Latest news with #PermianHighSchool
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Landgraf presses TEA to release test scores for graduates
May 8—AUSTIN — State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, is urging the Texas Education Agency to release End-of-Course (EOC) exam results early for students in the Ector County Independent School District, to ensure eligible seniors are not blocked from walking the stage at their graduation ceremonies. In a formal letter to Commissioner Mike Morath, Landgraf requested that ECISD receive its scores by May 21, 2025 — two days ahead of the statewide release date. Without early access to scores, many seniors and early-graduating juniors could be left out of ceremonies scheduled before May 23, including Permian High School's graduation on May 22. "These students have done everything required of them — completed their coursework, passed their classes, and earned the right to graduate," Landgraf said in a news release. "They shouldn't miss this moment because of a bureaucratic delay." Landgraf stressed that graduation is a major milestone for students, families, and the entire community, and that the state should do its part to make sure every qualified student can participate. "I strongly urge the agency to approve ECISD's request, " Landgraf added. "I am fighting to make sure these students get the recognition they've worked so hard to earn." The parent of a Permian High School student who is planning to graduate early expressed concern Tuesday that his daughter may not be able to walk the stage due to a technicality. David Patrick said his daughter has taken on a double workload the past semester so that she can graduate early from PHS because he is being relocated for work in June. "The technicality is that State test results arrive on May 23rd. Since PHS graduation occurs on May 22nd, 22 ECISD students — who, like my own daughter, went above and beyond, are being told they will not be allowed to walk the stage because they haven't fulfilled all the requirements for graduation (if test results arrive early, then they will not be held back if they passed)," Patrick posted on Facebook. Ector County ISD issued a statement saying: "Our long-standing school board policy is that students must satisfactorily complete all coursework requirements for graduation and satisfy all applicable state testing requirements in order to participate in commencement activities and ceremonies. "Unfortunately, this year, the Texas Education Agency's release of individual student test results is scheduled for May 23, which is after all ECISD's high school graduation ceremonies, except Odessa High School. "The timing not only affects early graduates but also all seniors who are waiting for the results of make up End of Course exams to determine whether or not they have met graduation requirements and will be eligible to participate in their respective graduations. The alternative is to participate in Summer Graduation in July. "School district leaders have sent a formal request to TEA asking the agency to release ECISD's individual results on or by May 21 to help accommodate our students who have worked so hard to earn their diplomas and are one last piece of data away from walking the stage. We are proud of all they have accomplished and hopeful this request for scores will work out in their favor," the statement said. A spokesman for the Texas Education Agency said Wednesday there are ways early graduates can walk the stage. If a student hasn't passed their end of course assessments and they're trying to graduate there is an option called an individual graduation committee where they take a holistic look at what the student has done and they are able to recommend them for graduation, spokesman Jacob Kobersky said. Also, if a student is graduating early and they have taken a comparative assessment like the SAT or ACT that also counts, Kobersky said. He added that there is a provision of law that allows districts to issue a certificate of completion for graduates so they are able to walk. "But also if it is a situation where a kid has not passed the required end of course assessments, typically, again, as a senior they would not be taking those tests for the first time. There are, I believe, up to three different re-testing opportunities. There are a lot of different options to where it doesn't come down to a situation where it's contingent on the date of a graduation because they haven't gotten results," Kobersky said. "It's designed to prevent that type of situation, so there are a lot of different kind of avenues that the district can explore and they may still be doing that."
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Odessa native, Permian HS alumni named 2025-26 Texas A&M Head Yell Leader
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KMID-KPEJ) – From the Permian Basin to the Brazos Valley, Odessa native and Permian High School alumni, Kyler Fife has been named to one of Texas A&M's most-prestigious roles. The Aggie Junior communications major has been named the 2025-26 Head Yell Leader for the academic year and will guide the four other Yell Leaders as they represent the spirit of Aggieland. Fife spoke with ABC Big 2's Chris Talley about how it feels to represent West Texas. 'Extremely proud – very proud, of where I've came from, I love the time I had in Odessa growing up, shoutout Permian High School – Go Mojo, and our Friday Night Lights out there back to my roots where I learned the value of Tradition and Excellence, what really carried me to Texas A&M was seeing those former Permian Panthers who went on to A&M to be aggies from one tradition to the next,' explained Fife. Fife offers this piece of advice to other high school students across West Texas looking to follow his footsteps to Aggieland. 'Work hard because it will be worth it and all the effort you put in – in high school to get to college it really pays off whether you're at Midland High, you're at Legacy, you're at Odessa High School, any other school in the area – you represent what it means to be an Odessa and Midland Native, you represent what it means to be from West Texas, a hard worker, excellence, and respect,' said Fife. But what is a Texas A&M Yell Leader? According to an article by Texas A&M University 'The job of Yell Leaders is to entertain and energize the crowd at all Texas A&M football games, as well as other events. They do this by leading Aggie fans in yells, such as Farmers Fight and Old Army, accompanied by hand signals. Yell Leaders are also known to be role models of the Aggie Spirit for current students and embody the spirit of the 12th Man. The tradition of Yell Leaders began during a football game in the early 1900s. The Aggies were losing badly, and the audience was growing bored. The upperclassmen ordered the freshmen to find a way to entertain their guests, many of whom had been invited from Texas Woman's University. The freshmen found white coveralls and began leading the crowd in yells. They had so much fun and received so much attention from their audience that it was decided that only upperclassmen would be allowed to participate in leading yells in the future. Aggie Yell Leaders still wear white during games and attend all home and away football games and all home basketball, volleyball and soccer games. They also attend post-season football, basketball and volleyball games. They can always be found on the sidelines of the playing field in front of the student section, encouraging the Aggies to show their Aggie Spirit.' Said Texas A&M University. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
From Permian High to UTPB: Dr. Lyndsay Eiben takes baton as Director of Bands
ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The University of Texas Permian Basin has officially named Dr. Lyndsay Eiben as the new Director of Bands, ushering in a new era for the university's music department. In her role, Dr. Eiben will lead the growth and development of UTPB's bands program while continuing to serve as an assistant music professor. A native Odessan, Dr. Eiben brings a wealth of experience to the position not only as an accomplished flutist and educator but also as a product of the very community she now serves. 'We are pleased that Dr. Eiben will be leading our bands program,' said Dr. Christopher Morrow, Dean of the College of Arts & Humanities at UTPB. 'Though she has only been at UTPB a couple of years, she has already made an enormous impact on student success. She is a dedicated, student-first educator who is ideally poised to take our bands program to the next level.' As Director of Bands, Dr. Eiben will oversee all aspects of the program, including direction of the university's wind and percussion ensembles. Her appointment signals the university's commitment to excellence in music education and its vision to expand opportunities for student musicians in the region. Dr. Eiben's deep roots in the Permian Basin make her appointment all the more significant. A graduate of Permian High School, she went on to earn both her Bachelor's and Master's of Music Performance degrees from West Texas A&M University. She later completed her Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Cincinnati's prestigious College-Conservatory of Music. Before joining UTPB's faculty, Dr. Eiben spent over a decade teaching music in the Ector County Independent School District. Her tenure included roles as Associate Director of Bands at both Nimitz Middle School and Permian High School, where her students consistently earned top honors, including placements in the elite 6A TMEA All-State Bands and superior ratings in UIL competitions. Beyond her educational work, Dr. Eiben maintains an active and vibrant performance career. She currently serves as the principal flutist for both the West Texas Symphony and West Texas Winds and is a frequent clinician and guest lecturer across the region, sharing her passion for music with both students and professionals. Her appointment is being celebrated across campus and the broader music community. 'With Dr. Eiben at the helm, we're confident the band's program will not only thrive but become a cornerstone of UTPB's arts presence in West Texas,' Morrow added. As she steps into her new leadership role, Dr. Eiben is poised to inspire the next generation of musicians while continuing to shape the cultural landscape of the Permian Basin…both in the classroom and on the stage. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
ECISD students heading to state VASE competition
Mar. 25—Eighteen Ector County ISD students are heading to the State Visual Arts Scholastic Event in San Marcos in April. Nine of those students are coming from Permian High School. The trip is April 23-26 with the competition on April 26, PHS art teacher Luis Trejo Fuentes said. Their work is currently hanging at Sedate Hall at Odessa College. An opening reception is set for 6 p.m. March 27. "It's going to be the top artists in all of Texas competing, so about 35,000 works of art," Fuentes said. "It's so much art that you really can't see everything," he added. The students going to state represent the top 10 percent from Region 18. Only the very top works in every category get a state medal. Then the judges will choose the top 2 percent to get a Gold Seal, "basically the equivalent of a gold medal in the Olympics." "So state VASE is basically the art Olympics," Fuentes said. The works chosen by the judges as the top artwork could be drawing, painting, printmaking or mixed media. "We can only choose the two best artworks from each from each student, so we have to choose at least 25 pieces, but no student can have more than two pieces entered," Fuentes said. The students are all excited about having their pieces at state. Senior Anabelle McKay said she was very surprised and excited about going to state, as was junior Yaretzi Barrera. Barrera said she wasn't expecting her work to make it. Karely Villarreal said she was surprised at the size of the competition and happily surprised to be in it. McKay said she's looking forward to seeing other artist's work. "I"m super excited to see the different works that other students come up with. Thinking about other people my age, it was really cool to look around at this last competition to see everybody's work. I'm just super excited for that mainly, more than anything," McKay said. Junior Isabel Reyes said she is also anticipating the trip because it sounds fun. "It really does. But other than that I don't really care that much because I still haven't processed it all," Reyes said. McKay said she's not sure that she wants to have art as her main occupation, but she wants to continue improving and growing. She plans to attend Odessa College. "I definitely want to double major in college. I want to do engineering, but also art," McKay said. Barrera said she would like to own a gallery someday. McKay added that she would encourage other students to try art as you never know what you're capable of. Sophomore Carla Reynoso said art encourages creativity for everyone. "It would be great for people to try it out," Reynoso said. Madelis Salazar, a senior, said she has never had work in the state competition before. The same is true of the majority of the other students. "It's new, very interesting getting to experience things that some students can't," Salazar said. Fuentes said this is a great group of students and there are a variety of works that will be in the contest. "I think we've got more variety this year than any other year. It's not just drawing or painting, it's all kinds of different things," he added. ECISD Visual Art Scholastic Event (VASE) 2025 Results This year's Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) represented a total of 716 student artworks. The event represented 6 districts, 15 schools, and 30 teachers, from across Region 18. There were a total of 379 Regional Medalists and 38 Area Medalists (going to state VASE). ECISD students were awarded 204 Regional Medals and 18 Area Medals. ECISD has 18 artworks going to the state VASE event. "We are very proud of our amazing art teachers and their very talented students. Great Job, ECISD!" said ECISD Executive Director of Fine Arts Aaron Hawley.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Landman' not exactly true to life
Mar. 25—In the heart of oil and gas country, the show "Landman" has gotten a lot of attention and sparked curiosity. Is being a landman really like it is on TV? "There are small pieces of it that are accurate," said Katharine Harrell, coordinator of the Energy Land Management program at the University of Texas Permian Basin. "They've sort of combined a lot of different jobs in the industry together to make it a little more dramatic for TV." Harrell said they have combined a bit of what a landman does and some of what a field foreman would be doing. "Basically anything where he's out there doing anything with the oil well, would not be what a landman does," she added. A landman is mostly found in the county clerk's office looking at records or looking for those records online. "It's probably one of those professions that is about as close as you can get to a lawyer without actually being a lawyer. There's actually an exemption in Texas so landmen aren't practicing law without a license, because there's a lot of contract review and things like that," Harrell said. "You're looking at a lot of documents." "It's a very specialized industry in Texas that has a really long history, and so it's protected in that way," she added. It can help if you are a lawyer, but there are many successful landmen who aren't attorneys, said Harrell, who is an attorney. Some of the show was filmed in Odessa and Midland, including a spring Permian High School football game at Ratliff Stadium. They also filmed Wadley Avenue in Midland and some of the interstate. However, a lot of it was filmed in Fort Worth. "It's very dramatized, which it would have to be to be on TV. It's interesting to see some of the local locations on television. When you see the hamburger place that's down the street from your house on TV, that's always kind of interesting," Harrell said. Harrell said the Energy Land Management program has seen increased enrollment, but that's more due to recruitment efforts than the TV show. This will be the first recruitment cycle with "Landman" on streaming services. She added that they are getting questions about whether being a landman is like the show. "Landmen are usually pretty gregarious and funny. ... There are some that are being funny and say, yeah, that's exactly what I do, just being funny. Of course, people are sometimes getting calls from their grandmother saying, are you really working with fire? And we're saying, no, I sit at a computer and read most of the day," Harrell said. The Energy Landman program started in 2021 and its accredited through the American Association of Professional Landmen. "We're one of just a handful of schools throughout the country that have that accreditation. AAPL does a lot with our students," Harrell said. Students have free memberships to AAPL that come along with networking opportunities and mentorship. "They can apply to receive a mentor through AAPL, which in this industry is huge. Networking is still a really big part of what we do, and so when they're assigned to a mentor, they have access to their mentor's network as well so it's helpful," Harrell said. There is a demand for land professionals that she said she thinks will continue. "A lot of times you'll hear about alternative energy sources, and there are still going to be landmen that are used with alternative energy as well. A degree in Energy Land Management applies to the entire energy mix. We call it the energy mix now, so it would apply to things like wind turbines. The skills that you pick up to be able to deal with oil and gas are transferable to other areas," Harrell said. AAPL is actively recruiting students because there is a talent gap with people in management that are going to be retiring in the next 10 years. "They're wanting to fill that talent pipeline, so they're actively reaching out to universities, trying to make those connections with students," Harrell said. Energy Land Management is a four-year degree within UTPB's College of Business. Starting out, a student would take their basics, and then business law either end of their sophomore/beginning of their junior year, which is required for all College of Business students. From there, they would move to their landman principles class. There is a real property law class and an energy law class taught by an adjunct who is a Midland oil and gas attorney. There is also a negotiation class, the petroleum technology class and some upper level geology that has to do with GIS mapping, which is relevant to the industry, she said. "You're basically getting a business degree with a concentration in Energy Land Management," Harrell said. She added that there are skills students pick up in the program that are useful and could apply to other fields like real estate, for example. Starting salary for those who go through the program is about $75,000 a year to start. "As of right now, I would say our placement rate is probably in the 90th percentile. We've placed about 90% of our students that have graduated within the industry," Harrell said. There is math involved, but it's not petroleum engineering-level math, she said. "We have a petroleum technology class that is on our degree plan, and I like to say that's just enough so that we know what's going on. ... It's definitely not engineering-type math, or anything like that. It's about the same amount of math you need to get a business degree," Harrell said. A lot of the resources landmen would need right now are online. "There are services that have scanned the records and put them online, like Texas File, and you can search for things that way. There are probably always going to be those smaller courthouses that have some of their records that aren't online so there may be the need occasionally to drive out to Mentone or somewhere else, to get something that you need, especially if it's a probate record or something like that. A lot of it can be done on the internet now, but you still have the opportunity to get out of the office occasionally, depending on what you're doing," Harrell said. Land professionals represent oil and gas companies. "Depending on what type of landman you are dictates what you do. If you are an independent or a field landman, you're probably going to be gathering those records either from the County Clerk's Office or online resources, maybe trying to find contact information for lessors, calling them and communicating with them about potentially signing an oil and gas lease. That's one aspect of it. "(You) can also be an in-house landman. In-house landmen, depending on what size company you're at, you may be more so dealing with landmen from other companies, acquiring leases ... putting leases together to be able to drill. There are a lot of different aspects to the industry. You can also be a landman and represent mineral owners ... There are a lot of different things that you can do within the industry," Harrell said.
