By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute is preparing for a visit this summer by a team representing the Council of Occupational Education, a national accreditation organization. This is the first attempt for the institution to be accredited by the COE.
Darrell Rodriguez, team leader of the COE team that is scheduled to visit the campus June 3-5, made an initial visit to the school's Forrest City campus on Friday. He is the dean of the Louisiana Technical College in Oakdale, La. and the Louisiana statewide coordinator for corrections education in his state.
The COE, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., gives accreditation to over 1,200 schools across the country and in Puerto Rico.
"I will lead the five-person team that will visit in June," said Rodriguez. "We make recommendations to the council on schools that should or should not be recognized by the COE. The council itself makes the final determination, but we are their eyes and ears. After a school is accepted, we visit the school once every five years to determine if a school is meeting our 10 standards."
According to information provided by CRTI, the 10 standards include: Institutional Mission and Objectives, Educational Programs, Program and Institutional Outcomes, Strategic Planning, Learning Resources, Physical Resources, Financial Resources, Human Resources, Organizational Structure, and Student Services and Activities. All 10 standards must be meet for a school to be considered for the COE.
"My visit today is to advise the school and help them prepare for our June visit. I will look at where they are in meeting our standards and determine what, if anything, needs to be worked on. I am here to advise them and prepare them for what we are looking for."
Rodriguez also talked about some of the benefits that students will be eligible to receive if the school is accepted. "It will insure that students will be able to receive Pell Grants and other types of stipends. Also, they will benefit from receiving a degree from a COE-recognized school."
Burl Lieblong, president of CRTI, said he felt that Rodriguez's visit went well. "Mr. Rodriguez said that he felt that we are 97 percent ready for the inspection in June. There were minor house-keeping things, such as the set-up of our self-study area in regards to exhibit boxes, but nothing major. I feel we are on our way."
CRTI is one of 120 schools that will be visited by COE teams this year. Each visit, according to Rodriguez, is to make sure that each school, whether currently a member or applying for membership, is complying with COE regulations.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Many high school students around the state have traditionally enjoyed going to school for only a partial day during their senior year, then leaving for work, play, whatever, provided they are meeting the requirements for graduation.
That will change with the fall semester in 2004, when Act 675, which was passed during the recent legislative session, goes into effect. It requires all students, including seniors, to attend 350 minutes of class each day, whether they have met all the requirements or not.
Locally, Forrest City School Superintendent Lee Vent said this morning that he "can't even venture a guess at this point," on how many students might be affected, "but I do know it's a considerable number."
While the new law sounds strict, exceptions can be allowed. A school board can allow a student to work because of financial hardship.
"If a student is working in support of his family -- and I'm sure we'll hear a lot about this -- there could be a waiver granted by the local school board," said Vent.
Other than hardship cases, though, it won't be that easy to get out of school in the afternoon.
"Otherwise (other than hardship), students must be involved in a bona fide vocational training program approved by the Department of Education," said Vent. "Just having a job in the afternoon will not be justified."
Vent said he believes it is going to become moot, anyway, as standards increase. He said the district is increasing its graduation requirements.
There is also the matter of what the Legislature might do when it convenes in the fall to address a state Supreme Court mandate on education.
"Each additional credit required for graduation requires more time in class," said Vent. "The situation will, in a sense, rectify itself in time.
"But it's still a problem in many places, because kids, some only needing senior English, are getting out early. However, that's going to be getting harder and harder to skirt around, because over the last few years, we have increased graduation requirements. And the new standards will make it a moot issue."
It may be more of a problem in some schools. In a story published in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Gene Bottoms, senior vice president of the Southern Regional Education board and founding director of the High Schools that Work initiative, said he had recently visited a high school and couldn't find a senior in the building after 10 a.m. But when he pulled their scores on the ACT Assessment, 80 percent were identified as needing redemption.
Three people, two of them young children, were killed in two separate one-vehicle traffic accidents over the weekend in the Arkansas State Police Troop D area.
The first accident took place at about 3:53 p.m., on Interstate 40, near Forrest City.
According to the report, to Toyota pickup driven by Timothy Lee, 29, of Greenville, Miss., was east bound near the 243 mile marker when Lee apparently lost control of the vehicle. The pickup crossed the median and overturned several times. According to the report, Lee was ejected and landed on the entrance ramp to the west bound rest area.
Lee was transported to the Med in Memphis, where he was later pronounced dead.
The second accident took place at about 4:11 p.m. on state Highway 149 south of Earle in Crittenden County.
The State Police report states that a Toyota Camry driven by Jessica Evans, 23, of Earle, was traveling north bound on Highway 149. The driver apparently lost control. The vehicle want off the roadway and came back onto the road, and flipped several times before coming to rest upside down.
Two children passengers were killed in the accident. One was Isiah Jefferson, age two months, and the other was Elijah Evans, age 3, both of Earle. The report stated that both children were in child safety seats. Evans was transported to Crittenden Hospital in West Memphis.
An eight-year-old child who police believe has been left at home alone on several occasions, sometimes for more than a day, was taken into police custody Friday evening.
The Forrest City Police Department reported the girl was found crying inside her home on Day Street by a landlord attempting to collect rent on the structure. The landlord then notified the child's grandmother.
Police reported the child was inside the residence which had no running water, and she was dirty and had no food. Dirty clothes were also reportedly scattered about the house.
The grandmother told police she had been left unattended on several occasions and had missed several days of school. The girl told police she had not seen her mother since Thursday, and the mother could not be contacted by authorities.
The case has been turned over to the Department of Human Services. No charges have yet been filed.
An inmate at the St. Francis County Jail reported Friday that he had been attacked by two cellmates earlier in the week.
Thaddeus W. Shawd, 40, of San Antonio, Texas, told officers with the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department that he was asleep in his bunk in an upstairs cell block on Monday when he was attacked by two cellmates.
According to the report, Shawd said the two suspects jumped on him and started hitting him before one of them kneed him in the face, knocking four of his teeth out. He also said he unsuccessfully attempted to place one of his teeth back his mouth, but could not find the other three which were thrown into a trash can by the suspects, according to the report.
The investigation is continuing.