District seeks key partnerships

Pine Bluff High School graduates relax on the Pine Bluff Convention Center arena floor during their ceremony on May 21. 
(Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Pine Bluff High School graduates relax on the Pine Bluff Convention Center arena floor during their ceremony on May 21. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)

Editor's note: This is the second of a three-part series looking into the annexation of the Dollarway School District into the Pine Bluff School District, which will take effect July 1.

The way a high school education looks has changed in many of America's public school districts in recent years.

In many cases, a high school student can enroll concurrently through a university or community college and graduate with a diploma and associate degree at the same time, or at least get a head start on a college career with a few credit hours already on transcript. Students can also receive certification in a specific trade as they graduate high school.

Jonathan Crossley, assistant superintendent for the Pine Bluff School District, envisions an entity that offers such when his district annexes the Dollarway School District on July 1. But it is more than just partnering with a local higher institution that he says will be important.

"As we right-size our operations, we're seeing higher rates of volunteerism with our business partners and church population," Crossley said. "We're also looking at a partnership with universities and colleges for a long-term vision on reimagining a high school diploma within three to four years."

For all grade levels, Crossley said Pine Bluff schools are "beefing up time and resources" to help a student that is struggling in a class understand what is being taught and then develop a deeper understanding of those concepts.

"With that, our staff is matching that effort," Crossley said. "Not just the principals, but the classroom staff is making sure we're right-sized staffed for that, and that the teacher and the parent will both be on board to make sure the academic and behavior goals will be reached as planned."

Overall well-being

Each of the nine campuses -- six in the Pine Bluff district and three in Dollarway – -- formed a committee including administrators, faculty members, students and parents for input on a district-wide handbook for the 2021-22 academic year. The Pine Bluff district held a public meeting last week to gather final opinion from the community before submitting recommendations to Barbara Warren, superintendent for both districts.

For district officials, student success goes beyond what a handbook stipulates.

"A lot of the focus on the annexation is on the business side, but we are working to, as Dr. Crossley said, beef up what our students need, making sure the resources that are being used are tied to student success," Warren said. "Mental health is a major focus, and we want to have social workers in each school. We're having conversations with the sheriff's department to make sure our safety needs are met."

District officials, Warren said, will also place added emphasis on new ways to deal with student behavior and discipline.

"We're going to focus more on teaching children how to behave and how to learn," she said. "We will teach parents how to support the students, but we will also focus a great deal on student success by tooling teachers with more strategies on how to deal with what may be construed as misbehavior. We will go deeper to help students. The academic piece won't work if we don't put student support in place."

Security officers are placed at each Pine Bluff and Dollarway campus, Warren said, but she said she has been in contact with the Jefferson County sheriff's office to add personnel. She said a partnership with the Pine Bluff Police Department exists to have officers available at the Dollarway schools, which she refers to as the Northside campuses for the annexation.

Safe doors with controlled access also will be installed on every campus, Warren said.

Grade shift

In addition to all prekindergarten students moving to Forrest Park/Greenville Preschool for the 2021-22 school year, James Matthews Elementary School in the Dollarway district will reconfigure from a prekindergarten-through-fourth grade campus to kindergarten-through-fifth grade, bringing it in line with the three Pine Bluff district elementary schools -- Broadmoor, 34th Avenue and Southwood.

Fifth graders in the Dollarway district had attended Robert F. Morehead Middle School, which like Jack Robey Junior High School will be grades 6-8.

"Research shows that it is challenging for a student in a transition grade, but the older and more mature students are, the easier they can handle it," Warren said. "We ease students in fifth and sixth grades to the junior high concept, so we will have a fifth grader a little more trained before they transition to the sixth grade."

In Sunday's part three, the Dollarway faculty members talk about the district's identity as they share their feelings about annexation.

Pine Bluff School District Assistant Superintendent Jonathan Crossley observes graduation proceedings for Pine Bluff High School on May 21. 
(Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Pine Bluff School District Assistant Superintendent Jonathan Crossley observes graduation proceedings for Pine Bluff High School on May 21. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
James Matthews Elementary School in the Dollarway School District will transition from housing prekindergarten through fourth grade, to kindergarten through fifth grade, to be in line with other elementary schools in the soon-to-be-annexed Pine Bluff School District. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
James Matthews Elementary School in the Dollarway School District will transition from housing prekindergarten through fourth grade, to kindergarten through fifth grade, to be in line with other elementary schools in the soon-to-be-annexed Pine Bluff School District. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)

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