Posts Tagged ‘Early College High School’
Early College School to Offer Opportunities
Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News
By Christine Rogel
LAS CRUCES – “It’s not just a school; it’s an opportunity,” said Early College High School student Joel Macias during Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony at New Mexico State University, which drew more than 100 guests.
Artist's Rendering courtesy of Studio D Architects
The Early College High School (ECHS) opened in July to 117 Las Cruces freshmen at its temporary location at Dona Ana Community College. The first phase of construction will be complete by the summer of 2011, according to Las Cruces school district Superintendent Stan Rounds. Within four years, the school can boast a maximum of 500 students.
The school will be located within the Arrowhead Research Park at NMSU under a lease agreement with Las Cruces Public Schools. The 65,000-square-foot facility is designed by Studio D Architect of Las Cruces and will be constructed by GenCon Corp. of Las Cruces. It will feature classrooms with state-of-the-art technology, a cafeteria/multipurpose center, a student commons area, and administrative and counseling offices.
“It’s so high tech it will make your head spin if you are my age,” Rounds said.
Students also will continue to utilize facilities and labs at both NMSU and DACC, Principal Jennifer Amis said.
Advocates say that the school reflects best practices in education resulting in a national graduation rate of 90 percent. The school aims to reduce the dropout rate by engaging students in the college process early, offering small class sizes and real-world applications in coursework, officials said. Students graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree.
Rounds said that the ECHS will not only provide students with more individual attention, but is also more affordable to run and build as costs were reduced through partnerships with NMSU and DACC. For example, the district doesn’t have the additional expense of building a gym or library because students will use university facilities instead.
ECHS will cost around $18 million and serve 500 students, compared to the new high school under construction on Dripping Springs, which will have between 1,500 and 2,000 students, and cost around $110 million, resulting in a total cost per savings of 16 percent per ECHS student, officials said.
The Early College High School is the first in New Mexico to take advantage of New Mexico House Bill 33. Instead of spending $18 million to build the school, Las Cruces Public Schools will lease the building for six years, paying 4 percent interest on the certificate of participation bonds, and make no lease payments until the campus opens in August 2011. In the sixth year, the school will buy out the lease for the principal amount of $18 million, paying off the loan with future bonds.
Rounds also credited The Bridge of Southern New Mexico for helping to launch the project. The Bridge was created through an education committee initiative of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce that formed the Regional Education Initiative, which led to community discussions regarding school attendance and graduation rates.
Christine Rogel can be reached at (575) 541-5424.
NMSU Wins $1.5 Million for Further Improvements to Arrowhead Drive, Research Park
Release courtesy of NMSU News Center
July 26, 2010
NMSU photo by Harrison Brooks
WRITER: Justin Bannister, 575-646-5981, jbannist@nmsu.edu
CONTACT: Vickie Galindo, 575-646-5265, vigalind@nmsu.edu
The U.S. Economic Development Administration has awarded New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Center a $1.5 million grant for infrastructure improvements to the Arrowhead Business and Research Park and to expand the newly created Arrowhead Drive.
The Arrowhead Business and Research Park covers 224 acres at the southern end of NMSU‘s Las Cruces campus between Interstates 10 and 25. Its goal is to link scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs in developing emerging technologies that contribute to the state’s economic development.
“This funding will help the park continue its expansion and aid us in attracting companies seeking to work with NMSU faculty members and students,” said Pam Wood, research park director.
The university completed a mile-long extension of Payne Street through the research park earlier this year. This new grant will allow the university to expand that section of road, now named Arrowhead Drive, from two lanes to four. The grant will also allow NMSU to finish the park’s wastewater system, to install street lighting and to conduct an engineering study to help better plan for the next stages of development.
The Arrowhead Center won a similar, $900,000 grant from the EDA to help pay for construction on the first part of Arrowhead Drive and its accompanying utilities. Other money for that project came from the state of New Mexico, local road funds, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and NMSU.
“These investments by the Economic Development Administration and other partners are not only making the park more accessible and attractive to new businesses, they’re also helping lay the groundwork for a lot of exciting developments yet to come,” said Vickie Galindo, Arrowhead’s director of business development.
The Arrowhead Business and Research Park’s most recently completed building, Spaceplex 2, is home to General Dynamics and opened last summer. The park’s next building will be more than 8,000 square feet and broken into smaller, 1,700-square-foot pads for businesses intending to establish themselves before jumping into larger spaces. That building is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in the coming weeks.
Other plans for the research park include working with the Las Cruces Public School District to construct an early college high school where high school students could take college-level courses for credit.
Classes Begin for New Mexico’s First Early College High School
Release courtesy of The Bridge of Southern New Mexico
The first early college high school (ECHS) in New Mexico opened its doors to students on 
Tuesday, July 6, 2010, when approximately 116 LCPS freshmen began classes. The new high school, the fifth within Las Cruces Public Schools, will temporarily be housed within the Dona Ana Community College (DACC) for the 2010/2011 school year.
LCPS Superintendent Stan Rounds said, “This school is the direct result of community and educational partners coming together to address the future of our local students,” said Rounds. “It began with a dream, molded itself through the Bridge initiative, and now I’m proud to announce we have our first class of students.”
The Bridge (formerly known as the REI – Regional Education Initiative) brought together private business, public and higher education, government, and economic development, to find solutions on reducing the dropout rate and better preparing graduates for the workforce.
“This is a really great day for our community and it shows the impact of people coming together to seek solutions together,” said Suzanne Quillen, chairwoman of The Bridge of Southern New Mexico. “The early college high school is nationally a best practice for reducing the dropout rate and preparing young people to successfully enter the work force.”
Rounds said the LCPS ECHS will offer students the chance to earn not only a high school diploma, but also to graduate from high school with an associate’s degree and credits toward a bachelor’s degree. The ECHS will emphasize science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) classes, entrepreneurship, along with career and technical education (CTE) courses.
Students were selected by completing an application and participating in a lottery drawing. The first class of ECHS freshmen (the class of 2014) will begin their high school careers with “a ninth-grade experience that will ignite their interest in education by providing relevance to their academics through high quality career and technical education (CTE) studies,” said Jennifer Amis, principal. “More than half our students will be the first in their families to attend a college or university.”
“This collaborative project has opened up a new avenue to higher education, one that affords greater access for many of our community’s youth who otherwise might have seen college as just a distant dream. Early College High School is about turning those dreams into reality while, at the same time, strengthening our workforce,” said Dr. Margie Huerta, DACC president. “The opening of this innovative school is proof that DACC, LCPS and NMSU can work together effectively to improve educational opportunities.”
“Nationally, early college high schools have a 90% graduation rate,” said Tracey Bryan, executive director of The Bridge. “They offer smaller learning environments and real-world applications in the coursework. This will give students a firm foundation on which to build a strong future for themselves, their families and their communities.”
By the summer of 2011, construction will be complete on a permanent eight-acre ECHS campus on Arrowhead Research Park on the western edge of NMSU. The state-of-the-art classrooms facilities are currently being designed by Studio D Architects of Las Cruces in collaboration with GenCon Corporation, LCPS, and the Arrowhead Development Corporation.
NMSU Opens Payne Street Extension through Arrowhead Business and Research Park
Article courtesy of NMSU News Center
Photo by Fred Shepherd
April 27, 2010
WRITER: Justin Bannister, (575) 646-5981, jbannist@nmsu.edu
CONTACT: Vicki Galindo, (575) 646-5265, vigalind@nmsu.edu
A mile-long extension of Payne Street through New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Business and Research Park is now open. The new road, and its accompanying underground utilities, will allow for the park’s continued growth and better connect it with the rest of campus.
“Without this road, we couldn’t continue developing the park,” said Garrey Carruthers, dean of the NMSU College of Business and vice president for economic development. “This road lays the infrastructure necessary to help us attract the kinds of companies that hire our students, offer internships and create jobs in the region.”
The 257-acre business and research park is located on the south end of NMSU’s Las Cruces campus between Interstates 10 and 25. The new road extension stretches south, through the park, from the intersection of Payne and Wells streets to Sam Steel Way.
“Academically, this research park is a place where our students will eventually be engaged in hands-on applications, working with companies in search of solutions that they have identified in the classroom,” said Kevin Boberg, CEO of the Arrowhead Center. “Economically, it’s estimated that once fully developed, the entire research park could contain more than two million square feet of office and lab space where 5,000 to 6,000 people would work. This road enables us to realize those benefits.”
The road project represents nearly $2 million in investments, including a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Other money for the project came from the state of New Mexico, local road funds, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and NMSU.
Photo by Fred Shepherd
The first 11 acres of the park under development are adjacent to the new road. The most recently completed building, Spaceplex 2, is home to General Dynamics and opened last summer. The park’s next building will be more than 8,000 square feet and broken into smaller, 1,700-square-foot pads for businesses intending to establish themselves before jumping into larger spaces. That building is currently under construction with an occupancy date set for later this summer.
Other plans for the research park include working with the Las Cruces Public School District to construct an early college high school where high school students could take college-level courses for credit.
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Paving NMSU’s Road to Future Business Development
Release Courtesy of NMSU Communications & Marketing Services
Photo Courtesy of NMSU
Bulldozers are rolling through a chunk of desert owned by New Mexico State University. The heavy equipment is building a new road and laying utilities to better connect NMSU’s Arrowhead Business and Research Park with the rest of campus. The project is also expected to help attract new investments, new clients and eventually thousands of high-paying jobs to the park.
The road will extend south for approximately one mile from the intersection of Payne and Wells streets to Sam Steel Way, which runs parallel to Interstate 10. Construction is scheduled to be complete in March 2010.
The project represents nearly $2 million in investments, including a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Other money for the project came from the state of New Mexico, local road funds, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and NMSU.
“The road will really open up the whole park,” said Kevin Boberg, Arrowhead Center’s CEO. “We can’t do any other development without the utility backbone the road delivers.”
The business and research park is located on the south end of NMSU’s Las Cruces campus between Interstates 10 and 25. The first 11 acres of the 257-acre park are already in development. The most recently completed building, Spaceplex 2, is home to General Dynamics and opened last summer. The next building scheduled for construction will be nearly 8,000 square feet and be broken into smaller, 1,700-square-foot pads for businesses intending to establish themselves before jumping into larger spaces.
Other plans for the research park include working with the Las Cruces Public School District to construct an early college high school where high school students could take college-level courses for credit.
“Without the infrastructure, we wouldn’t be in a position to take advantage of these opportunities,” said Vickie Galindo, Arrowhead Center’s director of workforce innovation and business development. “We would not have been able to make this happen without the EDA and help from New Mexico Secretary of Economic Development Fred Mondragon.”
