September 2021

Report Card September 2021 www.arsba.org

The Journal of the Arkansas School Boards Association

Learning gains

Yes, Arkansas students scored worse on the ACT Aspire exam in 2021 than they did in 2019 after a year plus half a semester of remote learning, sudden quarantines, mask wearing and other disruptions. But schools everywhere still managed to provide an education, and in some places scores stayed even or increased. Hillcrest Elementary School’s math scores rose by 10 points. The sign behind third-fourth grade math teacher Kendra Cooper says it all: “I never give up on a math problem, and I do my best to get it right.”

Setting goals

Tony Robbins has stated, “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” While reflecting upon this statement, I was drawn to consider my own experiences setting past, present, and future goals. At an early age, my primary desire was to please everyone; however, as I reached adolescence, I became more focused on setting goals that transcended, yet incorporated, my desire to please others. With maturity, my goals expanded to include self-growth, educating others, promoting goal-setting for our youth, etc.

As a Peruvian teen, I set the lofty goal of moving to the United States to better my opportunities. While this is a goal for many Peruvians, my mother worked tirelessly to make it a reality.

Her sacrifices let me reach this goal and even earn my high school diploma in the United States. My appreciation for her selflessness ignited my desire to set more ambitious goals as an adult.

I next focused on furthering my education and becoming a naturalized citizen of the best and most opportunityproviding country on the planet – the United States – raising a family, and becoming a teacher. Although my path was lengthy, I never lost sight of my dreams and the goals that guided my path. Les Brown best explained my sentiment by saying, “Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is

2 September 2021 Report Card

by Rosa Bowman ASBA President possible for your life.” I have seldom found a more impactful statement.

After becoming a teacher at age 35, my goal-setting immediately turned to the betterment of every child. As a new teacher, I was honored to be sworn in as a naturalized citizen in front of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, my two children, and my husband. For me, achieving this goal in front of so many youth was one of the greatest honors of my life, as I was able to share with my students that goal-setting can truly make dreams come true! This past year, another one of my lifetime dreams came true when I exhibited my love and appreciation for the United States by leading the Pledge of Allegiance at the Southern Region Leadership Conference.

As an educator, a school board member, and current president of the ASBA, I have so many fond memories.

The most memorable involved helping students set the goals that helped them reach their dreams. I personally feel that was my calling in life, and I thank God every day that He has let me positively impact so many young lives. While I am proud that the educational opportunities we have provided for students have become increasingly goal-oriented, I am excited about our mission to push these efforts even farther!

In addition to providing our students with educational opportunities regarding college and career readiness, we now recognize the importance of helping them focus on goal-setting. Combined, these offer students with both the skills and foresight to collaborate with educators to achieve their dreams. We are truly blessed that God has given us these opportunities and that our nation values the investment we make in students’ dreams and goals.

While we certainly have difficult decisions to make, and we are sailing in uncharted waters, we WILL persevere!

More importantly, we WILL ensure our students achieve their goal-driven dreams! Mandy Hale stated, “To make a difference in someone’s life, you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful, or perfect. You just have to care.”

We are blessed to care for our students so deeply, and I am optimistic about the great opportunities ahead. God bless!

Report Card

The Journal of the Arkansas School Boards Association

News and Features ````````

12

‘Trust but verify,’ says one school CEO

18

Cover / Learning gains

16 Hillcrest Elementary third-fourth

grade math teacher Kendra Cooper spent 15 years as a nurse and now loves teaching. The percentage of Hillcrest Elementary students scoring “ready” or “exceeding” in math on the ACT Aspire exam jumped 10 points, from 57% to 67%.

At the in-person New Board Member Institute, Greenland’s Dr. Andrea Martin recalled coming to a school district in fiscal distress where board members regretted not reading the financial reports.

Yes, after a year of disruptions and hardship, students statewide scored worse on the ACT Aspire in 2021 than they did in 2019. But there were places where students held their own or actually improved.

Departments 2 6 7 8 10 11 28 30

President’s Column Letter from the Executive Director ASBA News and Notes Calendar Jay Bequette’s Column Advertisers Index Marketplace Commercial Affiliates

4 September 2021 Report Card

24

Executive Session with D’James Rogers

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Letter from the Executive Director

by Dr. Tony Prothro

Service above self

I have struggled with writing the content of this article. I felt something inspirational was needed considering the issues board members have faced over the last few months – actually over the last couple of years.

Board members have dealt with more heated issues in the past few months than other boards in the past have encountered in a decade or longer of service. Boards were tasked with the contested decision of whether to require masks in the spring of 2021, and then school boards in the early summer charted the direction of their districts on the topic of in-person instruction versus virtual instruction. Another round of controversial decisions on mask mandates came before school boards in August and is continuing today.

This fall, many school boards will be required to decide on the zoning of their districts based on newly released census data and local counsel.

Most, if not all, of these decisions by local school board members have encountered blowback from their oftentimes polarized communities, regardless of which way board members voted. Sadly, I have recently encountered board members who are wondering if they will once again run for their local school board seats. Many have become disenchanted with the adult politics of the present. I have also heard of potential board candidates who have said they will not run for a position in this current environment. Whereas many of our current board members ran for their seats to improve schools and make a lasting impact on the next generation, they are now second-guessing their role and relevance in this environment.

I struggled to come up with something inspirational to take the sting out 6 September 2021 Report Card

of the last few months; however, all that I penned seemed to fall short of meeting the goal. Then I thought of why I came to be in education and later to take this position. It was all about the students I could potentially serve.

So here is what I recommend for board members trying to find relevance, and maybe a little inspiration, in this current environment. A legal requirement of holding the office of a board member is to annually visit classrooms.

I suggest you set up a meeting with the central office for a board member campus visitation; hopefully, other board members will also be available to attend.

Observe students who are taking coursework in either vocational or academic settings at the secondary level.

Watch while they are setting the foundation for a successful career(s) for the next several decades of their lives.

While you are there, evaluate the need for other opportunities for students.

Next, visit an early elementary classroom. Experience the innocence and hope of a young child in their everyday activities. See the dependence and responsibilities placed on the education system to meet all their needs.

After these visits, know that what you do is of utmost importance. Why would you continue in this role or seek to run for an office such as this? Unlike most other elected positions, there is no pay for the work that falls under a board member’s responsibilities. Board members run for their positions out of a servant-leadership disposition while considering their possible contributions to the next generation – to society as a whole. Believe me; we need you and more like you.

Report Card The Journal of the Arkansas School Boards Association Vol. 14, Number 3

September 2021

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: Rosa Bowman, Ashdown President-elect: Dr. Tad Margolis, Valley View Vice President: William Campbell, McGehee Sec.-Treasurer: Randy Hutchinson, Springdale Past President: Randy Goodnight, Greenbrier Region 1: Travis Warren, Farmington Region 2: Randy Rogers, Lead Hill Region 3: Dr. Julea Garner, Highland Region 4: Kyle Cannon, Mena Region 5: Clint Hull, Pottsville Region 6: Nikki King, Pangburn Region 7: D’James Rogers, West Memphis Region 8: Jereme Carter, Carlisle Region 9: Joey Astin, Forrest City 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: Dr. Anne Butcher 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 TIPS-TAPS Project Manager: Mickey McFatridge 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 2021 by the Arkansas School Boards Association and Steve Brawner Communications. All rights reserved.

ASBA News and notes ASBA schedules in-person fall regional meetings

ASBA’s 14 fall regional meetings this year will be held on site and in person.

Check-ins will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by a working dinner at 6. The meeting will conclude at 8:30 p.m.

Board members will earn three hours of boardsmanship training credit. A $50 per person registration fee will be charged. Board members who cannot attend the meeting scheduled in their specific region may attend any of the other regional meetings and still receive professional development credit.

Meeting locations are as follows: • Region 1: Greenland; Oct. 12 • Region 2: Calico Rock; Oct. 7 • Region 3: Greene County Tech; Oct. 11

• Region 4: Charleston; Oct. 4 • Region 5: Dover; Oct. 5 • Region 6: Heber Springs; Oct. 21 • Region 7: West Memphis; Oct. 7 • Region 8: Greenbrier; Oct. 18 • Region 9: Marvell-Elaine; Oct. 19 • Region 10: Caddo Hills; Oct. 26 • Region 11: Star City; Oct. 26 • Region 12: Texarkana; Oct. 28 • Region 13: Harmony GroveCamden; Oct. 25 • Region 14: Hamburg; Oct. 14

ASBA seeking applicants for leadership award ASBA again will be awarding the

School Board of Excellence in Leadership Award to recognize boards whose work, dedication, and ethical service have made a positive impact.

Districts will be chosen based on evidence of support for student achievement and educational improvement projects, commitment to a code of ethics, maintaining harmonious and supportive relationships among members and the superintendent, adherence to adopted policies, providing oversight of district finances and budget, participation in training, and supporting relations efforts, including community awareness.

Two awards are bestowed each year: one for districts with enrollments under 900, and one for districts over that amount. Any current public school district superintendent or board member may nominate his/her school board.

Nominations must be submitted by Oct. 31, with decisions made no later than Nov. 16. A “blind” assessment of district submissions will be made by an Awards Committee of six ASBA board members.

Continued on next page

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ASBA News and notes

For questions regarding the award or the process for making application, contact Dr. Anne Butcher, ASBA board development director, at 501.492.4814 or via email at abutcher@arsba.org.

ASBA seeking presentations for Annual Conference

ASBA is seeking presentations for its 2021 Annual Conference Dec. 8-10 that address challenges facing school board members and administrators in the following categories: student achievement; governance and leadership; advocacy; technology; finance; legal issues; and stakeholder involvement.

Presentations that meet the following criteria are being sought: • Targets board members as the primary audience • Enhances the knowledge, skills, and abilities of school board members with an emphasis on improving student outcomes • Includes a school board member as a participant in the presentation (not required but preferred) • Shares promising strategies and practices that can be replicated by other districts of all sizes

ASBA calendar Oct. 4-28 ASBA Fall Regional Meetings Various host sties Dec. 8-10 ASBA Annual Conference Marriott Hotel & Statehouse Convention Center Little Rock

• Is designed and delivered to engage the audience in meaningful ways • Demonstrates innovative ideas and solutions • Provides solid, practical, how-to information and tips that board members can take back and apply at the board table All session proposals must be completed in their entirety and submitted by Oct. 8. For those selected, materials are due Nov. 19.

To submit a proposal, go to ASBA’s website at www.arsba.org, and click on the “News” tab under the menu.

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8 September 2021 Report Card

TAMMIE REITENGER is a former teacher and principal.

Reitenger to lead ASBA’s board development

A former teacher and principal will be leading ASBA’s board development efforts.

Tammie Reitenger comes to the job with 22 years of experience in education – first as an elementary teacher at Gurdon and Arkadelphia and then as an assistant principal and principal for 13 years at Bryant. She worked for a year in the state Division of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Public School Accountability office.

When she learned of the open position at ASBA, “It sounded so wonderful to be able to work with school boards who impact everything that we love – school, kids, communities, teachers,” she said.

Reitenger is being trained by the current board development director. Dr. Anne Butcher is remaining on the job until January, after the Annual Conference is completed, before retiring.

“I look at this role as somebody that can organize multi projects and be able to look at current needs, and that’s something that Anne does well,” Reitenger said. “I mean, she’s able to really talk to other people and say, ‘What’s the pulse? What’s happening now? What do

we need to focus on?’ And that’s really what I’ve been watching her do.”

Reitenger will bring her own professional experiences and perspective to the job as a longtime educator and building level administrator. She’ll be working with the rest of the leadership team to create professional development opportunities.

The team will be addressing school boards’ growing challenges. In recent months, boards have had to make difficult decisions about controversial subjects, like school mask requirements, that can create division in the community.

“We haven’t developed that training yet, but those have been conversations that we’ve had: How to support these boards in setting procedure and policy so they can manage that,” she said. “We are brainstorming and looking at different trainings, getting input from other organizations that have already developed the training.

“That’s actually what I was doing when you came in. I’m looking at videos of chaotic board meetings and how it just goes out of control so quickly, and really, how do you support those boards and give them some resources to handle that?”

The training, she emphasized, will be designed to help school boards run effective, efficient, organized meetings – not to tell school boards what to decide.

“We represent 1,400 board members, and they have different views, beliefs, and for us, we take all of those into consideration,” she said. “What we try to do is just give you the information and make sure that you can make a good decision.”

For Reitenger, education was a calling, something she always wanted to do. As a high school student in De Valls Bluff, she worked in the elementary library and for the elementary secretary.

But her return to the classroom as a teacher would take some time. After

ALL ROADS LEAD TO COMPLIANCE...

graduating high school, she went to work and attended college part-time.

She eventually graduated from Henderson State University at age 30, later earning her master’s.

“Not everyone has the opportunity as soon as they graduate high school to go to college, and so sometimes you have to create that opportunity yourself, and that’s pretty much what I did,” she said.

“Because the opportunities weren’t there to go, so it’s a matter of getting your ducks in a row and getting your plan together, and then going when you can.”

Reitenger said her pathway provided her a foundation of life experiences so that by the time she started teaching, she already had children rather than starting straight from college.

She now is the mother of “three grown men” and has two grandsons ages 9 and 2. For fun, she and her family enjoy outdoor activities including canoeing, fishing, hiking and camping.

ASBA News and Notes continues on page 11

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Court rules on speech, bathrooms

Supports cheerleader’s social media posts; lets stand ruling against school district with separate restroom for transgender students

The U.S. Supreme Court issued two significant education-related rulings during its last term. One case involved a student’s First Amendment protection from being disciplined for off-campus speech on social media.

In the second ruling, the Court left in place a circuit court decision prohibiting discrimination against transgender students who wish to use bathrooms aligning with their gender identities.

That decision has no direct impact on Arkansas school districts, as the Eighth Circuit – ours – has not addressed this issue.

In Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., the Court ruled in favor of a student who had been suspended one year from the cheerleading squad for violating rules prohibiting negative social media comments about the squad. The cheerleader had made several off-campus profane posts after failing to make the squad. A number of students were extremely upset and repeatedly contacted school officials expressing their concerns. Her parents sued the school district.

The district court ruled in favor of the parents and the student and entered an injunction prohibiting the school from enforcing the suspension.

It found that her suspension implicated First Amendment free speech rights even though extracurricular participation in cheerleading is merely a privilege. The court also held that the posts had not caused any actual or foreseeable substantial disruption of the school environment. That finding eliminated the possibility of making the student subject to discipline under Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the seminal First Amendment decision issued in 1969.

10 September 2021 Report Card

by Jay Bequette ASBA General Counsel The Third Circuit affirmed the lower court’s judgment, and the Supreme Court affirmed it in an 8-1 decision. The Court’s decision was based on the fact that the speech was off campus, which diminishes the school’s interest. The Court further noted there was no evidence of substantial disruption of a school activity or a threatened harm to the rights of others. Finally, the Court found little support for the school’s argument that a concern for team morale justified the suspension.

In his dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas asserted that schools have almost complete authority over student speech expression in school and therefore have the right to sanction students for speech, even while offcampus, that has a proximate tendency to harm the school environment.

Transgender bathrooms In a transgender bathroom case, Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, the Court left standing a Fourth Circuit ruling that prohibited discrimination against transgender students based on Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Gavin Grimm initiated this case while a student at Gloucester High School in Virginia after he was prohibited from using the boys’ bathrooms because he was assigned female at birth. Initially, Grimm used the boys’ bathroom, but after several complaints from parents of other students, the board instituted a policy

requiring transgender students to use a separate, single-occupancy, unisex bathroom. Although any student could use a single-occupancy bathroom, Grimm was the only student required to use it. Grimm filed a complaint in 2015 in U.S. district court in Virginia.

That court granted Grimm’s motion for summary judgment, holding that the board’s bathroom policy violated both Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause.

In 2020, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling.

The court relied on the 2020 landmark Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, holding that Title VII’s prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex necessarily includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Fourth Circuit extended the Supreme Court’s reasoning to Title IX’s analogous prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex.

The Court denied a petition for certiorari on June 28 in a decision that aligns with guidance from the Department of Education under the Biden administration. The school board sought review of the Fourth Circuit ruling.

The case addressed protections for transgender students that have been winding their way through the court system since 2015. Schools in the Fourth Circuit, as well as those in the Seventh and 11th Circuits, which have issued similar rulings, must allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that align with their gender identities.

The Bottom Line: The cases don’t apply to Arkansas, which is in the 8th Circuit. But every appeals court that has considered the issue so far has ruled that transgender students must be allowed to use bathrooms that match their gender identities. The Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari leaves those decisions standing.

ASBA News and notes

Blytheville resident appointed to State Education Board

Governor Asa Hutchinson has appointed Randy Henderson of Blytheville to the Arkansas State Board of Education, the governor’s office announced Aug. 26.

Henderson has worked for Nucor Steel for more than 24 years and has served on the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Advisory Council and the Philander Smith College Business Advisory Council, the governor’s press release said.

He is a graduate of Arkansas Northeastern College and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

“Randy’s experience in education and leadership provides him with a vision for the future of Arkansas’ students,” Governor Hutchinson said in the press

release from his office. “His belief in the power of education for a successful workforce will be of great benefit to our education system and the future of Henderson Arkansas.”

Henderson, whose term expires June 30, 2028, is replacing Susan Chambers of Bella Vista.

“This is such an incredible honor, and I am beyond humbled for the opportunity to serve on the State Board of Education,” Henderson said in the press release. “I am grateful to the governor for his confidence in me and for granting me the opportunity to work with exceptional leaders and stakeholders to help advance educational excellence in our state.”

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Report Card September 2021 11

New Board Member Institute

‘Trust but verify,’ says one school CEO At the in-person New Board Member Institute, Greenland’s Dr. Andrea Martin recalled coming to a school district in fiscal distress where board members regretted not reading the financial reports.

Dr. Andrea Martin still remembers what it was like when she was hired as superintendent of a school district that had recently been placed in fiscal distress – and how board members blamed themselves for it.

“It’s been 16 years, but I still feel it every day from the conversations that happened in that district, all relating to the financial issues. … Those board members have told me, ‘I wish that I would have been paying closer attention.

I trusted the superintendent, and I never even looked at those reports,’” she said.

Martin spoke at ASBA’s New Board Member Institute June 17. The event overlooked picturesque Lake Hamilton,

INSTITUTE SPEAKERS. Bentonville School Board President Eric White emphasized listening to his fellow board members’ opinions, top. Dr. Andrea Martin, left, urged board members to read their packets.

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with some participants attending virtually. Last year’s Institute was all virtual.

Martin, who now leads the Greenland School District, encouraged school board members to “trust but verify.”

She wants her board to trust her enough not to have her on speed dial, but also to question her and not act as a rubber stamp. She said she considers the board an “extension of me as superintendent.”

Martin urged school board members to come to meetings prepared. Sometimes board members will admit to her that they didn’t read their packet, which she and other staff members spent time preparing.

“Don’t do that,” she said. “You have been sworn in, and you took that oath.

Just like I take it seriously every month to prepare that for you. Read it. Look through it. That’s why it’s required for us to get it to you ahead of time.”

Martin reviewed the basics of school finance, including federal, state and local funding sources. She said districts often play a bit of a shell game as they move funds around to cover various needs. School board members should focus on teacher salaries, debt service, and operating balances. They should look for warning signs such as internal control problems, salary schedules beyond the district’s resources, excessive numbers of personnel, and spending beyond budgeted levels, among others.

Arkansas has received $1.27 billion through the federal American Rescue Plan. The funding was designed to help students get back to the classroom, but Arkansas students have been going to school in person. She said school

districts should utilize committees to determine how to spend the money. Board members should ask questions.

“And what you should be hearing is that we’ve had committee decisions; we’ve met; we’ve done surveys; we’ve done need analysis; we’ve tried to look at all those areas that are of concern,” she said.

Another speaker, Bentonville School Board President Eric White, said school board members should respect each other, the superintendent and staff, and the process. He encouraged board members to take a “clinical approach,” to listen, and to be open to different ideas.

“If I could rewind time and be back in my first year coming in, the things I would do differently: I would listen better; I would recognize that my opinion, however strong at the beginning, will only get stronger if I actually listen to somebody else’s opinion. Even if I at the end of the day continue to disagree with you, I’ve got to hear you out,” he said.

“Because ultimately, my challenge to you is this. If you’re in a split decision, and you voted one way, but the board voted another, your responsibility as you stand up from that chair is to be able to go explain the other. When you leave that room, you have to go say, ‘This is why the board voted that way. Yeah, you heard me oppose it. But this was a good idea. The board collectively decided to do this because …’ And when you practice that and make yourself do that, you do become a better listener, you become a better board member, and you become a better teammate on the school board.”

White said school board members should focus on the process and the plan, not today’s hot topic. They should “Govern from policy, not emotion.”

Whatever their background is, they should remember their role.

“Guard against being the expert on any one particular item – especially when you come out of the field of education,” he said. “It’s really tempting to

jump back into the classroom. It’s really tempting if you were a principal for a while to jump back into a building and start giving advice.”

White said the top reason superintendents leave their job is because of dysfunctional relationships with their school board. He encouraged attendees to see their superintendent as a CEO whom they trust to make decisions while monitoring the results.

That being the case, board members should be respectful of superintendents’ time. Bentonville reduced its monthly meetings from two to one because that extra meeting cost superintendents and staff valuable time. Instead, board members should study their packets and come to the meetings prepared. Also, board members should be careful not to contact the superintendent too often. If that happens, the superintendent should reply to the entire board, noting the request came from a particular board Continued on page 15

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New Board Member Institute COMMERCIAL AFFILIATES. Top left photo, Gene Hawk with TIPS mans a display as Fountain Lake School Board member Dana Greeson and South Pike County School District Superintendent Brad Sullivan converse. Top right photo, All-Clean’s DannyJoe Crofford and Melissa Martin visit with ASBA President Rosa Bowman. Middle left, American Fidelity’s Dwayne Cox visits with new Arkadelphia School Board member Ida Tramble. Middle right, Homeland Safety Systems’ Mike Elliott visits with a participant.

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14 September 2021 Report Card

member. Peer pressure by the board members might reduce the one member’s meddling.

White pointed to an occurrence last year where the Washington Post ran a story about a poorly edited Bentonville junior high yearbook that offended some patrons because of its wording on some political stories. There was talk about meeting as a school board, but that would keep the story alive. Instead, the board let the principal and superintendent handle things and discussed the discipline taken against the yearbook advisor in executive session.

During meetings, he said school boards should take public comments, but have a time limit, and when comments run long ask if members of the public have any new information to add. He’ll let members of the public speak pointedly about board members but not district employees. Motions should be stated clearly; don’t say “so moved,” which creates confusion. The Bentonville School Board takes a roll call on every vote, and as school board president he votes on every issue.

In another session, Deborah Coffman, Arkansas Department of Education assistant commissioner, told participants that for every question that comes before them, they should ask if it advances student achievement.

“Can we expect a hundred percent of our kids to learn to read? Yes,” she said. “But you’ve got to put your

ASBA PRESIDENT ROSA BOWMAN, left, a member of the Ashdown School Board. is pictured with Blytheville School Board President Barbara Wells.

resources in the right place to make it happen. You’ve got to hire the right people. You’ve got to buy or build the best curriculum. Sometimes you have to extend time, provide summer school, after-school, before school, tutors. Every one of them takes something different.

So can it be done? Yes. And as board members, you’re watching the data and having conversations with your superintendent about the return on taxpayer dollars.”

Jay Bequette, ASBA’s general counsel, offered an overview of legal issues and the Freedom of Information Act. Bequette said school districts enjoy broad immunity from standard negli-

gence claims but can be sued because of violations of federal law. When a lawsuit is filed, board members will be named in their official and individual capacities.

Bequette told attendees that Arkansas has one of the nation’s broadest public records laws. Even texts and emails between board members are subject to the Freedom of Information Act if they are about school business. He warned attendees to ensure their communications never include anything they wouldn’t mind seeing above the fold on the front page of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Executive sessions are to be held for only five purposes: employment, appointment, promotion, demotion and resignation. Those should be specifically referenced when the board announces its intention. “We’re going into executive session to discuss personnel” is not specific enough, he said.

Bequette told participants that it’s not the board’s job to address employee issues and grievances. The board gets involved only in an appeals hearing. He mentioned a hypothetical case where a superintendent suspended a high school teacher with pay after the teacher struck a student, with plans to terminate the employee. The board might be tempted to meet to discuss the incident and the media response. But it shouldn’t. The Arkansas Teacher Fair Dismissal Act is implicated, and the board must not be involved until the employee requests a hearing.

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Report Card September 2021 15

ARKANSAS SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHOULD NOTE CHANGES IN ELECTION LAWS Stephens Public Finance unpacks new requirements and limitations

New legislation has changed when Arkansas school districts can schedule elections and added requirements that will necessarily move up districts’ special election timelines. Several election laws were modified in the 2021 legislative session, most notably limiting when special elections can be held.

Stephens felt it was important to outline some of these changes and how they could affect your district. If yours is mulling a special election or a change in its election date next year, you should contact your financial advisor immediately.

to determine 60 days in advance of their annual school board election what millage rate to propose,” Hunt said. That part of the law remains unchanged — the timing for publishing the budget. But its place on the calendar could land farther from

A pivot might be necessary.

the actual election than previously, when there were more options for scheduling elections, due to the new 70-day filing requirement.

That’s because next year’s options will be more limited than before, says Dennis Hunt, Senior Vice President and Head of Stephens Public Finance, but nevertheless manageable with adequate planning time. “Previously, Arkansas school districts had the flexibility, with the approval of the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, to have an election pretty much any time between January and September,” Hunt said.

Starting in 2022, however, districts are more limited on when they can hold special elections. Special elections must now be held in February (March in a presidential election year), May, August, or November. There are certain limited exceptions to these special election dates, but they are not likely to be practical for a district to use.

Also new to this process: Districts must file a document calling for the special election with the district’s domiciled county clerk not less than 70 days before the special election date. Previously, the start date of a special election was the publication of the Proposed Budget of Expenditures not less than 60 days before the election date.

“If a board decides they want to have a special election that is separate from when the board election occurs, the board has

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“The changes require more planning for districts,” Hunt said.

They also create a greater possibility of districts not getting what they need later if interest rates change considerably.

Ample planning can mitigate any risks.

It is also important to highlight what has not changed going into the 2022 election cycle: •

A district will still hold its regular board election in March (in years of a presidential election), May (in years without a presidential election), or November.

•

Districts must still inform their county of changes to an annual election date 100 days before the candidate filing period.

•

Districts are still responsible for the adoption by the local school board and publication in the local paper of the Proposed Budget of Expenditures 60 days before the regular board election date.

•

Although the timing has changed slightly, a district’s county election commission is still required to handle the publication of the Notice of Election.

If a special election is held, school board member elections must still be held at the regular school election or either the March/May or November date. These new laws also allow districts to hold a special election for a tax question after their regular board election if no tax question was asked at the time of the regular board election. (A tax can be voted on only once per year.) However, this does not change the requirement for the Proposed Budget of Expenditures to be published 60 days prior to the annual board election.

Current law does not allow a district to revise its Proposed Budget of Expenditures once they are adopted and published.

The language in the Proposed Budget of Expenditures discussing the millage question would be used as the ballot language. So, a district holding a special election for a millage question in November with a regular board election in March would need to determine the amount of the millage ask more than 70 days before the March election. As such, if a district intends to hold a special election later in the calendar year, it should consider moving its general election to November to allow the district the flexibility to make revisions that might be required.

Decisions on the 2022 election cycle would need to be made before the end of 2021 because, again, for a district to change its regular board election date, it must inform its county of changes to an annual election date 100 days before the candidate filing period.

Next year and beyond, Arkansas school districts will be more restricted on when they can hold a special election. A trusted financial advisor like those at Stephens can help shepherd you through the process, Hunt said. Indeed, if your district is considering a change in your regular election date, a millage extension, or millage increase for next year, you should contact your Stephens financial advisor right away.

The complexity of the legislation only enhances the need to have someone to give you advice on how to work through these various timelines and requirements these various timelines and requirements,” Hunt said. “But as long as you work out a schedule of events that appropriately addresses each of the steps, involving both bond counsel and a municipal advisor, then the legislation should continue to provide some flexibility to Arkansas school districts and allow them to address their needs.”

Dennis R. Hunt Executive Vice President, Head of Public Finance (501) 377-2041 dhunt@stephens.com

“The complexity of the legislation only enhances the need to have someone to give you advice on how to work through

@Stephens_Inc

STEPHENS.COM

Cover / Learning gains

FOUR BOOKS! Fifth grader Gunner Wright holds up four fingers to show how many books he stacked on rolled paper cylinders in a combined math and science class at Hillcrest Elementary. Students were experimenting with different shapes of cylinders and then writing their observations. He managed to stack a fifth book, to everyone’s great delight, before the cylinders collapsed on book number six. Also pictured are, from left, Keyaira Duncan, Nathan Bard, fifth/sixth grade math teacher Michealle Wooten, and Katelyn Ellis.

Learning gains Yes, after a year of disruptions and hardship, students statewide scored worse on the ACT Aspire in 2021 than they did in 2019. But there were pockets where students held their own or actually improved.

By Steve Brawner Editor

In March 2020, students at Hillcrest Elementary School were preparing for their ACT Aspire exams. The school had emphasized attendance that year by recognizing students with no absences each previous two weeks over the loudspeaker. Principal Shawn Rose thought his students would do well.

Those tests never happened. On March 15, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced schools would close for two 18 September 2021 Report Card

weeks in response to rising COVID-19 numbers. The closure would give the state time to better understand the situation.

“My first thought was, ‘How’s it going to be better in two weeks?’” Rose said.

As everyone knows, it wasn’t.

Schools would not reopen for on-site instruction the rest of the semester, and the next year was marked by disruptions, off-site learning and quarantines.

Everyone expected learning loss to occur, and it did. ACT Aspire test scores across the state fell in 2021 compared to 2019, after students skipped 2020.

Ninety-seven percent of the state’s students completed the assessment. Dr. Sarah McKenzie, executive director of the University of Arkansas Office for Education Policy, found the percentages of students scoring “ready” or “exceeds

ready” fell 12% in math, from 48% in 2019 to 36% in 2021; from 70% to 65% in English; from 41% to 36% in reading; and from 40% to 34% in science.

Statewide, the largest decrease occurred in math. In that subject, 34.6% of fifth graders met math readiness benchmarks compared to 49.17% in 2019, according to the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

McKenzie said last year’s learning context was especially challenging for math. The “in need of support” category increased by about 10 points in most grades.

Last year’s 10th-graders scored as if they were in the middle of the seventh grade in math. They were 21.2 months behind in that subject, nine months in reading, 12 months in English, and 7.3 months behind in science, McKenzie found. Other grades saw drops.

What was strange about the decreases was how consistent they were. Unlike in other states, there were not consistently bigger drops for specific student groups.

There were not significant regional differences, and there was no relationship between test scores and the percent of students served by the free and reduced lunch program, or the district’s size or prior achievement. At-risk students didn’t seem to have fallen farther behind relative to their peers.

McKenzie pointed out that more than 70% of the state’s students were in school in person most of the time last year. She wonders if teachers statewide were more concerned with the personal hardships students were facing and less concerned with their academics.

“Usually in education research we can find a relationship to district percent students eligible for free and reduced lunch or district percent ELL – English language learners – or district sized,” McKenzie said. “You know, I had a

hypothesis that maybe the smaller districts would do better because they’re more tied into their communities directly, or maybe the larger districts would do better because they have more administration staff to help with the transitions that they have to go through.

And there’s just no relationship to any of those characteristics.

“There’s also not a relationship to higher achievement. I sort of thought that maybe in a school district where students had been really high achieving before, they would have been less impacted by the weird year, but that wasn’t true. Or maybe the districts that were really low performing in terms of achievement previously would have experienced less of a decline because their kids were already struggling. Also not true.”

The state’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education is partnering with ACT to conduct a study about how the various factors affected test scores. A

report is expected this fall. Under a bill passed by the Legislature earlier this year, the A-F state grading scale has been waived for another year.

It’s hard to compare Arkansas with other states because this is the only state that takes the ACT Aspire. Other states that have reported results, including Texas, Indiana and Louisiana, have reported declines, particularly in math.

It’s also difficult to compare Arkansas scores in 2021 with those in 2019 because, so far, the numbers are comparing students of a particular grade level in 2021 versus those in the same grade level in 2019 – a prior cohort. In small schools, those numbers can be skewed by a few students’ test results.

McKenzie said students can’t have another year like the one they just had because they are already so far behind now.

“I think it’s really important for school boards to create the culture of Continued on next page

AWARDED BEST MIDDLE SCHOOL & HIGH SCHOOL CONTRACTOR IN ARKANSAS by baldwinshell.com Report Card September 2021 19

Cover / Learning gains learning very early in the school year and to really understand that now is the chance to put education at least back to normal as much as we can, whether we’re doing it virtually or in person,” she said.

Hillcrest sees 10-point gain Every district had losses somewhere, but some school districts had some gains in some places. Despite all the challenges students and teachers were facing, the percentage of Hillcrest Elementary students scoring “ready” or “exceeding” in math on the ACT Aspire exam jumped 10 points, from 57% to 67%. Scores in other areas stayed about the same: in English, from 78% to 74%; in reading, from 47% to 45%; and in science, from 46% to 47%.

High expectations may be one explanation. Hillcrest sixth grade math teacher Michealle Wooten is in her 29th year in education, and she wasn’t satisfied when 80% of sixth-graders tested ready or exceeding. Other grades also did well: 61.3% of fifth-graders, 64.5% of fourth-graders, and 62.1% of third-graders were at those levels. When she was informed by Rose that the district’s sixth grade math scores were the state’s second highest, her first question was, “Who beat us?” (It was Cross County.)

“I’m very competitive,” Wooten said, laughing when asked about that question. “But I’m very proud of those kids.

They worked hard. They came to school.

They didn’t fuss about wearing masks.

They didn’t fuss about sitting six feet apart. They just came here and did their work and did good. Very proud of them.

It really brings tears to my eyes.”

Kendra Cooper, the school’s third and fourth grade math teacher, said teachers have their students for two years, so they get to know them personally. Administrators give teachers the freedom to choose their instructional sources. That flexibility existed before the pandemic, and when it began, teachers were able to draw upon it.

“I have a nursing license and worked as a nurse for 15 years and decided to teach, and I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she said. “These kids, they make me happy. I look forward to 20 September 2021 Report Card

GETTING THE POINT. Fourth grader Maddie Morgan listens as Lana Doyle, Hillcrest Elementary curriculum coach, explains a math concept.

coming to work on Monday. I don’t feel like I’m working.”

When Hutchinson first closed the schools, students in the Hillcrest School District had digital devices, but only those in grades six and up were taking them home. Hillcrest Elementary sent out paper weekly lesson plans. Curriculum coach Lana Doyle, a former second grade teacher, first thought about the youngest students. They needed to be in school because a lot of growth takes place in those last few months of the year. There was a place on campus with milk crates where parents picked up and deposited their children’s lessons. The district relied on Arkansas PBS programming. Rose said educators stayed in touch with their students.

“Whether they wanted to interact or not, we didn’t give them that choice,” he said.

When the pandemic started, the elementary school had never used a digital-based learning management system.

However, the high school had been a New Tech charter school for years. Two weeks before school last year, the high school staff trained the elementary staff.

When school started, there were some intense training sessions so students could use their devices. Elementary staff wanted to get everyone comfortable with them, including kindergarten students, because the future was so

uncertain. Students in grades K-1 took home iPads every day. Students in grades 2-12 had MacBooks.

The first day of school, 60% of Hillcrest’s students and 40% of its staff members were out – the first of two times when that happened. Superintendent Greg Crabtree, who had COVID that summer along with 14 family members, said he and his staff decided to keep the doors open. The district didn’t pivot one day to virtual schooling.

That first day, while Crabtree and other administrators were driving bus routes, curriculum leaders called a 7 a.m. meeting where they Zoomed with quarantined staff. At one point, seven of the elementary school’s 22 certified staff members were quarantined for about 10 days, as were two lunchroom employees. Teachers would help make lunches during their breaks. The first grade teacher might teach second grade. The PE coach taught kindergarten one day and third grade often.

That attitude was necessary in a small school district where the average number of years of teaching experience last year was 4.3.

“It was whoever was here teach whatever subject that was not to those kids,” Crabtree said. “And you had teachers teaching two or three subjects a day in high school. You had teachers teaching across grades, filling in in

quarantine, so you just have to get outside the box and make it work.”

This past June, Hillcrest had an intense summer school for 75-100 students in grades K-12. Teachers were tutoring six-hour days. Crabtree hopes it will improve this year’s test results. This year, only a few elementary students and a few high school students are virtual.

No losses at Cross County High Cross County High School saw its scores stay the same or improve in all four areas. The largest gain, 11 points, came in reading, where the percentage of students scoring “ready” or “exceeding” increased from 36% in 2019 to 47% in 2021. English scores also rose from 66% to 70%, while science scores increased from 38% to 43%. Math scores remained the same at 37%.

As the 2020 ACT Aspire tests approached, Cross County High administrators were confident they would improve on the school’s disappointing

THUNDERBIRDS. Pictured are Cross County Superintendent Nathan Morris, Executive Master Teacher Mindy Searcy, and High School Principal Stephen Prince.

2019 results, which had left it with a C rating. Four interim assessments were showing growth. Two sets of data showed they would do well. Students were tracked on a data wall.

“We didn’t just see a twinkle in their eyes and say, ‘We’re ready for this

test,’” Superintendent Nathan Morris said. “Our interim assessments throughout that year, that data was showing that we were ready for that test.”

The high school has a distributive leadership team composed of principal Stephen Prince, executive master teacher Mindy Searcy, and two mentor classroom teachers. The team starts with data and then breaks it down to determine the need. It then develops evidence-based strategies that Searcy field tests with 8-10 students. She tweaks the strategy and then rolls it out to staff members in weekly professional learning community meetings. Teachers implement a component in their classroom and then present data the following week to see how students are growing.

“Here lately, we’ve been really finding some that really work, and our teachers have been having some high buy-in with those strategies,” Prince said.

Continued on next page

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Report Card September 2021 21

Cover / Learning gains Last year, Cross County implemented a schoolwide Number Talks strategy where time was implemented each day for students to discuss the different ways math problems can be solved. The practice improved their justification skills. They also implemented a strategy to compare literacy passages. This year, the district implemented a new reading curriculum. A big focus will be on justifying the author’s purpose.

When Hutchinson announced that schools would be closed for two weeks, district leaders decided to plan for students not returning at all. All students in grades 3-12 have Apple MacBooks, while students in grades K-2 have iPads.

But many of the students in the rural east Arkansas district don’t have good internet connections at home. The last nine weeks of the 2019-20 school year, school personnel did what they could to get lessons home to students by sending out flash drives and through paper alternative methods of instruction.

On the first day of school, the high school had 11 of its 25 certified staff members quarantined. Morris said the rest could have covered it, but administrators decided to send everyone home so they could plan for the coming days – giving up one day to salvage the next four or five. Some of the 11 taught from home. Some were sick. Certified staff helped fill the gaps. Classified staff managed classes and Zoom calls. It was the only day everyone was sent home.

At the peak, about 18% of Cross County High’s students were learning remotely, a percentage that dropped to about 10% in the spring semester. The district made a commitment that its own teachers would teach the kids, so it bought them iPads and they recorded their own lessons. Because teachers didn’t have test data to use, professional learning community meetings focused on how to reach students at home.

Morris noted that teachers were asked to do what they hadn’t been trained to do, which was dual teaching both virtually and in person. He said teachers monitor and adjust better than any profession. Even the teachers who aren’t tech-savvy found a way to teach lessons on their iPads. Teachers who were quarantined taught lessons from home.

22 September 2021 Report Card

CROSS COUNTY HIGH teacher Kathryn Lambert helps student Juanita Kelly with a lesson. Photo courtesy of Cross County School District.

“We talked about this going in: We were all first-year teachers. No matter how many years you’ve been in education, we’re all new,” he said. “Pass or fail, we were going to be in the same boat together, and we didn’t want to fail.

We had teachers that were up here till late, late hours because they were trying to perfect their lesson for maybe two, maybe three students that were at home.”

Administrators said students deserve credit. Prince said they are intrinsically motivated because they live in a small community.

“Our students knew we were dealing with some tough times, and we did not have a moment’s trouble out of our students,” he said. “They stepped up.

They did what we asked them to do.

They worked hard just as our teachers did with preparing those lessons, but those students took what our teachers taught them, and they applied it and they worked hard with that material that was taught.”

At Emerson-Taylor-Bradley, all six schools either held their own in English and reading or had only a small loss. In English, Emerson Elementary gained five points, from 83% to 88%, while Taylor Elementary’s English score remained the same at 90%. In reading, Bradley High saw a 14-point gain from 34% proficiency to 48%.

Superintendent David Downs was surprised by the scores, but he credited the school’s culture, its expectations, and his staff of veteran teachers who don’t like to lose even 15 minutes of class time to an extracurricular activity.

Last year, Taylor High School had eight disciplinary writeups in grades 7-12 for the whole year.

“I tell people all the time: We have school like I had school … I see schools too many times getting caught up in the hype and trying to latch on to the latest and greatest,” he said. “And you wind up, you’re spinning your wheels because you’re getting away from good, solid teaching.”

Jessieville sees gains At Jessieville Elementary, reading scores increased from 46% ready or exceeding in 2019 to 53% in 2019.

English scores improved from 73% to 76%, while science scores rose from 46% to 49%. Math scores barely dipped, from 61% to 59%. Jessieville Middle School’s science scores increased from 39% to 47%, while English scores increased from 77% to 79% and reading scores rose from 43% to 44%. Math scores dipped a little, from 41% to 38%.

Coming into the planned 2020 ACT Aspire tests, Jessieville Elementary Principal Amanda Sarver thought her students would do well. The year before,

the school had moved from a C to a B on the state report card.

Students had taken ACT Aspire interim tests. The school had done some targeted efforts and performed a literacy audit. K-2 teachers had done a lot of professional development to implement the state’s RISE reading initiative.

About 15 staff members met in the boardroom the Sunday after Hutchinson first announced schools would be closing.

Sarver said she cried. Superintendent Melissa Speers said to go ahead and get it all out because the district had to have a game plan.

Speers didn’t want students thinking that, if remote learning were to continue, that the district wouldn’t have school.

“We as administrators set the expectation for our teachers, and just because we’re going home, we’re not stopping teaching, and we didn’t,” Speers said.

Like other districts in Arkansas, Jessieville pivoted toward the new reality. Students had digital devices, but not everyone had good internet service, so the staff problem-solved.

Teachers daily taught live, synchronous classes, sometimes remaining online into the evening waiting for students to get to a location where they could get service.

“We actually had to say to some teachers, ‘You have to stop. You don’t have to be up at midnight answering emails from kids. You have to stop. You set the boundaries,’” Speers said.

By the time the four-week summer school arrived, teachers were excited to see their students back on campus. Many students were not where they needed to be, so teachers caught them up as best they could while exercising extra patience and grace.

“I don’t know how many times we heard teachers say that, ‘Whatever we’ve got to do. Whatever we’ve got to do. Just so we have kids back in our classroom.’ And that’s still what they’ll say today,” Sarver said.

The last nine weeks of the 2019-20 school year set the tone for 2020-21. That year, the elementary school started with about 31-32 remote students out of 360, and it finished with

SCHOOL LEADERS. From left are Melissa Speers, Jessieville superintendent; Amanda Sarver, elementary principal; and Toby Packard, middle school/high school principal.

20. The numbers were about the same for the middle and high schools. Saturday classes were held to help students make up their lost work. Classes were offered virtually, but they had to be synchronous.

“The virtual students were getting the same teacher, the same content, the same manner, the same time as the students on campus,” Speers said.

Students were held accountable, and staff members would call if they missed class. There were lots of phone calls and conferences, and there were lots of excuses. The internet wasn’t working was a common one offered. One student’s clothes weren’t finished in the dryer. At times things might be said at home – between spouses, for example – that should have been muted.

Sarver attributes the gains to the continuing instruction offered by the schools during the first nine weeks, followed by the staff’s intentional, targeted instruction afterwards. There were no pep rallies or assemblies, so students weren’t being pulled from the classroom to do other things. This past year, when students had indoor recess because of bad weather, they

Please see LEARNING, page 31

Report Card September 2021 23

EXECUTIVE SESSION with

D’James Rogers

By Steve Brawner Editor

D’James Rogers understands the importance of taking advantage of his opportunities. The fifth of six children of a single mother, he earned a two-year Youth Opportunities Unlimited scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff that he stretched to four years just by asking for it. After graduating from college, he came home and started a cleaning service, Choice Cleaning, with his brother, D’Angelo. He now also owns a small trucking company with two box trucks that delivers for Amazon, and eight rental properties.

As a member of the West Memphis School Board, he wants to ensure today’s students also learn skill sets that they can use to make a career.

Rogers, who is ASBA’s Region 7 director, sat down with Report Card in the West Memphis boardroom to talk about the village that raised him, the businesses he’s building, and the district he now serves.

What was it like growing up in West Memphis?

“Of course we made the most out of what we had. I grew up in a single-parent home. I’m the fifth of six children, so I’m family oriented. It was always a bunch of us, and we bounced around a lot, and I always ended up staying with my grandmother. She made our clothes.

She cooked for us every day. We had a neighbor across the street who had a big field, so we played a lot of football. And then once I got a bike, that changed everything so I was able to get out and 24 September 2021 Report Card

venture more – not too much trouble, but still made the most of it. … I remember one time it was snowing, and we took some cardboard boxes and just went down the hill. And it’s really one of those communities that I grew up in; it took a village. I remember one day, I went to Wonder Elementary. It’s on South 16th Street. I did something on South 16th. By the time I got to South 19th, my grandmother had already heard about it. [Laughs]. So right then it was like, yeah, you’d better straighten up

because you can’t get away with anything because everybody knew everybody.”

And then you graduated high school and went to college, right?

“I went to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and the reason I went there, they had a summer program, not sure if you remember, Youth Opportunities Unlimited. It was the YOU summer program, and they basically prepared us for real life. Went to school half a day

and worked half a day. And once you completed the program, they paid for two years of college to the school that you did the summer program in. In the 10th grade, I already had two years of college paid for, so I built on that part since I had the foundation. When I got to Pine Bluff, I didn’t see many people from the program there, so I went to the director and I said, ‘What do y’all do with that money if people don’t come?’

He said, ‘It’s still there.’ I said, ‘So y’all could pay for my other two years of college?’ He was like, ‘Yeah.’ So just off of that conversation, I had four years paid for. I went to college off of a summer program for free.”

And then came back to West Memphis.

“And started a business. Yeah, the plan was of course to work for somebody for two years, learn the basics, and then start a business. But I ended up working for somebody for two weeks and quit and was like, ‘What am I going to do next?’ I bought a carpet machine and started cleaning carpet going door to door, and then just so happened to clean a lady’s house who was a director of a children’s clinic. And she was like, ‘Do y’all do commercial buildings?’ At the time I had no clue. I said, ‘Yes, yes ma’am we do.’ [Laughs] She was like, ‘Well, we need a bid on our office.’ So we gave her a bid, and they accepted it, and we’ve been growing since then.

We’re still a small company, but we’re growing.”

So you’re just out of college and you’re running a business.

“Yeah. [Laughs.] And it’s funny. I should have brought it with me, but I kept our monthly expenses on the back of a business card. The good thing about majoring in business administration, I did take some accounting classes, so I knew the basics how to get us through the first year. As we grew, of course I hired a bookkeeper, an accountant, to keep up with everything.”

What kind of clients do you serve?

“We have some private schools, some construction companies, doctors’ offices, daycares. We have restaurants. I think we’ve pretty much covered every industry as far as cleaning.”

How have you had to change your processes in the face of COVID? “In the face of COVID, it’s been of course masking up, making sure everybody has on gloves, with an extra pair because of touching. Now it’s more focused on door handles, light switches, fogging, sanitizing. We’re cleaning, then going back and sanitizing bathrooms especially because we know that’s mostly the high traffic areas in any business. So it’s taken us a little more time, but I’d rather err on the side of safety than trying to rush through it.”

Was there anything about the school board that attracted you, or was it just available?

“Both. I’m big on financial education.

That’s why I ran, to make sure we implemented financial education in the school system, but my first year ASBA was working on something as well on the state level to make sure that every high school graduate is required to take a course in financial education. So it was like, ‘Oh, wow. This is like perfect timing.’ [Laughs.] So it worked out, and of course the first year, just sitting here listening, learning, knowing where I can get in and knowing my role, but as things progressed, I became a little bit more vocal.”

About what?

“Just taking from what we’re hearing in the community. This year, the biggest thing was reinstating the auto mechanics program. And one other thing I want to do is not necessarily me being more vocal. I know they can’t be a voting member, but having like a student school board member to voice the opinions of students more. I know we have different people come in and speak, but I’d like to hear more from the students’ standpoint. If we as school board members serving the community and our students are student-focused, why can’t we have a student to voice their opinion as well?”

Continued on next page

Report Card September 2021 25

Executive Session Do you have a permanent student now?

“No. It’s something I would like to see. You know how we have student government or student body government? I would like their president to come in and speak about what they’re facing as students instead of us implementing this for them. We know things have changed from when we were in high school to now. Just technology and how we’re talking about our phones, that changes seems like every day. So we can’t do the same things that we think were right when we were in school versus now.”

more so now, the defini“tionI think of success has kind of

changed from, when I was growing up it was graduate high school, go to college, get a job, get a career, retire. And now it’s go to high school, take advantage of these programs, get you a skill set, start a business, market it, and make a career out of it.

”

Would you like to have the student be a permanent non-voting member?

“Yes.” Same student every time sitting at the table offering their perspective?

“At least for the year.”

West Memphis has a strong workforce development aspect. Tell me about the partnership with Arkansas State University – Mid-South.

“It gives our students the advantage when they go to the college for certain courses to give them college credits.

When they graduate high school, they’re already six to 12 hours ahead coming in as a freshman. I’ve got a son who graduated, and with the welding program, he graduated with three certificates that he took in 10th, 11th and 12th grade. With those degrees, he can go straight to Nucor or Big River Steel, and come in there making a salary that most executives are making with his skill set.

So it’s definitely a plus for our students in this area. It’s that balance, you know you have those college-bound kids, and then you have the trade school-bound, so it’s just finding those paths and pushing them more towards that partnership. Why not take advantage of it?”

You’re probably the only school district in Arkansas that has its own plane.

“Yeah. [Laughs.] That’s the advantage of being right next to FedEx. They donated a plane that, it’s been going pretty well.”

26 September 2021 Report Card

What do students learn there?

“It’s aviation mechanics, sort of like the diesel mechanics program – how to repair an airplane.”

You grew up well, but not well-todo, right?

“I had a mom who was hard-working. … My granddaddy was a truck driver and worked Monday through Friday, but he took care of three households. Every Saturday morning, my brother and I – and I guess that’s why our partnership got so close – every Saturday morning since we were nine and 10, because we were one year apart, he had us cutting his yard, my mama’s yard and my auntie’s yard, and we got our hair cut and five dollars. [Laughs.] And so as we got older, he was like, ‘OK, now you’re going to cut the yard,’ and we used to sell cans. And my mom always at least had two jobs when I was growing up because she had six kids, single parent, so that’s one thing I learned was to work hard.”

Do you feel any kind of compulsion to make sure young people understand that they need to work, based on what you’ve experienced?

“Yes. And it’s not necessarily work.

Now, I think it’s more so taking advantage of your skill set. My daughter’s in the military. Before she left, she has a job, but also she got registered and does tattoos. So now, she has a job and started her own business, and now her business is making more than her job.

“I think more so now, the definition of success has kind of changed from, when I was growing up it was graduate high school, go to college, get a job, get a career, retire. And now it’s go to high school, take advantage of these programs, get you a skill set, start a business, market it, and make a career out of it.”

That was your path to success, except you went to college, too.

“Yeah, but again, why not take advantage of an opportunity that you don’t have to pay for? So it’s the same thing with the high school students now.

Take advantage of going to the partnership we have with ASU-Mid-South.

Why not? Because I went to college. Of course it was free, but that second year I kind of found my footing into what direction I wanted to go. So I kind of bought some time while I was there, but I knew I had a plan to graduate in four years. I took the maximum amount of hours my freshman year. I took 18 hours each semester. They were like, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’ve got a plan.

I’ve got to graduate.’”

Was your plan to start a cleaning business?

“No. It wasn’t. [ Laughs.] It kind of just happened. … I knew I wanted to start a business, but I didn’t know what kind of business.”

You passed a 2.2-mill millage increase in 2019 – the district’s first since 1953. How did you get it passed?

“We had a good marketing campaign, and it really got different civic organizations passing that millage increase.

Like I said, we passed it by 85%, so it showed us that the community wanted it as well and as much as the school board did.

I was surprised it passed by that much because of course you hear the naysayers saying we don’t need to pay any more taxes. But we have buildings where you go in and see the sun coming in. I mean, they were just too old and outdated. I think West was built in the ‘50s, if I’m not mistaken. Then you’ve got buildings still on wood structures.”

What are you building with that?

“We built two new elementary schools, two new junior highs and renovated our high school and the other three elementary schools.”

Wow. This was a major building program.

“Yes. I’ve got to give Jon [Collins, superintendent] his props on that. He had an aggressive 10-year plan, and he came into a good financial situation. When I got on the board, we had $35 million in the bank. And of course with the laws that they passed you can’t have so much money in the bank and ask for more money, so we had to go ahead and start spending that money, and we spent it in our schools and our infrastructure. The good thing is, the state recognized what we were doing, and we got a bunch of matching funds to do some of these projects.”

How did you get such community support for that?

“It was needed. Like I said, the good thing is, we have some veteran school board members who … got out and talked to their groups. Let me just say this: We have a very diverse board. Have a former principal, engineer, business owner, former police chief, a commercial real estate developer, another local businessman, so when you’ve got that diverse of a background, it’s easy to reach out to certain groups and get everybody involved. But we took the traditional route as well with the millage plan going door to door, getting people out, telling them what we’re trying to do, social media, and it generated a buzz. We got lucky when Election Day happened to be open house at the schools as well, so our parents were there. It was like, hey, go ahead and vote while you’re here.”

know it’s real. Whether you believe it or not, a conspiracy, whatever you want to call it, don’t be foolish at the same time.

And like I said, once we saw what happened there, it was like, OK, we need to do something different.”

What is the mandate now?

“To wear masks, and we’ll go back and revisit it depending on the numbers every 30 days.”

The Memphis bridge is a lifeline for this community.

When it was closed, how did that affect West Memphis?

“Well, for me and another school board member working in Memphis, it was challenging as far as adjusting our schedule to get to meetings on time. Sitting in traffic for an hour and 30 minutes for something that usually takes seven minutes was a big adjustment. I clean up for a company in Memphis three days a week, and some nights I had a school board meeting.

Usually I could go to Memphis, work, come back, and be at the meeting. So now I had to go ahead, come to the meeting, and then wait, get stuck in traffic, and go to work.”

So you still clean?

“Yes. I love cleaning. I’ve got a bit of OCD. That comes from my grandmother, too. She used to make us sweep her hallway three times a day. [Laughs.] So again, taking that skill set and transforming it into a business.”

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

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Every school board has had to deal with COVID. West Memphis chose to not have a mask mandate.

“But we changed it, actually two weeks ago. Our neighbors to the north [Marion] had an outbreak when they first started school. … So to avoid that, we moved our meeting date up to go ahead and get that passed. … We didn’t want to take a chance with it.”

Did you originally vote not to have a mandate?

“The original plan was to suggest that you wear a mask. I tell people just use common sense. We know it’s out here. We

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Report Card September 2021 27

Marketplace

The latest news from Report Card’s advertisers

C.R. Crawford is managing Poyen construction project

C.R. Crawford Construction was selected as construction manager for Poyen School District’s career education and high school cafeteria project. The building was designed by Hot Springsbased French Architects.

“We are pleased to work with C.R. Crawford on this project. They built our arena a few years ago, and we are glad to work with them again,” said Superintendent Ronnie Kissire.

The 11,086-square-foot building will include a meal-prep area, serving area, offices, locker room, career education management and programming labs, and classrooms. The project is expected to be complete in spring of 2022.

For more information, go to crcrawford.com or call 479.251.1161.

lessly with Arkansas districts to create programs distinct to each district.

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If you’re hungry to learn more, contact Kellye Neal at 501.615.3660 or at kellye.neal@compass-usa.com.

First Security Beardsley does 40 bond issues

First Security Beardsley provides financings for construction, building systems, equipment, and buses. As a result of interest rates remaining low this year, Beardsley has issued more than 40 bond issues – saving its clients over $68 million and funding more than $88 million in new construction projects. Beardsley also assists with millage campaigns, second lien bond issues, and short-term lease purchase financings.

While millage increases require voter approval, second lien and short-term lease purchases can be done by a simple vote of the board.

For more information, contact your First Security Beardsley representative at 800.965.4644.

Chartwells Hot TIPS purchases Springs schools on HVACs can be serve quality meals made with ESSER

Chartwells’ goal every day is to make sure students in Arkansas leave the cafeteria happier and healthier than when they came in. Choosing a collaborative partnership with Chartwells means educators can focus on putting students first.

With the support of their local teams, Chartwells staff members work seam28 September 2021 Report Card

School districts that obtain Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds can utilize TIPS contracts to save additional money.

ESSER funds can be used to replace or upgrade existing HVAC units, giving school districts the ability to retain their building fund balance, increase air qual-

ity, cut energy costs and pay for these upgrades with the stimulus money.

Through TIPS, the competitive bidding process has been completed and a district can choose from multiple vendors that have provided discount pricing and a history of savings. Visit tips-usa. com.covid.cfm for more ways to utilize ESSER funds, including personal protective equipment contracts.

For more information, contact Gene Hawk at 870.926.9250 or go to www. tips-usa.com.

French Architects designs Lakeside dining spaces

Multifunctional dining spaces or hangout spaces d e signed by French Archit e c t s have added options for the new Lakeside Junior High School. This new construction was completed in August 2021 for the start of this school year and highlights several areas that the district can use as breakout teaching zones, multipurpose spaces, and cafeteria dining. The district wanted to use the dining space as academic areas and student gathering spaces when not serving food.

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

Omaha shelter, designed by Modus Studio, is finished

Construction is now complete on the new Omaha School District FEMA shelter designed by architects at Mo-

dus Studio. The new 4,000-square-foot building is located in the heart of campus, replacing the old gym. It not only provides a safe area for the school and community during extreme wind events, but it also serves as an indoor range for the archery teams. The precast concrete structure features a backlit steel canopy with integrated signage, and stone from the old gym was repurposed for a wall in a new alumni garden area.

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

Nabholz helps two schools construct flexible spaces

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to change school administrators’ priorities when constructing or remodeling school facilities. One such shift is an emphasis on flexible and outdoor learning spaces. The need for outdoor spaces was a trend before the pandemic, but it has become especially critical now.

Outdoor and flexible spaces can accommodate social distancing and allow for increased activities and gatherings.

Two large high school projects Nabholz recently completed included flexible spaces – Little Rock Southwest Magnet High School and Capital City High School in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Both these spaces feature large wooden bleacher-like seating in open-air environments. As a result, kids can space out appropriately while at the same time getting the best view of their instructor.

With school numbers fluctuating up and down and constantly changing recommendations from disease experts and governmental bodies, Nabholz predicts these spaces will become routine additions to school design plans.

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

Homeland sells no-contact body temp detectors

tions that are not only durable, easy to maintain and aesthetically pleasing but are flexible to the ever changing needs of the classroom and educator teaching styles. WER is currently working with district leadership on design solutions that utilize existing furnishings and re-working existing classroom spaces as we all navigate the transition back to full time in-person learning this school year.

These budget-friendly options make a huge difference for teachers, staff and students on a daily basis.

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

Many schools have responded to the ongoing pandemic by using temperature detection solutions that are available through Homeland Safety Systems, Inc., for schools and universities across the Ark-La-Tex region. Homeland’s partners at Garrett Metal Detectors have developed a fully HIPAA-compliant solution called the SmartScan, a thermal screening system that can be an add-on accessory or seamlessly integrated into an already-installed Garrett walk-through metal detector. This technology can allow school entrances to become an efficient, multifunctional no-contact station, taking body temperature measurements while providing normal security screening operations with no long lines or extra hassle. This SmartScan system will scan temperatures and discreetly provide an indication of “Go” or “No Go” to Hight Jackson Associates is working the person operatingELEMENTARY the unit, allowing EASTSIDE with Rogers Public Schools on the renostudents, staff and visitors to proceed vation design for Eastside Elementary, through the detector without delays. which will include code-based improveVisit HomelandSafetySystems.com ments such as a sprinkler system and or call 888.909.2261 to request more fire alarm system, ADA compliance, information on Garrett Metal Detectors and restroom upgrades. The scope of the with SmartScan technology. project includes a secure entry addition, construction of corridors connecting the existing school and other buildings, a new HVAC system, plumbing and electrical service upgrades, exterior and refreshing of the interior finishes.

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WER Architects works with school districts to design furniture soluContinued on next page

Hight Jackson designs Rogers’ Eastside school

WER Architects offers schools furniture solutions

Report Card September 2021 29

Marketplace McBryde of Stephens Public Stephens can help Michael Finance at 501.377.2641. board members get their training hours All-Clean helps Stephens can help board members Bauxite recover obtain their required professional development hours. Arkansas law generally from water leak requires up to six hours of certified professional development on topics related to school operations.

ASBA has deemed Stephens’ financial advisors as certified trainers who can provide up to three hours of school finance training annually toward ASBA’s Boardsmanship Awards Program. Normally held in the evening or a weekend, this free workshop addresses 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 can assist your district, please contact

To learn more about how All-Clean USA can help with water, mold or fire/ smoke damage, go to allcleanusa.com or call its three locations: Jonesboro, 870.972.1922; Conway, 501.336.0075; and Hot Springs, 501. 760.0075.

An ice maker leak at the Bauxite School District damaged approximately 3,000 square feet, including the fieldhouse, locker rooms, and athletic offices. AllClean provided extraction and water mitigation services. Dehumidifiers and air movers removed moisture. An antimicrobial was sprayed to sanitize the area and prevent mold.

Commercial Affiliates

Entegrity to help Farmington save $300K on energy

Entegrity has partnered with Farmington Public Schools on an energy savings performance contract. Upon completion, the project will reduce the school’s annual energy and maintenance expenses by nearly $300,000 through a combination of LED lighting, HVAC replacements, water conservation measures, and more. The school district plans to use the annual savings for teacher raises and retention.

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

ASBA thanks its premier partners and other commercial affiliates for their support.

Premier Partners

Contact

Phone

Email

Website

American Fidelity

Tom Sledge

800.688.4421

tom.sledge@americanfidelity.com

americanfidelity.com

Apptegy

David Rutledge

501.613.0370

David.rutledge@apptegy.com

www.apptegy.com

BXS

Bill Birch

501.614.1170

bill.birch@bxsi.com

www.bxsi.com

Edbrix

Jerry Shepard

501.605.6740

jerry@edbrix.com

www.edbrix.com

Entegrity Energy Partners

Rick Vance

501.414.0058

rick.vance@entegritypartners.com

www.entegritypartners.com

First Security Beardsley Public Finance

Scott Beardsley

501.978.6392

scott@fsbeardsley.com

fsbeardsley.com

Homeland Safety Systems, Inc.

Mike Elliott

318.221.8062

mike@homelandsafetysystems.com

www.homelandsafetysystems.com

Jackson Brown Palculict Architects

Randall Palculict

501.664.8700

randy@jbparchitects.com

www.jbparchitects.com

Pro Benefits Group, Inc.

Gary Kandlbinder

501.321.0457

pbfsi@sbcglobal.net

www.pbfsi.com

Stephens Inc.

Jason Holsclaw

501.377.2474

jason.holsclaw@stephens.com

www.stephens.com

The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS)

Gene Hawk

870.926.9250

gene.hawk@tips-usa.com

www.tips-usa.com

Exhibiting Partners All-Clean USA

Contact Melissa Martin

Phone 870.972.1922

Email mmartin@allcleanusa.com

Website www.allcleanusa.com

C.R. Crawford Construction, LLC

Jordan Ligon

479.251.1161

jligon@crcrawford.com

www.crcrawford.com

Capital Business Machines, Inc.

Ben Higgs

501.375.1111

bhiggs@capbiz.com

www.capbiz.com

Chartwells / SchoolEats

Kellye Neal

501.615.3660

kellye.neal@compass-usa.com

www.chartwellsk12.com

ESS

Julie Crum

870.236.2350

jcrum@ess.com

ess.com

Kinco Constructors

Clay Gordon

501.225.7606

cgordon@kinco.net

kincoconstructors.com

KLC Video Security

Bill King

903.792.7262

billking.klc@gmail.com

www.klcvideosecurity.net

McPherson & Jacobson, LLC

Thomas Jacobson

888.375.4814

mail@macnjake.com

www.macnjake.com

Palomar Modular Buildings, LLC

Jane Tavern

214.546.2843

jtavern@palomarmodular.com

palomarmodular.com

Southern Bleacher Company

Sarah Lundgren

940.549.0733

lundgren@southernbleacher.com

www.southernbleacher.com

VS America

Scott Morris

704.378.6500

s.morris@vsamerica.com

www.vsamerica.com

WER Architects/Planners

Russell Fason

501.374.5300

rfason@werarch.com

werarch.com

Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson Architects

Glen Woodruff

501.376.6681

gwoodruff@wddarchitects.com

wddarchitects.com

Supporting Partners Cobb & Suskie, Ltd.

Contact Michael Cobb

Phone 501.225.2133

Email mcobb@cobbandsuskie.com

Website www.cobbandsuskie.com

Crow Group, Inc.

Brian Rohlman

479.354.6511

brohlman@crowgrp.com

www.crowgrp.com

Grasshopper Company

Brent Dobson

620.345.8621

bdobson@grasshoppermower.com

www.grasshoppermower.com

30 September 2021 Report Card

Learning Continued from page 27

read rather than watching a video.

They’d been watching videos while they were at home.

“When you talk about bell to bell instruction, it occurred last year without a doubt, and the teachers were so glad to have students back on campus,” Sarver said. “Our discipline was fantastic last year. My kids were good because they wanted to be back in school. They did not want to repeat what happened in March and April. They didn’t want to be home. They wanted to be at school. And our teachers, the planning that took place, the gaps that they filled, academic gaps that the students had, they worked so hard.”

After such a difficult year, the district didn’t do summer school until July and professional development until August to give teachers a break. It used federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to compensate teachers for the extra work they had done.

No virtual option this year Speers said a few of the virtual students were successful, but most didn’t do as well. That was a driving factor behind the district’s decision this year not to offer full-time virtual classes, but there were others. It was rough on the teachers doing both virtual and in-classroom work. Cost was another issue. If the district had offered a virtual option this year, Speers was planning on hiring a staff member who would have been the liaison between teachers and families at home. In a survey, not that many wanted it. She sat down with each school board member individually and discussed what to do before it eventually was decided the district would not have a virtual option. But quarantining is still an ever-present reality. The district lost 30 students last year to homeschooling or other options. But this year, it had gained 26 as of Aug. 25.

So much of the discussion among policymakers has been about the learning loss that has occurred because

FIST BUMP. Margie Rowland, Jessieville School District Teacher of the Year, shares a moment with sophomore Faith Wiles.

of the COVID-19 pandemic, and learning loss has occurred.

But much was gained as well. Last year’s theme at Jessieville was “Jessieville strong.” Toby Packard, principal of the middle and high schools, believes the challenges students have faced have taught them self-reliance and adaptability. The plan was for this school year to be pretty normal, but as the numbers have increased the school has spread out students at lunch to prevent infections.

They haven’t complained. Last year, the seniors rented a barn designed for country weddings and had a great prom,

Packard said. Speers says students have demonstrated resilience, stamina and persistence. They’re also learning to think outside the box, to be problemsolvers, and to be better self-advocates.

So, yes, test scores are down. But as always is the case when challenges are overcome, a lot has been learned.

“We’ve heard so much about learning loss, learning loss,” Speers said. “I said I don’t want to hear any more about learning loss. I’m over learning loss.

We’re talking acceleration, not remediation. We’re moving forward, and we’re bringing those kids with us.”

Report Card September 2021 31

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ENVIRONMENTAL

WE BUILD FLEXIBLE LEARNING SPACES

When Little Rock Southwest Magnet High School wanted to remodel and emphasize flexible learning spaces, they turned to Nabholz. These new spaces provide more room for social distancing, allowing the school to safely increase activities and gatherings. Plus, students can now space out appropriately without compromising their ability to see and interact with their teachers and classmates.

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