Schools - page 13

Lamar State College Orange (LSCO) is pleased to announce the promotion of Mandee Tucker, RN, MSN, to Dean of Nursing and Health Profession Programs at LSCO. She will now oversee the Nursing, Dental Assisting, EMT/Paramedic, Massage Therapy, Medical Assisting, and Pharmacy Technology Programs. Tucker previously served as the Associate Dean of Nursing.

“Dean Tucker has committed her entire career to advancing students in the critical practice of nursing. Recently, Dean Tucker successfully navigated a Board of Nursing re-accreditation and added an additional Associate Degree in Nursing summer cohort in order to serve the immense healthcare needs of our area. We are grateful to Dean Tucker for her dedication to LSCO,” said Dr. Wendy Elmore, Provost and Executive Vice President of Lamar State College Orange.

“Dean Tucker is an example of the best that LSCO has to offer. She began as a student and is now transforming lives each day through her leadership of the Nursing and Health Profession Programs. We couldn’t be prouder that she will now lead the program as Dean. Day in and day out, she is helping us create a Talent Strong Texas,” said Dr. Tom Johnson, President of Lamar State College Orange.

Tucker began her nursing studies at LSCO when it was Lamar University-Orange. She earned her Certified Nursing Assistant certificate in 1995 along with her Vocational Nursing degree in 1995. She earned her Associate Degree in Registered Nursing from Lamar University in 1997, her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix in 2014, and her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2019.

She has taught as an instructor at Lamar State College Orange since 2008.

During the past five weeks, Local Final Competitions of the 119th Miriam Lutcher Stark Contest in Reading and Declamation, a program sponsored by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, have been held at each Orange County public high school: Bridge City, Little Cypress-Mauriceville, Orangefield, Vidor and West Orange-Stark. Between preliminary and Local Final rounds, 100 students competed across the five schools. Winners will advance to the County Final round of the competition.

“We know that a great deal of effort goes into preparing and presenting these selections, and we are extremely proud of all contestants who competed in this year’s contest,” said Hannah Danielson, director of education for The W.H. Stark House.

Each second-place winner in the categories of Declamation and Interpretive Reading was awarded $1,500 in scholarships from the Stark Foundation, while the two first-place winners were awarded $2,000 in scholarships. The first-place winners from each high school will go on to compete at the County Final of the Stark Reading Contest, which is scheduled for Sunday, April 23, at 2 p.m. at the Lutcher Theater. Finalists will compete for additional scholarships worth $2,500 and $5,000.

“We look forward to the advanced level of competition that takes place every year at the County Final and invite the community to come out and show their support for our local students,” said Danielson.

Each local final competition was coordinated by the school’s director for the Stark Reading Contest: Melanie Claybar (LCM), Ron Chevalier (OHS), Stacy Webb (Vidor), Mason Franco (WOS) and Hannah Landry (BCHS).

The Stark Reading Contest is sponsored by the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation as part of its continuing mission to enrich the quality of life in the Orange community and encourage education. The aim of the contest is to enhance the literary and forensic quality and skills of Orange County public high school students. The contest has continued annually since its inception in 1904, which makes the 2022 – 23 school year the 119th annual year of the contest.

March 6, 2023, was a special day for Bridge City High School and all of Bridge City Independent School District (BCISD) as they celebrated breaking ground on the new CTE facility.

The CTE (Career and Technology) facility at Bridge City High School will open up classroom space for the campus as they are already over student capacity.

BCISD thanks everyone who took part in this momentous occasion, our community, school board, admin and staff, bond committee, G&G Enterprises , and Claycomb Associates, Architects.

The Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for West Orange-Cove CISD’s new transportation center on Monday, January 9, 2023.

WOCCISD School Board President Linda Platt-Bryant stated, “We are excited to announce the grand opening of our school district’s new bus barn! Here in West Orange-Cove, we (the Board) continue identifying the district’s needs. This new transportation center was one of those needs.”

The new building was a part of the 2018 bond approved by WOCCISD voters. The project included new construction with offices, a meeting space, covered bays for buses, a wash station, and a garage, making it easier to perform maintenance on buses.

“We are pleased that the taxpayers have provided a state-of-the-art facility and technological resources so we can continue to transport the children of West Orange-Cove CISD safely,” Superintendent Dr. Rickie Harris said.

In addition to the new facility, WOCCISD Transportation has recently launched the SMART TAG bus tool that allows the district and parents to monitor bus activity and track students to and from school using GPS.

Vidor ISD would like to invite residents to the Community Opening for the new Oak Forest Elementary Campus.

It will be held on Thursday, January 5, 2023, from 5-6:30 PM at the Oak Forest Elementary Campus at 2400 Highway 12 in Vidor.

In 2017, Tropical Storm Harvey destroyed Vidor Middle School and Oak Forest Elementary. Due to the destruction wrought by the flooding of this storm, students from both schools had to learn from portable buildings.

Oak Forest Elementary staff and students are set to move into their new campus on January 9, 2023.

According to 12NewsNow, Oak Forest Principal Devan Dart says having new technology and space for kids to learn will be so beneficial. “When we transition, just going to different classes, we are outside. So, when kids are outside, they get distracted, plus when it’s raining or cold. It will be different once we are all under one roof,” Dart said.

FEMA approved the funds to tear down and rebuild both campuses in September 2018. Most of the money it will take to rebuild the schools is coming from FEMA. In 2019, Vidor ISD received a $1 million grant from Rebuild Texas Fund. The organization helps communities in Texas rebuild after Harvey and focuses on smaller communities.

Many gathered as the Vidor Independent School District broke ground on a new middle school in June 2021. District officials said they received almost $19 million for the project.