While she grew up in a small community called Possum City, Lisa Moore now considers Bald Knob her hometown.
Moore, who has worked for the Bald Knob School District in one capacity or another since fall 2002, was recently named principal at H.L. Lubker Elementary School after the sudden retirement of Tammie Cloyes, who had been principal since May 2016. Moore is currently director of federal and special programs for the Bald Knob School District.
“I grew up north of Wynne in a tiny place … the locals called it Possum City,” Moore said. “I was halfway between Cherry Valley and Vanndale. It was just a little country store there. That is where I grew up until I went to junior high.”
Moore grew up on a farm owned by her grandfather.
“My dad was an executive for a local manufacturing company in Wynne,” she said. “We moved into town when I was going into the sixth grade.”
Moore is a 1983 graduate of Wynne High School.
She moved to Bald Knob around 2000. She got a late start in teaching and didn’t start at Bald Knob until fall 2002, when her son was a senior in high school.
“I’m very much involved, and I do love this community,” Moore said. “I just like small-town life.”
Moore is the secretary of the Bald Knob Chamber of Commerce. She’s the president of the Bald Knob Lions Club. She also serves on the Bald Knob Public Education Foundation, which presents scholarships to graduating seniors from Bald Knob High School.
After graduating from Wynne High School, Moore had a variety of jobs.
“I did different things, ranging from owning a flower shop for a short period of time to working for a fragrance company as a customer-service representative,” Moore said. “I basically stayed home with my kids when they were little. After they started school, I decided to go back to college to get a degree to teach special education.”
Moore graduated from Arkansas State University-Jonesboro in December 1999 with a bachelor’s degree. She was certified to teach elementary grades 1-6 and special-education for kindergarten through 12th grade. Her love for special education came while she was working as a paraprofessional at the Midland School District, which was just north of where she lived near Bald Knob.
“I was working as a customer-service rep, and it was not a very fulfilling job,” Moore said. “I found myself wondering because I’m a Christian, and service is something that we do, that there’s got to be something more than selling decorative fragrances for me.”
Moore had taught Sunday School and worked in her church.
“I just started working at the Midland School District as a substitute teacher,” she said. “I actually was employed with Midland for a short period of time while I was working on my undergraduate degree before I did my student teaching. I was a special-education paraprofessional. I loved it. I just knew that is what I wanted to do.
“I think that is what led me into education, just working with those students and just seeing what they could do, and I could make a difference with them. It fell upon me. I could really do this.”
After graduating from ASU, Moore took an elementary teaching position with Cord-Charlotte. She did that until spring 2002, when she was hired at Bald Knob to teach special education.
“I loved teaching at Charlotte, but I came to Bald Knob because there was a special-education position open,” Moore said. “My daughter as still in middle school, and my son was a senior. It was strictly what was best for my family, moving districts, at the time.”
While teaching, Moore got certified to become a special-education director. She taught in the classroom for several years before becoming special-education director and teacher for one year. Then she was special-education and alternative-learning-education director for three years. During the 2016-17 school year, she was assistant elementary principal. Since the start of the 2017-18 academic year Moore has been director of federal programs and special services.
When the opportunity came for her to take over at the elementary school, Moore said, she went to Superintendent Melissa Gipson.
“It wasn’t timely to hire a brand new administrator,” Moore said. “School had already started. The district looked at what would be the least invasive for the students. We had a couple of options. We had just hired an assistant principal for the middle and high schools. In my position, that was not going to disrupt any students for me to go over there. Looking at our options, I just told Mrs. Gipson that if we could figure out how I could do both, I would fill in for the rest of the school year.”
Bald Knob Superintendent Melissa Gipson said the school board was pleased to appoint Moore as the elementary principal.
“Ms. Moore’s character is to strive toward excellence, no matter the task at hand,” Gipson said. “She holds herself to high expectations and to doing what is right both ethically and morally. She has a heart of service for our school and community.”
Gipson said Moore’s different roles in the district will serve her well.
“Her strengths include her ability to build rapport with students, parents and staff, while also advocating to ensure the success of all students,” Gipson said. “I am certain our elementary school will continue to flourish under her leadership.”
Moore said the agreement is for her to be principal for the rest of the school year.
“But I’m going to do what is best for our students,” she said. “That is why I did this in the first place. That’s why I stepped up. Lord knows I have plenty to do. Looking at what was good for the students, it was the only logical thing to do.”
Moore said school has been running smoothly during her short time as principal.
“It has been wonderful,” she said. “The teachers … they work so hard,” she said. “They are always working, looking at what is best for the students.”
Moore said being principal and director of federal programs is “the best of both worlds.”
“I get to work with helping provide supplemental funds to provide resources for the teacher through the federal programs,” she said. “And I get to work with a great group of teachers who are dedicated to what they are doing and get to spend time with some wonderful kids.”
Moore said she doesn’t miss teaching in a classroom but has discovered that she misses interacting with students.
“Since I’ve been back here the past couple of weeks, I didn’t realize how much I missed interacting with the kids,” she said. “Even if it’s at the administrative level and being able to interact and be in the classroom and supporting the teachers by helping them firsthand and being able to connect to help them.
“I didn’t realize how much I was missing that.”
Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.