Sharon Blackman
As this semester draws to a close, once again I would like to say how good it is for me to be back in Texas and especially at Brookhaven College. We have had a very full agenda that has kept all of us very busy this semester doing the work we each love to do. All of our work is directed to helping students succeed, no matter if they are just beginning, trying again, or “re-careering.”
Let me congratulate the Lady Bears Volleyball Team that took the NJCAA Division III Championship for a second year. With the commitment and dedication of Coach Jason Hopkins, who also was named Coach of the Tournament, and the leadership and direction provided by Athletic Director Lynne Levesque, these students were successful in achieving their dream to be the best on the volleyball court. The champs will be introduced at the December meeting of the Dallas County Community College District board of trustees.
Many of you continued your daily routines in a quiet and unassuming way, but your work has been noticed by others. It seems that Sarah Ferguson, the IT team, and members of the maintenance staff brought happiness to those that work in Building P. Overnight they were able to complete scheduled replacement of equipment and furniture to improve the learning environment of students and staff in that facility.
Recently, the Brookhaven Student Government Association sponsored an Open Forum where students and administrators interacted to address matters of interest to students and staff alike. Our students expect a quality education, not only in the classroom but in their other interactions throughout the college. We offer students a well-rounded education that includes excellence in the content of their courses, but also excellence in out-of-the-classroom activities.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Commissioner’s Summit: “Ensuring Academic Excellence: Developing Strategies of Success Campus by Campus” hosted by Dr. Raymund Paredes, commissioner of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Invitations were extended to independent school districts, community colleges and four-year institutions. It provided me with information about the state’s education initiatives that include addressing the developmental education needs of students entering higher education institutions, alignment of the high school exit test and the college entrance tests, and the Texas High School Initiative. This summit sent a message that these educational entities will be working more closely than ever to address the educational issues of our state. This summit demonstrated that the THECB and Texas Education Agency can and will be working together to improve Texas education by learning new approaches and sharing best practices.
We have had several discussions this semester about how we continue our work of being “Dedicated to Student Success,” and we will continue to do so in the coming spring semester and throughout the new year. We all know that our students are changing and they will continue to change. Are we prepared to change with our students? Do we know who our students are expected to be? If you did not get a chance to view the STARLINK presentation of “Texas Demographics and Their Effects Upon Public and Higher Education: 2005 Report,” I urge you to contact the Professional Development Office to access a copy of the video or the information via the Web.
The streamed video, “Texas Demographics and Their Effects Upon Public and Higher Education: 2005 Report” is currently available at: http://www.starlinktraining.org/ under the “Free Access” section and uses Windows Media Player - NO password required. RUNS: 78 min.
IMPORTANT: You will need the participant packet to get all the program information. Download the packet at http://www.starlinktraining.org/packets2006/packs2006.asp and then click on the name of the program.
As it stands now, Brookhaven College is considered a minority-majority institution. This means that our minority students outnumber the traditional majority (white) students. As a reflection of our state demographics, our Hispanic-student population is the largest of our minority groups at 24 percent, and it will continue to grow. At Brookhaven College more than half of the new Hispanic students that enter are first-generation higher education students. Almost 20 percent of the Hispanic students are FTIC, first-time-in-college students.
As we work to help students to be successful, we need to be innovative in our approaches about how we educate our students. Our participation in the Achieving the Dream program provides us the opportunity to be innovative, share best practices with other community colleges and benchmark our progress with other community colleges. The AtD Success Team is moving forward with the development of some new initiatives for us to pilot. You will hear more about these initiatives next semester. However, we will need the cooperation of many of you to help flesh out the details and implement these activities. You may be contacted to help with these activities, and I hope you will be accepting of the call. It will take all of us to address the needs of our new student population. We all must be willing to do our part to fulfill the dreams of our students.
As we conclude this fall’s semester, I would like to wish you a very happy and safe holiday season. Please relax and enjoy the time off and return with a renewed zeal to continue on our road to student success!
