education New teachers, curriculum coordinator to help school better prepare students

THREE RIVERS AREA — Augusta High School is changing to meet the needs of its students.

This year, there are nine new teachers and a curriculum coordinator on board “to prepare our students for the rapidly changing world,” said Principal Roy Daniels, who is in his third year as principal at Augusta.

“We are also offering more programs this year,” Daniels said. “The kids have more academic choices as well as extracurricular activity choices. We offer seven Advanced Placement classes and two distance learning labs, Spanish I and II and physics, through the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts in Hot Springs.”

Daniels said the goal this year “is to improve on test scores across the curriculum.

“We’ve moved the eighth grade into the high school this year,” Daniels said. “We have 211 students in grades eight through 12. This is one reason why we have brought in so many new teachers and hired Debbie Wammack as curriculum coordinator.”

Originally from Lepanto, Wammack has more than 20 years of experience in the field of education. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a minor in library science from Arkansas State University-Jonesboro and a master’s degree in technology and media from the University of Central Arkansas. She received her doctorate in curriculum administration from ASU, with half of the work completed at Harding University. She is certified asa building-level administrator for grades kindergarten through 12. She is also board certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

“My job here is to help with the curriculum, doing maximum strategies, instructional strategies, to help students connect with the curriculum using their interests as a connection,” she said. “I also do group work with the teachers. I am developing Professional Learning Communities, but it takes three years to fully install that concept. We are now building our communities (of teachers) and setting our goals. It’s a very effective program.

“I’m very blessed to get to work with Mr. Daniels. The teachers here are great. It’s so community-oriented. Everybody helps everybody.”

New teachers at Augusta High School include:

-Brent Abei, who teaches science (chemistry, biology and AP biology).

-Rickey Everett, who is the social worker and coaches basketball.

-Susan Phillips, who teaches speech and Pre-AP English classes. She is also the assistant girls basketball coach.

-Brittany Reinbolt, who teaches elementary physical education classes and coaches the senior girls basketball team.

-Jonathan Slagley, who teaches junior high English.

-Roosevelt Turner, who works in the Alternative Learning Environment classroom and coaches football.

-Daniel Vandergrift, who teaches eighth-grade math, eighth-grade science and junior high physical science.

-Ethan Weeks, who teaches English (AP and regular 11th- and 12th-grade English) and journalism.

-Donna Yates, who teaches family and consumer science classes.

The Augusta School District consolidated with the Cotton Plant School District in 2004. Today, the district includes Augusta Pre-School Center, Cotton Plant Elementary School, Augusta Elementary School and Augusta High School.

“We bus 92 students from Cotton Plant to Augusta every day,” Daniels said. “That’s a 27-mile commute, one way.”

Daniels has been with the Augusta School District for 15 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in social studies and physical education from Arkansas Baptist College and a master’s degree in school administration from the University of Central Arkansas. He has also done postgraduate work at Arkansas State University at Jonesboro.

“I was a coach before I became an administrator,” Daniels said with a smile. “This is my 20th year as a principal.” - crolf@arkansasonline.com

Three Rivers, Pages 56 on 11/19/2009

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