Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Charter School was recently ranked the second best charter elementary school in Texas by U.S. News & World Report. The high ranking also marks the school’s first appearance on the media company’s gold standard list.

“It is with great pride that we receive this wonderful news regarding our ranking,” said Lysa Hagan, CEO and principal of the school. “This recognition belongs first to our dedicated, hard-working students who truly want to learn. Secondly, our success rests on the shoulders of our parents, who get them to school each day and support reading at home. Lastly, we have an exceptional group of teachers who support learning in the classrooms through rigor, urgency and a constructivist learning environment.”

The K-5 school is also listed as the fourth best in the state by educational rating agency Niche.

Located in the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center, the SFA Charter School opened in August 2008 with a focus on the twin goals of improving public education and enhancing the preparation of future educators and school psychologists.

The school has 255 students, 87% of which scored above the proficient level in both math and reading. Its minority student enrollment is 31%. The school enrolls 9% economically disadvantaged students.

To learn more, visit sfasu.edu/charterschool.

Alumni in the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music recently garnered prizes in the nation’s top chamber music competition.

Michael Chapa, who earned a Bachelor of Music in 2017, and José Barrientos, who earned a Bachelor of Music in 2014, won honors in the Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition held May 22 in South Bend, Indiana.

Chapa’s quartet, Mixed Media, won the gold medal in the Senior Wind Division. Barrientos is the coach of the Dali Quartet from Timber Creek High School, Fort Worth, and that ensemble won the bronze medal in the Junior Wind Division.

Chapa is a performer and educator who focuses on promoting creativity and opportunity through collaboration. He performs regularly as a member of Mixed Media and Khroma Quartet. In addition to the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition prize, his performances earned first prize at the 2022 Coltman Chamber Music Competition. Chapa just completed his first year of the D.M.A. degree in saxophone performance at the University of Georgia studying with Dr. Connie Frigo. Previous mentors include Jean-Michel Goury at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Boulogne-Billancourt, France; Debra Richtmeyer at the University of Illinois; and Dr. Nathan Nabb at SFA.

Barrientos, a saxophonist and educator, has a master’s degree in saxophone performance from the University of Iowa, where he studied under the tutelage of Dr. Kenneth Tse. Prior to moving to the Midwest, he completed his undergraduate studies of music education at SFA as a student of Nabb. Barrientos currently holds a private saxophone studio consisting of more than 80 students in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, and he is director of the Texas Youth Saxophone Ensemble.

Both Chapa and Barrientos speak highly of their time at SFA.

“SFA was inviting, cultivating and special,” Barrientos said. “I was fortunate to have studied under my former saxophone professor, Dr. Nathan Nabb. It was because of him I was able to come out of my comfort zone and be able to better serve my community. The SFA School of Music ignited my passion for music, and I hope to do the same for all of my students.”

“SFA was an integral part in my early music career,” Chapa said. “To be honest, I wasn’t certain about which path I wanted to take in music after graduating high school, but I was dedicated enough to find a path that aligned with my interests and goals. The School of Music offered a variety of academic courses and top-tier performing ensembles that I was able to explore in the four years living on campus that helped me align my strengths and skills with viable career options.

“The faculty I spent time with served as amazing mentors to me and established solid musical training that developed essential fundamentals in my artistic development,” he added. “Most of my favorite memories were from the three years I spent in the Lumberjack Marching Band and various quartets formed within the saxophone studio.”

For more information about the SFA School of Music, call (936) 468-4602.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host the annual Wild About Woodies event at 9 a.m. July 1 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

The event is to acquaint nursery professionals, landscapers and enthusiastic gardeners with an in-depth look at the woody ornamental collections at SFA Gardens, particularly new woody ornamentals for Texas and Louisiana. The garden is home to a vast collection of conifers, oaks, pines, taxodium, lagerstroemia, azaleas, camellias and much more.

“For horticulture professionals, this event is a rare opportunity to make side-by-side comparisons with the range of plant materials that can be found at SFA Gardens,” said Dr. David Creech, gardens director.

In addition to Creech, guest speakers during the Wild about Woodies event include Matt Welch, a horticulturalist for Madrone Landscaping, and Dr. Andrew King, owner of King’s Nursery in Tenaha and an SFA horticulture alumnus.

Event sign-in will take place from 8:30 to 9 a.m. with coffee and snacks provided. Lectures will follow, shadowed by a minibus tour of the gardens with opportunities to view fruit research plots, crape myrtle collections and taxodium on Lanana Creek. A plant giveaway will conclude the event.

Parking is available at the PNPC and Raguet Elementary School, located at 2428 Raguet St.

The event is $30 and open to all ages. For more information, call (936) 468-4129 or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.