activities,” Reeves wrote.

The academy is now located at 1400 Cameo St.

The need for change stems from a state requirement that 85% of a school’s capacity must be in use before it can be eligible for matching state funds, CMS Superintendent Renee Russ told the school board at their March 19 meeting reported earlier in The News.

CMS typically receives 68% funding from the state Public Education Department.

.”The bottom line is our footprint is too large and we have to make decisions on how to shrink that footprint,” Russ said in the meeting.

Executive Director of Strategic Planning & School Support Gloria Mendoza addressed at the last school board meeting and led the discussion of moving the Freshman Academy to Clovis High.

As reported earlier in The News, Mendoza said this wasn’t a foreign idea to the board as this has been under consideration since the creation of the freshman facility.

“The goal is to have a school within a school,” Mendoza said.

Deputy Superintendent Jay Brady told the school board the freshman core classes will be isolated in one region of the high school campus, so ninth-graders will not routinely interact with older students.

If the proposal is approved, the current Freshman Academy facility would be repurposed for an I-Academy wing, now located at Lincoln-Jackson and space for a student support services office.

The Freshman Academy proposal has the facility at CHS by August, 2025.

As for the building on the CHS campus that will house CHSFA - would it be new, would it be using present buildings - CMS Superintendent Renee Russ wrote in an email the details “are far from being determined.”

“This is one of the main reasons to have at least one planning year if the board approves the current recommendations in the Facilities Master Plan proposal,” Russ wrote.

Russ noted what has been determined is CHSFA is it would continue to have separateness from the main CHS campus.

“To include separate offices for administrative staff, separate drop-off and pickup, and separate location of core content classes,” Russ wrote.

Russ pointed out the advantages would be walking-distance access to Career and Technical Education pathway courses, to AP and other advanced coursework, and to extracurricular participation that now requires bus transport from the Cameo St. location to CHS with the travel time resulting in “the loss of valuable learning and participation time.”

“Another important point is that the initial intention when CHSFA was created was that it would eventually return to and become a part of the main CHS campus,” Russ wrote.

According to the CMS website details on the Facilities Master Plan the move will help facility use of CHS as 40% of the high school “is not being utilized.”

The website also details:

• Sharing a single campus allows for students to have equity in access to all programs.

• Students will spend more time in the classroom instead of waiting on buses to transport between sites.

• Students will have more opportunities to take classes at different times in the day.

• Scheduling won’t be limited due to times when teachers are available.

• Access to Career Pathways and AP Pathways will not be limited.

• Freshman Academy students will be able to attend pep rallies and other events at CHS.

• Freshman Academy students will have access to use lab facilities at CHS.

The plan notes Freshman year will allow students to transition gradually into high school, to get a feel for the academic rigors, and to receive support with social pressures that may occur with being around older students.

The plan also notes the setup “allows for connections between the Freshman Academy and Clovis High School–through sports, after-school activities, CTE courses and advanced classes.”