Education

Optic and wire reports

Pertussis cases confirmed locally
Several confirmed cases of the pertussis, or whooping cough, have appeared at four Las Vegas City Schools.

In a memo to parents dated May 18, Superintendent Sheryl McNellis-Martinez,  school nurse Cynthia Jaramillo and Christopher Novak of the state’s Department of Health notified parents and guardians of the situation.

At that time, the district had confirmed one case of the bacterial respiratory infection.

By Margaret McKinney
Highlands University

Two New Mexico Highlands University graduates are headed to New York City to pursue advanced degrees at Columbia University and Parsons School of Design.

Ben Villarreal was accepted into the doctoral program in English education at Columbia, an Ivy League school founded in 1754.

Veronica Black will pursue her MFA at Parsons, one of the premier design schools in the world.

The two are married.

By Margaret McKinney
Highlands University

A $10,000 scholarship to honor her parents has been established by Eloy Gutierrez and Rita M. Padilla-Gutierrez to assist students attending New Mexico Highlands University.

“My parents, Placido and Crisanta Padilla, yearned to attend college,” Padilla-Gutierrez said.  “That dream was never realized, but through their children, the importance of education was demonstrated.”

From The Associated Press

‘No confidence’ vote for Skandera
ALBUQUERQUE — Representatives of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation have unanimously voted “no confidence” in state Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera.

Albuquerque Journal reports that union’s council of representatives approved recently a resolution that lists a dozen criticisms against Skandera, including her planned teacher evaluation system and her support for charter schools.