BENTON — As Lori Kellogg begins her second year as principal of Benton Junior High School, she is focused on making the school a better place not only for the students, but also the teachers.
“At this campus, we want to focus on becoming more involved as a professional learning community (PLC),” she said. “That means our teachers will be collaborating with each other, talking about data and seeing what the kids know or need. … Do we need to remediate or enrich?
“We began this a few years ago, but we are
looking to evolve it this year. We want to be able to better prepare our students for high school and beyond.”
Kellogg welcomes four new teachers to the staff this year and two who are transferring from other campuses.
New teachers include Audrey Sites, who taught previously but is returning this year, to teach
English; Olivia McDaniel, who will also teach English; Michael Hoover, who will be the band director; and Chase Halbrook, who will teach science and coach boys basketball.
Transferring to Benton Junior High are Carolyn Bittinger, who is transferring from the alternative learning center to teach English, and Blake Dorsey, who is coming from Benton Middle School to be the head football coach and teach social studies.
“We also have two teachers — Tamme Adams and Suzy Carter — who have completed their national board certification, and two more who are working on their certification,” she said. “We have a tremendously dedicated staff who comes early every day and stays late to work with our kids.”
Born in Louisiana, Kellogg, 54, grew up in Holly Ridge, Louisiana, where she graduated from high school.
She graduated from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, formerly Northeast Louisiana
University, in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree. She majored in health and physical education and minored in social studies. She received a Master of Education degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 1988 with a major in education and a minor in guidance counseling.
Kellogg taught and coached in Louisiana for five years before moving to Arkansas. She began her teaching career in Arkansas in 1993 in Stuttgart, where she taught health and physical education and coached the girls basketball and track teams.
“I stayed home for a year to start a family,” she said. She and her husband, Mike Kellogg, who is from West Monroe, Louisiana,
were married in 1992. They have two sons — Blake, 23, who is a senior at Louisiana Tech University majoring in mechanical engineering, and Cole, 19, who is in his second year at the University of Central Arkansas majoring in business.
Lori Kellogg began teaching in the Benton School District in 1995.
“I started at Benton Middle School, and after 10 years there, I was hired as an assistant principal at Benton Junior High,” she said. “After 11 years of being an assistant, I was named principal in 2016.
“I’ve just slowly worked my way up.”
Kellogg said the incorporation of technology is the biggest change she has seen in her years as an educator.
“Technology has opened up a lot of doors,” she said. “There are so many more resources now available for both teachers and students.”
Kellogg said Benton Junior High is a “one-to-one” campus, meaning each student is issued an electronic device in order to access the internet, digital course materials and digital textbooks.
“Plus, we have two computer labs,” she said.
“Our schools try to stay on the forefront of education. If we are not teaching our kids the latest technology, we are doing a disservice to our students,” Kellogg said.
“They love technology,” she said. “They have no fear.
“I embrace it, too. When it all works well, it makes your work so much easier.”
Benton Junior High School comprises eighth and ninth grades.
“We have approximately 850 students this year,” Kellogg said, “but that can change on any given day, especially now at the beginning of the school year. Our enrollment this year is a little higher than normal. I think it may be our largest class ever.”
Kellogg said she thinks one reason enrollment is up this year is because the Benton School District is a great school district.
“We attract a lot of great teachers for our kids,” she said. “I think if people have an opportunity to move here, that’s one of the reasons they do so. That’s what attracted me.
“I commuted from Little Rock for eight years. We decided to move here because we wanted our children to live in the same community where they went to school.”
Kellogg said she has about 53 faculty members and seven paraprofessionals on staff at Benton Junior High School.
“The paraprofessionals are a critical part of the success of this school,” she said. “We also have volunteers who come in to help out, … speak to the career club, help in the family and consumer science class, just any number of things. We depend on them as well.”
Kellogg said one way volunteers can get involved with the school is to participate in the annual Ralph Bunche Community Back-to-School Picnic, where students from low-income families receive free backpacks filled with supplies.
“Even though that event has been held this year, organizers of the event accept supplies all year long in order to fill the backpacks for the next year,” Kellogg said. “We have a great school district, but we do have many families in need. This is a great way to help those kids.”
Kellogg has an “open door” policy as principal — “literally and figuratively,” she said,
laughing.
“I hope the students and faculty know that. If my door is open, you are welcome to come in. If it is closed, you know I am on the phone or have someone in here with me. I would ask you to wait a few minutes or come back later. I will have about 400 new students every year,” she said. “It is important for them to learn my name and for me to learn their names.”
When Kellogg is not at work, she enjoys fishing, reading and rafting.
Personally, Kellogg places rafting in the Grand Canyon at the top of her “bucket list” of things to do in the next five to 10 years.
“I’d also like to go to Vegas, and I’d like to go to New York City, but I doubt I’ll be able to get my husband to go there,” she said.
“Professionally, I don’t see myself leaving Benton Junior High anytime soon,” she said. “I have as my goal to make this the best junior high school in the state. We have great teachers, great students and parents who are involved in their student’s education.
“I just want to continue to make us better.”