December 2022

Report Card

Safe, secure and educated

When Vilonia High School math teacher John Allison walks into a crowded room, he looks around to determine what dangers might exist and how he might protect others. It partly comes from his upbringing and partly from his Marine Corps training. This year, he’s been spending a lot of time doing that on a policy level. He was the only full-time teacher on the Arkansas School Safety Commission, which Gov. Asa Hutchinson called back into action after the shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. Whereas the commission in 2018 primarily offered recommendations, this year’s report was more about accountabillity. That’s because Robb Elementary had good policies in place that nevertheless didn’t prevent the deaths of 19 children and two adults. Now, it’s up to each school district to take the commission’s report and make it work for their community, so that hopefully what happened at Uvalde doesn’t happen here.

A quality education, large or small

I grew up in the Tillar Public Schools

Growing up in a small town comes with advantages as well as disadvantages. I grew up in Reed, Arkansas, and our small school was a part of Tillar Public Schools. While in school, I remember my dad always telling me to “get my learning.” My parents along with all the parents in our small community stressed the importance of “getting your learning” to us daily.

by William Campbell ASBA President

My school had about 125 kids K-12, and my graduating class had 17 with me being the class valedictorian. Interestingly, I remember going to my oldest brother’s graduation, and at the time I wasn’t familiar with the word “valedictorian” or any of the words associated with graduation. I was in the sixth grade, and I remember telling my teacher I was going to be valedictorian of my class. She explained it to me and said, “Do it.”

My small school would have academic and sports competitions with the larger schools in my area. We either would win or rank in the top with the students from those schools all the

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time because we received the same quality education they did. Even though we didn’t have all the extracurricular activities that others had, we still prospered. We didn’t have Friday night football, but we did have basketball. The community came out and supported us every Friday.

I enrolled in the Upward Bound program and met many students across the state from both large and small schools. I remember in one of my classes, the teacher called me out because I had made the highest score on a test. This again showed me that my small school was doing something right.

I know due to funding issues we are consolidating and moving schools around in order to survive and give students more to work with, but the learning part is still key. Learning comes from teachers and administrators and the student’s desire to learn, with the community being involved as well. During my time in school, my parents were the type who would ask relevant questions and keep up with our progress, and if there were problems with us at school there would be problems at home. The small school setting incorporated everyone, and everyone cared.

The Tillar schools consolidated with the McGehee School District, and it was an adjustment for both districts. The parents were accustomed to going up the street instead of traveling several miles to check on their child, or being able to walk into the principal’s office and have a one-on-one conversation with him because he knew everyone on a first name basis. However, this consolidation gave our kids more opportunities to advance because they gained access to programs which had never been offered in our smaller school. We’ve had numerous kids excel in football, track, tennis, robotics, and other programs because they received access to these programs at the larger schools.

While serving as a school board member, I’ve had the opportunity to be surrounded by people who represent all school district sizes, and they all work hard to make sure our students are educated equitably. Many of these districts have either received students or transferred students to districts because of consolidation. It may not have been pretty in the beginning, but as time progressed it benefited the students in the end.

Educating our kids isn’t dependent upon the size of the school district, but it is all about the quality of the education and the motivation that comes from our system and the willingness of our students to learn. It takes a community to raise a child, and the community surrounds the school.

In closing, as we celebrate the holiday season, I wish each of you a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year. I thank each of you for your commitment to educating our children in the state of Arkansas.

The entire community cared about us where

Report Card

T he J ournal of T he a rkansas s chool B oards a ssociaT ion

News and Features

10

Kees: Involve trans students’ parents

How can school districts handle tough issues like transgender students, prayer in schools, and allowing patrons to speak at board meetings?

PLCs’ focus: collaboration, results 12

Professional learning communities, or PLCs, help educators create a collaborative culture where teachers work together to help all students succeed.

Teacher pay, school funding in session 14

ASBA is preparing for the upcoming legislative session where teacher salaries, school funding and vouchers will be on the agenda and where a new governor will be in office.

Conway Superintendent Jeff Collum took a particular interest in school safety after a teacher was stabbed at a Texas district where he was working. One thing he learned through his research is that locked doors save lives. Keeping exterior and classroom doors locked are two of the 56 recommendations made by the Arkansas School Safety Commission in its latest report.

NLR’s Salaam named Teacher of Year 20

The annual reveal of the incoming Arkansas Teacher of the Year is supposed to be a surprise, but North Little Rock Middle School social studies teacher Capri Salaam still figured it out quickly.

24 Cover / Fifty-six ways to protect schools Following the Uvalde school shooting, the Arkansas School Safety Commission produces a report to help schools prevent it from happening here again

Expert: Kids need social media training 30

What social media platforms are students using? Not the same ones as adults. That’s according to Ashley Kincannon, Arkansas statewide computer science specialist.

SROs, CSSOs create armed presence 32

SROs or CSSOs? The Arkansas School Safety Commission sees the value of both.

We’re Serving Up Happy & Healthy

Choosing Chartwells as our Foodservices partner has been a great decision for Osceola School District. The transition from self-op to Chartwells went very smoothly. The Chartwells team is friendly and have been on point in everything they have done. We have had nothing but great reviews on the quality, flavor, and presentation of the food being served. Our faculty enjoy the meals, and students are raving about the chef and saying that they hope he always cooks at Osceola School District.

Chartwells has definitely turned our cafeteria into a place where students want to go and eat rather than just a place to rush through. I would recommend Chartwells to any school district looking for a services partner that puts quality and students first.

Dr. Toriano Green Osceola School District Superintendent

Choosing a collaborative partnership with Chartwells means educators can focus on their main priority – putting students first. We pride ourselves on creating programs that align with your district’s values and enable us to serve up happy & healthy to every student, every day.

If you’re hungry to learn more, contact: Kellye Neal 501-615-3660 kellye.neal@compass-usa.com

by Dr. Tony Prothro

Communicating using today’s tools

Every aspect of communication technology has changed exponentially in the past few decades. I have enjoyed more than 30 years in education-related work and can remember when I first used a computer for typing purposes. Before then, pencils, pens and typewriters had been the tools of the trade. I also remember moving from a party land line to a personal line in our home. Wow – what progress! I can also vividly recall seeing my first mobile telephone. It resembled a shoe box with an antenna. The man who possessed it had a carrier on his hip big enough to carry your lunch.

Fast forward to today when you see people walking along who are seemingly talking to themselves but actually are using a wireless mic connected to a mobile phone in their pocket and are speaking to someone hundreds or thousands of miles away. The internet has also forever changed communication through social media venues in which anyone can participate.

With COVID and its implications, board members have had to refocus their efforts on communications. So how do they, as the conduit between their schools and the public, communicate?

Of course, the simple answer is: Use every aspect of communication possible. The difficult part is how to utilize the varying venues for a positive outcome. Here are some things to consider regardless of the communications tool.

• Transparency. It is important to be transparent. However, some things are required by law to be kept confidential. One aspect of communications is to educate your constituents of what is considered confidential information.

• Concise Yet Complete Information. Don’t give too much information. Make sure you are giving a complete description, but don’t include materials that are not relevant to the topic.

• Accuracy. If you are unsure, check your sources. You never want to give inaccurate information that will have your

constituents doubt your veracity or complicate an issue.

• Utilize All Forms of Communication. Social media takes shapes in many forms. All can be effective tools in reaching audiences of differing interests. However, don’t forget the value of faceto-face contact. Many people prefer personal physical communication over electronic media. It allows others to see you as a person rather than someone at the other end of a communication thread.

• Be Careful in Your Content. Remember that as a board member, you now hold an elected office and are a representative of the district. Carefully reflect before posting on social media about topics that might be considered controversial or even toxic – even posts of a personal nature. You must clarify what communications are personal versus positions stated as a board member. Also, never speak on behalf of the entire board unless that responsibility has been delegated to you by the other members. You never want to communicate information that may lessen board cohesiveness, unintentionally harm a child, or disrupt the educational process.

• Communicate the Positive Attributes of Your District. If you have been a board member for any length of time, you have become aware of positive happenings within your district. You have heard bad news sells, but also remember that many of your patrons have confidence in your schools and want to be reassured that their children are acquiring a good education. Tell the truthful anecdotes of positive facets of your district.

Communication is simply a tool to meet a purpose. The way you shape and release your communications may have negative outcomes or constructive, positive ones. Be mindful of your audience and the message you want to convey each time you engage in communications, and you will be able to make a positive difference for your students and your district.

Card

The Journal of The arkansas school Boards associaTion

Vol. 16, Number 4 December 2022

P.O. Box 165460 / Little Rock, AR 72216

Telephone: 501-372-1415 / 800-482-1212 Fax: 501-375-2454

E-mail: arsba@arsba.org / www.arsba.org

Board of Directors

President: William Campbell, McGehee

Vice President: Randy Hutchinson, Springdale

Sec.-Treasurer: Jeff Lisenby, Sheridan

Past President: Rosa Bowman, Ashdown

Region 1: Travis Warren, Farmington

Region 2: Mitchell Archer, Bergman

Region 3: Joe Sheppard, Jonesboro

Region 4: Craig Frost, Clarksville

Region 5: Clint Hull, Pottsville

Region 6: Nikki King, Pangburn

Region 7: Kristain Dedmon, Osceola

Region 8: Jereme Carter, Carlisle

Region 9: Donna Dunlap, Barton-Lexa

Region 10: Mark Curry, Lake Hamilton

Region 11: Carl “Buddy” Puckett, Poyen

Region 12: Laura Clark, Blevins

Region 13: Doris Parham, Bearden

Region 14: Jerry Daniels, Warren

Staff

Executive Director: Dr. Tony Prothro

Board Development Director: Tammie Reitenger

Governmental Relations Director: Dan Jordan

Finance Director: Diana Woodward

Communications and Technology Director: Sherri Fite Staff Attorney: Kristen Garner Policy Director: Lucas Harder

Database Administrator: Kathy Ivy

Commercial Affiliates/Board Liaison Manager: Angela Ellis Bookkeeper: Kayla Orr

TIPS-TAPS Project Manager: Stacey McPherson General Counsel: Jay Bequette Risk Management Program & Workers’ Comp. Program: Shannon Moore, Director Krista Glover

Dwayne McAnally

Misty Thompson

Melody Tipton

LaVerne Witherspoon

Linda Collins

Lisa Wigginton

Kara Quinton

Julianne Dobson

TO CONTACT THE MAGAZINE

Please contact Steve Brawner, Editor 501.847.7743; brawnersteve@mac.com

Report Card is published quarterly by the Arkansas School Boards Association. Copyright 2022 by the Arkansas School Boards Association and Steve Brawner Communications. All rights reserved.

Sheppard

Sheppard, Frost elected as new regional directors

Joe Sheppard, a Jonesboro School Board member, was elected Region 3 director at this year’s regional meetings, while Clarksville’s Craig Frost was elected to represent Region 4.

Sheppard, a Jonesboro native, has been serving on the board since 2014 and is currently the board secretary. He

De Queen High School De Queen, Arkansas

is an employee of Hytrol Conveyor Co. The married father of four adult children said his interests include car rebuilding, car audio, and being a disc jockey.

Frost, a Clarksville native, has been serving on the school board since 2006. He is an accountant and a graduate of Harding University. He is a married father of four adult children.

Elsewhere, the following regional directors are returning to the board: Region 6 - Nikki King, Pangburn; Region 7 - Kristain Dedmon, Osceola; Region 9 - Donna Dunlap, Barton-Lexa; and Region 14 - Jerry Daniels, Warren.

Little Rock’s Wood joins State Board

Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s latest appointments to the Arkansas State Board of Education include his third current

appointee who previously was a school board member.

Hutchinson on Sept. 6 announced the appointments of then-Little Rock School Board member Jeff Wood along with Simmons Bank Executive Vice President Lisa Hunter of White Hall. Hunter also serves as the bank’s chief data officer.

Hunter’s and Wood’s terms expire on June 30, 2029.

Wood, an attorney, joins longtime Springdale School Board member Kathy McFetridge, a former ASBA president, and Steve Sutton, who served 28 years on the Marion School Board. McFetridge’s term expires June 30, 2025, and Sutton’s term expires in 2027.

State law prohibits an individual from serving on both the State Board of Education and a local school board, so Wood resigned from Little Rock’s shortly after receiving the appointment.

Wood, who had been elected to the Little Rock School Board in 2020, did not file for re-election this year. Joyce Wesley ran unopposed for the position.

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had set the district on the right path both financially and academically.

March 30 - April 1, 2023

“It was a special group of people, all of us having been elected together in the same election,” Wood said. “And I don’t think there was any question that I had most often a different view of the world than most of them. I lost a lot of votes [where] I was the single vote voting for or against something. But we really, I think, built a real collegiality among us. They have my respect, and I believe that I have theirs. We worked quite well together, and I’m going to miss them. They’re a good group of people.”

3, 2023

Wood was on the first elected school board following Little Rock’s return to local control from state takeover. In 2016, he had been appointed by nowSecretary of Education Johnny Key to a Community Advisory Board that advised state policymakers about the district’s needs.

He said the Little Rock School District’s transition to local control was a “pivotal moment” and that the board

He said literacy is the biggest issue facing Arkansas’ public schools, and that the state is correct in its embrace of the science of reading instructional strategy.

“We’ve got to get that right,” he said. “Our students are dependent on that. That is the absolutely best way to guarantee the hope of a future for a young child is to have them reading, and reading on grade level by third grade, fifth grade, seventh grade.”

Apply now for ASBA Foundation scholarships

Applications are being accepted for ASBA Educational Foundation college scholarships until March 1. The foundation awards six scholarships to children/ legal wards of school board members.

A one-time $2,500 award is given to four entering college freshmen, one from each of the state’s congressional districts, who will be attending an Arkansas two-year or four-year institution. The applicant’s parent/legal guardian must serve on his/her local school board at some time during the school year in which the scholarship is awarded.

A one-time $5,000 award, the Marshall Hughes Scholarship, is given to a statewide winner selected from the freshman applicants. It is named in honor of former Beardsley Public Finance employee Marshall R. Hughes, and is sponsored by Beardsley Public Finance.

A one-time $2,500 scholarship, the J.K. Williams Memorial Scholarship, is

Wood

ASBA

Feb. 7, 2023

ASBA “Hybrid” School Law Seminar DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Little Rock

Consortium of State School Boards Associations Annual Meeting Tampa, Florida May

ASBA/AAEA Joint Leadership Conference Wyndham Riverfront North Little Rock

awarded to a board member or a member’s spouse, son, daughter, grandchild, legal ward, or immediate family member who is at least a junior in an Arkansas institution of higher education and is pursuing a degree in the field of education. It is named in honor of former ASBA Executive Director J.K. Williams.

ASBA established the foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity, to support public education in Arkansas. The foundation established a scholarship program in 1992. The first scholarships were awarded in 1994.

Inaugural COSSBA meeting plans are now taking shape

Plans are taking shape for the inaugural COSSBA Annual Conference March 30 - April 2, 2023 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. The theme is “Leading and Learning Together.”

The four-day event will include learning opportunities, keynote speakers, and dedicated times for member networking.

The event will kick off with an early bird session hosted by COSSBA’s Urban Boards Alliance on March 30. There, members can engage in educational strategies and share best practices that address and improve the educational outcomes of students within challenging

environments. The theme for that day is, “Leading and Learning Together: Meeting the Needs of Students in Challenging Environments.”

The keynote speaker that day will be Dr. Donna Beegle. She will provide research-based insights for communicating and working more effectively across race, poverty, gender, and generational barriers.

The Urban Boards Alliance early bird session is encouraged for rural and suburban school districts as well.

The following three days will feature more than 100 learning sessions and activities that fall into categories such as Student Achievement, Governance and Leadership, School Safety and Mental Health, and Communication and Collaboration.

Keynote speakers at the conference include Amy Blankson, co-founder of the Digital Wellness Group; Chuck Underwood, founder and principal of the consulting firm The Generational Imperative, Inc.; and John Quiñones, host of the ABC News show “What Would You Do?”

Blankson will speak on “Fearless Positivity: Rethinking Stress in the Midst of Uncertainty.” In this inspiring research-based talk, Blankson highlights leaders who have courageously chosen positivity in the midst of adversity. Leveraging learnings from positive psychology and behavioral science, she examines how negative mindsets hold

us back, why some fear is actually good for us, and strategies to reframe stress to better serve us.

Underwood will speak on “Generational Strategy: Because K-12 Is Entirely About People.” Underwood says a “generational gearbox” enhances board harmony, wisdom and productivity while also improving board understanding, communications, and final outcomes with employees, voters, legislators, vendors, students and their parents.

Quiñones, the child of migrant farm workers, entered school not speaking English. In high school, an English teacher entered him into the federal Upward Bound program, changing the trajectory of his life. In this presentation, Quiñones inspires attendees to believe in their own potential, the transformative power of education, and how one person can make a difference in the future of a child.

Dr. Anne Butcher, who until this year was ASBA’s board development director, is helping develop the program.

To register, go to www.cossba.org and look for the registration link. Hotel information also will be available there.

The 23-member association was formed last year by state school boards associations that withdrew from the National School Boards Association. Its membership recently grew by one member with the addition of the Iowa Association of School Boards.

ASBA legal webinar

Kees: Involve trans students’ parents

Legal webinar also covers school prayer, public comments at board meetings

How can school districts handle tough issues like transgender students, prayer in schools, and allowing patrons to speak at board meetings? Follow the law, consider the facts of a particular situation, and work with parents and the community.

That’s according to an ASBA webinar, “Legalese with Cody Kees,” presented Sept. 27 by Kees and Teddy Stewart, attorneys with Bequette, Billingsley & Kees, P.A.

There is no Arkansas case law dealing with transgender students, so schools must look to court decisions originating from other states. In Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, Virginia student Gavin Grimm had been born biologically female but identified as male. The school required him to use a unisex bathroom. He sued and won. Eventually, the school board voted to settle the case and pay him $1.3 million to cover his attorney’s fees and other costs.

In the case, the district court ruled that Grimm must be protected on the basis of sex, and that offering him a unisex bathroom created a hardship because it forced him to walk farther while increasing the stigma associated with his gender identity.

Arkansas schools are not bound by the decision because it occurred in a different judicial circuit, but it’s still an important case that can guide them as they craft their own policies. Grimm’s sincerely held desire was backed up by the affirmative steps he took over a period of years to change his gender, including hormone replacements, having his breasts removed, and changing his name and birth certificate. Schools would need to be more accommodating in that circumstance than when a student abruptly decides he or she wants to be labeled a different gender.

When dealing with transgender students, Kees emphasized the importance of involving parents. He said a

ATTORNEY CODY KEES discussed how school districts can handle challenging legal issues in an ASBA webinar, “Legalese with Cody Kees,” on Sept. 27.

superintendent of a very large Northwest Arkansas district told him that when that district has done this, the situation has been resolved almost every time.

“If you still can’t resolve it and the biological male wants to use the biological female bathroom, our position is, you don’t have to allow that,” he said. “You would make an alternative, single cell private bathroom available. We think that would meet the expectation of Arkansas judges. If you get continual pushback at that point, we’re just going to have to look at the facts. Are they making the necessary changes to transition? Is this a sincerely held belief? What are the parents saying?”

The same concepts would apply when students wish to be known by a different name, even though they have not undergone a gender change. Generally, school districts have adopted a policy requiring parental consent. The equation might change if the student has changed their name on their birth certificate or driver’s license.

What about school prayer?

Elsewhere, Stewart said school districts must balance three constitutional requirements when considering issues related to religious expression. Under the Establishment Clause, public schools cannot impose prayer or other religious practices on students. Under

the Free Exercise Clause, they can’t prevent students from expressing or sharing their religious beliefs. Under the Equal Protection Clause, schools cannot discriminate on the basis of religion.

The two attorneys discussed at length the issue of prayer in schools, a topic that was the subject of an important U.S. Supreme Court case in 2022. In Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the Court ruled a high school football coach’s rights had been violated when he was terminated for engaging in postgame prayers at the 50-yard-line while joined voluntarily by players. The district feared his actions violated the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. The Supreme Court, however, ruled he had a right to pray after games and that his actions did not constitute the school district’s endorsement of a religion. In the majority decision, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote, “In no world may a government entity’s concerns about phantom constitutional violations justify actual violations of an individual’s First Amendment rights.”

Stewart cautioned that school districts should not read too much into that important case.

“I think that everybody should keep in mind that Kennedy is pretty narrow,” he said. “I think it’s a big win for proponents of religion, but it is pretty narrow, and if we try to interpret this more broadly, then our districts may be in trouble.”

However, Kees said even a narrow decision can be extrapolated out to a broad range of issues. The coach’s actions occurred after the game, when his official duties were limited, so if a teacher wants to pray or study the Bible during her prep period or during a break, the school district probably could not prohibit that.

The two attorneys said schools can’t impose school prayer or favor one religion over another. School employees can’t be seen as expressing a government body’s preference for a religion.

But students and teachers have wider latitude when acting individually. Teachers can lead a prayer group before school, though they can’t promote it in

class, and they can participate in student-led prayer groups. School officials can review the valedictorian’s graduation speech to ensure the comments will be appropriate – for example, not sexually suggestive. However, they can’t keep the speaker from talking about their faith any more than they can prevent them from talking about “woke” social issues. Even a board president who talked about God and prayed publicly in his speech was within his rights, a circuit court decided in one case. Prayer at sporting events, however, can’t be defended unless it’s completely student-led, and even then the students can’t use district-provided resources such as the public address system.

The two addressed what should happen if a school district allows community- and church-affiliated speakers to address a breakfast for football players. Must the Satanic Temple be treated the same? Stewart said that under the Equal Protection Clause, similarly situated entities must receive the same governmental treatment. However, a policy or practice can disproportionately affect a religion if there is a rational basis for it, and if it serves a legitimate purpose. Community leaders have personal relationships with players and coaches and are sought for their ability to encourage them. Because their religious comments are secondary to the overall motivational message, the school is not responsible for the words

they might say. In contrast, a member of the Satanic Temple may have fewer connections to the district, the players and the coaches.

Still, schools should be careful about hosting events that could involve religion.

“Generally speaking, the school does not need to host an event whereby they know the speaker is going to be a religious speaker,” Kees said.

Given all the restrictions on schools, teachers and students, what about school boards? Kees said there is no constitutional restriction against praying at board meetings. Such prayers are common and entrenched in history. However, Kees said such prayers must be voluntary and can’t appear to force religion on students who may be present. Whether or not it should be listed on the agenda should be a community-based decision.

“Teddy and I are rural lawyers in Arkansas,” he said. “We’re not going to tell boards they can’t pray. I know that’s important, and my position would be, we can defend that if the time came.”

The two also discussed the issue of allowing public comments at school board meetings. Kees said the Supreme Court has made it clear that members of the public don’t have the absolute right to speak at a school board meeting or to use all parts of a school building. School board members need to be able to address the district’s needs while still

allowing members of the public to express their views.

He warned that school boards cannot impose speech restrictions simply because they might not like what could be said.

“Once you open the floodgates to public comment, you can’t start dictating what people can comment about, and you also run the risk of saying, ‘I don’t like your speech.’ And that wouldn’t be a valid reason not to let them speak,” Kees said.

Kees said a Virginia Beach school board had a policy against personal attacks, but a judge ruled it unconstitutional. However, school boards can limit speech if they have a compelling interest. Two examples would be protecting private student information, and restricting speech about personnel so the board doesn’t get in trouble with the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act or the Employee Fair Hearing Act. If a patron starts criticizing an English teacher or the high school principal, the employees’ rights are affected because the board may be called upon to give them a fair hearing.

“Don’t allow the public to simply come before the board and talk about anything they want, but ensure that public comment is limited to an actual item on the agenda,” he said. “And why is that helpful? Because we know as board members our action items do not include personnel or student issues.”

ASBA Regional Meetings

PLCs’ focus: collaboration, results

Professional learning communities, or PLCs, help educators create a collaborative culture where teachers work together to help all students succeed. School boards can support them by ensuring educators have the time and resources they need.

Those were some of the messages presented by Michael Stacks, assistant superintendent, high school principal and athletic director at Quitman Public Schools. Stacks was one of the speakers at this year’s regional meetings – in this case, the Region 10 meeting at Hot Springs Oct. 11.

Stacks said PLCs are based on three big ideas: a focus on learning; a collaborative culture and collective responsibility; and a results orientation.

Within those three big ideas are four main questions, the first being, what do you want your students to learn? Stacks said there are so many standards that school districts should determine which ones are essential and then target their teaching toward those. The second question is, how do you know students have learned it? The answers come through creating assessments in a collaborative setting to monitor student learning. Stacks noted that the state is dropping the ACT Aspire exam because it isn’t aligned with state standards, and is developing one that is. The third question is, how do you respond when a student doesn’t learn it? The answer is, intervene. The fourth question is, how do you respond when a student already knows it? Extend the learning.

Stacks traced the development of PLCs in Arkansas to a summit attended by state legislators in 2016 that led to $12.5 million in funding, which has since increased to $16.5 million. It costs $400,000 to train schools. The first cohort consisted of 10 districts, seven of which have become model districts. There are now 25 model districts. Quitman, which is a model district, was in cohort 2. Meanwhile, 16 of the state’s higher education institutions are training their students in the PLC process.

A model PLC is committed to collaborative team time. Everyone is on a team, even if they are the only teacher

COLLABORATE AND EDUCATE. Michael Stacks, an assistant superintendent at Quitman Public Schools, discusses how professional learning communities encourage teachers to work together.

of a particular subject, like art. Meetings are guided by agendas with goals. Administrators trust but verify, drawing a distinction between tightly enforced standards such as the need to meet, versus loosely enforced standards such as when the meeting will occur.

Stacks said teachers in a PLC hold each other accountable, see every student as theirs rather than only those in their classroom, and share strategies.

“If you’ve got a group of five fifth grade math teachers, they’re no longer working in isolation behind closed doors,” he said. “They’re planning together on a weekly basis and they’re sharing their instructional strategies, and they’re looking at their assessments. Why did my kids not score as well on their formative assessment on fractions as yours did? It’s no longer a judgmental situation. Well, I don’t know why mine didn’t do as well. Can I come and watch you teach? How did you teach that? We’re sharing those instructional strategies and collaborating around that to ensure a high level of learning for all kids.”

Quitman has content teams such as a grades 3-6 math team whose members collaborate. High school teams have daily common planning times for math, English and science. Stacks presented a sample agenda where math teachers review the results of lessons they jointly developed, discuss assessments and challenges, and consider how to support each other. Students who need specific interventions will be identified. For social studies, the school provides an early release time once a month where teachers collaborate for two hours.

School boards’ role

School boards can support PLCs in several ways, Stacks said. He said they can include time in the district calendar for teachers to collaborate; commit resources for professional development including paying for substitute teachers, which will be needed; explain to the community what the district is doing; limit initiatives and focus on those that offer the most bang for the buck; and encourage and celebrate.

They also should ask questions such as:

• Does the master schedule value collaboration?

• Are school calendar changes beneficial?

• Are students improving?

• How did they perform on the ACT exam?

• What percentage of the district’s students are reading at grade level?

• What is the district’s graduation rate?

BON APPÉTIT. Dr. Brian Peters, president of the Lake Hamilton School Board, is served a meal by two Chartwells staff members at ASBA’s Region 10 meeting in Hot Springs Oct. 11.

Legislative Session

Teacher pay, school funding in session

ASBA readies its own agenda, prepares to react to legislators’ bills as session nears

ASBA is preparing for the upcoming legislative session where teacher salaries, school funding and vouchers will be on the agenda and where a new governor will be in office.

ASBA Executive Director Tony Prothro explained the issues and ASBA’s legislative process at the Region 10 meeting at Hot Springs Junior Academy Oct. 11.

The legislative session begins Jan. 9, but pre-filing of bills began Nov. 15. As at other regional meetings, Prothro surveyed members as to their priorities. He said getting input from board members helps ASBA’s legislative team craft its agenda. The team is composed of two staff members, the five highest ranking officers and two other board members.

The group reviews and discusses possible agenda items based on three longstanding filters: Is it good for children? Does it help build an education ethic? Is everyone held appropriately accountable? The team ensures the legislation aligns with ASBA’s beliefs and resolutions, considers possible legal barriers, determines the impact on all districts, and prioritizes the list by considering what might be the most important or easiest to pass. Draft bills often are tweaked during the process after board members give feedback.

ASBA could again try to pass a bill allowing school board members to

It’s About the Kids!

finish their terms after a census-based redistricting. After the 2020 census, each district was required to move to zoned representation if its total minority population reached 10%. Some districts have had to move to zones if there’s been a shift in population.

Instead of having to immediately run again for re-election, board members have asked if they could remain on the board until their term is completed. That change would prevent them from having to run for a seat potentially three years

in a row, and it also would allow more continuity so multiple board members aren’t replaced at once.

ASBA unsuccessfully attempted to pass such legislation in the 2021 regular session and again in that year’s special session.

In addition to its legislative agenda, ASBA tracks bills filed by legislators that could affect public education. In 2021, 1,675 bills were filed in total. ASBA tracked 189 education-related bills, including 92 in the Senate and 97 in the House. Of those, 121 became law. Prothro noted that this didn’t account for all of the education bills. Bills affecting education don’t always go through the Education Committees.

Prothro said ASBA uses the same process for determining its position on those bills as it does for its own. ASBA may take no position on a bill if it would split the membership by helping some districts and hurting others.

Prothro said school boards can help ASBA support schools by appointing one member to act as a legislative

An Exhibiting Member of ASBA, McPherson & Jacobson has been assisting Arkansas School Districts with SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH services for over 20 years.

Executive Recruitment & Development

We enjoyed visiting with our friends at the 2022 Annual ASBA Conference!

GOV.-ELECT SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS speaks after voting Nov. 10 in Little Rock while her husband, Bryan, looks on. Sanders, who was elected with 63% of the vote, released her Arkansas LEARNS plan in October. LEARNS stands for Literacy, Empowerment, Accountability, Readiness, Networking and School Safety.

liaison with ASBA and to keep their fellow board members informed. He said a legislator once told him that contacts from five board members were more effective than contacts from 50 superintendents because board members are elected. He asked board members to show appreciation to supportive legislators.

“We’ve got a lot of friends over there that help us that are pro-education, pro-public education,” he said. “Don’t forget to tell them, ‘Thank you for doing what you’re doing.’”

New governor in office

For the first time in eight years, a new governor will set education policy. Governor-elect Sarah Sanders released her Arkansas LEARNS plan Oct. 18. LEARNS is an acronym for Literacy, Empowerment, Accountability, Readiness, Networking and School Safety. According to Sanders’ campaign website, the incoming governor will

seek to improve students’ literacy by improving access to quality pre-kindergarten and providing reading coaches to at-risk children.

In her Arkansas PBS gubernatorial debate Oct. 21, Sanders described her “empowerment” plank by saying, “I think focusing and making sure that we are empowering parents to make the best decisions for their kids and making sure that they have transparency in the curriculum and making sure that they understand that no child should be trapped in a failing school because of where they live is something that is the role that the state can take on.”

Her “readiness” plank focuses on workforce development. The website says she would create flexibility for students to pursue internships and apprenticeships, and would align career and technical programs with in-demand jobs. She would establish a workforce cabinet and launch a statewide campaign supporting technical and trade schools.

“It doesn’t matter what part of the state I’ve traveled to or what type of business I have met with, there has yet to be a single person that tells me that they can hire the skilled, qualified workers that they need, and so that has to be a priority for our next administration,” she said in her gubernatorial debate on Arkansas PBS Oct. 21.

Other parts of her LEARNS plan include her “networking” plank, which includes a pledge to expand broadband internet services. Her “safety” proposals include focusing on physical security, hiring additional school resource officers, mental health and training.

In addition to a new occupant in the governor’s Continued on next page

English

Legislative Session

office, there also will be changes in the Senate and House Education Committees.

The Senate Education Committee will be chaired by Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock, who previously chaired the committee before it was chaired by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View. Irvin will not serve on the committee this upcoming session.

Other members will include Vice Chair Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock; Breanne Davis, R-Russellville; Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville; and Kim Hammer, R-Benton. Also serving will be three newly elected senators, Joshua Bryant, R-Rogers; Matt Stone, R-Camden; and Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville. Bryant and Dotson come to the Senate from the House of Representatives.

English, Chesterfield and Leding are the only returning Education Committee members. Among those leaving are two educators. Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, a retired educator, is term-limited. Sen. James Sturch, R-Batesville, lost his bid for re-election in the May primary.

In the House, Rep. Bruce Cozart, R-Hot Springs, will no longer chair the Education Committee, though he plans to remain a member.

In a text Nov. 7, he explained, “After eight good years it’s time for a new direction for me and to allow someone else an opportunity for leadership.”

The new chair will be appointed by House Speaker Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, on the first day of the session. Members had not been selected as of press time.

Voucher debate sure to return ASBA expects some legislators to again push for public funding of private education through vouchers, tax credits, tax deductions and K-12 scholarships. The issue arises each legislative session, and over time lawmakers have added funding opportunities for private schools. In 2021, lawmakers created a tax credit for contributions to private school scholarship-granting organizations, with total credits capped at $2 million per calendar year.

Sanders has indicated support for providing parents more options. In a series of tweets on Jan. 29, 2021, she wrote, “I will champion good schools and good teachers, but also offer more choices to parents of kids in failing schools.”

She offered more observations in a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition Nov. 6, 2021.

“One of the terms that I hear all the time, that frankly I really don’t like, is ‘school choice,’” she said. “And while I am a huge advocate for parents being able to decide where their kids go, it has nothing to do with the school choosing anything. The term we need to be using

is ‘parental choice, parental control.’ We need to stop making it about the schools, and start making it about the students, and what is best for those students, and no one can make a better decision on what is best for the student than the student and the parent.”

At the regional meeting in Hot Springs, Prothro noted that public schools are held accountable for their use of taxpayer dollars while private schools are not. He said the worst scenario for public schools is for a student to go to a private school in the third grade and then return to public school in the sixth grade still reading at a third grade level. He drew a parallel to giving someone $10 million to build a section of highway without monitoring their work.

“All we‘re asking for is accountability,” he said. “If you’re going to fund it with taxpayer dollars, have some accountability measures in place to assure the kids are getting an education.”

Teacher salaries, more funding

Teacher pay raises will certainly be addressed in the upcoming session. In the “accountability” plank of Sanders’ LEARNS plan, she said she would reward teachers with “smart incentives” such as higher pay. Her plan said she would allow incoming teachers to spend

REP. BRYAN EVANS, R-CABOT, a former Cabot School Board member, helped lead House Education Committee efforts that resulted in a $4,000 teacher pay raise recommendation.

Cozart

their entire last year of preparation in the classroom, and she would offer alternate certification improvements and better leadership training.

Legislators did not agree to Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s attempt to raise teacher salaries in a special session earlier this year, choosing instead to consider it through their normal educational adequacy process that concluded Nov. 1.

In that process, members of the House and Senate Education Committees consider education funding for about 10 months every even-numbered

Instead, it gives lawmakers a guideline for how much money to allocate to public education.

That process resulted in two recommendations to the governor from the House and Senate Education Committees, which is unusual but not unprecedented.

The committees separately agreed to across-the-board $4,000 teacher raises that would increase minimum starting salaries from $36,000 to $40,000 and would affect teachers at every step up the salary ladder. Both committees also

House proposal would guarantee teachers would receive a full $4,000 salary increase after taxes and benefits. Evans said Arkansas must be competitive with other states.

Like the House, the Senate increased the base salary $4,000, but it recommended waiting until fiscal year 2024. In an interview, Irvin said senators thought adjusting the budget during the current biennium could be problematic.

The Senate side also recommended a $70 million merit pay system beginning in fiscal year 2025, which Irvin said

Legislative Session

Big jumps in foundation funding

To help pay for the pay raises, both chambers voted to increase per pupil foundation funding at far greater amounts than the typical 1%-2%. The House on Oct. 4 voted to recommend a jump from $7,349 during the 2022-23 school year to $8,129 in 2023-24 and $8,296 in 2024-25. The Senate, meanwhile, called for foundation funding rates of $8,150 in fiscal year 2024 and $8,325 in fiscal year 2025.

Relatedly, the House Education Committee voted Nov. 1 to increase funding for rising construction costs on academic facilities from $200 per square foot to $275 in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

The House and Senate recommendations helped outgoing Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s administration craft his budget. On Nov. 10, he told the Joint Budget Committee that his budget included a $550 million increase in education funding over the next two years: $200 million in fiscal year 2024, and $350 million in fiscal year 2025.

“This allows the next administration and the General Assembly maximum flexibility in terms of raising teacher salaries and raising the outcomes for education in the state,” he said. “The increase would be the largest increase in education spending in well over a decade, and I believe that it is necessary for us to be competitive, it is necessary in light of our financial condition, and it is important in light of what is needed in terms of student growth and progress.”

Hutchinson told legislators the state had amassed $2.78 billion in reserve funds.

In an interview on KARK’s “Capitol View” program Nov. 13, the incoming Senate President Pro Tempore, Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said more money for education isn’t necessarily the answer.

“We’re already spending over 40% of the state’s budget on education, and we’re failing. We’re failing students; we’re failing teachers; we’re failing everywhere,” he said. “So the money is not being spent appropriately. So this is not a funding problem; this is a spending problem. So we’re going to have to really dive in on how is the money that

we’re already sending being spent? And with over 40% of the tax dollars in Arkansas going to education, you can’t argue we’re not spending enough. We are spending plenty. We’re not spending it right.”

Hester said schools should focus on reading before other priorities. He said that while athletics, art, band, history and science are all important, reading must come first.

“Every time we meet as a Legislature, we add something on to our teachers to do that is not focused on reading, and it may be time that we wind a lot of that stuff back,” he said. “You know, there’s a lot of other things we do at school that are good, but until you read, you may not need to be doing the other things, so I’m going to be a proponent of removing almost anything out of the way that’s keeping these kids from reading. They can become well-rounded after they can read.”

School safety

One issue that is certain to arise is school safety, which is covered elsewhere in this issue. In a special session this past August, lawmakers created a $50 million grant program for school safety and security. In its recommendation, the House Education Committee added $25 million for each of the next two fiscal years. Evans said the committee was trying to create a placeholder in case there were residual costs or unfinished projects from the initial $50 million grant program.

Unlike the House, the Senate did not include additional funding for school safety.

Irvin said the Senate’s focus has been setting up the $50 million grant program. The rules process is based on recommendations by the Arkansas School Safety Commission along with a survey of school districts. She said funding will be based on three standards-based tiers created by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, with the goal

being to get every school to 100% of funding on the first tier of priorities and then moving to the lower two tiers. By basing it on standards, lawmakers can see what schools have and what they need. State surplus funding outside the matrix could be used.

“We have structured this to where every school is going to receive a significant amount of dollars,” she said.

Irvin said things can be done at the state level apart from the money that is sent directly to schools. For example, every school should be connected to the state’s AWIN emergency radio communication system, which is tied to the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, the Arkansas State Police, and local law enforcement.

The Senate also recommended the state follow the recommendations of a consultant hired by the Legislature, Augenblick, Palaich and Associates. In 2020, it recommended funding free and reduced lunch students individually at a standard weighted rate, rather than through the current funding cliffs that occur at 70% and 90%. Irvin noted a comment made by Sturch, the outgoing legislator/educator, who had said that a poor student lives in poverty regardless of what district he or she attends. The Senate included enough funding to stabilize the fund so it can be phased in over four years with no dramatic changes.

A new matrix

The Senate also recommended creating a K-12 Public School Education Funding Legislative Task Force to study changing the matrix itself. Irvin said she is working on draft legislation to accomplish that task. She said times have changed since the matrix was adopted two decades ago, but the process for changing the matrix should be accomplished separately from the current adequacy process.

“You have a current funding matrix and funding formula and model and mechanics, and to try to switch that during an adequacy study is just almost going to be impossible. So you kind of need to fly in this plane while you may possibly be building another plane at the same time,” she said.

Irvin

What CCSOs do – and don’t do

All school districts want to protect their students and staff from an active shooter situation. Some, including the Clarksville School District and others, choose to use commissioned school security officers, which can be private security officers or highly trained teachers and staff members who have legal authority to carry a firearm on a K-12 public school property and can be available when an emergency arises.

A CSSO staff member is not a law enforcement officer and is not a replacement for one, and a CSSO program is not a substitute for a school resource officer program. Nor is the CSSO the staff member to call when students are fighting or a disgruntled parent is causing a scene.

Instead, a CSSO ensures the school building has a responsible adult with a gun if one is needed before law enforcement arrives on scene. A CSSO adds a layer of protection for the school environment for emergency events, typically in a school shooter scenario.

The CSSO certification is obtained from the Arkansas State Police and requires extensive training and qualifications. The law (ACA 17-40-208)

by Cody Kees Bequette, Billingsley & Kees

outlines the requirements for the certification, but the specific duties are left to each district.

ASBA does not have a model policy, but our law firm has worked with school districts on a policy appropriate for their needs. A school district interested in utilizing CSSOs should have a board policy in place. The policy should describe the requirements for being a CSSO, which will include not only the certification but also additional annual training and careful screenings by district administration. Screenings that include a drug test and psychological exam will help ensure the district is only utilizing the most qualified staff for CSSO services. A stipend should be offered for CSSO duties so the district can contractually require compliance with the applicable policy. Another consideration is whether the

district should also purchase the CSSO’s weapon or allow the CSSO to purchase an approved weapon and offer a reimbursement. In any event, the district should have standards for the weapon. The district should ensure CSSOs have access to ammunition and opportunities throughout the year to visit the shooting range, as this ensures the CSSO is receiving adequate training. The district should also provide access to a gun safe in faculty restrooms to ensure the CSSO’s weapon is never unattended. All this needs to be in the policy to ensure a safe and successful CSSO program.

School districts operating CSSO programs have generally reported positive experiences. Their training largely focuses on emergency response situations and not on other “cop on the beat” type issues (domestic disputes, traffic citations, handling evidence). This focused training allows the CSSO to be very good at one thing – an emergency situation where an armed adult is needed to respond.

A final, critical component is collaboration with local law enforcement. This ensures the agency that responds to an emergency situation is aware of what staff members may be onsite and armed, and that the CSSO is handling the situation consistent with local law enforcement practice.

Designing Secure Learning Environments For All Students

Every district that arms staff members for protection should have a policy in place

WER Architects has teamed with districts across Arkansas to design educational facilities of all types Working together with your district, we can provide tailored security solutions designed to protect your teachers, staff and students. We would love to be a part of your story!

Teacher of the Year

NLR’s Salaam named Teacher of Year

The annual reveal of the incoming Arkansas Teacher of the Year is supposed to be a surprise, and organizers did their best to disguise it as a pep rally Oct 14. But North Little Rock Middle School social studies teacher Capri Salaam still figured it out quickly.

“When I saw my husband sitting here is when I knew, and that’s when the tears started to come in when I saw him,” she told reporters after winning the award. “Because I was like, ‘Why is he …?’ Then I put two and two together.”

The announcement was made by Secretary of Education Johnny Key, who asked students and a teacher to explain the meanings of MVP (most valuable player), HOF (hall of fame), and GOAT (greatest of all time). Those were followed by ATOY, Arkansas Teacher of the Year, and that’s when he called Salaam forward.

“It’s been so surreal. It’s still, [I’m] talking to you all, but my mind is racing. In the back of my mind, I’m like, who’s got my class? Who has my children?” she said with a laugh.

Her one-year term begins July 1, 2023. Her platform will focus on improving mental health and socialemotional learning. She also will serve as a non-voting State Board of Education member.

“I really hope to learn and understand and bring more awareness to social and emotional learning with our children, especially post-COVID,” she said. “I also hope to really advocate for early intervention in Arkansas, recognizing the characteristics and signs of children who need therapy – speech, autism, whatever they need, but recognizing those signs early on so that we can get intervention as quickly as possible so that they can learn and grow and progress.”

Salaam, 36, received a $14,000 award from the Walton Family Foundation and is eligible to become the National Teacher of the Year, which is awarded by the Council of Chief

State School Officers. She previously had received a $1,000 award when she was named a regional finalist and then another $1,000 when she was named a state semifinalist.

Salaam is a multi-classroom lead teacher who teaches grades 7-8 social studies. She spends two periods a day coaching and giving feedback to other social studies teachers. She began working at North Little Rock in 2015 before moving into her current position in 2018. She taught at Little Rock Preparatory Academy from 2013-15.

According to a press release from the Department of Education, she was selected because of “her innovative teaching practices, her ability to connect with students from diverse backgrounds, and her efforts to stay engaged with her students after they leave her classroom.”

She said she tries to bring the lessons to life. The day the Teacher of the Year selection committee observed her, she led her classroom in performing an “autopsy” on President Andrew Jackson. A doctor helped students identify his lifelong injuries, and the class discussed if they might have affected his mental

health and decision making. In another lesson, she recreated a crime scene for the Abraham Lincoln assassination and had students investigate whether John Wilkes Booth acted alone.

“In order for history to really resonate with our kids, I really believe they have to breathe it, feel it, see it, speak it. … And we do tie it to the present. We try to find the parallels from the past into modern times,” she said.

She developed a love of history while growing up in a historic area. She loved going to the museum with her parents.

Salaam is the seventh North Little Rock teacher to be named Teacher of the Year since the award was first given in 1959. North Little Rock’s superintendent, Dr. Gregory J. Pilewski, praised her for her classroom excellence and her mentorship of other teachers.

“She’s a role model,” he said. “When we think about other teachers and mentoring of other teachers and what they can learn from another, she just exemplifies that. It’s not only about her instruction. She’s a great person.”

The current Teacher of the Year, Jessica Saum of Cabot, said Salaam can

Middle school social studies teacher strives to bring history to life

TEACHER OF THE YEAR. Capri Salaam, a North Little Rock Middle School social studies teacher, gets a hug from husband Tauheed Salaam.

look forward to “A journey that it’s hard to even describe. She is going to get to see amazing teaching across the state and nation and get to support educators who need it more than ever.”

Salaam will spend the 2023-24 school year outside of the classroom. Saum, who started her one-year term in July, said that’s been one of the most difficult aspects of the assignment.

“That’s probably the hardest part is stepping away from the students that you love so much, but knowing that you have an opportunity to share that love with students all across Arkansas is so special,” she said.

Salaam took a nontraditional pathway to becoming an educator after first intending on becoming an attorney. Growing up in Helena-West Helena, she had worked one summer in high school in a hometown law firm. She first enrolled at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff but went home to attend community college when her grandmother, a seam-

stress, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. At the end of her sophomore year, she told her grandmother that she was transferring to the University of Central Arkansas.

“Oh, that’s the teachers college. You’re going to be such a great teacher,” her grandmother said.

Salaam was still contemplating becoming an attorney. She majored in English thinking it would help her in a field requiring a lot of writing.

Before becoming a teacher, she worked as a day care director, nannied for a bit, and then applied to be a 911 dispatcher because she needed the insurance and benefits and because she thought it might be an introduction to the law. When a friend at work said her godson needed a teacher at Little Rock Prep, she applied and was offered the job.

She has earned a Master of Arts in Teaching in Middle School Education from Arkansas Tech University and a

Master of Science in Special Education from Harding University in Searcy. She is completing a Learning Systems Technology Education Graduate Certificate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Her husband, Tauheed Salaam, is a hit and run investigator with the Little Rock Police Department. They have two stepchildren and a son, Xavier, 5, and live in Shannon Hills. She said she will put the $14,000 award into savings, and that perhaps the family will take a nice vacation.

Salaam was “competing” with three other semifinalists: Amber Leaton, an eleventh and twelfth grade social studies teacher at Bryant High School; Stephanie Long, a third grade teacher at Walter Turnbow Elementary School in the Springdale Public Schools district; and Elouise Shorter, a Dollarway High School grades 9-12 math teacher in the Pine Bluff School District. Nine other teachers were regional finalists.

C. J. WALKER

MADAM

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School Security

Fifty-six ways to protect schools

Following the Uvalde school shooting, the Arkansas School Safety Commission produces a report to help schools prevent it from happening here again

John Allison is not sure why he was asked to be on the Arkansas School Safety Commission, but it makes sense that he was.

The Vilonia High School math teacher has a protective streak. He served in the Marine Corps from 1991 to 1995 and did a tour of duty in war-torn Somalia. His father was a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, and he was raised with the mindset to anticipate danger. He’s thought about security issues since he first became a teacher at 38. In his own classroom, he’s thought about escape routes and various responses knowing it’s impossible to anticipate every scenario. If he’s in a crowd, he’s inclined to look around and scope out the situation.

“It’s not what I’m paid to do, but it’s what I feel like is my responsibility,” he said. “It’s just like with my own kids. I feel like it’s my responsibility to look after their best interests. If I see some shady character in a restaurant or something, I’m going to keep an eye on him and make sure that I’ve got the best opportunity to protect them as what I can.”

Allison was originally asked by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to serve on the Arkansas School Safety Commission in 2018 following the shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead and 17 wounded. It produced a report with 30 recommendations. The governor reconvened it June 10 after a student killed 19 students and two adults and wounded 17 others at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.

The 24-member commission was tasked with updating the status of Arkansas school safety, determining which findings and recommendations from the 2018 report had not been achieved, and identifying new best practices. It sent school districts a 99-question survey to aid in its efforts.

The result was a report with 56 recommendations, almost twice as many as included in the 2018 report.

ALWAYS FAITHFUL. Vilonia High math teacher John Allison served on the Arkansas School Safety Commission in 2018 and again this year.

Uvalde was notable partly because the district and law enforcement failed badly despite making preparations beforehand. A report by the Texas State University ALERRT Center that was reprinted in the commission’s report detailed what happened. At 11:28 a.m. on May 24, the student crashed his vehicle and then shot at two approaching off-school individuals. A teacher had exited an exterior door that she propped open with a rock, a common practice. When she saw the student, she returned inside and pulled the door shut, but it failed to lock. A Uvalde police officer had the student in his sights and turned to ask for permission to shoot, but when he turned back, the student had entered the building. The school had protocols requiring doors to remain locked, and it was on active lockdown, but the lock on the door of Room 111 was damaged, which had been reported multiple times. The student entered that room and began firing. He gained access to Room 112 by an interior door. A total of 376 officers

from numerous agencies eventually arrived on the scene. A student inside the classroom made numerous 9-1-1 calls pleading for help, but it wasn’t until 12:50 p.m. that a team assaulted the room and killed the student.

Arkansas is no stranger to school shootings. In 1997, two students were shot by a fellow student in Stamps. The killings of four students and a teacher at the Westside Consolidated Middle School near Jonesboro in 1998 was a national event. As the report notes, three shootings have occurred since the commission finished its first report in 2018. On April 1, 2019, a Prescott eighth-grader shot and wounded another eighth-grader. A 14-year-old Concord student killed himself in a restroom on April 24, 2019. A 15-year-old killed a fellow student at Watson Chapel Junior High School on March 1, 2021.

The commission relied on two articles by the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center that found that school shootings can be prevented.

After examining 41 incidents, the NTAC found that while there was no clear profile of an attacker, most were current or former students, many were absent from school before the attack and some were suspended, and many were aggrieved and had been treated poorly by peers. They had a history of discipline issues and negative home lives. Some sought fame while others were suicidal. They had prior contact with law enforcement and had behaviors that concerned others but were not reported.

Research on 67 averted attacks found all were stopped after community members communicated their concerns. Students are in the best position to identify concerning behaviors. In almost a third of the cases, a school resource officer helped disrupt the attack. That report found “there are almost always intervention points available before a student’s behavior escalates to violence.”

The commission met 14 times until it produced this second report. Five

MOTOROLA CONCEALED WEAPONS DETECTION

Next Generation School Safety

School Security

subcommittees met frequently: Mental Health and Prevention; Audits, Emergency Operation Plans and Drills; Law Enforcement and Security; Intelligence and Communications; and Physical Security. The chair was Dr. Cheryl May, the head of the University of Arkansas System’s Criminal Justice Institute, of which the Arkansas Center for School Safety is a part.

The report emphasized that schools must create comprehensive, layered strategies because one solution won’t keep schools safe. There must be accountability at all levels. The Uvalde School District had policies and procedures in place but suffered from “numerous systemic failures” at the school and in law enforcement’s response. It also had “relaxed vigilance on campus.”

The commission found Arkansas’ schools were not fully implementing the commission’s 2018 recommendations. It had said school districts should conduct school climate surveys and implement an action plan based on the findings. In the 2022 assessment, only 104 districts had done a survey in the past three years. The commission recommended in 2018 that all districts form safety and security teams, and indeed the 2022 survey indicated that 75% of school districts had done so. However, not all the teams were meeting at least twice a year to evaluate security policies and procedures. While 97% reported having a school safety coordinator, many did not have one for each campus.

Because of those findings and because of what happened at Uvalde, the commission’s approach this time was less suggestive and more prescriptive than it was in 2018. It recommended that school districts be required to update the status of their implementation of the recommendations in their annual report to the public. However, Allison said the commission did not want to impose unfunded mandates on schools

Mental health recommendations

The commission made 10 Mental Health and Prevention recommendations. It said all districts should have access to training and ongoing support to implement evidence-based programs that create a positive climate. The report

noted that the state initiatives associated with mental health issues are grant-funded and therefore time-limited, when ongoing support instead is needed. According to the 2022 survey, 10% of school districts do not have mental health services for their students. Staff wellness is another need cited in the report.

The commission recommended that all personnel who interact with students have access to Youth Mental Health First Aid training, with each district having at least one trainer. State laws passed since 2018 have required all school resource officers and all counselors to have such training every four years. At the time of the report, the Arkansas Center for School Safety had trained 756 school resource officers and counselors. The Greenbrier School District had trained approximately 395 staff and community

members after two counselors, two directors and an intern acquired trainer certification. Trainees have included teachers, administrators, counselors, school resource officers, bus drivers, custodians, school board members and others. Fifty-nine percent of districts in the survey said that 0-25% of their staff who interact with students had received the training. The commission recommended that staff members not certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid should annually at least complete a one-hour online basic course available through the Arkansas Center for School Safety.

The commission recommended that the Arkansas Center for School Safety coordinate a planning group to develop a statewide confidential or anonymous tip line for students, parents and community members to report concerns. In the 2022 survey, 97% of school respondents said they would use a statewide tip line.

The survey found that 56% of reporting districts said they had an anonymous or confidential reporting system, either in person, by email or text. The commission said those districts must have a behavioral threat assessment team trained by the Arkansas Center for School Safety. While explicit threats may involve the criminal justice system, the primary objective should be to guide students toward a positive outcome.

Districts without a tip line likewise should establish a behavioral threat assessment team, with all team members required to receive no-cost training through the Arkansas Center for School Safety. Cindy Marble, a former Secret Service special agent who provides threat assessment training for schools, said one district was found 54% liable after a student shot a fellow student in class after its threat assessment did not involve a team and did not recommend services for the student.

LOCK THE DOORS. Conway Superintendent Jeff Collum says the best way to thwart school shooters is to lock doors – and it doesn’t cost much, either. Collum became interested in school safety after one of his teachers in a Texas school was stabbed by a student.

Call Security Training Institute of Arkansas.

When Jacksonville North Pulaski County School District started a commissioned school security officer program, Security Director Chris Oldham contacted Security Training Institute of Arkansas.

It took care of everything – including the training, the background checks, and the FBI fingerprints. As Oldham explained, “[We] were ready to go within three months start to finish.”

If your school district needs help with CSSO training – for full-time security like Jacksonville, or for educational staff members, contact Security Training Institute of Arkansas.

“They do it all from A to Z. All you basically have to do is show up and attend the class, and they handle everything else including the paperwork and getting the certification and the license.”

– Chris Oldham

School Security

The report’s final mental health recommendation emphasized school districts having access to a dashboard or similar system that would help identify at-risk behaviors and encourage early intervention. That data would include attendance issues, behavioral referrals, falling grades and other issues. The 2019 Secret Service/Homeland Security report found most attackers had experienced school stressors. Every attacker in the analysis had concerning behaviors before the attack, and all but two behaviors had occurred at school.

Pangburn is committed to addressing mental health issues. The 750-student district has three school counselors even though it’s only required to have two. The third is funded by Medicaid. The district also uses federal funds to employ a social worker who works with families with high needs.

Superintendent David Rolland said schools must focus not just on school shooters but other bad outcomes – suicides, depression, drug abuse, dropouts.

“The media focuses on the big, tragic event, but locally we’re focused on a realm of possibilities and situations,” he said.

“Locking doors saves lives”

The commission made 18 physical security recommendations. Campuses should have one visitor point of entrance with a secured vestibule, and they should install electronic access controls for high-frequency-use exterior doors at a minimum. Campuses should have a visitor management system and a grand master key system, with a master key provided to local law enforcement. At Uvalde, officers searched for a master key, not realizing the Room 111 door was unlocked.

Other physical security-related recommendations include installing shatterresistant film at school entrances, having security cameras accessed by designated individuals including law enforcement, and numbering classroom walls, doors and windows so responders can reference their positions.

Pangburn has had a two-tier entrance for a while and recently added access control doorways. Twenty miles from both the Cleburne and White County

sheriff’s departments, it has a school resource officer and also has added commissioned school safety officers, which there are armed and trained school staff members. Every building has a single access point, with visitors required to ring a doorbell. All faculty and students grades five and up must wear a badge they swipe for building access.

Rolland said the district tries to balance safety with having a welcoming, family-friendly campus.

“They want their kids to be safe,” he said, “but they also want to have access to the school, so we still try to do things around parents’ ability to eat lunch with their kids and try to keep that smalltown feel and avoid the paranoia, so to speak, but keep kids safe. ... That’s really because truly most people want both. They want the security, but they also don’t want this to be a prison.”

The commission recommended that all exterior doors and classroom doors must remain closed and locked. Classroom doors should be able to be

locked from the inside. It recommended that faulty locks should be replaced or repaired immediately.

Conway Superintendent Jeff Collum would agree.

He was an administrator in Tyler, Texas, in September 2009 when the high school principal called to tell him a teacher had been stabbed. When he arrived at the campus, the teacher’s remains were being loaded into an ambulance. The teacher had given students free reading time when a 16-year-old Hurricane Katrina evacuee had stabbed him in the neck with a butcher knife. Four school resource officers were standing outside the classroom door. The student was apprehended, but the teacher could not be saved.

Collum was in charge of making sure the student received his education while he awaited trial. One day he delivered his books to him. The young man wore a blank stare.

“I saw a very broken kid,” he said. “I saw a kid that had obviously been

DR. CHERYL MAY, head of the University of Arkansas System’s Criminal Justice Institute, chaired the Arkansas School Safety Commission this year and also in 2018.

through a lot. He had done something really horrible. He was still a kid. But it was challenging.”

In the community, fear morphed into anger, and there were many questions about how the incident had happened and whether the campus was safe. Collum watched videos of the student on campus trying to figure out what happened. He wondered what he could have done to prevent it, ultimately deciding some things can’t be prevented.

The experience led him to become somewhat of an expert in the subject. He began researching how he could better protect his district, and then began giving public presentations.

After a 17-year-old killed 10 people at Santa Fe High School, the Texas School Safety Center asked him to help with the after action review. The investigators met with the superintendent and high school’s leadership team. Collum met with people who responded and talked to an officer who had engaged in a shootout with the student.

Among his takeaways were, “You can’t have the mindset that it won’t happen in our schools, that it won’t happen in our district,” he said. “And then the next thing is, and I speak to this all the time, my biggest takeaway from Santa Fe was, ‘Locking doors saves lives.’”

Collum said if a shooter finds a door is locked, he will keep moving. In Conway, administrators and teachers lock all doors.

Doing so not only protects students and staff, but it’s also cheap. He said school districts should ensure their measures are affordable and sustainable. Santa Fe installed metal detectors after the shooting. It took about an hour and 15 minutes to get kids through the doors, which had to be manned by 22 people. Eventually, the district stopped using them. Conway distributes 40-cent laminated cards worn by staff, including substitute teachers, with steps to take in case of a lockdown, evacuation, shelter in place or a lockout. In a lockdown, they are to lock the interior doors, turn out the lights, move out of sight of windows, maintain silence, take attendance and do not open the door.

“That to me is the most important thing – when people are emotional, when it’s fight or flight and you’ve got to make a quick decision, you’ve got to have something that you can really process and make a quick decision with,” Collum said. “And so we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible.”

The commission made four recommendations related to intelligence and communications. The first was that districts should develop layered communication access between staff members and administrative staff. Those include having working intercoms and sufficient wi-fi that works throughout the campus. At Uvalde, problems occurred because of poor wi-fi service and mobile phone coverage. Relatedly, the commission

recommended that law enforcement and school districts coordinate to ensure access to an existing law enforcement communication network for critical incidents. The lack of communication capabilities at Uvalde hindered local law enforcement and school police from communicating about 911 calls coming from the classroom. The report said law enforcement should coordinate with schools to ensure they have limited access to existing radio systems. School districts should be part of law enforcement agencies’ initial new system buyouts.

Two other intelligence- and communications-related recommendations pertained to monitoring students on social media and in real life. One recommendation was that schools develop the capability to monitor communication platforms on school-owned devices for threats or triggering phrases. The 2021 Secret Service Averting Targeted School Violence Report said that of the 67 school attacks that were prevented, 63 individuals had shared their intentions, 11 of them through social media. Likewise, the report encourages law enforcement agencies to develop educational programs and build relationships with their communities to encourage people to report suspicious activity.

The Uvalde shooter had signaled his intentions prior to his attack. His fascination with school shootings led

School Security

Expert: Kids need social media training

What social media platforms are students using? Not the same ones as adults.

That’s according to Ashley Kincannon, Arkansas statewide computer science specialist, who spoke at the ASBA Central Arkansas Fall Leadership Institute event in Hot Springs Sept. 29.

Kincannon said with social media, adults are looking for information while young people are looking for entertainment. As a result, adults are more likely to use Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Pinterest. Young people are focused on imagery-based sites like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube.

Kincannon reminded attendees that social media algorithms work by filtering content so news feeds are tailored to interests.

“It’s going through and it’s filtering, and so what you click on, you see more of. What you hover over and stare at longer, you see more of. Who you interact with, you see more of. Even comments are being filtered based on what the computer thinks is relevant to you,” she said.

Those realities can get young people into trouble.

“When we start to go down the rabbit hole of doing things maybe we shouldn’t do online, then we’re inundated with more of that same thing,” she said.

But the news isn’t all bad. When social media is used responsibly, it can be a great tool for contacting people, building reputations, creating opportunities, and obtaining information quickly. She noted that the internet isn’t going anywhere, and neither is social media.

That being the case, how can students be kept safe online? First, they need to be educated on the fact

him to become known as “Yubo’s school shooter” on the Yubo social media platform. None of his behaviors were reported to law enforcement. An argument with his mother was livestreamed on

that, “With technology comes great responsibility, and footprints are not so easily erased,” she said. Adults can guide young people on password protection and on their online speech and interaction. Once someone posts a photo online, it’s no longer their own. While Snapchat’s photos supposedly disappear in 24 hours, if someone takes a screenshot of them, they can be back on the internet forever. Because of the meta data attached to a photo, a user potentially can find when a photo was taken, what device took it, and potentially even find the GPS location of where the photo was taken. If a student uses their name on social media, it makes it easier for a bad guy to find them. She said adults and students should be intentional

Instagram and viewed by several family members. His messages became more explicit in the days before the shooting.

On May 14, he wrote “10 more days.”

The day before the shooting, he told

with the permissions they give in their apps.

She said at least 10 students accepted into Harvard had their offers rescinded because of things they had posted.

“Our kids have to understand that their online presence is a direct reflection of who they are inside. … Who you project yourself online is a reflection of what lives within you, and so colleges, employers are actively scoping people out on social media before they hire them,” she said.

Kincannon noted that, on top of the normal stresses and strains of adolescence, today’s young people have the added pressures of carving out a digital footprint.

“How many of you are thankful you didn’t have to grow up in the face of this digital age?” she said. “How many of you have done things in life that you’re not so proud of, and you’re thankful it’s not online? Right? And we laugh, but think about the pressure kids feel. Everything they do, everything they post, everything they take a picture of, everything someone else snaps a picture of, even when you don’t know people are taking pictures of what you’re doing, it follows them forever.”

She said students need to be supported and taught to fall forward. They should be guided through constructive punishments. Some young people are talented in their use of technology but might not be using it the best way. They can be taught to use their talents positively.

“It’s time that we start thinking of consequences that give our kids opportunities for growth and refinement,” she said.

people he would do something the next day. Meanwhile, he had begun wearing black clothes and combat boots along with long, unkempt hair. His online usernames and email address were

ASHLEY KINCANNON, Arkansas statewide computer science specialist, explains how social media works and how it affects young people.

related to conflict and vengeance, and he began to demonstrate an interest in violence.

Six recommendations came out of the commission’s Emergency Operations, Plans and Drills Subcommittee. The first recommendation was that every campus must have a school safety coordinator who is a member of the district school safety security team. This was a clarification of a similar recommendation made in the 2018 report. The coordinator reports directly to the principal. Duties include conducting security audits, coordinating with local responding agencies, and reviewing emergency operations plans.

A second recommendation was that security assessments must be conducted every three years as required by law, and they should be done through SITE ASSESS, a free program offered by the U.S. Department of Education. Training is available through the Arkansas Center for School Safety. An Arkansas-specific version has been developed through a group of administrators and school resource officers led by Collum.

Collum said school districts must understand their vulnerabilities from the outside of the campus into its heart. To do that, they have to think like a bad guy. They need to start at the front of the parking lot and think about how they would get into the building with the least resistance.

The commission also recommended schools conduct routine and unannounced safety checks at least monthly to evaluate safety and security policies and procedures. Someone at a school should be regularly checking to see that exterior and classroom doors are locked, that staff and visitors are wearing ID badges, and that other measures are being followed.

The commission also recommended that school districts and local law enforcement agencies conduct a full-scale active shooter exercise every three years. The exercise would test the community’s plans and collaborations. Full lockdown drills with student participation should be conducted annually.

Cybersecurity part of school safety, too

This year’s report includes a new section about cybersecurity that was not in the previous one. Schools are tempting targets for hackers because so much personal information is stored about students, staff and parents, and because schools are perceived as having money. The most common type of attack is ransomware, which threatens to lock access to computer systems or to publish personal data unless a ransom is paid. The problem is a growing one across the country and in Arkansas, where three cyberattacks affected eight schools in 2021.

To prevent cyberattacks from occurring, the commission recommended school districts require school personnel, students, school board members and other stakeholders using district digital devices to participate in annual cybersecurity awareness training. Numerous training resources are available at no cost. The commission also recommended that school districts implement best practices in cybersecurity preparedness, such as backing up data regularly and off-site, and having strong passwords. Schools also should implement risk management best practices for third party vendors, suppliers and others.

It should be noted that school shootings are rare, and the odds of any one of the 131,000 public and private elementary and secondary schools across the nation being targeted are very small. For the average student on a daily basis, school is a safe place, largely because caring school administrators, educators and staff make it so.

When the rare instance of a shooting occurs, it’s devastating for everyone involved. As Uvalde has shown, even school districts with policies in place can be vulnerable.

Vilonia’s John Allison wants to make sure that what happened elsewhere doesn’t happen in his school. His work on the Arkansas School Safety Commission is done for now, but he’ll continue to do what he always does in the classroom: Be on the lookout, and consider how he can prevent bad things from happening, or respond when they do.

“It’s tragic that we live in a world where this happens and we have to worry about this, but it’s just a fact of life now,” he said. “And some people, it’s easiest for them to deal with by just acting like it’ll never happen. I’m not one of those people.”

Meanwhile, Conway’s Jeff Collum recognizes that it’s impossible to ensure every individual in the district will comply with safety standards.

“But the culture is that’s what we want, that’s what we expect, that’s what we train for, and that’s what we inspect. … I tell our people, go look, go check, go check a door,” he said. “And I was very pleased, the last time I went out, the campus I went to, every single door was locked and closed, and I went, ‘OK, they’re getting the message.’”

SROs, CSSOs create armed presence

Report stresses having redundancy; trained school staff members can help

SROs or CSSOs? The Arkansas School Safety Commission sees the value of both.

The commission’s 2022 report recommends that “Campuses should always have an armed presence when staff and children are attending class or a major extracurricular activity.” That’s a rewording of a similar recommendation in its 2018 report.

The report notes that, ideally, every campus or building with staff and students present would have a school resource officer, or SRO. These are local law enforcement officers assigned to the school or who are a member of the school’s police department, which about 16 Arkansas school districts employ. But since that’s not always possible, another option is CSSOs, or commissioned school safety officers who are private security officers or trained, armed school staff members.

The number of SROs across Arkansas grew from 315 in 153 districts in 2018 to 460 in 233 districts in 2022.

Phil Blaylock, an SRO at Morrilton, is in his 17th year of service and was the National SRO of the Year in 2017. He told the ASBA Central Arkansas Fall Leadership Institute that an SRO is an approachable law enforcement officer, mentor, advisor and counselor. SROs bridge the gap between police officers and students by being present for activities, interacting with students, and showing genuine interest in their concerns. He said his first year at the school, he used a yearbook to try to memorize the last names of every student.

“Yes, I play on the playground with kids,” he said. “Yes, I try to build those relationships. But they also know in an event of a situation, all the kids in my school district have seen the Filipino ninja come out in me. They have seen it. They have seen the face. They know I mean business when I have to take care of a problem. They know their other SROs. We all train together. We all know that we mean business.”

Dr. Cheryl May, director of the University of Arkansas System Criminal Justice Institute and chair of the Arkansas School Safety Commission, said at the ASBA Fall Leadership Institute that SROs are very different than cops on the street. They are mostly informal counselors and mentors who serve as an educational resource. They should not be involved in discipline. When an SRO is inappropriately used, it’s sometimes because staff don’t understand their roles and responsibilities. Laws passed in 2021 made it mandatory that a superintendent and principal who accept an SRO must complete one hour of online training within nine months.

Legislation passed in 2021 requires SROs to complete 40 hours of training within 18 months of being assigned, with 12 hours of school-specific training required annually and refresher training required every five years. SROs must

have Youth Mental Health First Aid certification within 18 months of being hired. It must be renewed every four years.

Lawmakers also required school boards to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the local law enforcement agency that governs the SRO. The MOUs cover financial responsibility, chain of command, selection and evaluation processes, training requirements, and roles and responsibilities. May said the MOU should state that school districts should be active participants in SROs’ selection and evaluation.

The report says that in order to always have an armed presence on campus, there must be redundancy because the SRO won’t always be there. Such was the case in Uvalde, where the district employed its own police force but didn’t have anyone at Robb Elementary when the shooting started.

LAW ENFORCER, ADVISOR, COUNSELOR. Morrilton school resource officer Phil Blaylock says SROs bridge the gap between police officers and students. During his first year on the job he memorized the last names of students by studying the yearbook.

“Along with location, providing for the redundancy of armed responders cannot be over emphasized,” the report says. “Redundancy facilitates there never being a lapse in armed security during the school day. Having more than one armed responder within a building also increases the likelihood of quickly stopping the assailant.”

One way to create that redundancy is through the use of commissioned school safety officers. CSSOs are private security guards or school staff members who have Arkansas State Police certification to carry a gun on campus and are trained to respond to an active shooter. They must undergo 60 hours of initial training and then annually receive 24 hours of refresher training. The commission recommended that they be given psychological exams and undergo random drug tests. School districts with CSSOs should establish communication and response plans with local law enforcement agencies and should train together.

Regardless of whether school districts use SROs or CSSOs or both, the commission says the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training program should be the standard active threat training in Arkansas. The Texas State University-based ALERRT Center has been in existence since 2002 and in 2013 was designated by the FBI as the national standard. Arkansas has more than 400 certified ALERRT trainers. All classes are free to law enforcement and civilian entities.

The 2022 School Safety Assessment found that the number of school districts with commissioned school safety officer programs had quadrupled to 87, and that the number of CSSOs across Arkansas had grown to 528. However, 60% of the districts were not using enhanced requirements recommended by the Arkansas School Safety Commission in 2018, including standard psychological testing, standard drug screening, and regular training with law enforcement.

Clarksville is in its 10th year of using staff members as CSSOs. The school district started its program in 2013, the year after the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. At the Central Arkansas Fall Leadership Institute, Superintendent David Hopkins explained the district’s reasonings. The Sandy Hook school had a buzz-in system at the door, but the shooter entered a building after shooting out a window. He was confronted by the principal and school psychologist and then killed them both. He killed 20 children and six adults in five minutes before killing himself.

“If you’re waiting for the police to get word and come to your campus, too much time has elapsed, and every second that goes by are lives lost,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins said the district had to overcome its own inhibitions about arming staff. It looked at school employees who Please see ARMED on page 35

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might have an aptitude to be CSSOs. Prospects underwent a psychological exam. Administrators found people across their six campuses so that there would be multiple people at each one. CSSOs include individuals at each campus along with a district response team. In a district with 2,500 students, roughly 30 are armed. They are trained by the same people training law enforcement SWAT teams. Hopkins noted that staff members receive more training in responding to an active shooter than many regular full-time police receive. Their weapons are worn at all times but are concealed. The district purchased safes for staff members to store their weapons so they aren’t laying them down somewhere when they go to the bathroom. Their role is to respond to an active shooter, not serve as de facto law enforcement officers. If a drunk person were to wander onto the campus, the police would be called. Once they are off duty, they no longer have enforcement powers. They are re-certified every other year.

Clarksville provides a one-time $1,100 stipend when members enter the program so that the individual can purchase their weapon, equipment and

holster. Attorney Cody Kees said the thinking was that the individual owning the weapon may reduce the district’s liability. Some schools offer a yearly stipend, but Clarksville doesn’t. It does provide $100 annually for holsters and other costs. The district provides ammunition for training. Hopkins said the total cost to have roughly 30 armed

individuals was about the same as hiring one SRO.

Kees said the district does not publicize who its CSSOs are. The team is selected by the superintendent but under the law does not require board approval. CSSOs are not part of the public record and are exempted from the Freedom of Information Act. The stipend does not go on the contract.

Kees emphasized that CSSOs can be a good fit only for those districts willing to focus on training and repetition. He noted that CSSOs can fill gaps. There is a shortage of law enforcement officers nationally, and it’s hard to recruit them to work at schools. If a local agency is short of officers, the school resource officer could be the first one pulled from duty and placed on a beat.

Hopkins said the school district’s policies generated a lot of publicity. News stations from Tokyo wanted to visit. But there hasn’t been blowback from the community.

Signs on campus inform the public that firearms are present, which Hopkins said is deliberate. Killers’ actions are planned, and he wants them to know people on campus are armed.

“But as all the dust settled and life got back to normal, you can come on our campus now, and it’s just like any other campus in the state,” he said. “The armed security’s there – believe me, it’s there – but it’s not overt, in your face. But it’s there.”

C.R. Crawford has proudly achieved Diamond level, the highest level awarded, in Associated Builders and Contractor’s STEP Safety Management System, meaning when it comes to your project, your students, and your faculty, our team puts your safety first.

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DAVID HOPKINS, Clarksville superintendent, said his district started its program in 2013 after the 26 were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, Conn.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

with Nikki King

By Steve Brawner Editor

Nikki King wanted to be appointed to her hometown Pangburn School Board.

She had been on campus almost every day as a substitute teacher and volunteer but was taking a full-time job. School board service would let her stay involved.

During her time on the board, the district has survived a fiscal downturn when funding from the oil and gas industry disappeared. It hired its superintendent, David Rolland, a Pangburn graduate who had been serving as the high school principal. Twenty miles from the nearest law enforcement office, it implemented school security measures like requiring students and staff to wear access badges. Meanwhile, King faced a personal challenge: In 2020, she had brain surgery.

King discussed those challenges, and the importance of communication and transparency, during an interview in the Pangburn boardroom Oct. 12.

What was it like going to school here?

“Great. For me it was great. Very different than it is now, of course, but a lot of it is also still the same. … Most everyone knows everyone else’s family. There’s a trust and an honor between those that are here, to know that you care about your kids and will be very upfront and very transparent. That is what we want to be here, transparent with our parents. …

“There have been times even since I’ve been on the board [when we’ve

said], ‘Here’s the path we’ve taken.

We’re going to step back from that. That’s not what’s best anymore.’ We’ve changed paths on that, whether it be something that was sent down from the state or not, and we’ve changed it.

We’ve gone out and said, ‘Hey, we’re

going to have to change this. This is not what’s best for us anymore for our students, or your students, your child.’”

What’s an example of that?

“Honestly, my first time of doing that, at that time I wasn’t on the board. I was

actually just a parent. When the Common Core math situation came about, we asked parents to get on board with that, and then we went away from that, and asked parents to just trust the administration.”

It sounds like you were already … “Very involved.”

And taking ownership.

“Yes, because that’s what they were asking us to do. I had a child that was going through it as well as other students, and her friends, and my friends as parents. They said, ‘What are we going to do?’ I said, ‘We don’t have an option. We have to trust what we’re doing, and if it changes, then that’s what we’ll do.’

“The administration at the time came to me and said, ‘Will you help us make this change again and talk to the parents and help us?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely.’”

Do you think school districts should identify people in the community who, even though they’re not official … “Yes. It helps. I think that David as a leader has done that often. I think he did that well as a principal, and he does that well as a superintendent. I think that helps us a lot. I think personally we’ve done that well as we have found new leadership in our administration, and getting the community and finding those leaders in our community that can help us to communicate with our parents

because it’s about our kids. It’s about our students. They’re our children in our community, and we have to do what’s best for them.”

Your district ran into a financial situation that was not of its own making. What happened?

“We did not realize that the gas and oil industry held a lot of our tax money. A huge chunk of money was taken from the district, and we did not receive that money from them.”

Did you ever get it back?

“In a roundabout way, yes and no, but really what it did for us was enable us to determine exactly where all of our money was going and where it was coming from. It was a long, hard-fought battle, and we tightened the reins like you would at your house if all of a sudden someone loses their job. We sat down and we had [someone] work with us from the state. We pinched pennies, and we had to ask our entire staff. We told them what was happening, that they were going to have to get on board, and this is why and this is what’s happening.”

Pay cuts?

“No. But if you needed a pencil, you got a pencil. We just really had to cut back, and we really had to make hard decisions about, is this what’s needed? If someone left, if someone retired or

someone left the district, were they necessary, or could we make these changes within the classroom or in that area? Some of them really hung in there, and we have teachers that are still here, that went through that with us, and really now see the value in, this is what I can do, or cannot do, or this is what we really need. And coming out the other side of it’s been really phenomenal.”

You were on the board that hired the superintendent, right?

“Yes.”

Did the financial situation happen before he came on board?

“There was kind of a question, but it was right after he was hired. Bless him, because it was after he was hired. It was like everything just started to go downhill, but it was after he was already hired. He was like, ‘This is so fun.’ [Laughs.]”

He was a principal before, right?

“Yes, he was our high school principal, and he grew up here and graduated from here as well, so he’s hometown.”

Where are you on the spectrum of promoting from within versus bringing somebody from the outside?

“I think it just depends on what you’re doing, and I think it depends on the person. We have two phenomenal

Continued on next page

“ ”

Most everyone knows everyone else’s family. There’s a trust and an honor between those that are here, to know that you care about your kids and will be very upfront and very transparent. That is what we want to be here, transparent with our parents.

principals right now. Neither one of them are from here, and I don’t know that we could have hired any better.”

Pangburn has made some investments in school security. The school board had to sign off. Was that an easy yes?

“It is something that we have always been concerned with because of where we’re located. … We’re not convenient if something happens. We’re 20 miles from somewhere for there to be any help. We have a volunteer EMS that’s uptown, but they’re volunteer, and I’m not knocking them. I’m just saying you’re not in a city. You’re on the outlying areas for help.”

I guess if it can happen in some of these other places, it can happen here?

“Absolutely, and it might not even be one of our students. It could be someone else who just lives around here. It could be an adult. It could be any number of situations, and we don’t want any of our teachers or any of our staff to be in danger either as much as our children.”

Do you think the parents feel good about the changes you’ve made?

“I think so. You may have one out of 10 or 15, but a lot of times it’s because they’re not clear or unsure of what’s happening. Sometimes it’s just about communication. …

“Really, most of the time what you find is they are not clear on what’s happening. They still may not be happy, but if you have communicated with them what your plan is, or what’s happening, they usually can be OK. They may not love it, but if they understand what you’re doing, they can be OK with it.”

Students must wear a badge they use to scan into a building. Have you heard feeedback from them?

“I have heard from several at first because it was new. Just like anything, I don’t like everything new, either. It was irritating. My question was, ‘What’s irritating? Why are you irritated?’ ‘Well, I’m just not sure.’ ‘OK, explain that to me.’ A week later [they say], ‘It’s fine. It’s no big deal.’”

And you don’t feel like they’re feeling scared or paranoid?

“I have not heard that from one student. The only thing I have heard from students when it first started was getting the system up and running correctly, which there’s that issue with anything, and them getting accustomed to it, accustomed to making sure they had it, which I think is great. It’s a responsibility keeping their badge on them, scanning in and out. …

“Really, it was just about the change. They don’t feel uncomfortable. It’s more about, I’m going to be responsible for this card. I’m going to keep it on my lanyard, and I’m going to have to scan in, and I’m totally fine.”

What do you do for a living?

“I work at a wedding and an events center, and I actually just work four miles from here, out of town, so it’s very convenient.”

You’ve been married … “Twenty years.”

Working at that kind of place, what’s your perspective on that?

“It is different because you see all age ranges getting married, of course, and some kids, as I will always call them when they’re younger and just out of high school, they’re not ready. Definitely not ready.”

How can you tell?

“The maturity level. It’s a little bit too hyped up for another event, like it’s prom and having fun and decorating for a wedding-slash-prom, and not the commitment of a marriage, would be my opinion. Now, there are some that are mature and ready.”

Has your work at a wedding planning company changed the way you approach your school board service?

“I’m going to say no because it’s just who I’ve been forever. I’ve worked with kids most of my adult life. And so to me, I’ve always been the person who’s said, ‘Be responsible, take accountability for your actions, and be ready for the rest of your life, always.’ So I don’t feel like one has anything to do with the other. I feel like that’s just how I was raised and how I would want them to be, period.”

Are schools doing what they should in that kind of life preparation, or should they do more?

“I think sometimes yes and sometimes no, and I think it also has to do with who you have in place that’s working with your kids.”

You feel like Pangburn’s doing a good job?

“I think a lot of times, yes. I like what we’re doing in our high school. We have advisors for our high school students. One adviser has a group of kids that they have from ninth grade until they graduate. I think that’s helpful because that one person is with that group of students for four years. I think that’s helpful because they are the ones that are at least impacting that group of students always and keeping them involved and holding them accountable, and that can be a really good impact on that group of students.

“I always think we can do more. I don’t think there’s always enough hours in the day. We just have a lot of students that are not in a traditional home setting who are having that influence. I think that we have a lot of opportunity here to be involved in different things. If their advisor isn’t doing it, maybe a club advisor is helping with it.”

You had a health situation a few years ago. What happened?

“I knew that something was awry. I had this odd flareup. My lower jaw was swelling. It was not a tooth problem. I already had seen a neurologist. I have chronic migraines, so that’s my long ordeal. I’ve dealt with that for 20 years or more, but it was something different. I was having facial pain, and it was all on my right side. The wind would blow and my face would hurt, so we knew something was wrong. It was very painful, but I lived like that for about three years, three or four years, and finally was able to get a diagnosis. And about the time I got a diagnosis and was able to get to the correct doctor, everything shut down for COVID.

“It was quite interesting, but I was just like, whatever, power through. Not always easy, because like I said, on the whole entire right side of my face, there was always an underlying [pain], very painful, and it would sometimes flare up and be worse. My face would swell up, so it was difficult.

“But in 2020, when UAMS opened the surgery center back up, the neurologist asked if [I wanted the surgery], I was like, yes, absolutely, immediately. I’m ready for surgery, so I went in. No one could go in with you, so my husband and daughter dropped me off at the front door. I checked in. You can’t see it anymore, but they went in right behind my ear, right here and opened this up. They removed part of my skull right here and opened that up. I ended up having to have two pieces of mesh on each side of this nerve that … branches off into my face. They had to put a piece of mesh on each side of that nerve to keep it from pulsating, because it actually was touching a vein, and so it was just hitting that.”

When you heard the doctor say the words “brain surgery,” what did you think?

“As long as it’ll stop hurting, I’m OK with it [laughs] at that point because I’d been living with it for several years.”

How are you now?

“Fine. I have no nerve pain whatsoever after the surgery.”

How did your perspective change after all this?

“A lot. But that’s kind of how I’d been, too. You are fully capable of doing anything as long as you put your mind to it. It’s up to you.”

You were in that much pain, and you could function.

“Yes, because I chose to.”

Are you now more empathetic or less?

“Depends on the situation. I can definitely have empathy, definitely, because it’s hard, and it’s a struggle, and I know kids struggle with a lot of things in their lives. I’ve seen it and I’ve watched it, and I know how that can be. But you cannot wallow in it, and you can choose to do different.”

You’re more empathetic, but also insistent that if you try, you can make it through this.

“Yes, and you cannot use it as an excuse. That’s my problem.”

How’s that a problem?

“I am not OK with that. And kids that are around me know that because my expectation for them is very high.”

I think that’s a good thing.

“It is, and they respect that.”

Your attitude is, I see your pain, but you can get through this.

“Yes, and I will help you. I’m always willing to help you. I’m not going to leave you hanging.”

Note: Executive Session is edited for length, style and clarity.

Mouton 3 Services gives Texarkana energy makeover

M3 recently completed an energy evaluation of the Texarkana School District’s HVAC systems utilizing funds from SWEPCO.

M3 performed HVAC cleanings, tune-ups, and quality control testing. Smart thermostats were installed in the facilities, enabling controls and remote monitoring. The projects will provide a projected annual savings of $150,000plus per year for the next eight years.

All of these measures were at low or no cost to the schools’ program that SWEPCO participates in. These same programs exist in Entergy and OG&E Arkansas.

For more information, go to m3svs. com or call 501.991.4822.

French Architects designs Poyen arena

French Architects designed the Poyen Sports Arena and classrooms facility. The 30,000-square-foot building consists of a full-size regulation basketball court, 1,500 seating capacity, concessions, ticket booth, hospitality room, four classrooms, project labs, band room, and numerous support spaces.

Poyen School District designed the multi-use facility for community events as well. The district hosts many events in the new arena.

For more information about French Architects, email David French at david@frencharchitects.net, or check out the firm’s Facebook page.

superintendent David Sparks, pictured with his granddaughter, Zoey Sparks.

For questions about K-12 construction, contact Leigh Ann Showalter at lshowalter@crcrawford.com or Jordan Ligon at jligon@crcrawford.com.

Entegrity helps Farmington flip switch, save money

Farmington School District and Entegrity “Flipped the Switch” Sept. 30 to celebrate its newly constructed 375 kW-AC on-site solar array at Farmington High School, its 250 kW-AC array at Jerry Pop Williams Elementary School, and the completion of a district-wide energy-efficient upgrade. The project, approved by the school board in May 2021, is set to save the district nearly $300,000 in annual operating expenses.

In addition to the positive financial impact, the on-site solar arrays allow Farmington students to have firsthand experience with the rapidly growing renewable energy industry.

To learn more, contact Entegrity at info@entegritypartners.com or visit www.entegritypartners.com.

C.R. Crawford manages Elkins gymnasium project

C.R. Crawford Construction team members, Elkins school staff, and community members signed a steel beam that will be part of the high school gym.

CRCC is the project’s construction manager for the 42,000-square-foot gymnasium. This is CRCC’s third project for the district.

“Every project is special, but this project is extra special – it’s like working on my own home. We live in Elkins, I have three grandchildren currently attending Elkins Public Schools, and my daughter-in-law is a teacher here. I’m proud of the district and how it continues to grow,” said CRCC project

Hight Jackson designs additions for Bentonville

Bentonville has remodeled the campus for its growing Ignite Professional Studies program and is expanding the construction management facility.

The addition, designed by Hight Jackson Associates, provides much needed space for the new industrial management strand and improved facilities for the construction management strand.

Construction began in November and will be completed by August 2023. The remodel at the existing facility was completed in time for August 2022 classes. It converted existing space into a third medical professions classroom due to the high volume of student interest.

For more information, call 479.464.4965 or go to www.hjarch.com.

BXS completes change to Cadence

BXS Insurance is now completely rebranded as Cadence Insurance.

“Our team continues to adhere to our commitment to our core values and to delivering excellent service for our clients and industry partners,” said Cadence Insurance President and CEO Markham McKnight. “We focus on understanding our clients’ risk and designing plans addressing that risk. Doing so is part of our identity – past, present and future.”

McKnight added that Cadence Insurance’s team is remaining in place.

Contact Bill Birch at 800.358.7741 or at bill.birch@cadenceinsurance.com to learn more.

classroom, fine arts, multi-purpose spaces, and other resources. Designed by Fayetteville architecture firm Modus Studio, the building’s concept responds to the juxtaposition of the city grid and the surrounding natural landscape, with overlapping forms creating an outdoor classroom and covered play area.

For more information, go to modusstudio.com or call 479.455.5577.

Architecture Plus helps Decatur make energy upgrades

Architecture Plus assisted the Decatur School District in using ESSER funds for air quality improvements at the high school, middle school, and high school gym. These improvements included new roofs and HVAC systems. The original doors and windows were replaced with thermal aluminum frames and glazing, resulting in improved energy efficiency.

The original HVAC systems were approaching 25 years old. Before work began, a complete evaluation of all HVAC systems was performed. The oldest units were replaced, and the district now has a spreadsheet showing which units are in line for the next replacements. Knowing this information allows the district to budget these maintenance issues over the next few years.

For more information, visit archplusinc.net

American Fidelity serving Texarkana, Paris districts

American Fidelity is now serving the Texarkana and Paris School Districts –two of the 4,300 districts the employee benefits manager serves across the country. Its strategies help school districts make decisions that help both their organization and their employees. American Fidelity has been serving schools since 1960 and has a division dedicated to schools. Its account management team delivers year-round support and helps employers overcome benefits administration and budget challenges.

For more information about American Fidelity, go to americanfidelity.com or call 800.688.4421.

Strategos works with California district on school security

Modus designs England school

England School District has completed construction on a two-story, 57,000-square-foot pre-K and K-6 building that includes classrooms, a computer lab, a cafeteria, a self-contained

Strategos International co-founders Vaughn Baker and Mark Warren presented the first two of a seven-seminar series about school safety and security to all districts within the California-based

Ventura County Office of Education. The office, its respective members and the Ventura County School Self-Funding Authority have initiated a vision of pursuing the most comprehensive preparedness, response and post-incident programs with help from Strategos.

For more information, go to strategosintl.com or contact Steve Sanderson at sanderson@strategosintl.com.

Baldwin & Shell builds schools safely

Essential safety measures for an occupied space begin with clear and consistent messaging, safe entrances and exits, and maintaining safety systems and access controls.

Baldwin & Shell implements additional layers in its safety protocol with a director of risk management, daily inspections, effective move management, proper signage, communication between the district and contractor, training, personalized protocols for each project, and site cleanliness. It incorporates continuous job site safety training within weekly, biweekly, and monthly routines. Each new employee receives safety orientation and training specific to their assigned tasks.

For more information about Baldwin & Shell, go to www.baldwinshell.com

Nabholz helps Vilonia students prep for construction

Construction firms, including Nabholz, have partnered with the Vilonia School District to help with curriculum for the Vilonia Pathways Academy, a charter school program that allows students to learn firsthand what it takes to be in the commercial construction industry.

As part of this program, students in the ninth grade choose between a college-prep or general workforce pathway. Students in the college-prep pathway will have the chance to enter a concurrent credit program for UA Little Rock’s construction management degree. The general workforce program will teach students skills and equip them with the certifications needed to enter the workforce after high school graduation.

Through partnerships with Nabholz and other firms, the program will provide speakers, field trips to worksites, and other hands-on activities. Ten of the 12 seniors in the curriculum are already working on job sites for pay. By working together, schools and construction companies can provide non-traditional paths to high-paying careers.

For more information, go to www. nabholz.com or call 877.NABHOLZ.

ARBuy helps schools purchase security goods and services

As more school districts look to obtain goods and services related to safety and security, the state of Arkansas has offered more statewide contracts in these categories. Through the state’s ARBuy Marketplace, Arkansas government buyers can easily, compliantly and costeffectively purchase goods and services.

ARBuy features statewide contracts covering many school safety and security categories such as ammunition, security guard services, body armor, security systems, communication equipment, perimeter monitoring, and training.

Through ongoing expansion and improvements, ARBuy helps schools secure goods and services.

To learn more about how to shop statewide contracts with ARBuy, contact Reid Hall, government account manager, at 844.470.5021 or at ARBuy.info.

Stephens provides board finance training

Stephens Public Finance can assist board members with obtaining their required professional development hours. Arkansas law generally requires that

school board members obtain up to six hours of certified professional development on school operations topics.

ASBA has deemed Stephens’ financial advisors as certified trainers who can provide up to four hours of finance training annually toward ASBA’s Boardsmanship Awards Program. Normally held in the evening or on a weekend, this free training workshop will address topics ranging from state and local funding revenue sources to debt financing of capital projects. Stephens believes this type of workshop can be particularly useful if boards are considering how to finance future capital projects.

To learn more about how Stephens Public Finance can assist your district, contact Michael McBryde at 501.377.2641.

same time centering learning as the core. It designs spaces for K-12 campuses across the state, such as Jacksonville Middle School pictured above, that are engaging, interactive and filled with daylight. These same spaces are equipped to protect communities in case of an emergency. The designs provide not just physical security but emotional security as well.

For more information about WER Architects, go to www.werarch.com

‘Mac and Jake’ finds superintendents for

districts of all sizes

Arkansas Public Safety Solutions provides security tech to Rogers

Arkansas Public Safety Solutions provides Motorola Next-Generation School Safety and Security Solutions to Arkansas school districts, including Rogers. Its school safety ecosystem includes artificial intelligence layered into video, access control management, and concealed weapons detection. Through the Arkansas Wireless Network, or AWIN, local law enforcement agencies are alerted when the school goes into lockdown and have access to school cameras to improve their response.

See this in action with the Rogers School District next-generation school safety video at www.motorolaapss.com

WER Architects designs for physical, emotional security

WER puts designing security at the forefront of its designs, while at the

McPherson & Jacobson, a leading superintendent search firm, has been conducting national superintendent searches for school boards since 1991. It has been involved in more than 940 searches for districts with enrollments ranging from 10 (an island off the coast of Washington state) to more than 300,000.

For more information, go to www. macnjake.com or call 888.375.4814.

Security Training Institute adds simulator

Security Training Institute of Arkansas recently added a MILO firearms simulator to its training curriculum for commissioned school security officers at its Fort Smith location. This addition provides real life shoot/don’t shoot interactive scenarios for trainees. Scenarios include active shooters in school classrooms, hallways and cafeterias, along with hundreds of other scenarios. The simulator training adds confidence in decision making and provides a debrief stage that allows the trainee’s decisions to be evaluated.

For more information about Security Training Institute of Arkansas, go to arkansassecuritytraining.com or call 888.292.4211.

Creating smart, healthy and sustainable learning environments

As Arkansas’ largest and oldest energy savings performance contracting provider, Johnson Controls is proud to serve our many K-12 clients in their pursuit of renewable energy programs, self-funded infrastructure campaigns and district-wide cost-saving measures.

OpenBlue Schools is a complete suite of connected solutions built on a unified intelligent infrastructure.

Our solutions integrate building IT, communications, administration and classroom learning systems to create smart schools.

We help schools around the world take simple steps to:

• Enhance safety and security

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• Mitigate infection risks for students and staff

Contact your local Johnson Controls expert today: Alex Ray, Director of Business Development, Arkansas alexander.ray@jci.com 501 351 0926 Visit www.johnsoncontrols.com/k12

© 2022 Johnson Controls. All rights reserved.

WE BUILD

SPACES TO CHEER ON THE HOME TEAM

When Maumelle Charter High School needed a new school, they decided to team up with Nabholz. The 130-square-foot building gives students 33 classrooms, a science and computer lab, an auditorium and stage, and an arena-style gymnasium. The new campus also includes a baseball field and an artificial-turf soccer field with a surrounding track, allowing students the facilities they need to excel in all aspects of life.