Springdale administrators discuss new school year

SPRINGDALE -- Marcia Smith, one of the assistant superintendents for instruction, asked School Board members Tuesday about situations where they hear the phrase, "Game on."

"When there's a challenge," Smith said.

Pledge practice to continue

Springdale Superintendent Jim Rollins will continue the practice of the past few months of beginning monthly School Board meetings with the Pledge of Allegiance only and then continuing into the business of the meeting, he said.

For years, School Board meetings included an opening prayer, but the practice has stopped, based on advice from the School District’s staff attorney Kendra Clay and continued research on the issue, he said.

“It was my thought for a long time that we could deal with the issue the way we have,” he said. “I have tried to develop an ecumenical prayer.”

“Schools by definition have the legal challenge of being neutral in the face of religion, being respectors of all,” he said. “We have not found a legal resolution.”

District officials continue to research, but having young children in meetings and concerns about being neutral toward religion has led to adjustments to School Board meetings, Rollins said.

“My recommendation is we move forward as we have,” Rollins said.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wis., sent a letter to boards in Springdale on Dec. 29 and Harrison on March 6 telling them the public prayers violated the U.S. Constitution. The Harrison School Board in April voted to resume public prayers at its meetings.

— Staff Report

The phrase is the district's motto heading into the 2017-18 school year.

"Our game is on," Smith said. "We are going to take it to the next step."

[EMAIL UPDATES: Get free breaking news updates and daily newsletters with top headlines delivered to your inbox]

Smith and Kathy Morledge, also is an assistant superintendent over instruction, discussed plans for instruction for the 2017-18 school year during a work session with School Board members Tuesday. Morledge focuses on pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, while Smith's focus is on sixth through 12th grade.

"For our kids to climb the staircase to educational excellence, we know bottom step is teach them all," Morledge said.

The instructional focus for 2017-18 will continue to be developing students who are literate and numerate, can solve problems, make good decisions and who will persevere, Morledge said.

All administrators returned to work Monday. Meetings are set next week for administrators and newly hired teachers. Teachers return Aug. 7, and students return Aug. 14.

"We're expecting 23,000 kids," Rollins said, a number that includes pre-kindergartners. "We know there are multiple providers in the region who are competing every day for children."

He estimates 700 students who live in Springdale School District attend schools outside the district, Rollins said. The district will have three charter school campuses within its borders -- Haas Hall Academy in Fayetteville, Haas Hall Academy in Springdale and Ozark Montessori Academy. Shiloh Christian School, one of the area's largest private schools, also is in the district.

The decision to add seventh-graders to the Tyson School of Innovation for the 2017-18 school year has resulted in 55 to 60 seventh-graders signing up for classes, Rollins said. He thinks the number will grow.

Each student attending school elsewhere is a $9,000 financial impact to the district, Rollins said. The impact of 700 students attending other schools is $6.3 million.

Rollins still thinks the district will grow by a few hundred students, but the district has to prepare to customize how instruction is provided to students, he said.

"We understand the need to grow and deepen all teachers' insight and use of innovative practice," Rollins said.

Deputy Superintendent Jared Cleveland shared the latest figures on student enrollment by campus, showing 22,600 current students. The district will not know exactly how many until students show up for classes.

Hellstern Middle School has more than 1,000 students, and the sixth grade is full, Cleveland said. Cleveland told School Board members discussions about attendance zones and middle school enrollment will be needed, he said.

Cleveland also is studying the competitiveness of administrator pay and contracts following the departures of some top administrators to nearby districts in recent years, he said.

Rollins also hopes for stronger student performance and said his staff is reviewing the results of the ACT Aspire, released this month.

"We've done pretty well in writing scores," he said. "We have a lot of improvement."

Each new school year comes with energy and excitement, School Board member Kathy McFetridge said.

"I'm always concerned about reaching those students that are struggling," McFetridge said. "I wish our test scores could show how much our teachers work."

Many children in the district are learning English and are adjusting to a different culture, Rollins said. While the district is seeing successes among Hispanic students, Rollins said reaching Marshallese students is a new frontier.

District staff have developed relationships with 14 pastors from the Marshallese community, Rollins said. The district is working to help families understand the importance of getting children to school and encouraging them to give their best effort, he said.

"We don't want to buy into this idea that demography is destiny," Rollins said. "We believe if we do our work really well we can help those kids be very successful."

NW News on 07/19/2017

Upcoming Events