PEARL RIVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE 101 U.S.HIGHWAY 11 NORTH POPLARVILLE, MS 39470 FEBRUARY, 2007 Mid-level funding passes first test amount of money the state spends ing formula passed by the House, per pupil in kindergarten through the community college system Did you know: Next: Bills go 12th grade and the funding per would see a $45 million increase in student at a regional university, its budget, representatives said. ■ That 69 percfent of all college such as Alcorn State or Delta State The state has 15 two-year colleges. freshmen and more than 50 percent to conference university. The state’s regional universities of all college undergraduates are en- “This a great step forward for received $5,473 per student from rolled in community colleges? our efforts to improve funding for the state last year, while public K- ■ That 98 percent of all community committee our two-year institutions of higher 12 schools got $4,158 per student, college students are Mississippi res- Mid-level funding for Mississ- learning,” said Dr. William Lewis, according to information from the idents? ippi’s community colleges appears PRCC president. State Board for Community and ■ One talking point for community to be close to becoming reality. Mid-level funding is one of three Junior Colleges. colleges is the High School Dropout The Mississippi House of legislative priorities of the But community colleges operat- Recovery Initiative? Community col- Representatives unanimously ap- Mississippi Association of ed on just $2,645 in state funds per leges are seeking funds to help Sandy McCardle of Carriere proved House Bill 1180 on Feb. 8. Community and Junior Colleges. student. If signed by the governor, move Mississippi’s dropout rate from The Senate approved a similar Figures from the association the proposed legislation would in- 27 percent to the national average joins PRCC Board of Trustees bill, Senate Bill 2364, by a 52-0 show that community college crease that to $4,816 per student. of 20 percent. POPLARVILLE - Pearl River Community College’s Board of vote three days earlier. funding has declined 3.6 percent In smaller numbers, out of every Mississippi Faculty Association Trustees welcomed a new member during the regular January The bills now go to a conference since fiscal year 2000. general fund tax dollar spent on for Community and Junior meeting. committee made up of members of During the same time period, education this fiscal year, 74 cents Colleges, is set for Feb. 28 in Sandy McCardle of Carriere, a kinder- both houses. funding for public universities rose went to K-12 schools, 20.2 cents to Jackson. garten teacher from Pearl River Central Mid-level funding would put ap- 9 percent and K-12 funding universities and 5.8 cents to com- Contact Kyle Hill, president of and a graduate of Pearl River propriations for community col- jumped 40.6 percent. munity colleges. the PRCC Faculty Association, for Community College, replaces Max Huey leges at a midpoint between the In the first year under the fund- ■ Capitol Day, sponsored by the more information. of Picayune, a member of the board of trustees since January 2002. “I am excited about joining the Board of Trustees,” said McCardle. “I am all about education and I want to see Pearl River continue to grow. They have great facilities here and it’s a great place to get an education.” McCardle McCardle, the daughter of Tommy and Alice Pearson of Carriere, graduated from Pearl River Central High School. She attended PRCC from 1980-82 and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1985 with an el- ementary education degree. She has been a kindergarten teacher for 22 years. She also has a daughter, Hawleigh, who is 15. “What I remember most about my days at Pearl River was the family-type atmosphere here on campus,” said McCardle. “I made a lot of friends here. The teachers and the administrators were very helpful. It was an easy transition for me from high school to college.” Applications now being accepted for William Lewis scholarship Applications are now being accepted for the William A. Lewis Presidential Scholarship, which is awarded annually to an out- standing PRCC student planning to attend the University of Southern Mississippi. The value of the scholarship: $1,000. The recipient must meet the following minimum require- ments at the time of award: At least 54 hours of credit in a community college; a 3.5 grade-point-average on all community college work that will have been completed at the time of the award; demonstrated leadership ability through participation in campus organiza- tions and activities; never attended USM or any other four-year college or university. For more information, contact the PRCC Financial Aid office by March 23. Deadline March 1 for students planning to graduate in May All students who plan to participate in the May 2007 POPLARVILLE - Members of the 2006-07 Pearl River Community Picayune, Kalah Holmes of Carriere, Krista Thomas of Pass Graduation Ceremony must apply by March 1. College cheerleaders, who recently finished seventh at the College Christian, and James Rivenbark of Gulfport. Back row - Stacy Britt Poplarville academic students should apply in the Office of National Championship in Orlando, Fla., include from left: Front row of Forrest County AHS, Cord Cole of Saucier, Jeremy Williams of the Vice President for Instruction, which is located in the - Ciara Gunn of Carriere, Ashley Ladner of Waveland, and Indy Lizana, Bryan Griffin of Gulfport, Jeremy Bailey of Sumrall, Tyler Fitzgerald of Carriere. Middle row - Adam Spiers of Picayune, Sunni Ball of Hancock, Daniel Soley of Forrest County AHS, and Justin Alexander Administration Building. Poplarville Career and Smith of Carriere, Kayla Kelly of Picayune, Alison Mitchell of Tucker of Purvis. Cheerleader coach is Candace Harper. Technical students should apply in the Office of the Director of Career and Technical Education, located in the Technology Center, or the Office of the Assistant Director of Career and Technical Education, located in the Career and Technical Cheerleaders take home top honors Building. Forrest County Center Academic, Career, and Technical stu- POPLARVILLE - The 2006-07 Pearl River many photographers. They had to perform in and tumbling. dents should apply in the FCC Counseling Center. Community College cheerleaders recently con- Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex, which “Once the routine was over, the cheerleaders All students who plan to graduate in the Summer 2007 or in cluded an outstanding year of competition. had about 3,000 people watching.” got to go to the back and watch a replay of the December 2007 should apply for graduation this semester. Following a first-place finish in the 2006 UCA As the cheerleaders began the competition, routine over the big screens,” said Harper. Cheer Championship last summer, the group PRCC’s fight song played and a crowd highlight “They were excited and very proud that they recently finished seventh at the College tape played on three big screens. competed in one of the toughest junior college Poole receives outstanding National Championship in Orlando, Fla. “The crowd highlight tape showed our cheer- competitions in the world and did so well.” “The nationals are one of the most presti- leaders cheering at football games and trying to According to Harper, one of the biggest ad- paper award from association gious cheerleading competitions in the coun- get the crowd involved,” said Harper. “The vantages of attending national competition is Dr. Janice Poole, Director of Extended Education at PRCC, try,” said Candace Harper, PRCC cheerleading highlight tape was 15 percent of your total the scholarship opportunities that the PRCC was recently selected as the Outstanding Paper Awards winner coach. “This was our second year to attend. score. cheerleaders get from universities. Last year, at the 2006 Southeastern Association of Community College Most of the other schools have been going for “The highest you could get on your crowd PRCC had five sophomores accept scholarships Research summer conference in Nashville. more than 10 years.” tape was a 15 and PRCC was one of the few col- from universities after attending the national Her paper, entitled “Predictors of Persistent Black Male The PRCC cheerleaders made a skill and safe- leges in their division that scored a high 14.75, competition. Students Commitment to Rural Mississippi Two-Year ty tape, which qualified them for the final round which is extremely rare.” Said Harper, “It takes years to build a suc- Institutions,” examined which institutional commitment fac- of competition. Once the fight song ended, the music for the cessful, recognizable program and the PRCC tors affect black male students’ persistence at community/jun- “There were more than 150 cheer and dance competition routine began. As the cheerleaders cheerleaders are well on their way.” ior colleges in Mississippi, focusing on factors that represent teams competing in the competition from uni- began their routine, they performed a series of ■ PRCC cheerleading tryouts for Fall 2007 college environment/climate variables and college outcome versities and community colleges around the advanced stunting techniques and tumbling se- are March 29, 30, and 31. For more informa- variables. world,” said Harper. “For most of our cheer- quences. Their routine was two and one-half tion, telephone Candace Harper at 601-403- Findings from Dr. Poole’s research show that the persistence leaders, it was their first time to set foot on the minutes long and consisted of one minute of 1327 or email her at [email protected]. of black male students in Mississippi’s community colleges is in- competition floor where they were in front of cheering and 90 seconds of music for stunting fluenced primarily by three factors: academic growth, the stu- dent’s perceived contribution of educational experiences to their intellectual growth and their perceived preparation for fur- ther educational opportunities; social integration, the interac- White, Roane HEADWAE winners tion between students, between students and faculty, participa- tion in extracurricular activities, and a self-reported sense of be- POPLARVILLE - A sophomore and the Wildcat baseball team.