Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Recognitions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District honors students and staff: spelling bee, literacy awards, attendance and athletics recognized
Summary
The board meeting featured multiple school recognitions: district spelling bee winners, Istation and Lexia awards, attendance improvements at several campuses, and winter sports and extracurricular athlete honors.
Alamogordo — The board opened its regular February meeting with a series of recognitions spotlighting student academic and extracurricular achievements from across the district.
Mountain View Middle School principal Leah Boyle presented winners from the district spelling bee: Xavier Klum (third, Holloman Middle School), Riley Fortenberry (second, Holloman Middle School) and Crystal Flores (first, Mountain View Middle School). Boyle said Crystal has advanced to the final round of the El Paso ISD Education Foundation regional spelling bee after qualifying through the regional online test, where 97 students participated and 39 advanced.
Curriculum and instruction coordinator Deborah Rotland announced literacy awards. Buena Vista earned the Istation Rising Star Award with an average increase of 11.6 points per student. Mountain View Middle School’s sixth‑grade team received the Lexia Learning Leaders School Award with an average gain of 18 units per student. Rotland read several individual student achievements, including completion of the Lexia program by Ivory Swan.
Attendance awards highlighted schools that reduced chronic absenteeism. Charles Serpant, attendance/truancy officer, said Desert Star Elementary lowered its critical‑tier absence rate from around 20–30% to 8.83%. Holloman Middle School held the title for best secondary school attendance, and Chaparral Middle School was recognized as most improved secondary school.
Director of athletics Alan Anderson recognized winter sport athletes and teams across multiple disciplines. Highlights included Tia Gordon, who averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds and has college plans; the girls basketball team’s strong GPA; several state‑qualifying wrestlers and swimmers; and senior leaders from the cheer team. Anderson emphasized athletic performance and leadership in classrooms and communities.
Student ex‑officio Abigail Anderson also reported recent school successes: the AstroVikings robotics team won at Albuquerque and will advance to world competition, the Tiger Band hosted a fifth‑grade extravaganza, and the AHS cheer and powerlifting teams placed in recent contests.
The recognitions were largely ceremonial; the board thanked students, staff and families before moving on to policy and business items.
