California Governor Gavin Newsom has asked state legislators to set aside $25 million for legal fees to respond to potential challenges by the incoming Trump administration on its progressive policies. The Governor convened a special session on Monday at the state’s Capitol to "Trump-proof" California and protect its policies on civil rights, climate change , immigration and abortion access. Newsom asked his allies in the Legislature to approve additional funding for the attorney general’s office to prepare for a legal battle against Trump. “We will work with the incoming administration and we want President Trump to succeed in serving all Americans,” Newsom said. “But when there is overreach, when lives are threatened, when rights and freedoms are targeted, we will take action.” Legislation was introduced to set aside $25 million to create a litigation fund. During Trump’s first term in office, California sued the administration more than 120 times, spending around $42 million in litigation costs, officials said. “This special session is about sticking up for Californians and for California values,” Democratic state Senator Scott Wiener said. “It is about ensuring that the president of the United States and his administration actually follow the law.” Trump and Newsom have repeatedly traded barbs, with the Republican frequently referring to the Governor as “New-scum” during the campaign trail. Trump has also criticized California over its large population of illegal immigrants and its homelessness issues. Newsom said he wanted funding in place before Trump’s inauguration in January.Alabama and Mississippi tumbled out of the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25 poll Sunday and Miami and SMU moved in following a chaotic weekend in the SEC and across college football in general. Oregon is No. 1 for the sixth straight week and Ohio State, Texas and Penn State held their places behind the Ducks, who are the last unbeaten team. The shuffling begins at No. 5, where Notre Dame returned for the first time since Week 2 after beating Army for its ninth straight win. No. 6 Georgia moved up two spots, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 8 Miami each got a three-rung promotion and No. 9 SMU jumped four places for its first top-10 ranking since 1985. SMU has clinched a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game and would play Miami, if the Hurricanes win at Syracuse this week, or No. 12 Clemson . Indiana dropped from No. 5 to No. 10 following its first loss, a 38-15 defeat at Ohio State. The Buckeyes would play Oregon in the Big Ten championship game if they beat Michigan this Saturday for the first time in four years. The Southeastern Conference's hopes for landing four spots in the College Football Playoff took a hit with two of their teams losing as double-digit favorites. Texas, Georgia and Tennessee are the only SEC teams with fewer than three losses after Alabama lost 24-3 at Oklahoma and Mississippi lost 24-17 at Florida. Alabama and Mississippi each dropped six spots in the AP poll, the Crimson Tide to No. 13 and the Rebels to No. 15. Texas A&M was the third SEC team to lose, 43-41 at Auburn in four overtimes. The Aggies tumbled five places to No. 20 but would play Georgia in the SEC championship game if they knock off Texas this week. Losses by BYU and Colorado created a four-way tie for first in the Big 12. No. 14 Arizona State, picked to finish last in the conference, handed BYU its second straight loss and is the highest-ranked Big 12 team. No. 17 Iowa State earned a five-rung promotion with its win at Utah. BYU is No. 19 and Colorado, which lost to Kansas , is No. 23. If the four teams each finish 7-2 in conference play, it's Iowa State vs. Arizona State in the Big 12 championship game. No. 11 Boise State is first among the four ranked Group of Five teams. The Broncos got a one-spot bump despite struggling to beat a two-win Wyoming team. Tulane is No. 18, UNLV is No. 21 and Army is No. 25. Poll points Oregon, which was idle, was the consensus No. 1 team for the fourth straight week. The Ducks will be unbeaten in the regular season for the first time since 2010 if they beat Washington at home Saturday. Boise State's ranking is its highest since it was No. 8 in the final poll of the 2011 season. Arizona State's ranking is its highest since it was No. 12 in the final poll of the 2014 season. Indiana-Ohio State was the final top-five matchup of the regular season. The five were the most in a regular season since 1996. There also were five in 1936 and 1943. In and out No. 24 Missouri, a 39-20 winner at Mississippi State , returned to the Top 25 after a one-week absence. Washington State's four-week run in the rankings ended with its second straight loss, 41-38 loss at Oregon State. Conference call SEC — 8 (Nos. 3, 6, 7, 13, 15, 16, 20, 24). Big Ten — 5 (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 10, 22). Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 14, 17, 19, 23). ACC — 3 (Nos. 8, 9, 12). AAC — 2 (Nos. 18, 25). Mountain West — 2 (Nos. 11, 21). Independent — 1 (No. 5). Ranked vs. ranked —No. 16 South Carolina at No. 12 Clemson: It's a Top 25 matchup for the first time since 2013. Clemson's 16-7 victory in Columbia last year was the fourth of five straight wins to end the Tigers' season. —No. 3 Texas at No. 20 Texas A&M: Stakes are high for the first meeting of longtime rivals since both were in the Big 12 in 2011. Winner goes to the SEC title game. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!Prairie premiers urge action on security amid Trump's tariff threats
Americans agree more than they might think − not knowing this jeopardizes the nation’s shared valuesPrime Minister Robert Abela must take on the role of a serious leader in a serious country instead of taking decisions and positions that are clearly partisan in nature, ADPD - The Green Party Chairperson Sandra Gauci said. ADPD - The Green Party Deputy Secretary General Mario Mallia said that the decision of the parliamentary committee, which includes government representatives, to accept the report by the Standards Commissioner "on the phantom job given to the wife of the Minister Clayton Bartolo, was a step in the right direction." "This means that there is agreement on what is clearly obvious." Mallia stated that in the context of this decision, "what noticeably stands out is the position taken by the Prime Minister, which is in total contrast to the position taken by Parliament's Standards Committee consisting of deputies from both sides. We have come to a point where the country is in agreement that there was abuse, however the Prime Minister has kept on insisting that Amanda Muscat has conducted the work she has been paid for. For some reason, the Prime Minister keeps on denying the fact that Mrs Muscat was paid for work that she has not done, and moreover, for work that she was not qualified to do. Consultancy work has not been done, reiterated Mallia. " Seeing that government representatives on Parliament's Standards Committee have unanimously agreed on the Standards Commissioner's report in its entirety, one cannot help but ask what is keeping the Prime Minister from publicly declaring that this is unacceptable. Mallia asked why the Prime Minister has not taken the necessary disciplinary steps with the Ministers involved, and have the money paid for consultancy refunded. It is clear, Mallia reiterated, that the Prime Minister has abdicated from all responsibility concerning accountability and ethical behaviour amongst parliamentarians. This implies a weak leadership that gives a clear message to all that anything goes and whoever acts unethically will find protection Gauci asked what is keeping the Prime Minister from reigning in the Cabinet from recruiting more persons of trust than necessary. It is obvious, Gauci said, that for a number of years "the Prime Minister has closed an eye to the abusive practices involved in putting people on the public payroll, especially when it concerns people close to Ministers and the party in power. It seems that the Prime Minister is more concerned with the people in inner circles rather than meritocracy in the name of national interest. These weaknesses are contributing to a culture of corruption and impunity." It comes as no surprise, said Gauci, that many young people are put off politics and also leaving the island. "It is clear that the country is not appealing to them in many ways, including a sense of justice, meritocracy and standards of public life." Therefore, Gauci insisted that the Prime Minister must take on the role of a serious leader in a serious country instead of taking decisions and positions that are clearly partisan in nature. He should take immediate, decisive, and concrete steps himself against those individuals, even if they are close to him, without having to wait for other people to do their job. And finally, Gauci asked the Prime Minister to give an explanation how his office in Castille was responsible for the approval of thousands of euros to the minister's wife, as a person who was neither qualified nor expert in the field concerned, especially when such payments are reserved only for exceptional cases of consultancy. "As the saying goes, the fish rots from the head down," concluded Gauci.
GAINESVILLE — This week’s Florida-Florida State game is about as personal as it gets for Gators sophomore safety Jordan Castell . The former West Orange standout grew up in a family of Seminoles fans, with his trash-talking grandmother Dessie the ring leader. She gave her grandson an earful after FSU’s 24-15 win last November in the Swamp kept the Seminoles unbeaten and ended the Gators’ season at 5-7. “The whole year I had to hear about it,” Castell recalled Monday. “‘You can’t beat us,’ ... all that.” Castell is ready for payback. The surging Gators (6-5) are 15-point favorites against the struggling Seminoles (2-9) as the bitter rivals prepare for Saturday night’s showdown at Doak Campbell Stadium. Florida ended No. 22 LSU’s slim SEC title hopes with a 27-16 win Nov. 16 in the Swamp and then knocked No. 9 Ole Miss out of the College Football Playoff picture with a 24-17 upset this past Saturday on UF’s Senior Day. Meanwhile in Tallahassee, the Seminoles’ 41-7 rout of overmatched Charleston Southern ended a six-game losing streak dating to a Sept. 22 win against Cal. FSU’s latest performance marked its first game with more than 20 points since a 24-21 Week 0 loss to Boston College. The season-opening defeat in in Dublin, Ireland, hinted 2024 was going to different than a 13-win 2023. No one anticipated coach Mike Norvell’s program was about to go off the rails, culminating with the firing of both coordinators following a 52-3 loss Nov. 9 at Notre Dame. Having experienced his share of headwinds and turmoil at Florida , Billy Napier said he is no position to discuss the issues occurring 150 miles northwest of Gainesville. “I have my own grass to mow,” he said. “My yard is big, has a lot of weeds in it. I have my own issues.” The Gators also entered the week with more momentum than they’ve had during Napier’s three seasons. UF has beaten ranked teams twice in consecutive weeks just three times in more than 20 years (2018, 2008, 2003). True freshman quarterback DJ Lagway’s poise, confidence and big-play ability has elevated the offense while the defense swarmed LSU and Ole Miss during consecutive weeks as the Gators pulled away during the fourth quarter. Ole Miss’ SEC-leading offense managed three second-half points as Florida forced two punts, intercepted two passes and made a key fourth-down stop. “I’d say we believe in each other,” Castell said. “Guys just doing their jobs. That’s all we really need, just trusting that guy beside you.” Castell likes the Gators’ chances to end a two-game losing streak against the Seminoles. Family bragging rights would come with a win, but Dessie Castell might try to set it up where she can’t really lose. Her grandson isn’t having any of it. “She likes to flip it,” Jordan Castell said. “The first half she said she’s going to wear her Florida jersey, my jersey. She said the last half she going to take it off, a Florida State girl. “I told her, ‘Once you take it off, just leave it off.’ “ Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com Florida at Florida State WHEN: 7 p.m., Saturday, Doak Campbell Stadium TV: ESPN2NoneFor months, has been in the habit of announcing on social media the next targets of his brutal foot soldiers. Seemingly drunk on his own power in a , the gang leader has issued death threats against everyone from the country’s interim government to international peacekeepers. But telegraphing his next operational move in a public video this week proved disastrous for him and his Vivre Ensemble alliance of trigger-happy thugs, after it gave police and vigilantes a chance to prepare their fightback. In the video, Cherizier said that his men would target any hotels in Petionville, an affluent suburb in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, hosting members of the transitional council, a panel charged with organising the country’s first elections in a decade. Describing them as “oligarchs”, he said the only way they could save themselves would be by stepping down. A few hours later, in the small hours on Tuesday, two trucks carrying dozens of his heavily-armed men swung into Petionville, one of them parking across the main road into the suburb to block residents from fleeing. Dawn revealed a scene of carnage. Yet it was the gangsters who had paid the heaviest price for their attempts to terrorise the suburb. Their mutilated corpses littered the streets. Some had been decapitated. Others had had their feet hacked off. There was also a pile of smouldering bodies which neighbours had set alight. At least 28 Vivre Ensemble members are confirmed to have died. Martine Villeneuve, country director for the charity Action Against Hunger, said shooting and shouting could be heard around Petionville from 2am to 11am as the vigilantes and police repulsed wave after wave of Vivre Ensemble attacks. “The self-defence groups in the neighbourhoods were carrying out a manhunt for anyone associated with the gangs. Tuesday was a long night. It was very disturbing,” she told The Telegraph. Vigilantes protecting their families from the gangs that target them with , is not new in Haiti, where the police force is undermanned, riddled with corruption and outgunned by the gangsters. The vigilante movement is known as Bwa Kale and has even inspired musical tributes with machine gun-like drum mixes. Typically, residents and local business owners club together to arm neighbourhood self-defence groups, meaning that Petionville’s self-appointed defenders may have been better equipped than those in poorer districts. “The auto-defence groups are trying to protect their neighbourhoods. They put barricades in the street and control who enters and leaves,” said Ms Villeneuve. “They know who lives there, and which organisations are trying to help, but they stop anyone suspicious.” Yet fighting back against the gangs is a high-stakes strategy. One of the worst massacres since the current bout of bloodshed broke out in Haiti in February came in September in the small town of Pont-Sondé after locals dismantled a “toll booth” that the Gran Grif gang had placed on a nearby road. The gang responded by shooting and hacking to death around 70 people. Meanwhile, in the currently engulfing Haiti, the Bwa Kale have sparked concerns about their own human rights abuses and the risk that they will devolve into yet more criminal gangs. Tuesday’s gun battle in Petionville comes as the bloodshed in Haiti appears to be ramping up amid yet more political turbulence in the . Two weeks ago, the transitional council replaced Garry Conille, a US ally, as prime minister, prompting the latest wave of bloodletting. Since then, flights into Port-au-Prince’s main airport have been suspended after a Spirit Airlines passenger jet flying in from Florida was shot at multiple times, injuring a stewardess. Meanwhile, after 30 years of uninterrupted service, Doctors Without Borders this week , saying the security situation had become untenable and blaming, among others, the Bwa Kale. In a statement, the group accused police and vigilantes of having “executed” two patients, presumably injured gang members, being transported in one of its ambulances, the latest in a series of threats and attacks on its operations. The group’s withdrawal intensifies a humanitarian situation that Ms Villeneuve describes as “catastrophic”. The violence has , leaving crops unharvested and food unable to enter Port-au-Prince, with the port closed and the roads into the city controlled by the gangs. Half of Haiti’s population of nearly 12 million now eat just one meal a day. Another 1.2 million are “on the brink of famine”, according to Ms Villeneuve, with just one meal every two or three days. Yet Cherizier, a former elite police officer with political ambitions and a penchant for pseudo-revolutionary rhetoric, appears undaunted, treating both ordinary Haitians and his own gang members as expendable. Since the disastrous street battle in Petionville, he has been seen handing out school backpacks to children in Port-au-Prince as he attempts to bolster his image as a Robin Hood character defending the very communities he terrorises.
How Trump’s looming border policy could impact Virginia immigrantsNone
Fighter jet-inspired washing machine offers 15-minute AI-enhanced cleanse for humansNorton Rose Fulbright appoints Kessar Nashat as US Co-Head of Corporate, M&A and Securities
Crown Royal Paints Nashville Purple During "The 58th Annual CMA Awards" Week from launch of Crown Royal 31 Year Old in Partnership with Daniel Diamond to Generous Moment on CMA Awards Stage Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Top trending stories from the past week. News, Sports, and more throughout the week. The week's obituaries, delivered to your inbox.
LEICESTER, England :Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy got off to a winning start in his first game in charge as they beat West Ham United 3-1 in the Premier League on Tuesday. Veteran striker Jamie Vardy, 20-year-old Bilal El Khannouss and substitute Patson Daka scored as Leicester took their chances while a dominant West Ham were guilty of spurning several good opportunities, only getting a late consolation goal from Niclas Fuellkrug. Van Nistelrooy was appointed on Friday to replace Steve Cooper after the Foxes made a poor start to the season and although he did not have much time with his new charges, his arrival injected some much-needed good fortune into the club. The win moved Leicester, who last won six weeks ago, from a point above the relegation places to 15th, while West Ham are one place above them in the standings. The 37-year-old Vardy beat the offside trap to score after 98 seconds although it took more than two minutes for a VAR check to confirm his run had been perfectly timed. Leicester’s second came on the hour mark as El Khannouss steered home a perfectly weighted pass inside from Kasey McAteer after a long ball to the left from Facundo Buonanotte stretched the West Ham defence. Bobby De Cordova-Reid found the net in the 81st minute but his effort was chalked off for offside after a VAR check but in the 90th minute Daka was released on the left and finished with a powerful strike. For the rest it was a match that the Hammers dominated, spurning several clear-cut chances before they bagged a late consolation goal, with the result piling the pressure on under fire manager Julen Lopetegui. Danny Ings, making his first start of the season, saw his 13th minute header deflect off Leicester fullback James Justin and onto the base of the post. In the 69th minute, Leicester's Conor Coady cleared off the line as he was falling back into his own net, keeping out substitute Crysencio Summerville’s effort with the tip of his toe. There was also a let off for Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen in the 58th minute when he came out to punch the ball but missed, allowing it to trickle into the net only for the referee to award a free kick for a push by Tomas Soucek. West Ham finally found the net four minutes into stoppage time with Fuellkrug's header on his return from injury. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Toby Davis)In 2010, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, then 25 years old, left her two young children to her parents’ care in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija to seek proverbial greener pastures abroad. After initially landing in Malaysia, she moved to Indonesia on advice of her Filipino recruiters. Upon arrival in Yogyakarta, Indonesia she was detained after authorities uncovered 2.6 kilos of heroin with an estimated worth of $500,000 hidden in the inner lining of what she thought to be an empty suitcase given by her recruiter. She was sentenced to death in October 2014 and scheduled for execution in April 2015, but this verdict was stayed due to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s no-execution policy. While attending an ASEAN summit in Malaysia, President Benigno S. Aquino III appealed to President Joko Widodo for a stay in her execution. Fortunately, President Widodo acceded, despite his decision to allow the execution of other convicted foreigners. During the Duterte administration, the Philippine government took the position that it would not interfere with the Indonesian government’s stand on Mary Jane’s case. President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s administration took the cudgels for Mary Jane. During his first foreign trip in the early days of the Marcos presidency, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo brought up with his Indonesian counterpart the possible grant of clemency. Last Nov. 11, a breakthrough emerged as the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correction stated that “the transfer of prisoner” is being eyed as an option for Veloso, in line with the Philippine government’s request and as part of “constructive diplomacy” being taken by both sides. From a broader perspective, Mary Jane Veloso’s story mirrors the Filipino diaspora. Since the early seventies, tens of thousands of Filipinos have ventured to seek employment and better opportunities abroad. While many have prospered and elevated their families’ status, many have also fared badly and have been forced to return home to start anew. The government has not been remiss in continually promoting their well-being through agencies such as the Commission for Filipinos Overseas (CFO), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). According to a perceptive observer: “It is the billions of dollars of cumulative financial contributions sent to loved ones by these brave sacrificing souls that has kept the Philippine economy afloat.” Mary Jane’s sons have carried on with their schooling; the elder has finished high school and the younger is still enrolled. She will turn 40 years old on January 10, 2025. Many Filipinos certainly share the hope expressed by her family and DFA senior officials for a Christmas or New Year homecoming. Many more continue to aspire for a gentler, kinder life that would enable them to live a life of decent comfort. As of 2023, the number of poor Filipinos ranged from 16.3 million to 17.7 million, respectively, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Social Weather Stations (SWS) report on self-rated poverty. Stunting, or being small in size for their age, is still highly prevalent among the youngest Filipino children. The Philippines ranks fifth highest in Asia-Pacific in terms of having the highest number of stunted children. Mary Jane Veloso’s long-awaited homecoming will hopefully signal the dawning of a new, more hopeful era for Filipino women, children and families.
UBS Gives Swiggy A ‘Buy’ Rating, Says Plenty Of Room At The TableMITCHELL — Students in the Mitchell School District work hard to see good performance reflected in their regular report cards. That’s equally true for the school district itself, with the annual district report card giving school leaders insight into school statistics, student academic performance and overall system goals, all the while offering perspective on how the district compares to others around the state. Reports are published for districts in the fall of every school year. ADVERTISEMENT Joe Childs, superintendent for the Mitchell School District, gave a brief rundown of some of those figures at a recent meeting of the Mitchell Board of Education. He also recently talked with the Mitchell Republic about some of the highlights of the 2023-24 report for the Mitchell School District, the most recent such report card. With the student body population playing a large role in district funding, school officials keep a close eye on the latest enrollment figures. The district report card shows the Mitchell district with an enrollment of 2,728 for the 2023-24 school year, which was up a few students from the previous year, which logged 2,725 students. The 2021-22 school year saw a higher enrollment at 2,747 and 2020-21 was even higher at 2,802, which marks the high point for the district since at least 2014-15. Overall state enrollment numbers were also up for 2023-24 over 2022-23, with all districts reporting 167,316 students in 2023-24, up from 166,680 the previous year. Childs said the enrollment for this year, which is not reflected in the new report card, is down by 91 students. “The count day is done, but going into the current school year we are down. We did see a decrease in enrollment, and it wasn’t at just one building or one grade level, it was just kind of across the entire district,” Childs said. ADVERTISEMENT There are several factors that can affect enrollment. Overall rural population decline in the state is one contributor, as is some students choosing alternative education options, such as home-schooling. Childs suspects those factors are affecting not just the Mitchell district, but districts around the state. “I think folks are seeing some of this all across the state, for sure. And I know there are statistics that our state is seeing an increase in alternative sources of education,” Childs said. The report includes information on student socioeconomic status within the district, measuring the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunches. According to the report, 40% of elementary students qualify for such discounts, along with 39% of Mitchell Middle School. That number takes a dive when students get to high school, with only 28% qualifying for free and reduced lunches. Childs said that drop off can be partially attributed to the lunch habits of the high school students. ADVERTISEMENT “When you’re an elementary student and often a middle school student, you are at school all day, you get there at 8:15 a.m. and you don’t get out until 3:15 p.m. And if you’re having lunch, you either brought lunch or you ate lunch at school. But in high school, you get a little more mobile,” Childs said. With other lunch options for high schoolers, such as going off-campus for lunch, some families simply don’t fill out the applications to qualify for the reduced meal prices. “I would suspect that because of that, you’re seeing 10% of those families that might be eligible for free and reduced lunches simply aren’t completing the forms,” Childs said. According to the report, the district has 153 students who classify as English language learners (EL), which accounts for about 5% of the total student population. Broken down, the highest percentage of those students are at Rosedale Colony and Rockport Colony, where there are 15 and 4 students classified as EL students, making up about 63% and 40% of their respective school bodies. After the colony schools, the numbers and percentages drop, with L.B. Williams Elementary hosting the highest number of students at 46, or 10% of its student body. Mitchell High School is next with 29 for 3%, followed by Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary with 24, for 6%. Mitchell Middle School counts 19 such students for 3% and Longfellow Elementary comes in with 16, or 5%. Childs said the EL population at the district continues to grow. ADVERTISEMENT “The overall numbers in the grand scheme of the total enrollment of our schools, that number is still low, but it is the fastest growing population of students that we have in the Mitchell School District,” Childs said. Mitchell School District Report Card Full by inforumdocs on Scribd Testing scores tracked by the report card also show the Mitchell School District outperforming their peers at both the state and national level. Statistics show reading and ELA scores at 59% proficiency, compared to 51% for the state average. For math scores, the district logged a 54% proficiency rating compared to 44% for the state averages. Students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11 are included as part of the survey. All reading and math scores at each grade level rate at above the state average for 2023-24. Mitchell students also tend to outperform their peers in the ACT test. For 2023-24, MItchell students’ average score was 22.3, up from 21.8 in 2022-23 and even with 2021-22. The past three years of state average scores are 21.5 in 2021-22, and 21.1 in 2022-23 and 2023-24. For the national average, scores were 19.8 in 2021-22, 19.5 in 2022-23 and 19.4 in 2023-24. Childs said the ACT test will now be used for state assessment scores for juniors instead of the traditional Smarter Balanced Assessment. Childs expects that change to affect scores as taking the ACT test is optional. ADVERTISEMENT “You don’t have to take the ACT. So when we look at our composite from 2024 and say our composite average is 22.3, that’s the average of those who decided to take the test. So I would imagine we’re going to see that average change, and I have to imagine it’s going to go down,” Childs said. Childs said with ACT taking the place of Smarter Balanced tests for juniors, the state average would also likely see a drop in scores as all the other districts in South Dakota will also be making the switch. The Mitchell School District has made an effort to improve chronic absenteeism in the district, and for the most part, Childs feels those efforts are paying off. Mitchell was one of four South Dakota school districts that were awarded grant money for the Addressing Chronic Absenteeism program from the South Dakota Department of Education in 2023. The district used that funding to hire Aaron Klinger as an attendance liaison and social worker, who began his duties early in 2024. That start date was a little too late to reflect much progress in the 2023-24 report card, but Childs said district statistics suggest overall improvement. “We got him in last year, mid-year, and so he had half a year to work on it, and he hit the ground running for this school year. So we’re hoping to see some improvement moving into next year’s report, and he’s just one component, of course,” Childs said. “(Based on observations) the only place we didn’t make our progress goal was at one of the elementary schools, but the middle school and the other two elementary schools did make some progress toward improving their chronic absenteeism.” The 2023-24 report card shows an attendance rate of 91% and a chronic absenteeism rate of 19%. The state chronic absenteeism rate for that same year is 20.4%. ADVERTISEMENT A priority district goal is the graduation of its students, and Childs noted several statistics show positive performance by students and their instructors. The latest report card shows an on-time graduation rate of 90% for the Mitchell School District, above the 83% state average. The Mitchell district on-time graduation rate has fluctuated between 87% and 93% since 2018. The overall graduation rate for 2023-24 comes in at 93% for Mitchell and 91% for the state average. Those are respectable numbers, but Childs said he was particularly pleased seeing the survey of Mitchell High School graduates’ plans for after graduation. About 76% of graduates are heading off to post-secondary schools, another 21% are entering the workforce and another 2% planned to enter the military. The most popular in-state post-secondary destination for Mitchell students is none other than Mitchell Technical College. “One of the things I get excited about is the graduates’ plans. You can see that 76% of our students are going on to post-secondary, which is the most favorable of the options that they report back to us,” Childs said. “What I think is fun to report is that over 40% of those students are still staying in Mitchell. We have a lot of them that are sticking around here near their South Dakota roots, and we also have students that are kind of going all over the place in some really neat and very prestigious places.” In addition to Mitchell Tech, other common in-state schools picked by Mitchell graduates include South Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota and Dakota Wesleyan University. Notable out-of-state schools include Arizona State, Harvard, the University of Iowa, Dordt University and the University of Nebraska. The full 2023-24 report card for the Mitchell School District can be found at the Mitchell School District website.
None