Education notebook

Principals picked for 3 elementaries

Little Rock Superintendent Mike Poore has announced principal selections for Chicot, Brady and Western Hills elementary schools that will go to Arkansas Education Commissioner Johnny Key for final approval.

Gina Khoury, an assistant principal at Roberts Elementary and a former literacy facilitator, has been recommended for the top job at Chicot, replacing Sherry Chambers, who was recently selected as the district's new kindergarten-through-12th-grade literacy director.

Kasi Davis, also an assistant principal at Dr. Don Roberts Elementary, is being recommended for the principal's job at Brady, after the reassignment of Brady Principal Tyrone Harris to the principal's job at Romine Elementary.

Shannon Smith is in line for the principal's post at Western Hills Elementary after the recent resignation of Teresa Richardson. Smith has been an assistant principal at Williams Traditional Magnet School.

To-school festival moves to new site

A bigger and better "Head of the Class Bash" back-to-school festival -- sponsored by multiple Pulaski County area organizations, including the Clinton Presidential Center -- is scheduled for 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, at the Jack Stephens Center on the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus.

The free event will include the distribution of 3,000 free backpacks filled with required school supplies.

In addition to the backpacks, there will be computer-based financial literacy activities, physical examinations and immunizations, dental screenings, haircuts, story time and book giveaways, bounce houses, nutritional workshops, basketball drills and skills, a blood drive, informational resources from medical providers and community organizations, and food trucks.

This is the first year that the event will be held at the Jack Stephens Center. The larger location and combined efforts of community partners is intended to allow more students and their families to access the resources and activities.

This year's "Head of the Class Bash" community partners are: the Clinton Presidential Center, Arkansas 529, Saint Mark Baptist Church, 3M, Derek Lewis Foundation, Delta Dental of Arkansas, Entergy Arkansas, Saint Mark Episcopal Church, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Lakeshore Learning, Arkansas Department of Health and Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance.

The Jack Stephens Center is at 2801 S. University Ave. in Little Rock.

St. Louis system's board local again

As of last Monday, the St. Louis Public Schools system is operating under the direction of an elected School Board -- after 12 years under state control.

The district had been governed by a three-member administrative board since 2007, which is when the district lost its accreditation because of financial and academic issues, and because of fighting among the elected board members, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

The Missouri Board of Education voted in April to accept the state commissioner of education's recommendation for restoring local control.

The superintendent of the St. Louis district is Kelvin Adams, who was hired in 2008 after a period of frequent changes in the position.

Since the state takeover, the district has raised its graduation rate and reduced its out-of-school student suspensions. But the district's academic achievement is below state averages, according to the Post-Dispatch, and the enrollment has dropped from 33,000 to 21,000.

SundayMonday on 07/07/2019

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