Tag: NAU
Education Spotlight — Page Public Library earns top rating on America’s Star Library list. See more local, state and national education news here
The Library Journal has awarded Page Public Library five stars – its highest rating – on its list of America’s Star Libraries for 2022. Only one other library in Arizona, Phoenix Public Library, has been given the top rating.
The last time Page Public Library earned five stars was 2015, when it was the only library in Arizona to achieve the rating.
The Library Journal Index of Public Library Service rates U.S. public libraries based on selected per capita output measures, including circulation, library visits, program attendance, internet computer use, public Wi-Fi sessions, electronic retrievals from online databases, and library website visits.
At the Page City Council meeting on Feb. 22, Director of Communication and Recreation Services Lynn Cormier said Page Public Library “has done phenomenal things.” She led council members and city management in recognizing library staff for their hard work in achieving the rating.
Education Spotlight — ‘Something you can use in the real world:’ Tuba City high school students learn to code with NAU graduate students. See more local, state and national education news here
Maliya Peyketewa, a freshman at Greyhills Academy High School in Tuba City wants to become an app and web developer when she gets older. And a virtual after-school coding course offered to STEM students at her school is helping her learn one of the computer languages she can use to get there.
“I get to intertwine my computer information science class and my knowledge from coding class to make my own website,” Peyketewa said. Building the website is an assignment in her computer science course, and she said she was able to add more pictures to the site because she can code. “You get to build on it and express yourself that way.”
The virtual coding class, which is entering its third year at Greyhills on the Navajo Nation, is offered after school once a week for 16 weeks each spring and fall. It was started by Ph.D. students Ayla Martinez and Jeff Propster in the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (Ecoss), who wanted to help students build professional development skills in a safe way during the COVID-19 pandemic. Martinez and Propster, who led community engagement work as part of the NAU McAllister program in Community, Culture, and Environment, worked with Greyhills STEM instructor Reny Mathew to offer via Zoom a course in R, a coding language commonly used in biology and ecology. Subsequently, Ecoss Ph.D. candidate Peter Chuckran offered introductory and intermediate courses in Python, a language with wide-ranging professional applications.
Education Spotlight — Single mothers in coconino county get a chance at free higher education. See more local, state and national education news here
Coconino Community College has been selected by the Women’s Foundation for the State of Arizona (WFSA) as the nonprofit partner to launch the Pathways for Single Moms Program in the state’s northern region.
This program is designed to eliminate barriers to higher education for single moms by giving them the necessary resources to secure livable wages and forge a career path. Taking a holistic approach, the program helps women navigate life’s challenges by supporting the successful completion of a certificate program in growing fields. The tuition-free certificate prepares these women for careers in growing industries that pay a thriving wage, thus confronting the cycle of poverty in their families.
Education Spotlight — Flagstaff STEMMY Award Nominations Open. See more local, state and national education news here
STEM City is accepting nominations for the
2022-2023 STEMMY awards!
The deadline for nominations is February 12, 2023.
Nomination forms for each of the categories are available below:
High School Student Nomination Form
Teacher Nomination Form
Community Member or Business Nomination Form
Education Spotlight — PUSD faculty spotlight: Jenise Bartholomew. See more local, state and national education news here
It’s early December and Jenise Bartholomew’s classroom is taking on the feeling of Christmas. A Christmas tree is already standing, and a few other Christmas decorations are starting to appear on the walls.
On another wall, each student is spotlighted as a “star student” with a flower that is displayed with their picture. The other students have written something nice about that student on the flower petals.
Outside Bartholomew’s classroom, the walls of the first-grade hallway have been decorated to look like train cars of the Polar Express. The faces of each student appear in each train car window. Bartholomew and the other first-grade teachers stayed after school on Dec. 1 to create the Christmas art installation.
Bartholomew likes her classroom to be colorful and organized, the latter not always an easy task with a room full of first graders. And right now, her classroom has that extra buzz of energy that every classroom in America has right now, during the spirited period between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
All in all, the room has a nurturing, caring atmosphere.
Education Spotlight — NAU: Humans of Flagstaff with Monica Brown. See more local, state and national education news here
Books have always been a huge part of Monica Brown’s life. First, it was reading as many as she could. As she got into her career, she was teaching them. And then one day, she wrote a book. The professor in the Department of English, who teaches Latinx, African American and U.S. multi-ethnic literature, is still reading, writing and teaching books, with the goal of introducing diverse and interesting people to children. Her latest books are She Persisted: Diana Taurasi and El cuarto turquesa / The Turquoise Room. She talked to The NAU Review about her career arc, the impetus for writing her first book and the influence of family in both directions—her mother, grandmother and two daughters—have had on her life.
Education Spotlight — Archery shoot raises funds for cancer treatment
Archers from throughout the region gathered at the Page Shooting Range on Aug. 19 for a 3D archery shoot. The event was a fundraiser for Spencer Barnum, a 9-year-old member of the Page 4-H Archery Club who was diagnosed with leukemia in September.
“Spencer was on my archery club this last year. She enrolled in 4-H and shot with us this whole last year,” said Kip Bennett, the Page 4-H Club leader and Arizona State 4-H Archery Club leader.
“She loved archery, she enjoyed it, she got to learn how to shoot a bow. When we found out this last September that she got leukemia, one of my other coaches called me up and said, ‘We need to do something for this little girl.’”
They decided that an archery shoot was the best way to honor Spencer in a way that would also get the community involved.
Education Spotlight — Northern Arizona University to offer free tuition for members of state-recognized tribes. See more local, state and national education news here
Northern Arizona University (NAU) announced during a Native American Heritage Month reception on Nov. 14 it will be providing full tuition to members of Arizona’s 22 federally recognized tribes starting next fall.
The announcement comes as an expansion to the university’s Access2Excellence Initiative (A2E) announced in April. A2E allows Arizona residents in households earning less than $65,000 annually to receive free tuition at NAU — aslo beginning in for the fall 2023 semester.
All students who are members of recognized Arizona tribes will now qualify for free tuition regardless of income level or state of residence.
Education Spotlight — Tight race for Supt. of Public Instruction. See more local, state and national education news here
Incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman and Republican challenger Tom Horne remain neck and neck to see who will come out on top for the next chief of Arizona schools.
See related stories:
• AZCentral — Horne ahead of Hoffman in Arizona schools chief race
• KNAU — Automatic recounts likely in Arizona AG and school superintendent races
• KTAR News — GOP challenger Tom Horne regains lead over Education Supt. Kathy Hoffman
• Election results as of noon Nov. 15, 2022
Education Spotlight — Dr. Eric Heiser selected as sixth CCC President. See more local, state and national education news here
The Coconino Community College District Governing Board announced during an Oct. 19 meeting that Dr. Eric Heiser will be the next president of the college.
“After a national search with more than 50 applicants, the District Governing Board is excited to announce the selection of Dr. Heiser as Coconino Community College’s next president,” said Dr. Nat White, chair of the Board. “The college is positioned through the past leadership of Dr. Colleen Smith and community support through the passage of the tax reset, to leap forward in serving the residents of Coconino County – from workforce training and associate degrees to pathways to baccalaureates.”
White added that Dr. Heiser brings successful urban and rural college and national experience that matches well with CCC’s vision and mission and the needs of Coconino County’s residents and businesses.
“I’m incredibly humbled and honored to be selected as the sixth president of Coconino Community College,” Dr. Heiser said. “I’m excited about the bright future ahead for CCC and look forward to working with the wonderful faculty and staff to meet the needs of students in Coconino County.”
