WINTER 2014-15
Dear Parents and Community, It was a busy fall semester in the Arkadelphia Public Schools. As we return from the holiday season, we anticipate an even busier spring semester full of activities and learning. I encourage you to make time to be part of as much as possible. We appreciate all of the families who attended and support our young people in their academic journey. Our students and staff are doing amazing work in Arkadelphia! We are gearing up for the new PARCC assessment scheduled to begin in March. The test will be administered online and will take the place of the Benchmark exam we have administered for the last 15 years. Because of the new format, the test will be scheduled differently than it was in the past. Our principals will communicate the testing schedules to you when they are finalized and approved by the Arkansas Department of Education. We look forward to seeing great results from our students. During the fall, the District announced “Project Connect,� a community initiative developed to gather feedback on important decisions that affect our schools. We were pleased to have over 100 parents volunteer to be a part of our study circles that will take place this semester. We look forward to working with all of the volunteers as we plan for the future in Arkadelphia. Finally, take a moment to download the APS smartphone app and review our newly designed website. All of our district news and information is just a click away, and we are pleased to provide our patrons with this innovative platform. You may visit us on the web at www.arkadelphiaschools.org. Go Badgers! Sincerely, Dr. Donnie Whitten Superintendent
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Difficult decisions In its 18th year, the Cone Foundation continues a legacy of allowing students to practice philanthropy and community building, but limited funds make for difficult decisions. See this year’s recipients, and read about how the program is helping current, and future, community leaders.
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AllCare Field at Badger Stadium The installation of a turf playing field in our stadium took only a few weeks. Seeing the advantages it brought to our community on a daily basis took even less time. We are grateful to those who helped us make this vision into a reality.
Recognizing champions
APS Superintendent Dr. Donnie Whitten APS Communications Dept. Sean Ruggles, Director McKenzie Cranford, Intern Arkadelphia Public Schools Voice is a publication of the Arkadelphia Public Schools Communications Department. Questions regarding this publication may be directed to: E-mail - sean.ruggles@ arkadelphiaschools.org Phone - (870) 246-5564 x1214 Mail - Arkadelphia Public Schools attn: Dept. of Comm. 235 N. 11th St. Arkadelphia, AR 71923
Early in the fall semester, students at AHS gathered to celebrate the recent state championships won in Quiz Bowl, Diving, and Baseball. Arkadelphia Public Schools Board of Education
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Dr. Jeff Root, President
Teachers of the Year Beverly Slavens, Tami Green, Mary Snowden, Jean Smithey, and Sherry French were selected as this year’s teachers of the year. Join us in congratulating them on their excellent work in our classrooms.
Dr. Kenneth G. Harris, Jr., Vice President Terri King, Secretary Karrie Goodman Billy Groom Randy Turner
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Badger Spirit
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Student performances
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Go Big Blue!
Photos from holiday musicals
Homecoming Badger Pride Marching Band Harris recognized for service
Dr. Casey Motl
Cone Foundation teaches philanthropy
Representatives of the local non-profit organizations who received the Cone Foundation’s 2014 grants pose at the reception in the Ross Foundation’s headquarters in downtown Arkadelphia. From inception to the present, the Ross Foundation has generously supported the Cone Foundation.
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Julie Williams
Tyler Sanders
Cone Foundation senior
Cone Foundation senior
‘Cone’ in her words: “We’re helping organizations we grew up with, and helping preserve something in our community.” Lasting lessons for her: “Manging our time and the finances of the project; managing the group’s priorities.”
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Didn’t realize before: “Seeing how much need exists in our community was enlightening.” How the project helped him: “Better myself in future business and in working with others.”
Beverly Hankins
Pregnancy Resource Center Director and grant recipient
How will you use the grant: “The Pregnancy Resource Center is meeting a need in our community that wasn’t being met before, but our biggest challenge right now is getting the word out. We’re using our grant to help with marketing expenses.”
he Arkadelphia High School’s CONE Foundation awarded 20 grants to various non-profit organizations for their proposed projects in Clark County at their annual awards ceremony. The CONE Foundation made up of 19 Gifted and Talented Seniors at Arkadelphia High School, received over 27 proposals requesting almost $29,000.00. The 2014 selected recipients at the December 4th ceremony were: Educational Awards: Donna Atkins, Sherry French, Cindy Gierth, Calicia Thomas of Perritt Primary; Charlotte Dewitt of Central Primary; David Maxwell of Arkadelphia High School; Jane Watson of Perritt Primary; Amy Williams of Arkadelphia High School;
The senior students making up the CONE Foundation are (pictured above but listed in alphabetical order) Chris Adams, Adam Birdwell, Matthew Bosely, Quenton Cooper, Brayden Cox, Ashley Gierth, Janeeshia Harvell, Matthew Jarboe, Carly Mercer, Kaleb Reid, Tyler Sanders, Kaitlyn Saunders, Matt Savage, Bradley Shuffield, Andrew Stanley, Sierra Westberg, Julie Williams, and Ashley Zieler. The foundation’s sponsor is Nancy Mortensen.
Jennifer Fielding /Deb McMillan of Central Primary; Zachary Handiboe of AHS JROTC. Receiving Community Grants were: Carrie Goodman of CASA; Charles Todd of Clark County Historical Museum; Virginia Anderson of the Humane Society; Debbie Files of Lighthouse Ministry; Beverly Hankins of Pregnancy Resource Center; Terry DeWitt of OBU Kinesiology; Erik Edington of Boys/Girls Club; Nicole McGough of Arkadelphia Jr. Auxiliary; Erin Poe of Single Parent Scholarship Fund; Rev. Brett Bagwell of Shine Through Missions; Shawna Childs of CALL Foster Care; Myrtle Smith of Gennesaret Baptist Church; and Joshua Hill of Theta Alpha Chapter of Phi Sigma Beta HSU.
CONE Foundation members lead the awards ceremony where the grant funds are presented to local non-profits.
phi·lan·thro·py the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes. 3
AllCare Field at Badger Stadium
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he 2014 football season featured a muchwelcomed improvement to Badger Stadium with the installation of synthetic turf of the newlynamed AllCare Field at Badger Stadium. The turf, laid by GeoSurfaces, Inc., of Baton Rouge, La., allowed the Badger football program, soccer program, band, and spirit squads to utilize the field during the fall of 2014 when it previously would not have been able to be used. “The first two weeks we had home games this season, we had significant rainfall leading up to the days of the games,” APSD Athletic Director Chris Babb said. “We had a lot of rain on the day of our first Thursday junior high home game, played that night, got more rain on Friday, played a varsity game against Sheridan and the band and Dazzlers were still able to perform at halftime. Add to that the fact that the next Monday was our 7th grade football team’s first ever home game as Badgers and for them to be able to play at home on a nice field without having to move to Malvern because of a muddy field made it that much better. And that was just week one.” The synthetic field allowed the Badger soccer programs to use the field throughout the summer and fall and will allow for soccer and other teams
Arkadelphia Health Club 4
and groups to practice on the field they will compete on without concern for further damage of the field. “We’re just still extremely grateful to the local businesses and individuals who made this possible,” Babb said. “It really is a boon to our programs and we heard numerous visitors throughout the fall from visiting fans, players and coaches to referees comment on how much of an improvement it was and how nice the facility looked with the addition of the turf.” The turf field allowed Arkadelphia’s 5th and 6th grade football teams from the Arkadelphia Parks and Recreation league to play games on AllCare Field at Badger Stadium, where they will play in the future as Arkadelphia Badgers. APSD continues to thank the following local businesses for their support of this project and for their support of our students: AllCare Pharmacy and Sen. Percy Malone; Arkadelphia Health Club; South Arkansas Veterinary Hospital; Southern Bancorp; Turner, Rodgers, Manning and Plyler; Hardman Lumber Company; Southwest Sporting Goods; Mary and Martha’s Florist; Arnold, Batson, Turner and Turner; Farm Bureau of Clark County; Taylor King and Associates; NATF; State Farm Insurance – Austin Wingfield.
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Badger spirit! Football The Arkadelphia Badger football team became the first Badger team to reach the state quarterfinals in back to back seasons since the 1981-82 teams. The Badgers, under 4th-year head coach J.R. Eldridge, finished the season 9-4 after a loss to Mena in the quarterfinals of the 4A State Playoffs the Friday after Thanksgiving. The Badgers began the season with a win over Stuttgart in the First Security Bank Arkansas High School Kickoff Classic presented by 103.7 The Buzz at War Memorial Stadium and won the remaining two non-conference games against 6A Sheridan and 5A Hot Springs. The Badgers played the inaugural season on AllCare Field at Badger Stadium with a perfect 4-0 record with wins over Sheridan, Waldron, Mena and Bauxite. Road conference loses at Nashville, Ashdown and Malvern gave the Badgers a 4-3 record in the 4A-7 and the fourth seed in the playoffs, forcing the Badgers to assume the role of road warriors for the duration of the playoffs. Arkadelphia broke a long streak of road playoff losses in a 40-21 win at Pottsville, the 2nd seed from the 4A-4. The win set up a second round road trip to northeast Arkansas at 4A-2 runner-up Gosnell. The long road trip resulted in a defensive battle between the Badgers and Pirates with Arkadelphia taking a 7-6 win, marking a second straight year the Badgers would play on Thanksgiving week. The quarterfinals brought a rematch of the AHS Homecoming game as the Badgers traveled to the 4A-7 runner-up Mena Bearcats the Friday after Thanksgiving. The Bearcats, who entered the game 10-2, got their revenge on the Badgers and advanced to the state semifinals via a 34-27 win, scoring the game-winner with 1:03 left in the fourth quarter. The Badgers will lose a senior class that became the first group to play in
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back to back Thanksgiving weekend games in just over 30 years. The Badgers will return over half of the starters from this year’s team and will welcome a rising 9th grade group that went 7-3 in 2014 and were the 4A-7 Junior District runners-up. Volleyball 2014 was a year of youth for the Lady Badger volleyball program as only one senior was on the squad, which plays in the tough 4A West volleyball conference with perennial power Mena, the winner of the 2014 4A State Championship. The Lady Badgers said goodbye to senior Jenesis Mitchell, the lone senior on the squad. The season was highlighted by wins over 5A teams Hot Springs and White Hall. Tennis The girls’ doubles team of Addisan Forthman and Rebecca Fellers represented Arkadelphia in the 4A State tennis tournament, falling to the
eventual state semifinalists. Forthman and Fellers advanced to the state tournament after a successful run in the 4A-7 Conference tourney, falling just short of the district title in girls’ doubles. For the other members of the tennis teams, the fate was similar as Katy Dickerson was a third set tiebreak short of qualifying for state in girls’ singles as were David Lloyd and Jonathan Miles in boys’ doubles. Cross Country The AHS boys’ cross country team capped the 2014 season off with several personal records at the 4A State Cross Country meet at Oaklawn. The Badgers finished 8th out of 20plus teams at the state meet with two runners finishing with sub-20 minute times. Parker Henley (19:38) and Nathan Warner (19:40) were the two fastest times for the Badgers. Matt Savage, Lance Morvin, Nathan Gerber, Jackson McGraw and Bradley Shuffield continued on page 13
Recognizing champions
At left, the members of the AHS Quiz Bowl team admire their state champion rings. At the bottom of the page, State Diving Champion Alexandria Hunter is joined by members of the Lady Badger Swim and Dive Team at an assembly at the beginning of the fall semester.
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Teachers of the Year
Beverly Slavens, AHS and District
Beverly Slavens, Arkadelphia High School Ms. Beverly Slavens is the teacher of the year for Arkadelphia High School and was named the Arkadelphia School District teacher of the year. Ms. Slavens has been in her present position for 35 years. Prior to joining the faculty at AHS, she taught in Malvern and Missouri. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from HSU and is a National Board Certified teacher. She is also a member of College Board, an AAIMS consultant, and a recent appointee to the National Assessment Governing Board. Ms. Slavens has been chosen eight times to participate in the National Endowment for the Humanities summer programs, was named a National Fellow for Independent Study in the Humanities, and is a recipient of the Distinguished Teacher Award in conjunction with the Presidential Scholars Program. According to a former student, Ms. Slavens inspires students on a daily basis and shows them the true beauty of literature.
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Tami Green, GMS
Mary Snowden, PES
Jean Smithey, CPS
Sherry French, LEP
Tami Green, Goza Middle School
Mary Snowden, Peake Elementary School
Ms. Tami Green was selected as the teacher of the year for Goza Middle School. She teaches 7th grade social studies. She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from HSU before earning her teaching certificate in 2006 and a master’s degree in Education from the U of A in 2012. She taught at Poyen Elementary and Ouachita High School before coming to Goza Middle School. Ms. Green has been described as an optimistic, approachable, cooperative, and competent professional for whom failure is never an option.
Ms. Mary Snowden was selected by her peers to represent Peake Elementary School where she currently teaches 5th grade literacy and social studies. Ms. Snowden began her career at Peake in 2006. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree from HSU and is currently working to complete the requirements for certification as a building level administrator. Ms. Snowden is a natural leader among her peers and is an advocate for kids. She has been instrumental in continued on page 13
Student performances
Perritt Primary
Central Primary
Central Primary
Peake Elementary
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Homecoming
AHS’s senior class took first place with their float for the homecoming theme of “Countries: Around the turf in 80 days.”
The Badgers defeated Mena 40-28. Above, Badger QB Jeff Blake dives into the end zone for a touchdown.
Tessa Yelverton and Kristin Bell were crowned Homecoming Queen and Maid of Honor.
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On the very stage where they graduated 50 years before, in what is now the administration building, the AHS Class of 1964 gathers to celebrate their 50 year reunion. Regardless of when alumni assemble at their alma mater, it is a homecoming.
Badger Pride Marching Band
The Badger Pride Marching Band delivered another unique show and successful marching season this year. At the Bandmasters Championship at the Liberty Bowl the band brought home a Superior Rating, 3rd place in class AAA, 1st place Music class AAA, 7th place overall out of 31 bands. At the Championship at the Rock at War Memorial the band was awarded Class B Grand Champion, Outstanding Music Performance in Class, Outstanding Visual Performance, Outstanding Colorguard, Outstanding General Effect, and finished in 5th place overall out of 33 bands.
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Harris recognized by ASBA for service “Service is the rent we pay for the time we have been allowed to live on this Earth,” Dr. Kenneth Harris, Vice President of the Arkadelphia Public Schools Board of Education, said while discussing the importance of volunteering in his community. What has he learned from 32 years of service as an APS board member? “I’ve realized that if people in their communities aren’t willing to give up their time and energy, and what they may have to offer, then that community will miss out on a lot. And I’ve learned that there are intrinsic rewards from serving,” Harris said. In addition to the intrinsic satisfaction he’s experienced so far during his time on APS’s board, Harris was recently recognized by the Arkansas School Boards Association with two awards, both of which the ASBA awarded for the first time in its history. At the ASBA’s annual conference, Harris received the Platinum Award for having completed 400 hours of professional development, and the Service Award, which is given after 30 or more years of board membership. Harris, who has served as a school board member as long as anyone in Arkansas, is part of a group of eight who have received every award the ASBA offers. An education career, and his child being in the public school system, led Harris to become interested in running for a board position. When the only minority representation on the board announced that he was not seeking reelection, Harris knew that the time was right. “I’m an advocate of diversity,” Harris said. “And I knew my experience as an educator could allow me to make a contribution to the community as a
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PHOTO COURTESY LIFETOUCH
Jerry Don Woods, President of the Arkansas School Boards Association, presents the platinum award to Dr. Kenneth Harris, Vice President of the Arkadelphia Board of Education, at the ASBA’s annual conference. whole.” As early in his life as Harris can recall, he was encouraged by his family to pursue education, not only as a student but as a professional career as well. His parents sent three of their children at once to college on an extremely limited income. His father, a disabled veteran, put his children’s futures ahead of everything else. The support continued throughout his life. During his later childhood years, Harris moved in with his grandmother who had suffered a stroke. “She had no career, was illiterate, had no formal education,” Harris said. “I took care of her during that
time. She would remind me everyday after returning home from school … she would tell me ‘you can’t do nothin’ without an education,’ and she provided what encouragement and any support she could to help me stay dedicated to my studies.” Later in his life, Harris said his aunt also made an impression on him with her generosity. Only after observing his dedication to becoming educated, she provided some financial help from what little she was able to save from her $8 per week income. Harris now holds an undergraduate degree from Arkansas Agricultural Mechanical and Normal College, now UAPB; a master’s degree from Henderson State; and a doctorate
from East Texas State, now A&MCommerce. Harris began his career in his hometown of Fordyce as an elementary teacher, but has also taught as far away as Las Vegas. He worked in the Hot Springs School District, and upon completion of his master’s degree, he was offered a teaching position at HSU, where he continued until his retirement. His service to Arkadelphia, a community he genuinely cherishes, continues through involvement in numerous organizations as well as the school board. “I prize the fact that we have a community that values, appreciates, and supports a strong public education system,” Harris said. “Even though I know that there will always be opportunities for improvement, I know we can always depend on our community to rise to the occasion. We can proceed with hard work and confidence to resolve whatever we need to, and that we’re looking out for the greater good.” Harris likely sees some of himself and the struggles he and his family overcame in every one of Arkadelphia
High School’s graduates. He said he was overwhelmed by emotion during the first graduation ceremony where parents were allowed to participate. “Watching these parents hug their kid’s necks, and place medallions, which signified their academic accomplishments, over their heads, it moved me,” Harris said. “The first time we did a graduation ceremony like that, I could barely sit through it without having to get up and leave because I was crying. It was heart warming for me to see.” Arkadelphia’s public schools and community have undoubtedly benefited from Harris’s leadership, experience, and vision. He’s played a significant role in accomplishments in the District such as the passing of a mileage that allowed AHS’s campus to be remodeled, completion of the Peake Rosenwald project, extending the District’s structure to include an early childhood program, and countless others. “Knowing you’ve been part of helping engineer the resources, and doing whatever we have to do to provide for others,” Harris said, “it invigorates my spirit of service.”
Badger Spirit, from page 6
finished the District tournament in 4th place. The medalist for the Lady Badger team at District was senior Lauren Quillin. For the Badgers, sophomore Colin Parnell scored best at the District tournament and missed qualifying for the 4A State tournament by one stroke. With the only other seniors being Bradley Shuffield for the boys and Baileigh Nix for the girls, Patterson is excited about 2015. “We had a lot of youth on this year’s team,” he said. “We look forward to a strong group returning for next year.”
rounded out the state finishers for AHS. Golf Two tournament wins for the Badgers highlighted the 2014 golf season for Steve Patterson’s Badger and Lady Badger golf teams. The boys’ team finished second place in four tournaments to eventual 4A-7 champion Malvern. Arkadelphia
Teachers of the Year, from page 8 raising money for local charitable causes, and has been described as an amazing role model. Jean Smithey, Central Primary School Ms. Jean Smithey was named Central Primary’s teacher of the year and teaches 3rd grade. Ms. Smithey eared her bachelor’s degree at the University of Central Oklahoma and her master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma. She began her career in Oklahoma, has taught ESL, Adult Ed., and Title I reading and taught at Gurdon Public Schools before joining the Central faculty in 2006. She has been described as immensely dedicated to the teaching profession and an invaluable member of the Central team. Her passion is encouraging children to be readers. Sherry French, Perritt Primary School Ms. Sherry French was chosen as the teacher of the year for Perritt Primary School where she teaches 1st grade. Ms. French began her career in the Benton School District as a 2nd grade teacher in 1988 before joining our district in 1997. In addition to teaching 1st grade, she has taught 4th grade at Peake and served as an instructional facilitator. She earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at UCA. It has been said that her enthusiasm, love, and passion for teaching are evident in all that she does as she works diligently to ensure that every child in her classroom has the opportunity to reach his or her potential.
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FIRST CLASS Arkadelphia Public Schools
The results speak for themselves
In the classroom, on the playing field, and in pursuit of higher education, our students find success.
With athletics and activities which continue to bring home state and conference championships, a band which is regarded as one of the best in the state, a high school named by the Washington Post to the top 1 percent of the nation’s most challenging high schools, an exemplary PreK program, an unrivaled focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Career Readiness, and with graduates who stay in college ahead of state and national averages, it is easy to see how the Arkadelphia Public Schools is providing a truly first-class educational experience.
Quiz Bowl
F. S N P O M C A H C
2014 Champions
E T PS TA M S HA C
3 State Titles
Badger Basketball
E T PS TA M S HA C
Back-to-back Championships
Badger Baseball arkadelphiaschools.org
QUALITY • EXCELLENCE • EQUITY
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