Posts Tagged ‘Jennifer Amis’

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

By Reyes Mata III

LAS CRUCES – Arrowhead Park Early College High School – an ambitious venture to slash dropout rates – heralded a major accomplishment during its ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday at its new campus.

“One hundred percent of the sophomore class progressed from ninth grade to 10th grade on time,” Principal Jennifer Amis told the crowd of about 450 people who gathered at the New Mexico State University-based high-school campus.

Some of the parents in the crowd who were cheering that announcement say they support the strong academic curriculum and zealous advancement of students that the new high school emphasizes.

Francisco Silva, a parent of a freshman, said the Arrowhead experience is keeping his son on track for a stable future. “He has all these options at Arrowhead High School that he would not have had somewhere else. The education is very intense.”  His wife, Rosa Maria Silva, said she was very pleased with her son’s experience so far, adding that “he will be ahead of the game if he stays here.”

Jose Garcia, secretary of the New Mexico Higher Education Department, took the podium and said the dismal dropout rate of the state’s children is unprecedented. “For the first time in New Mexico’s history, the older generation is better educated than the younger generation,” he said, citing census figures that show fewer New Mexicans are achieving degrees in higher education. “That’s not good and we need to do something about it.”

The state has traditionally “not done a good job of improving the dropout rates of high school and college,” he said, and added: “But this school has proven they can reduce dropout rates to zero.”

Using a public-private funding hybrid, Arrowhead Park Early College High School – which officials stated cost $82 million less than a comparable school construction project – is the future that some state officials want New Mexico schools to look like.

“Thank you for creating the picture of what this state needs,” said state Education Secretary Hanna Skandera. “We now have a perfect model, a literal model,” she said, adding that her advice to the state regarding reducing dropout rates would be: “Go down and take a look at Las Cruces – they delivered.”

Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Stan Rounds echoed the same sentiment: “This is a zero-dropout place,” he told the crowd. “More than 60 percent of these students are the first in their families to go to college. And, to date, not a single one has dropped out,” Rounds said in a statement prepared earlier.

A high-school degree at Arrowhead will also entail a college-level associate’s degree, clearing the way for a four-year degree from a university, said Barbara Couture, NMSU president. “That is progress, a seamless transition of a college education,” she said of the school.

The school – part of the LCPS system – opened in July 2010 at Dona Ana Community College. Last August it moved to NMSU’s eight-acre site. The school currently has 115 freshmen and 115 sophomores, administrators said. Next year, the school will accept an additional 125 students, then an extra 125 students will be accepted the following year to reach the 500-student capacity, said Gabriela Alaniz, dean of students, and Yolanda Juarez, office manager of the school.

Officials at the event credited the Bridge of Southern New Mexico with bringing the private and public sectors of the area together to create the innovative school.

Reyes Mata III can be reached at (575) 541-5405.

Article courtesy of  the Las Cruces Bulletin
By Todd G. Dickson

Calling it an historic day, local education officials and students of Las Cruces Public Schools’ Early College High School broke ground Friday, Sept. 17, for the new high school at New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Research Park.

The academic-oriented school designed to give high school students a college experience began in July with 166 freshmen attending classes at Dona Ana Community College.

The ECHS effort is a partnership between LCPS, NMSU and DACC, as well as the Gadsden and Hatch school systems.

“I believe this school will go down as one of the most signifi­cant accomplishments of these institutions,” said Connie Phillips, president of the Las Cruces School Board.

Isaac Pino, NMSU regents’ president, said the new school marks a new relationship between higher education and the public schools to meet the needs of the business community.

LCPS’ Early College High School (ECHS) is the first of its kind in New Mexico, but follows the national model of providing academically focused instruction on a university campus. Students at an early college high school earn college course credits while also meeting require­ments to graduate high school.

In the case of LCPS, students at ECHS can potentially graduate with not only a high school diploma, but also an associate’s degree through dual-credit courses.

Nationally, the approach has seen great success in keeping kids in school – with only a 5-percent dropout rate – and nearly all who graduate go on to college studies.

Creating an ECHS was championed by members of The Bridge, a regional education improvement effort that promotes regular conversations between the public schools, higher education and the business community.

Margie Huerta, DACC president, praised individuals in The Bridge for bringing everyone together to make ECHS happen. Huerta told students from ECHS at the ceremony that this shows how people can make a differ­ence for many others.

“We’ve come together because we believe in you,” Huerta said.

Suzanne Quillen, who chairs The Bridge, said the new school is critical to launching careers in fields important to the community – especially in aerospace and health care.

Superintendent Stan Rounds praised his school board for being willing to take a “leap of faith” to support creating the innovative and non-traditional high school.

At the entrance of Arrowhead Research Park, the new 65,000-square-foot high school on 8 acres will be able to house up to 500 students.

Because of the rigorous academic focus, the school’s location on a university campus and smaller school size, early college high schools don’t offer the kind of extracurricular activities found in regular high schools, such as band. ECHS will have some arts programs, Rounds said, but the school will have a strong focus on technology.

“This school is going to be so high-tech it will make you dizzy,” Rounds said.

Principal Jennifer Amis said she expects to have 250 students attending by next July.

Amis interviewed students and their families to select the first students for ECHS. They had to apply to attend the school, which Amis said makes them more self-selected and focused. While the students come from a wide range of backgrounds and interests, Amis said the characteristic she was looking for in the students and families was their “total commitment.”

Two ECHS students spoke at the ground breaking.

Freshman Joel Macias said he plans to study engineering and ECHS provides the serious classroom environment he needs to pursue his studies. He described being part of ECHS’s first class as “an opportunity and an honor.”

ECHS student Alexus Zapien said she plans to study child psychology and that the school’s students see themselves as trailblazers. “There is a zero tolerance policy for failure” at ECHS, she said. That non-acceptance of failure isn’t daunting, she said, but “challenging and exciting.”

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.

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.