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C-BASE EXAM TO BE ADMINISTERED AT SOUTHEAST
The C-BASE Exam, required for entry into teacher education programs in Missouri, will be administered on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University on Sept. 21.
The exam will be given at 5:30 p.m. on the third floor of Academic Hall. Registration deadline is 5 p.m. Aug. 30. The registration fee is $51.
Standby applicants should report at 5 p.m. The standby fee is $66 and is payable at the time of the exam.
The next C-BASE will be administered on Nov. 30. Registration deadline for that exam is Nov. 8.
NATIONAL TEACHER EXAMS TO BE GIVEN SEPT. 23 AT SOUTHEAST
The PRAXIS and PRAXIS II Exams, also known as the National Teacher Exams (NTE), will be administered Sept. 23 on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University.
Registrations must arrive in Princeton, N.J., by Aug. 22. Late registrations will be accepted until Aug. 29. The registration fee is $105. Late registration fee is $140.
For registration bulletins and more information, write or visit Testing Services, 347 Academic Hall, Southeast Missouri State University, One University Plaza (MS3970), Cape Girardeau, MO 63701, or call (573) 651-2836.
CARNAHAN KICKS OFF METH EDUCATION FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS PROGRAM
Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan today announced the kick off a new drug prevention and awareness program aimed at educating youths in Southeast Missouri schools about the dangers of methamphetamine.
The pilot program, called Meth Education for Elementary Schools (MEDFELS), was launched on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. Carnahan says MEDFELS will target third and fourth grade students in Southeast Missouri and will complement the ongoing "Life or Meth" public service campaign, which began in Missouri in 1997.
This program will be part of a series of educational programs developed through partnerships between the Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Drug Demand Reduction initiative, local, state and federal governmental agencies, community coalitions, and educational communities across a six-state region. It will provide youth with a foundation for meth awareness, which can be followed by an interactive CD-ROM five-lesson meth education program targeting fifth and sixth graders, and existing and new videos targeting seventh through 12th graders. Final in the series is an interactive CD-ROM Meth Education Program for parents, teachers and educational administrators. The new videos and the CD-ROM-based programs currently are under development. Midwest HIDTA is a six-state task force of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies created to fight the manufacture and use of methamphetamine in the Midwest. The Midwest HIDTA was so designated by the Office of National Drug Control Policy
in 1996, and the regional headquarters is located in Kansas City, Mo.
MEDFELS is an initiative to bring awareness of meth to a younger audience. The new MEDFELS program is the result of a grant proposal written by Dr. John Wade, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice, and Linda Ferrell, an instructor, both at Southeast Missouri State University. The new program is being funded by HIDTA and the State of Missouri, with in-kind contributions from Southeast Missouri State. Total cost of the campaign is about $39,000.
The program will be introduced to third and fourth grade students in 65 school districts in 16 Southeast Missouri counties during a region-wide Meth Awareness Week Dec. 4-8. If the pilot program is deemed successful, Midwest HIDTA will deliver the MEDFELS curriculum across its six-state region - Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota - beginning in fall 2001.
Development of the curriculum for the new MEDFELS program began last month with the partnership of two task forces - one composed of educators and the other of criminal justice practitioners in Southeast Missouri. The criminal justice task force met for the first time in early July and began building the necessary components of a meth awareness and prevention curriculum. Later in the month, the education task force met and reviewed the first draft and suggested exercises to augment the curriculum.
The two task forces will come together later this month to review a second draft of the curriculum. Wade and Ferrell then will evaluate their suggestions and develop a final curriculum. Plans call for the curriculum -- including guidelines, handouts and suggested exercises -- to be introduced Oct. 27 to teachers representing the 65 participating school districts during a workshop hosted by the Southeast Regional Professional Development Center (RPDC). The 65 schools are members of the Southeast RPDC, which provides educational programming for its membership.
As another component of the program, the University's Office of Continuing Education will assist with establishing a meth awareness web page for students to use while participating in MEDFELS.
Carnahan says that when the program is launched in December, he will sponsor a poster and essay contest. First place winners will receive $50; second place winners will receive $25. Students submitting the best essay and best poster from each of the 16 counties will receive a $10 prize.
"He's been a very active anti-meth governor," Wade said. "If we are really serious about stopping the epidemic, you've got to stop the demand too. Successful intervention must involve public education as well as interdiction. By targeting elementary school students, a well-developed program can inform students of the dangers associated with meth before behavioral patterns are well established."
The recent growth in the manufacture and use of methamphetamine in the rural Midwest is well documented, Wade said. Law enforcement officials are actively establishing task forces that aggressively identify, apprehend and prosecute meth users, manufacturers and distributors. By educating all elementary students, the proactive approach of MEDFELS should serve to deter potential abusers, he added.
Following the Meth Awareness Week in December, teachers from the participating schools will come together at Southeast Missouri State in January for a second workshop. The teachers will provide feedback about the program and will receive updated materials regarding legislation, statistical trends, treatment options and other materials pertinent to the curriculum. Participants also will formally evaluate the program during this workshop.
A revised curriculum will be forwarded to Midwest HIDTA later in the spring for distribution to their six-state region in fall 2001.
Wade, who is serving as project director, is an accomplished researcher in the field of rural crime. He has been active in crime prevention programs through Crime Stoppers and police athletic programs, and he is a certified youth officer trainer for the state of Illinois. Wade holds a doctoral degree from Kansas State University. He received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Central Missouri State University. He has been conducting research on meth offenders for the past two years.
Ferrell, co-director of MEDFELS, is a lifelong resident of Southeast Missouri. She received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Southeast Missouri State University. She has been employed as a University instructor for the past nine years. Prior to her college teaching, Ferrell served the Missouri Department of Corrections as a probation and parole officer. Ferrell has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice for her contributions to Weed and Seed and has participated in Project Charlie, an alcohol and drug prevention program for elementary students, in the Jackson School District for 14 years.
SOUTHEAST CHEERLEADERS RECEIVE SEVERAL AWARDS
The Southeast Missouri State University cheerleaders received several awards in July at the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) camp on the campus of Southeast.
The Cheerleaders learned several sideline chants, cheers, fight songs, spirit routines, funk dances, creative partner stunts and pyramids. The camp was held July 28-30.
Nancy Greaser, Southeast cheerleading coach, said the cheerleaders established several goals before the camp began and attained them all. In addition to receiving a bid to nationals, the cheerleaders were named "camp champs" in the fight song competition in which they competed with Southern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University. The cheerleaders took third place out of 12 cheerleading squads in the spirit routine competition. The squad received the "spirit stick" for its display of exceptional spirit throughout the camp.
Bethany Crews of St. Peters, Mo., was the recipient of the Top Gun Tumbling award for the best tumbler of the camp. Justin Barton of DeSoto, Mo., was the recipient of the Top Gun Jump award for the best male jumper at the camp. Amy Plunk of Arnold, Mo., Amy Kaufmann of St. Peters, Mo., Tyrone Turner of St. Louis, Rachael Pointer of Wood River, Ill., Crews, Kristin DeJournett of Advance, Mo., and Ryan Harris of Cape Girardeau, were invited to serve on the NCA camp staff next summer.
NEW FACULTY MEMBERS ATTENDING WORKSHOP TO GET ACQUAINTED WITH SOUTHEAST
Forty-five new faculty members are participating in a five-day workshop intended to get them acquainted with Southeast Missouri State University and the Southeast Missouri community.
The 2000 Teaching Enhancement Workshop is being held this week from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the University Center. The purpose of the workshop is to provide new faculty with an opportunity to meet and work with each other, to get oriented with the University and regional community, to provide a setting where new faculty can explore and discuss teaching and learning issues, and to introduce the University's teacher-scholar model.
As part of the Teaching Enhancement Workshop, new faculty members are taking a narrated bus tour of the Southeast Missouri region. Leading the tour are Dr. Fred Snider, interim director of Institutional Research; Dr. Frank Nickell, director of the Center for Regional History; Dr. Dennis Holt, vice provost; and James La Cour, assistant to the president for equity issues. The four are providing the new faculty members with information about the region's history, the characteristics of Southeast's student body and the importance of Southeast's extended learning program in the Bootheel.
The group today is visiting the Harry L. Crisp Bootheel Education Center in Malden, Mo., and the Sikeston Area Higher Education Center. The tour includes lunch at Rebecca Sharp's restaurant in New Madrid, Mo.
In addition to the bus tour, faculty members are engaging in several interactive seminars during the five-day period. Seminar topics include helping students become better learners, learning-focused teaching, and instructional technology to support learning. Participants also are receiving a tour of the campus.
The Teaching Enhancement Workshop began in 1986 to serve new faculty. Past participants in the workshop have said that the bus tour of the region was the highlight of the workshop. The Teaching Enhancement Workshop has proven to be a rich, rewarding experience, participants have said, adding that they often develop close, lasting friendships with other Workshop participants.
The workshop concludes Friday, Aug. 11. Southeast President Kenneth Dobbins and his wife, Jeanine Larson Dobbins, will host a reception and dinner for the group on Aug. 25 at Wildwood.
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