GRANTS, N.M. – The Grants Cibola County School Board met on September 6 for its regularly scheduled meeting. On the agenda were three presentations to come before the board. The first was a School Site Presentation for Grants High School introduced by Principal Lane Widner. The second was Student Performance Data introduced by the Academics Services. The third was District Safety and Security introduced by the GCCS Safety and Security Team. For the first presentation, the principal of Grants High School, Lane Widner, came before the board to give an overview of the happenings and beginning of the year activities going on for the students to be a part of. Widner then introduced the board to the staff who would be representing the events taking place.
Ms. Jokae Lambson, an instructional coach, gave a report on the demographics and opportunities currently available at the school. Grants High School has a current total of 883 students and 102 faculty and staff. All activities, clubs, and athletics are available with the exceptions of Bowling, Pirate Cheer, and Pirate Dance. She also quickly highlighted some possible career pathways the students could follow.
Ms. Aziel Amper, a math teacher, talked about after-school tutoring being offered Monday through Thursday in room 265 from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Michael Nguyen can be reached at michael.nguyen@gccs.k12.nm.u s to answer any questions. Ms. Amper also mentioned a first ever math club called the “Math (pi)-rates”. December will also be the first annual GHS Interschool Math Competition open for all Grants-Cibola County middle school and high schools.
Mr. Ronald Gonzales, the broadcasting teacher, gave insight to the progress his students are making and praised them on the outstanding collaboration skills they continue to demonstrate. He has high hopes for the future of Angry Jack Productions and invites those who would like to see their progress to go to Angry Jack Productions on YouTube.
Bernard Cabiling, a biology teacher and MESA advisor, thanked the school board for their contributions and highlighted the advantages of having access to diverse teaching methods in the classroom with a focus on experiential learning. He also mentioned a proposed district wide Science Festival of Talents with several activities that are possible. He also introduced the board to the student president of MESA, who spoke about the advantages of being a part of the newly established club.
The Student Performance Data presentation given by Ms. Sanchez showcased the data trends for grades and test scores. The main goal is to help students move forward after experiencing one of the most difficult times they may ever have in their k-12 education.
The District Safety and Security presentation was given by a few of its members to go over plans for the future. These included their weekly meetings at different sites, a possible increase in security guards, security vehicles and equipment purchases, the possibility of a lockbox for firearms, drills and response protocols, coordination with law enforcement, ALICE certification for all staff, the possible implementation of a panic button app, and the possibility of a parent volunteer program to help observe school grounds for increased safety. The board ended the presentation with talk about looking into its budget to build more fencing for the schools.
These meetings are recorded and available to anyone interested in seeing them at www.gccs.k12.nm.us in the Board of Education section of the site.