Posted inEducation, Culture, Carter Update

Jimmy Carter ECHS opts for PRIDE as a school-wide Carter Core Values program and integrates Carter Connect, a mentoring program for all students.

by Ivan Silva

Jimmy Carter ECHS opts for PRIDE as a school-wide Carter Core Values program and integrates Carter Connect, a mentoring program for all students.
As the school continues to grow and refine its message for students, community, and personnel, a shift in focus towards internal motivation and the core of what moves students was the apt choice for the campus. Carter initiated a campus-wide core values program integrated into the first-period advisory and Path to College Success curriculum. RedWolves have PRIDE ties together the values of perseverance, respect, integrity, discipline, and excellence, which build on the district mission and PBIS rules of being safe, responsible, and respectful.
This program rolled out this academic year as students returned to in-person instruction. Students have been away from the classroom for almost two years.
“It seems like a year or two is nothing, but to our kids, being out of the classroom and disconnected from the community and campus was rough. They lost the practice of engaging with others and how to interact in a classroom. PRIDE is helping the school reintegrate core values that we all feel are important to our community,” dual enrollment instructor Ivan Silva said.
The core values program came about through teacher input and feedback from the last several years in which the campus discussed what the students needed to work on and build on to leverage their academic pursuits in the near future. JCECHS took on how we get our students to take ownership of their learning and actions.
“The values are what the Carter family should display at all times. We have perseverance. We have respect. We have integrity. We have discipline. We are excellence.” Ms. Yesenia Torres said.
Additionally, the campus has also started a mentoring program called Carter Connect. Every student has been paired with an adult on campus who will serve as a mentor when the student is at Carter. For freshmen students, that means that they will have the opportunity to build a solid and committed relationship with an adult mentor over the next four years.
“Carter Connect has been a great way to make connections in an informal way that is more conducive to building relationships,” Mr. Agustin Arias said. “It makes it easier for teachers to be school teachers and not just classroom teachers.”
Carter Connect will foster relationship building, small group dialogue and allow students to discuss things they are concerned about with one person they can reach out to outside of the traditional curriculum conversations.
“It is beneficial especially for seniors who have questions about what to study and get opinions from an adult to talk about the future and careers. It is good to have solid and mature advice from an adult,” senior Patricia Puente said.
Carter students are engaging in conversations about their values and what it means to live them. The program rollout included a booklet and graphics that define each value and provide examples of the values in activities related to student life. Each of the values is closely integrated into PBIS rules. The idea was to add something that would be accessible to students and teachers. Students bring so much knowledge and experience from home, but teachers are tasked with making the connections to the real world that bring value to the students’ lives.
“The program is something that is needed,” senior Carlos Montes said.

Posted inSchool Pride, Education, Community, Carter Update

Jimmy Carter Early College High School has won a College Success Award – Gold

by Ivan Silva

JCECHS has received GreatSchools.org’s inaugural College Success Award – Gold!

As a recipient of the College Success Award in 2021, 2020, and 2019, Carter received the first-ever College Success Award – Gold distinction for a multi-year track record of preparing students to enroll and succeed in college. Carter is among 1,770 high schools in 26 states to receive the Gold Award.

“I feel like we have accomplished a lot and just proving that most Hispanics who come from low incomes and higher incomes can come together and graduate and be successful,” sophomore Mariana Alanis said.

The school’s community at Carter works at coming together and offering opportunities to all students to bridge the gap between high school and college coursework. Although the school is unlike a comprehensive school and its primary focus is academics, Carter faculty and staff make it a primary objective to create unique experiences that students will remember and make them experience high school as a right of passage that they have fond feelings for.

“I like that we include everyone at the campus. Not many schools do that. They just focus on a specific part of the group. I know my sister does not participate in many things, and they don’t include her in stuff. I like that our school is inclusive of everyone and that everyone feels welcome and free to be who they are,” Sophomore Class Vice-President Valeria Segovia said.

In its fourth year, the College Success Award program evaluates public schools based on data that show how well our school prepares students to succeed after graduation, including whether they enroll in college, are ready for college-level coursework, and persist into their second year.

“It’s good that the school continually pushes the idea of success. The point is that it is for our benefit and future. Jimmy Carter does a good job of reminding us what we need to do and to be ready for our future,” senior Oscar Vargas said.

Carter is set to continue its commitment to school with PRIDE: Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Discipline, and Excellence to ensure that all students are prepared for their success today and tomorrow.

Posted inSchool Pride, Education, Leo’s Club

Leo’s Club

Adamaris O. by Adamaris O.

One of the many clubs our school has for students of all grade levels. Not requiring much to join other than a bit of time to help out in our community.

The Leos Club is sponsored and run by Yesenia Torres stating, “The Leo’s club is a program where young people serve as positive agents of change for their community.” She was more than willing to share more information about the club so that more students got the idea of what this club was about.

Students are encouraged to join the club, so that they may help out within their community.

Why should students join the Leos club one might ask, well it is like Mark Islas said, “you get to put smiles on people’s faces.” Islas, a three-year veteran in The Leo’s club is no stranger to helping in making a change.

It is known that change cannot happen without one person doing something. Islas said he has learned to serve his community in many different aspects and it not only involved himself but others as well.

Besides helping out the community, students are able to earn community service hours.

Student Pedro Rodriguez mentioned one of the reasons for joining the club was to earn community service, while helping out the community. It was a win-win situation: helping out his community and earning hours for school.

Like Torres said, “Besides the students getting volunteer hours they get to serve their community, get to know what is going on in the city, and make change in their community.” Being informed about what is happening within your community and city will always be the Leos club mission.

Change is the Leo’s Club mission and by having students volunteer it makes it easier to do so.

Like Rodrigues said, “I have achieved a better understanding with helping and I am more social with people than before.”

Becoming a Leo opens opportunities for students to show their leadership skills while having fun helping out in their community.

Posted inEducation

Junior class reeling from distance learning

Julissa B. by Julissa B.

The class of 2023 at jimmy carter early college has been affected by online classes. Their academic grades had been lowered to a great extent in the past 2 years.
Students had many disruptions at home that might have been the cause for them to have a downfall in grades, they wouldn’t just focus on schoolwork because they had a different surrounding that could have been distracting.
“For example, my grades went down for the cause that I couldn’t focus at home”, Alysha stated.
Consequences during virtual classes were dissimilar to the ones we have now that we are back to face-to-face classes. Juniors felt like administrators wouldn’t do anything to them that would affect them.
“I feel like I did a little bit worse because I felt like I didn’t get consequences if I didn’t show up to class, so I wouldn’t go as much”, Alondra stated.
Students’ grades had been affected for many reasons; for the condition, we are in and not having proper teaching.
“Due to the condition we are in, my grades did go down, not badly but they did go down to what I didn’t expect”, Rubie said, also alysha stated, “ yes because I didn’t have the proper teaching, do to online classes”.
Procrastinating during online classes was easy for the majority of the junior students, but do they blame themselves or virtual classes?
“I blame myself because teachers tried to give me as many resources as they could and I couldn’t take advantage of it”, “ I blame virtual classes because I personally need to get taught face-to-face to understand the criteria”, “ It’s a 50/50 because I feel like in my part I should have done more and in their part, I think they were already doing the most they could”, junior students stated.
Virtual classes for almost 2 years were a difficult procedure for us the junior class and it could have been for the other students at Jimmy Carter as well.

Posted inEducation, Opinion, UIL, Community

Student Opinion: UIL Season Starts At JCECHS

Adilene V. by Adilene V.

As UIL season kicks off, students are “Eager to participate” in the events, according to a member of the Ready Writing team Mia ‘Onyx’ Mendoza.

Each Monday and Tuesday, the school cafeteria holds a few dozen students waiting for their meetings to begin despite the first meet being weeks away.

Junior student Dominique Brown calls UIL a “Nice opportunity for children to get together and have a friendly competition between each other and also work on their skills.” She also said that because competitions won’t be face-to-face, students will be more relaxed when competing.

A Mission Veterans Memorial High School student says that the current pandemic should not keep people from enjoying a competition between schools. He also said that everything would be fine as long as students and faculty follow the rules set forward by school districts.

Jesus Menchaca, a sophomore student, says that he hopes to accomplish the goal he set for himself. He also hopes to make his teachers proud with everything he does.

Member of the debate and science team Luis Martinez believes that the year is good. He also says he enjoys how the year is going.

“I think that UIL is a different way for kids to learn sportsmanship,” Freshman student Janet Gomez said, “I’ve been doing science UIL all my middle school years, I was able to learn things that I would later acquire in the future.”

Posted inUncategorized, Education

The Effects of Columbine on Safety Protocols

Adilene V. by Adilene V.

Students walk to class as others wait outside their classrooms.- Taken by Adilene Vasquez

“I want to begin by saying that Hillary and I are profoundly shocked and saddened by the tragedy today in Littleton” In 1999, Bill Clinton addressed the nation about events that happened earlier that day regarding two teenage boys in a small town in Colorado. The country didn’t know then that the perpetrator’s crimes would lead to changes in school safety.

On April 20th, 1999, a 17-year-old boy named Dylan Klebold and his 18-year-old friend Eric Harris entered Columbine high school with four different firearms and over four dozen different explosive devices. In less than an hour, 12 students, excluding the perpetrators, and one teacher would be dead, with over four others wounded. According to Alisha Bashore, a survivor of the massacre, many of the survivors and their families have “Wounds that won’t heal.” according to Alisha Bashore, a survivor of the massacre. 

“Compassion is the greatest form of love humans have to offer,” said Darell Scott, father of Rachel Scott, one of the first victims of the Columbine Massacre. In the aftermath of their daughter’s death, Scott and his wife Sandy created Rachel’s Challenge. It is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political organization focused on reducing school-related violence. The two have traveled to different schools to speak to students about school violence, bullying, and suicide. They do this by showing footage and news reports from the shooting and its aftermath, in addition to excerpts from Rachel’s journal. 

On the tenth anniversary of his daughter’s death, Scott would go on NBC’s Today Show to say, “We’ve seen a lot of lives changed from her story and our program. Rachel’s Challenge has touched 13 million lives over the past ten years.”

In those ten years, there have been over 60 reported school shootings in the United States alone. Because of how common these types of events have become, schools have implemented protocols for these situations.

“Schools were the hub of the neighborhood. They were an open place. They were supposed to be inviting.” Dr. Michael A. Wanko, the current superintendent of Bayonne Schools, said. Wanko called the different security measures’ ‘mind-boggling.’

School funding has been spent on the bulletproof glass on windows, hiring more security officers, adding CCTV cameras, and placing metal detectors in main entryways. Others have replaced doors with ones that lock automatically when closed. Wanko would call these ‘mind-boggling.’

“There’s never enough safety protocols. We can always do better, but I’m glad that we have been implementing them in the past few years,” Sophomore teacher Thania Robles said,” Even though it’s pretty sad that they have to be implemented.”

Lockdown and active shooter drills have become an everyday practice throughout the country. In places like Rolla, Missouri, these drills are required to happen at least once in the school year. They include armed officers strolling the halls, students running, and others pretending to be injured or dead. 

During these drills, the school is placed on lockdown, something that has previously been practiced but has been occurring more and more often.

“I think that lockdowns are reasonable because it teaches kids about safety precautions and what they need to go through. They need to know how to, you know, stay safe.” Student Itzel Tovar said. 

On occasion, schools are placed in lockdown due to a student or facility member making a threat. Many schools encourage students to report any violent or nonviolent threat they may overhear or have been told. The FBI recognizes that many shooters reveal their plans to their friends. This is known as leakage. 

“I would definitely report them because they’re still a threat. If you report it, you could save lives. You could stop something from happening before it ever happens.” Student Mariana Castillo believes that even if somebody is close to someone, such as their friend or family member, they are still a threat if they say something threatening. 

In 2007, Harrold Independent School District in Wilbarger County, Texas, began to arm its teachers and other faculty members with handguns. The selected employees must go through training, require a license before carrying, and pass psychological tests.

Junior Class President Winston Garza says that while it could be a good idea for teachers to carry, it’s not necessary. In his personal beliefs, he believes that teachers shouldn’t carry firearms because this is what we have security and police officers for. If they do their job correctly, there won’t be a need for any more safety precautions.

“The protocols should probably be reinforced since there is still a lot of school shootings monthly.” Mia ‘Onyx’ Mendoza said. “I think the protocols are a good thing because they can prevent a possible shooting and hopefully discourage students from doing those malevolent things.”