By Jennifer Middleton, Jimplecute
Jefferson Independent School District’s Board of Trustees heard a presentation on a student trip to Boston, approved a teaching permit for law enforcement classes at the high school and received a check for $8,000 from a local bank during their regular meeting Tuesday.
Hannah Wales, a senior at Jefferson High School and president of the JHS chapter of the Distributive Education Clubs of America gave a presentation to the board on how beneficial attending the conference would be for the four chapter officers who plan to attend. She said that their attending and participating in learning labs at the national conference would help them build relationships, recruit additional members and give them the tools to not only keep members engaged, but to also help the students learn much-needed skills for their future.
“This will help us grow our leadership skills and understand our leadership styles,” Wales told the board. She added that she took leadership of the local chapter in her sophomore year and made it what it is until last year, when groups and clubs did not meet due to the COVID school closures. Last year, their membership was 10 and this year, they have 15 members. She added that the Pittsburg ISD chapter was also planning to attend.
After some discussion, the board approved the trip, which will be held right before Thanksgiving break. It will be paid for through Career and Technical Education funds.
In other business, trustees approved a local teaching permit for JISD Officer Sherill to be the “teacher of record” for the four online law enforcement classes the district offers.
“We have been struggling with keeping that law enforcement pathway and this will help us keep that going,” said Dr. Lynn Phillips, JISD’s director of curriculum. “We do have student interest in that and it’s worth hanging onto.”
She said that previously, they had only one or two students in the program and that now there are 12 to 15 students interested in it.
While there is a facilitator for the program, adding Officer Sherill as the teacher of record would allow him to teach the students about specific aspects of law enforcement, share his experiences and enhance the learning opportunities in the program, she said.
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Melinda Fuquay (left) with North East Texas Credit Union, presents an $8,000 check to Jefferson Independent School District Superintendent Rob Barnwell (right) on Tuesday during the JISD Board of Trustees Meeting. The money is from a cash back rewards partnership with the credit union. Fuquay said that during the years JISD has partnered with the credit union, that $62,000 has been donated to the school.
“This will give them way more benefit and they can rely on his experience,” Superintendent Rob Barnwell told the board. “That’s the best thing they can get.”
Officer Sherill will also have the opportunity to bring in other law enforcement personnel to talk with the students and give their experiences, as well.
The courses offered include Principles of Law, Public Safety and Corrections, Law Enforcement I and Law Enforcement II.
Melinda Fuquay with North East Texas Credit Union also presented the board with a check for $8,000 during Tuesday’s meeting. The funds are from a cash back rewards program offered through the use of select debit cards within the community. The district has participated in the partnership for the last few years, and Fuquay said that during that time, the credit union has donated a total of $62,000 to the school.
The board also set Oct. 1 as the date for them to do a walk-through of the junior high and high school facilities. Trustee Leah Cooper said it was important for them to do this early in the school year because it gives them time to consider what they might need to do down the road.
“It’s always nice to see what has been done, where we need to be planning ahead and where do we have problems,” she said.