GRAVETTE -- Maribel Childress, superintendent of Gravette Schools, shared the ranking report for the ACT Aspire 2021 testing with the Gravette School Board at a special board meeting July 29.
Childress pointed out how Gravette scores ranked in comparison with other schools in the state and said they were generally "scores to be proud of" since rankings were in the top 10%-25% of scores. She noted particularly that scores in the sixth grade ranked eighth in math out of 248 schools in the state. She said that Gravette faculty want the scores to be still higher, with a goal of having all students score at or above grade level.
Childress announced that Samantha Luther would be working as a long-term substitute in high school social studies classes and will serve as head softball coach while she works to get her teacher's license in Arkansas. She is already licensed in Oklahoma.
The superintendent presented updated school calendars to each board member, noting dates of Wednesday lunches when board members are invited to come to eat lunch at various school cafeterias to meet students and learn about each school.
The first day of school will be Monday, and virtual instruction will be available only for students in grades 11 and 12. All other students will be attending classes on campus.
"We want everybody to be safe and healthy and we want everybody to be learning at high levels," she said. "We are ready to go back and ready for a great year."
Childress shared the results of a survey conducted among stakeholders in the district. She said there were 85 survey respondents, and they identified the most pressing needs as the need to address mental health and behavioral issues and the loss of instruction or gaps in instruction resulting from virtual instruction. Most respondents wanted to get away from virtual instruction and get students back in the classroom.
Childress said interventionists have been hired to provide students additional support during the school day, but some feel there is still a need for additional support before and after school.
Childress briefly discussed the possibility of formulating a covid leave policy. She said such a policy is not required but if the district should decide to create one, it might use Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Funds for funding. If passed, teachers would have 30 days to be released from their contracts if they did not wish to comply with the policy.
Board members held a discussion about Policy 4.60, the only policy not approved at the regular board meeting on July 19. Childress explained the policy, entitled Student Behavior Intervention and Restraint, is required by law and, if the board did not vote to adopt it, they would be in contempt.
After discussion, board members voted 4-2 to approve the policy, with board president Jay Oliphant and Hope Duke being the dissenting voters. Oliphant said he "finds this policy to be excessively intrusive and prescriptive" and Duke said she understands the policy is required by law and the board will comply with the law but she wanted to make a protest vote.
"I am glad to see more support for local control and will continue to advocate for local control over decisions about discipline and behavior," Duke said. "School districts are not all the same, and each one deals with different circumstances, so they should be allowed to make these assessments at the local level."
"If we don't take a stand on what's wrong, where does it stop?" Oliphant asked.
Childress said, "Everybody deserves to be treated with kindness and respect regardless of how they behave" and principals of all schools agreed that they had been doing their jobs for years without the prescribed guidance and felt it was not necessary. Shannon Mitchell, Gravette High School principal, said she felt there should be more consistency from district to district.
Board members moved into executive session at 6:40 p.m. for the purpose of discussing employment and, when they returned to regular session at 7:13 p.m., voted to hire Brandi Brown as elementary art teacher/ESSER III interventionist at Glenn Duffy Elementary School, Gabrielle Hamilton as elementary music teacher/ESSER III interventionist at Glenn Duffy Elementary, Amanda Kelly as administration receptionist and community services, Amber Schilling and Jennie Snelling as instructional assistants (paraprofessionals) in special education at Gravette High School. The board had voted earlier to accept the resignation of Syler Rawlins, GHS social studies teacher and head softball coach.