CCR-1 Approves E-Sports, Vocational Agreement
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At the Thursday, March 12 meeting of the CCR-1 School Board, current board president and longtime board member Brad Sprague was recognized for his years of service on the school board. Sprague is retiring from the board and did not seek reelection.
At the Thursday, March 12 meeting of the CCR-1 School Board, Kari Bevans was recognized for her years of service on the school board. Bevans is retiring from the board and did not seek reelection.
By Mike Scott
Amid all the confusion and concern over the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Clark County R-1 is looking ahead to next year to serve students in new ways.
“E-sports is one of the fastest growing activities in Missouri,” CCR-1 High School principal Jason Harper told school board members on Thursday, March 12.
Currently, over 100 schools in Missouri compete in team online gaming, including Hannibal and South Shelby from our area of the state.
“It’s a club, not a MSHSAA activity,” explained Harper. “It has fall and spring gaming series.”
Startup costs for the activity are low, and there are no travel costs.
‘We can do it with computers we already have. We may need to upgrade the video cards,” Harper said. The cost was estimated at less than $200 per computer, and they would use about six computers.
Over 40 students, both male and female, have expressed interested. Five young men were on hand at the board meeting to explain the games to board members.
“This is going to connect 30-40 kids that don’t have ownership in the school,” Harper said. “We’ll see better attendance because kids will want to be able to compete.”
Harper also noted that these success in the games requires positive skills, such as teamwork and communication.
“Everyone I’ve talked to is amazed how good it is for the kids,” said Middle School principal Jason Church. “We’re going to connect kids that aren’t normally connected. It’s a no-brainer.”
Former counselor Megan Wendling added that studies have shown students involved in at least one activity are much less likely to drop out of school.
“I don’t get it,” said board member Craig Hunziker. “But they do, and it’s important to them, and it doesn’t cost a lot of money.”
The board also approved a dual credit agreement for vocational classes with Southeastern Community College.
“We need to offer vocational training,” said Harper.
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has been pushing school to send students to vocational centers for vocational training. The nearest locations are Hannibal and Kirksville.
“This keeps vocational viability for us. It will be an out-of-the-park home run for our kids,” Harper added.
Students will be able to take classwork in Agriculture, Auto Tech, Business, Certified Nursing Assistant, Education and Industrial Maintenance.
“The program caters to a lot of things our kids need,” said Harper.
SCC normally charges $189 per credit hour for our-of-state students, but CCR-1 students can take classes for $112 per hour.
Because of the variety of class times, busing in not practical. Students will need to make their own travel arrangements to attend, Harper added.
In other business, the board:
-Toured the locker room facility at the Activity Field. The Building Trades class is making several needed repairs and improvements
-OPAA Manager Martha Irvin reported that students have more selections for lunches, and those selections are popular. The lunch count is up 15 percent at the high school.
-School Nurse Ardith Harmon reported on steps the school is taking to combat the flu, including spraying desks after every class, stressing students wash their hands frequently. Custodians are cleaning more frequently, and bus drivers are also working to keep their buses as clean as possible.
-Discussed the coronavirus situation, noting that several states have ordered schools closed. Until state guidance is received, the board voted to suspend the Cornhole Tournament, close the weight room to the public, cancel the weekend FFA activity.
NOTE-School was not scheduled to be in session Friday or Monday The school board had a special meeting scheduled for 6PM Monday to address their coronavirus response. Watch www.kahokamedia.com for the latest information.
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