LPS & Fort Sill honored for cooperative effort
The Lawton Public Schools and Fort Sill have been recognized by the Military Child Education Coalition for their efforts to meet the educational needs of military families living in the school district.
The Pete Taylor Award was established in 2004 by the MCEC to encourage and promote partnerships between military installations and school districts across the country. LPS and Fort Sill received the “Outstanding Partnership” level of the award – the highest possible. Only one such award at this level is awarded annually.
“MCEC proudly salutes the remarkable difference that these schools and military installations are making in the lives of military children,” said Dr. Mary Keller, executive director of MCEC. “By partnering in unique and innovative ways, these military and education leaders follow the example set by General Taylor and remind us once again of the impact that we as a community can have on each military child.”
The award was presented to LPS and Fort Sill for a number of reasons, including the establishment of local advisory, parent and student assistant programs that work to ease the transition of soldiers’ children in and out of the community, along with the creation of APLAS (the Army Partnership with Lawton Area Schools), a program that promotes cooperative projects between the post and the district.
LPS offers basic education classes
Services provided by Lawton Public Schools don’t end with young people. LPS maintains strong adult education programs to fulfill a variety of needs in the community through the Lawton Area Lifelong Learning Center. LALLC programs include Adult Basic Education classes for adults who realize that they need help with such skills as math or reading. It also offers English as a Second Language classes for anyone of any nationality over 18 who wants to learn or improve English reading and writing skills. Participants do not have to be U.S. citizens.
The next round of classes begins Aug. 18. For more information, call 580.355.7727.
Night high school helps adults earn diplomas
Thanks to the Night High School Completion program offered by LPS, adults who don’t have a high school education have a means to earn one. The program is open to residents 18 or older who are not legally required to attend school and who want to take credit courses that can apply toward a standard high school diploma. Residents under 18 may attend if they have officially withdrawn from school, or need to make up a failed course.
Applicants must obtain a copy of their transcript from the last high school they attended and have it evaluated before entering the program so that the correct number of credits can be determined. Program participants can also earn credit in some instances through job training, course tests and military schooling.
Four sessions are offered during the school year. Each meets twice weekly at Lawton High School and lasts approximately eight weeks. Session I enrollment is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 18, with classes meeting twice weekly through mid-October. Tuition for each one-semester course is $135 for students living in the Lawton school district. Tuition for those living outside the district is $270 per course.
More information about the LPS Night High School Completion program can be obtained by calling 580.357.6900.
Four Lawton grads are National Merit Scholars
Four recent LPS graduates have been named recipients of National Merit Scholarships for 2008. Chris J. Bailey and Tyler Behm from MacArthur High, and Brook Sheppard and David Van from Eisenhower High are among 6,400 outstanding high school seniors from around the country to receive Merit Scholarships, which are financed by companies, foundations, businesses, universities and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
The four were selected from students who advanced to the finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship Program and met the criteria of scholarship sponsors. Van qualified for a corporate-sponsored scholarship from Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, while Behm and Sheppard won $2,500 scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corp. Bailey was awarded a scholarship from the University of Oklahoma.
Bailey will major in engineering, while Behm will study mathematics. Sheppard’s career choice is international business. Van has indicated an interest in a medical career.
MMS student invited to youth leadership training
Courtney Barden, an eighth grader at MacArthur Middle School, has been invited to attend the National Young Leaders State Conference, set for Sept. 4-7 in Tulsa.
The National Young Leaders State Conference is a unique experience geared toward eighth and ninth graders. Its intense four-day curriculum focuses on core leadership power tools such as communication, conflict resolution, decision making, goal setting, group dynamics, leadership techniques, project management and self awareness. The program challenges students to step forward, grasp the concepts of leadership and act to make a difference in their communities. With the insight and guidance of highly trained facilitators and the assistance of their peers, scholars work within each activity to hone their plan of personal leadership.
Two named among state’s Academic All-Staters
Lawton High School graduate Joseph R. Gaasbeck and Eisenhower High grad Brooke E. Sheppard were recently honored by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence with their selection as 2008 Academic All-Staters. Only 100 of the state’s most accomplished graduating seniors are selected for the annual honor.
Nominees for the honor must be graduating seniors from an Oklahoma public high school, score at least a 30 on their ACT exam (or an SAT score of at least 1,350), or be selected as a semifinalist in the National Merit, National Achievement or National Hispanic programs. Honorees are selected on the basis of academic achievement, extracurricular activities, community involvement, and an essay submitted as part of the process.
Gaasbeck plans to study engineering at Princeton this fall, while Sheppard will major in international business at the University of Oklahoma.
OERB honors Woodland Hills student
Lawton elementary student Haley Stossel has been recognized by the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board for her artistic talents in a statewide poster contest promoting well site safety. Stossel, who recently completed the fifth grade at Woodland Hills Elementary and is also a participant in the Lawton Public Schools’ gifted and talented program, was presented $200 for her winning poster during a ceremony earlier this month at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City.
The OERB sponsored the poster contest in conjunction with its fifth annual “Well Site Safety Day” celebration. Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas producers and royalty owners, through the OERB, sponsor the special day to increase awareness of the safety dangers children face around well sites.
Haley’s artwork will be included in the 2009 calendar produced by the OERB.
Schools seek business partners
LPS and the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce believe that schools and businesses can work together to produce better schools, an improved business climate and a stronger community. That’s the idea behind school-business partnerships, a collaboration that builds close relationships between parents, students, teachers and their community partner.
Collaborations are not restricted to businesses or industries. Civic clubs and local institutions are also invited to partner with schools. Size isn’t important; partners can be individuals or industries. Partnerships do not have to involve money; they can involve volunteering, mentoring and tutoring. Possibilities are limitless. Schools and their partners develop their own plans based on their needs, interests and ability to help.
Anyone interested in this program should contact Shannon Yarbrough at the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber, 580.355.3541.