Posts Tagged ‘Suzanne Quillen’

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.”

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.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson was on hand today at a press conference announcing New Mexico’s first Early College High School.

Governor Bill Ricardson speaking at ECHS press conference

The new school will be built in the Arrowhead Research Park on the campus of New Mexico State University (NMSU). It is slated to begin holding classes in the fall of 2011.

The Early College High School(ECHS), a regional project, will focus  on increasing the area high school graduation rates, enhancing career and technical education opportunities, and ensuring that students graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in postsecondary education and the 21^st century workplace.

ECHS will provide new and enhanced opportunities for up to 500 Dona Ana County teenagers. Students will experience an academic environment in a small, active learning community, which includes connections to learning opportunities outside the classroom through industry internships, online learning, and independent projects and participation in dual enrollment. Students completing Early College High School will graduate with a high school diploma and up to two years of college credit, with the potential of earning an associate’s degree.

Dignitaries joining the Governor at today’s press conference included: NM Department of Education Assistant Secretary Dr. Gloria Rendon; NMSU Interim President Dr. Manuel T. Pacheco; NMSU Provost Dr. Waded Cruzado-Salas; NMSU Vice President of Economic Development and former Governor Garrey Carruthers; NMSU College of Education Dean Dr. Michael Morehead; Dona Ana Community College CEO Dr. Margie Huerta; Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Stan Rounds; and Suzanne Quillen, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bridge of Southern New Mexico.

The ECHS is a collaborative effort of New Mexico State University, Dona Ana Community College, Las Cruces Public Schools, Gadsden Independent School District, Hatch Valley Public Schools, The Bridge of Southern New Mexico, and regional business and industry partners.