Category Archives: Education

MSMS Teacher Wins National Award After Years of Perseverance

By Columbus, MSMS, The W

Info courtesy of The Dispatch

MSMS teacher Lauren Zarandona, who was first nominated for the national Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in her first year of teaching at the school, has won the award, thanks to her tireless effort and commitment to excellence! She has applied four times, and ended up as a state finalist three of those years, before finally winning the big one this time: “I was excited because I finally did it,” Zarandona said. “This has been an eight-year process for me.” She will accept the award in person in Washington, D.C. during the second week of September, and go home with a ten thousand dollar prize.

Lauren Zarandona, who teaches math at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, has won the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, a national award that recognizes math and science teachers. Photo by: Luisa Porter/Dispatch Staff

Lauren Zarandona, who teaches math at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, has won the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, a national award that recognizes math and science teachers. Photo by: Luisa Porter/Dispatch Staff

Zarandona has taught math classes at MSMS for eight years, teaching on a variety of subjects, up to and including pre-calculus & Statistics.  “That’s actually really fun as well,” she said. “Kids look forward to it. It’s a pretty popular class.”

“It’s neat when you can capture the imagination of students who don’t consider themselves ‘math people,'” Zarandona said. “I don’t think there’s such thing as a math person, but a lot of people do. They will immediately find out I’m a math teacher and (say), ‘Oh, well, I’m not a math person.’ I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, but I do know that for those kids, stats and logic and game theory and those other courses can be a way for them to see that maybe they’re better at math than they realized.”

Kelly Brown, director for MSMS academic affairs. Brown called Zarandona “the best of the best . . . She is the perfect person to meet those students wherever they are and help them go where they want next”

You can read the full article here:

http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=52359

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MS State’s Professor Flick Retiring After 45 Years [VIDEO]

By MSU, Starkville

MSU’s Professor Flick Retiring After 45 Years

 

STARKVILLE, Miss. (Courtesy of WCBI)

Dr. Hank Flick, communications professor with a grand 45-year career at MSU, is hanging up his mortarboard. He first joined the university in the 1970’s, where he had gone to earn his Master’s degree – and things just kind of ballooned from there: “I never planned on being a teacher,” he said. “This is something I never wanted to do, not that I had any problem with it, but it was just something that opened up to me.”

Since then, he has never missed even a single day of work. He remarked, “I just love it here at Mississippi State. I love the students, I love the classroom, and love means commitment. I’m committed to this.”

He also served as a PA for some time: “I worked there for 32 years,” he said. “I started doing basketball then I did football, then I did track and I did a couple of baseball games.”

In his retirement, Flick plans to focus on book authorship and research; his third volume is planned for this Christmastime.
Flick said he has a genuine love for all of his students, which made his decision to retire a tough one.

Read more at WCBI:

Former MSU Professor Retires After An Illustrious Career

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Old Train Depot Renovation Steams Ahead in Preparation for Shops and Apartments

By Business, Columbus, Main Street, Real Estate, The W

Old Train Depot Renovation Steams Ahead in Preparation for Shops and Apartments

 

Courtesy of The Dispatch

After two years of hard work, California developer/preservationist Gayle Guynup has completed external renovations to the old Train Depot on Main near the W, and will soon begun work on the inside of the dilapidated 130-year-old structure. She stated that, among other major fixes, a new roof was put on the building, along with removal of a secondary structure. Guynup’s intention is to have a few apartments on the upper level, and commercial space on the ground floor; she hopes to have most of it leased out and occupied within nine months. “We would have loved to have had a single tenant that could have taken over the whole property,” she said.

Columbus contractor Gene Reid walks in front of the old depot on Main Street in Columbus Thursday. Finished with exterior renovations, Reid is soon to begin building apartments on the second floor of the historic structure. Photo by: Luisa Porter/Dispatch Staff

Columbus contractor Gene Reid walks in front of the old depot on Main Street in Columbus Thursday. Finished with exterior renovations, Reid is soon to begin building apartments on the second floor of the historic structure. Photo by: Luisa Porter/Dispatch Staff

Gene Reid Construction was responsible for the exterior fixes. “I think right now, we’re tentatively looking at four to five apartments, most likely four,” said Reid, adding once the permits are approved, the apartments should take six to nine months to complete. “What we’re probably going to do is build two small, efficiency-type apartments, plus two to three larger apartments.”

Please see the full article here: http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=52147

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GTR Early Workforce Initiative Produces 153 Students with National Credential

By Education, Golden Triangle, GTR LINK

The Golden Triangle LINK’s Early Workforce Initiative program, now in its second year, has been a resounding success, helping to prepare GTR-area students for college and for future jobs by helping them to earn credentials based on scholarship via the ACT testing program. This helps to recognize students’ potential and desire for training in specific fields, so that their curricula may be tailored towards fields in which they are likely to excel – and, hopefully, truly enjoy! And that’s Good for Business…and our kids’ Education!

PRESS RELEASE – From GTR LINK

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Mississippi – Now in its second year of implementation, the Golden Triangle Early Workforce Initiative has seen positive improvement in WorkKeys testing among area high schools.

A total of 273 students took the test with 153 earning ACT’s National Career Readiness Certificate. Last year, only 124 students took the test, with a little more than half receiving the credential.

“We’re thrilled with the numbers in our second year,” said Macaulay Whitaker, VP of Internal and External Affairs with the Golden Triangle Development LINK. “It shows how invested these schools are in providing real, meaningful opportunities for their students futures. Overall, we’ve facilitated 239 students earning a nationally recognized credential that will propel them into the workforce.”

According to EMCC, historical data indicates that the 66% of test takers in the Golden Triangle receive a Silver or higher score.

“We have already seen students benefit from this opportunity and enrolling in technical programs,” said Chrystal Newman. “This is setting them on a path to a successful career, providing them with direction before they graduate high school and the chance to get a head start on their future.”

The GTR Early Workforce Initiative (EWI) is part of an effort headed by the GTR LINK further provide workforce development efforts in the region. A committee representing all three counties and levels of development has been formed to continue to develop plans for the regional workforce to meet the demand of current and potential developments.

The EWI was provided to students through a subsidization from the Golden Triangle Development LINK Trust, a private investment group committed to the development of the region. Each high school was offered up to $5,000 to subsidize all testing fees for students. EMCC provided staff, training materials, on-site and in-hours testing as well as support for teachers and counselors guiding students through the process.

“We listened to feedback from our schools and community during the first year and committed that this test should be provided to students for free,” said Joe Max Higgins, CEO of the GTR LINK. “We hope that one day it will be given to all graduating seniors, just like the ACT.”

As defined by ACT WorkKeys, the test is a job skills assessment system that helps employers select, hire, train, develop, and retain a high-performance workforce. This test is commonly used in the Golden Triangle by employers to measure trainability, among other skill sets. Test takers that achieve a Silver or higher score on the test earn ACT’s National Career Readiness Certificate.

For more information about the GTR Early Workforce Initiative, contact Macaulay Whitaker at [email protected] or call 662.328.8369.

For more information about WorkKeys testing for high school students, contact the EMCC Workforce Services Team at 662-243-2686.

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EMCC’s GTECHS Enrollment to Double

By EMCC, Golden Triangle, Uncategorized

EMCC’s Golden Triangle Early College High School has been a resounding success, graduating all sixty of their freshmen to 10th grade this past year. Enrollment is expected to double this fall for the still-relatively-new school, which opened its doors last year, with a fresh batch of sixty frosh on the way. the plan is to continue adding sixty freshmen each year. This “early college” school is the first of its kind in the state, allowing students to learn more, sooner, and earn college credit while they’re in high school. The Junior and Senior years will be comprised almost exclusively of college-level courses for these ambitious youngsters.

Courtesy of the Dispatch

Rising sophomores enrolled in East Mississippi Community College’s Golden Triangle Early High School pose along with school staff for a photo that accompanied acceptance letters to incoming freshmen who will start at the school in August. Photo by: Courtesy photo

Rising sophomores enrolled in East Mississippi Community College’s Golden Triangle Early High School pose along with school staff for a photo that accompanied acceptance letters to incoming freshmen who will start at the school in August. Photo by: Courtesy photo

GTECHS, the first early college high school in Mississippi, opened in the fall of 2015. The pilot program is the result of a partnership between EMCC, the Mississippi Department of Education and Mississippi State University.

“This innovative program is for students who may be first-generation college students, but they don’t have the confidence to think they will do well,” MDE Associate Superintendent Jean Massey said in a press release on the agency’s website. “The school is also for students who need an alternative to the traditional high school setting.”

Savely said for the first two years the GTECHS students attend classes together as they would at a traditional high school. In their junior and senior years, the bulk of their time is spent taking regular college courses. The majority of those courses are dual credit and count towards the students’ high school diplomas and college degrees.

“I think from an administrative standpoint, a principal in a really big school is disconnected from the students because the student body is so large and there are so many other things that demand attention,” Savely said. “Here, I have an opportunity to connect with the students. They know my door is always open and that they can reach me by email or by phone.”

Savely said application to GTECHS is open to any eighth grade student — whether they attend public or private school, or are homeschooled — in Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee or Oktibbeha County. She said applications are usually available in January. Last year GTECHS students chose the Wildcat as their school mascot and blue and gold as their school colors.

“When someone walks down the hall in that area we want them to know this is the Golden Triangle Early College High School,” Miller said.

Click here for full article: http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=51093

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MSU’s iCreate Camp Gives Teens the Chance to Run a Business

By Business, Education, MSU, Retail, Starkville
Lauren Graham and Caroline Parker, seniors at Lamar School in Meridian, tell customers about their custom pieces at the iCreate pop-up shop at Mississippi State's Visual Arts Center on Saturday afternoon. The shop featured the work of students who attended an entrepreneurial camp at the university this week. Photo by: Mary Alice Truitt/Dispatch Staff

Lauren Graham and Caroline Parker, seniors at Lamar School in Meridian, tell customers about their custom pieces at the iCreate pop-up shop at Mississippi State’s Visual Arts Center on Saturday afternoon. The shop featured the work of students who attended an entrepreneurial camp at the university this week. Photo by: Mary Alice Truitt/Dispatch Staff

MSU recently played host to seven Mississippi students and one Georgia student, in their first-ever iCreate camp. The students learned about creating a new shop and put the theory into practice, and MSU hopes to continue the program’s success. This program, and others like it that could appear in the future, will prepare our young people for life beyond school, while giving them a solid grounding in the realities of working at and running a store. And that’s Good for Business!

Courtesy of the Dispatch

The students put together a business plan and set up a boutique jewelry store in six days.  The students also took time to visit established jewelry boutiques around Starkville and talk to business owners in the community. They also heard guest lecturers from the university. Friday they set up the store and Saturday they opened for business in the Visual Arts Center on University Drive. Within a couple of hours of opening their doors, they had made a little over $300. Prices were mostly in the $25-50 range.

“Just the simplest piece in the room can make any item of more value to the customer,” said Alex Ridge, a rising 10th grader from Pontotoc. “Marketing isn’t just selling things to the customer.”

Anmol Narang, a senior at Brookhaven Academy, sorts materials at the iCreate pop-up shop at Mississippi State's Visual Arts Center on Saturday afternoon. The shop featured the work of students who attended an entrepreneurial camp at the university this week. Photo by: Mary Alice Truitt/Dispatch Staff

Anmol Narang, a senior at Brookhaven Academy, sorts materials at the iCreate pop-up shop at Mississippi State’s Visual Arts Center on Saturday afternoon. The shop featured the work of students who attended an entrepreneurial camp at the university this week.
Photo by: Mary Alice Truitt/Dispatch Staff

Camp Coordinator Justin Hall credited the students for the camp’s success. Student-driven camps always depend on the dedication and strength of the students, and he had a really great group this year, he said. “It’s been a great experience I think, so far, for everybody.”

Read the full article here: http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=50896

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Over 1,500 8th Graders Expected to Attend Special Career Expo This Fall

By Business, Education, Golden Triangle

We all want our kids to succeed in life. One way to help insure this is to get them started early. Northeast Mississippi’s own CREATE is planning to give 8th graders the chance to get a serious head-start to help them answer the immortal question: “What WILL you be when you grow up?” … And that’s Good for Business!

Info courtesy of the Dispatch (Op-Ed):

CREATE logoMike Clayborne, president of the CREATE Foundation, says eighth grade is a good time to start thinking about one’s future career path. CREATE, a community development organization for 17 counties in northeast Mississippi, will hold a career expo for thousands of eighth-graders in October at the BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo.

It is often difficult for young students to see the correlation between what they are being taught in school and how those lessons are applied in the working world. When students understand the practical applications of what they’re exposed to in the classroom, they are far more likely to embrace their studies.  As the modern workplace becomes more specialized, with workers being required to have specific, advanced skills, it is important young students begin to prepare themselves at an early age.

CREATE is asking for community support to ensure the success of the expo. Private citizens or organizations can sponsor students or serve as volunteers, while area businesses and industry can participate as exhibitors.

To learn more about the career expo or to volunteer or sponsor a student, contact Albine Bennett at CREATE at 662-844-8989 or email her at [email protected].

You can learn more about the CREATE Foundation at their website, here: http://createfoundation.com/

You can read the full article and find more info at this link: http://www.cdispatch.com/opinions/article.asp?aid=50800

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Summer Jobs for Teens

By Business, Education, Golden Triangle, Retail

Many teens take up summer jobs in order to earn some cash, get exposure to handling their own finances for the first time, and to learn to take orders (in more ways than one!). Many more, however, either do not – or, in today’s economy, cannot. One could quite reasonably argue that kids having jobs is good for the area, good for the kids, and good for the future of the local workforce, because of how it expands the number of people who are familiar with how work really works. And that’s Good for Business!

OP-ED courtesy of the Dispatch –

While we don’t begrudge students a break from their academic work, we believe there is much to say for using the summer to gain experience for the real world of work they will soon enter once their school days have ended. This is not simply conjecture. A 2013 Brookings Institute study found that finding a job as an adult is harder for those who did not work during their teen years. The study also found that kids who worked in high school earned wages that were 10 to 15 percent higher after graduating from college.

While education prepares young people for a life of work, there is no substitute for personal experience. These are fundamental lessons: Showing up on time, being prepared, taking direction, meeting goals, working with others, solving problems and any number of other experiences a person typically encounters during the work day.

We encourage all teens to actively pursue work this summer. We also implore businesses to make room for those young people. It benefits the business and the community. We want our young people to be well prepared for the adult world. That’s why we send them to school, after all.

As has been said, a mind is a terrible thing to waste. So, too, is a summer.

Read the full article here: http://www.cdispatch.com/opinions/article.asp?aid=50742

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Partnership: EMCC and MUW sign new articulation agreement

By EMCC, Golden Triangle, The W
EMCC President Dr. Thomas Huebner, left, and MUW President Dr. Jim Borsig formally sign a new articulation agreement to benefit Manufacturing Technology & Engineering graduates from EMCC. (Photo courtesy of MUW University Relations)

EMCC President Dr. Thomas Huebner, left, and MUW President Dr. Jim Borsig formally sign a new articulation agreement to benefit Manufacturing Technology & Engineering graduates from EMCC. (Photo courtesy of MUW University Relations)

Agreement provides baccalaureate pathway for EMCC’s Manufacturing Technology & Engineering graduates

Press Release date: May 25, 2016 – from EMCC

MAYHEW – An articulation agreement signed today by East Mississippi Community College and Mississippi University for Women will enable EMCC students who have earned Associate of Applied Science degrees in industry and manufacturing areas to transfer seamlessly to MUW.

“EMCC works to give people the tools they need to improve their lives by making it possible for them to build better, stronger career paths,” said EMCC President Dr. Thomas Huebner.  “Our team at EMCC offers many levels of instruction, from GED programs for people who don’t have high school diplomas to honor programs for university-bound students. Central to this mission is the idea of providing options that allow students to build on an increasingly firm educational foundation. That’s what makes this partnership with MUW so life-changing for our students.”

Under the new articulation agreement, MUW will accept up to 43 technical credits in addition to academic coursework, allowing EMCC’s Manufacturing Technology and Engineering graduates to make the transition more easily and begin working toward a university degree.

EMCC secures $2.7 million grant

Another driving force behind the articulation agreement came from EMCC in the form of a three-year,
$2.7 million grant from the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training program.

“This grant enabled EMCC to create the Manufacturing Technology and Engineering division three years ago, combining credit and non-credit workforce training,” said Dr. Raj Shaunak, EMCC Vice President for Workforce and Community Services. “Associate degree programs involving modern industry and manufacturing were moved under the MTE umbrella. Since then, the MTE division has also introduced four new programs and created staff positions, called Navigators, who counsel students and help steer their paths as they pursue their American Dream.”

Read the full article here: http://www.eastms.edu/news/Pages/emcc-muw-articulation-may-2016.aspx

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Starkville Trustees, MSU, LINK Are of One Mind on Industrial Site

By GSTP, GTR LINK, MSU, Starkville

A new industrial park is on its way to Starkville, which will help to attract new big business and enhance extant ones – and that’s Good For Business!

Courtesy of The Dispatch –

Mississippi State University  and The Greater Starkville Development Partnership Board of Trustees (GDSP) have announced their support for the GT LINK’s plan to develop about 400 acres north of the Highway 25-Highway 82 interchange into a new industrial park.  MSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development David Shaw weighed in: “We must not waste it,” Shaw said of the proposal in his statement. “Not having a 21st-century park is holding us back. In my three decades at Mississippi State, I have seen a lot of great changes take place in our community when people make tough decisions and invest in the future. I believe that we can do that again by developing this new industrial park.”

Supervisors previously dedicated $7 million toward the project, and the LINK seeks a similar contribution from aldermen.

“[The chosen site] was identified by the … LINK as the ‘best site’ and ‘best value’ for an industrial park in Oktibbeha County,” the resolution states. “Successful industrial recruitment can result in an expanded tax base and provide much needed living-wage jobs to the citizens of Oktibbeha County. … The community must take advantage of opportunities presented for the development of the industrial product in order to be competitive in the industry.”

 

Read the full article here: http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=50150

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