By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Following the state legislature’s approval of a new law this year, the city of Hays will be transitioning from April elections to November elections in odd years only.

All Kansas cities will be holding their local elections in November–the Tuesday following the first Monday in November–to coincide with the date of national elections. The change is intended to increase voter turnout in the state.

Assistant Hays City Attorney Todd Powell told Hays City Commissioners last week the law also contains provisions relating to elections of city officials including the election date, the beginning of the term of office for newly elected commissioners, filing deadlines and primaries.

“The newly elected commissioners take their seats the second Monday in January rather than in April. As it applies to the current Hays city commission, the terms that expire in 2017 will actually expire in January of 2018. And the terms that expire in April of 2019, will end in January of 2020,” Powell explained.

According to Powell, the city must adopt three ordinances to comply with the new state law. City commissioners will consider the recommendation during their Thursday, Oct. 22 meeting.

The meeting agenda can be seen here.

FHSU University Relations and Marketing

The Fort Hays State University College of Education was graded against schools of all sizes and locations and was ranked No. 6 in the nation by the National Council on Teacher Quality, making it the second year in a row it has ranked on the NCTQ assessment.

Of the colleges listed on the NCTQ’s 2015 Top 25 “Best Value” U.S. Colleges of Education, FHSU was the only university in the 12-state Midwest Region that stretches from Kansas to North Dakota and east to Ohio and Michigan.

Dr. Paul Adams, College of Education dean, congratulated the all former and current faculty members of the college.

“Great work by the College of Education and especially to the efforts of Tiffany Hester and Adam Holden for laying down the foundation over the last couple of years for this recognition,” he said.

Last year, FHSU’s history and government was the third-highest ranked secondary education program, and the secondary education program was the 12th-highest ranked elementary education program in the NCTQ “Teacher Prep Review 2014” list.

The NCTQ is a non-profit whose mission is to ensure “that every child has an effective teacher,” and provides consumer reports about the quality of teacher education programs. In the past the NCTQ has released its “Teacher Prep Reviews,” but this year they also did their Top 25 “Best Value” list.

“While there are an unlimited number of guides to help people buy products, from the right car to the right refrigerator, when it comes to picking the best college of education, one of the most important decisions one can make, people are left to fend for themselves,” said Kate Walsh, president of NCTQ.

The council has an extensive examination process that gathers curriculum information from colleges by using materials submitted by universities, homework assignments and by contacting individuals on-campus. It then assigns programs grades ranging from A-F. Of more than 2,300 elementary and secondary programs graded from more than 1,100 colleges and universities, 416 programs across 35 states received a grade of A or B, and FHSU was the only university in Kansas to receive As.

FHSU received an A-minus in elementary and an A in secondary, both of which were further broken down into categories.

Elementary education was judged on admission selectivity, content knowledge, teaching reading, student teaching, classroom management, assessing classroom learning and rigor. The program ranked particularly high on admission selectivity, social studies content knowledge, teaching reading, classroom management and assessing classroom learning.

Secondary education was judged on admission selectivity, content knowledge, student teaching, classroom management, assessing classroom learning and rigor — scoring A’s in all but two categories.

For more information on the NCTQ, visit www.nctq.org.

For more information about the college, visit www.fhsu.edu/te/.

Ellis County Rural Fire and Hays Fire Department crews are on the scene of a sizable grass fire outside of Hays north of Interstate 70 and east of Home Depot.

At 4:31 p.m. crews were reporting the fire was contained, but crews are remaining on scene to check for hotspots.

The fire extended from I-70 to 41st St. just east of Home Depot, 1310 E 41st St., burning up to the concrete behind the store.

Check Hays Post for details as they become available.

Northwest Kansas Technical College

GOODLAND — Northwest Kansas Technical College is once again among a small and select group that have been recognized nationally as an Apple Distinguished School, according to a media release.

It is the second time that Northwest Tech has been selected.

Northwest Tech was also the first two-year college to receive an Apple Distinguished Program award for its iPad Mobile Learning Initiative in March of 2012.

The Apple Distinguished Program award like the Apple Distinguished School award is earned from innovation, leadership and educational excellence.

Every program at Northwest Tech emphasizes hands-on learning and real-world experience in the field.

This learning and experience that occurs is supported by complete iPad integration in the classroom. Instructors work to instill the hand, mind, and heart philosophy into students to encourage them to work hard, be smart, and do the right thing; this philosophy along with the iPad Mobile Learning Initiative are what make Northwest Tech graduates so successful.

With around a 90 percent placement rate in most of our programs, our students are finding quality jobs and careers in their selected fields.

The selection of Northwest Tech as an Apple Distinguished School highlights its successes in enhancing both the teaching and learning experience with thoughtful and innovative implementations of technology. Apple TV and the iPad are bringing Northwest Tech students closer to their learning materials than they have ever been before, as well as increasing collaboration between both students and faculty.

Apple Distinguished Educator and Computer Graphics Technology Instructor, Adam Elliott said, “This recognition further validates Northwest Tech’s role as an educational leader and faculty’s commitment to student learning.

The forward-thinking culture we have would not be possible without everyone working together: administration, faculty, staff, and most of all, the students.”

Elliott played a large part in the creation of the Northwest Tech iBook which details the reasons behind Northwest Tech’s merit of the Apple Distinguished School award. He further commented, “At the end of the day, the students benefit. We see it in their test scores and in their employment rates. And that is what it’s all about-that is our mission.”