Richard Gives Principal’s Report
By John Earp
At the December 15th meeting of the Jal Board of Education, Jal Junior High Principal Nathan Richard gave the Principal’s Report for the junior high and high school. He began by noting the enrollment numbers for the junior high were 114 and for the high school were 165 for a total of 279, with a net increase of one student since the previous school board meeting. He noted the basketball season has started, saying the seasons would be going “full force” right after the Christmas holiday. He noted the Lea County Expl0rer Program came to speak with the students about opportunities to become pre-interns in various possible career paths, including the police department, EMS, fire, the medical clinic, with students having opportunities to go along with professionals in various fields to gain knowledge in those areas.
Richard mentioned that the Junior High Spelling Bee was coordinated by Mrs. Savoie, whom he said did an excellent job, with Elijah Earp winning the bee. Earp will represent Jal Junior High in the Lea County Spelling Bee next Monday January 12th at 6:30 p.m. at Tydings Auditorium on the campus of Hobbs High School. Mr. Snider, Mrs. Earp, and Mrs. Crawford asked why more students did not ask for the words to be used in a sentence, noting how some had been eliminated because they did not ask for the word, such as “chance” to be used in a sentence. Earp proudly stated that this was her third kid to win the Jal Junior High Spelling Bee. Snider and Richard noted that the spellers often forget to ask for the word to be used in a sentence. Richard congratulated Elijah for winning the bee, and also congratulated the runner-up, Urijah Maes, who “also did an excellent job.”
Richard mentioned that the school had recently had a CTE (career technical education) consultant named Sharon West to come to the district. West met with administrators as part of the CTE Initiative of Cooperative Educational Services (CES), getting a feel for what the district is doing and wanting to do to expand its career technical education opportunities. CES in New Mexico supports public schools through cooperative purchasing, educational services, and professional development programs, and was established in 1979 through a Joint Powers Agreement to assist New Mexico’s public schools by providing cooperative purchasing and educational services. It serves all 89 school districts in New Mexico, along with 81 other public education institutions, including charter schools and post-secondary institutions. CES aims to be a trusted partner for educational institutions, offering resources and services that enhance education and operations. It focuses on providing value, convenience, and exceptional customer service to its members. CES helps schools save time and money by soliciting bids and proposals on a state and national level, awarding contracts on behalf of its members. This ensures that schools receive the best overall value and pricing in compliance with New Mexico Procurement Code. CES offers various professional development programs, including the Leading Educators through Alternative Pathways (LEAP) program, which prepares teachers for success in diverse classrooms. This program emphasizes evidence-based strategies and hands-on classroom experience.
West toured the facilities and met with students to discuss what they liked about the CTE programs, engagement, and to get a feel for what the students are interested in learning, whether college or technical training. He said he looked forward to what the CES program would help the district put into place, including internships.
Richard noted that the Winter Expo was currently going on, with some “amazing food” prepared by the Culinary Department, “which I did not taste, because I didn’t want to get my suit dirty before this, but please, if y’all get out early enough to stop by, we’re going to have music, we’re going to have games and door prizes and contests and actually, we have 120 little tiny rubber duckies that are either in a Christmasy costume or dressed like a penguin in and around the building, so every time somebody brings them by, we give them a prize. So, go find a little rubber ducky. The teachers are there to show off student work and present it all over the place. Our Industrial Arts Program has Christmas decorations that are there, available for donations. A lot of things going on, so please come and visit. That’s one of my favorite things we do all year.”