BENTONVILLE -- Long after most of Bentonville High School had emptied out Monday afternoon, a few dozen students were getting to know each other over snacks and games.
They had chosen to stick around for ROAR, a new program that combines academic support and enriching activities, all aimed at keeping students engaged and on a path toward success.
Graduation rates
Here are the 2014-15 graduation rates for Northwest Arkansas’ four biggest school districts and the state average:
Bentonville: 88.7
Fayetteville: 79.9
Rogers: 91.8
Springdale: 86.2
State: 84.9
Source: Staff report
ROAR -- which stands for relationships, opportunities, adventures and readiness -- is set to meet two hours per day, four days per week after school.
At each meeting, students will get a snack or a meal. There will be time for them to do homework or get some extra help from teachers. There also will be an activity component, which may consist of games or even a field trip, such as a bike ride downtown to get some ice cream.
All of it is free to the students.
English teachers Heather Hooks and Holly Howard both came up with similar ideas individually last spring before coming together to develop what would become this program.
"We put our minds together and started building this plan," Hooks said. "From there it's just been lots and lots of meetings and dreams and what can we do and how can we address those needs of our students and have those better relationships with them."
The program's first meeting Monday attracted 33 of the 42 students who had signed up -- most of them freshmen and sophomores, but also some juniors and seniors.
It started with some food provided by Chick-fil-A. Hooks and Howard reviewed the program's rules with the students. Then they all took a walk across campus to play horseshoes and cornhole.
"Overall, it was pretty fun," said Kynzi Eichler, 15, a Bentonville High sophomore. "I know it will be a little different the next time because we'll come in and do homework instead of introductions and stuff like that. But I've already made three new friends."
If she hadn't been there, she probably would have been "sitting at home, on the couch, watching an old movie, probably," Kynzi said. "Not really anything important."
Kynzi said she was drawn to the program because of Hooks' enthusiasm about it. She looks forward to getting any extra help she'll need with homework.
"You do easy problems in class, and then you go home and you're like, what is this?" she said. "Here, you can ask a teacher. And they can teach you."
Principal Jack Loyd said the program fills a need at the school. The school offers a lot for those who are academically talented and has an alternative education program, Gateway, for those who need a completely different school environment, he said.
"But we didn't really have anything for those kids who aren't Gateway" or who are in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes, he said. "We needed something for the middle."
ROAR serves those students by "giving them a place to just get together and hang out and most importantly, a place to get some remediation and intervention as far as academics is concerned," he said.
Loyd credited former School Board member Grant Lightle for insisting more be done for students in the middle, especially those who fall under what's called the targeted achievement gap group, or TAGG.
That group includes students who are economically disadvantaged, who are English language learners or who have some kind of disability. Those students are typically deemed the ones most at risk of failing to finish high school.
Bentonville High School's graduation rate in 2015 was 88.7 percent, but only 74.6 percent among TAGG students -- below the state average of 81.9 percent.
Loyd is investing $40,000 of the high school's money into ROAR for the year. That money largely goes toward extra pay for three teachers who are putting the most time into the program and the cost of transportation at the end of the day for participants who need it, Loyd said.
His school's budget is about $388,000, with additional money coming through a contract with Coca-Cola and through facility rentals, he said.
Additional help for the program has come through donations from various organizations. About 60 teachers have pledged to volunteer at least some time to the program.
"So we're getting help from all sides. It's amazing how supportive our community is and how good they are," Loyd said.
Goals for the program are "a little loose" right now, but the first step is building deeper relationships with the kids and getting them more connected with school, Loyd said.
"Just those deeper relationships where those kids can come and say, 'I need help,'" Hooks added. "I'd just like to see our kids being successful inside and outside the classroom so that they're getting everything they need here, but also beyond."
NW News on 09/27/2016