Local schools begin classes; West Hills College welcomes students Monday

Saturday, August 16, 2014 - 10:57am

Lemoore's first high school building couldn't quite hold the 2,000 or more students who showed up for class Wednesday.

School began last week for youngsters from kindergarten to high school, and on Monday, classes begin anew at West Hills College where some 6,000 students are expected to begin attending classes. Over 2,000 showed up for classes on Wednesday at Lemoore High School, which is up from last year.

LHS students this coming school year will be treated to a plethora of classes, including a variety of Advanced Placement classes from physics to environmental science. The local high school will also continue its implementation of the Common Core, culminating with the new Smarter Balanced testing in the spring.

Teachers and staff arrived on campus the previous Friday to begin preparations for the new school year. The high school also boasts a new, more efficient website which went on line Wednesday.

Lemoore has three campus in the district, including Jamison Alternative High Scholl as well as the Middle College High School located on the West Hills Lemoore College campus.

There have also been a few administrative changes. Victor Rosa, the former principal of Middle College High School, has been promoted to an assistant superintendent’s job in the district office while former Corcoran High Principal Charles Gent, a Lemoore resident, replaced Rosa at the Middle College High School.

West Hills Community College District fall semester begins on Monday, Aug. 18, and that includes classes at the Lemoore college campus.

Registration figures show 4,024 students at WHC Lemoore and another 2,393 at WHC Coalinga – which includes those enrolled at North District Center, Firebaugh. The number of students at each school is about even or up just slightly from the fall of 2013. Online enrollments are down slightly at Coalinga, and the district totals are nearly even with last year.

West Hills College Coalinga and West Hills College Lemoore were both active campuses over the summer with programs like the 5c Experience and the Paramount Career Academy summer camp. More than 2,900 students were enrolled in summer classes district-wide.

Enrollment for spring 2015 has already reached more than 3,000 students due to Reg365, an initiative unique to WHCCD in which students for the first time have the option to register for a year’s worth of classes at once. Spring registration will remain open and is expected to grow before classes begin next January.

Seats in several online classes are still available for the fall semester. To search for classes and to register, visit www.westhillscollege.com.