Lakeside looks to new school year

Lakeside is very proud of the continued academic achievements of its students, as well as the dedication of its teachers, support staff and administration.

The Lakeside School District was ranked fifth in Arkansas as one of the “Best Public School Districts” by the 2017 Niche Rankings. Lakeside High School was also ranked in the 2017 Washington Post’s “America’s Most Challenging High Schools.”

On Aug. 4, Lakeside will host the third annual day camp, RAMp Up, an orientation for incoming eighth-grade students. The camp allows students making the transition from the middle school to high school the opportunity to become acquainted with teachers, the building and other students.

The annual open house will be held Aug. 10 from 3-6 p.m. at Lakeside Primary School, 4-7 p.m. at Lakeside Intermediate School, 5-8 p.m. at Lakeside Middle School and 6-9 p.m. at the high school.

Lakeside School District has made several improvements to its campus over the last year and this summer. Sidewalks were expanded for the safety of pedestrians, more paved parking was developed and a roundabout was constructed to assist traffic flow on campus. Austin Field underwent renovations to expand the concession area, provide additional women’s and men’s restrooms, and double the ticket booth.

Staff members will return to campus Aug. 7 to prepare for the return of students on Aug. 14.

“I am excited to announce that we received full accreditation during the 2016-17 school year to be a satellite college campus for National Park College,” said Superintendent Shawn Cook. “Our students will now be able to graduate with an associate degree and never leave our campus.

“I am also proud of our school board, who made academics a priority, once again, by funding this program so that none of our students have to pay for classes or their materials. This process has not been an easy one. I commend Bruce Orr, curriculum leader and assistant superintendent, Darin

Landry, high school principal, and Peggy Stratton, high school senior counselor, for working so hard with National Park College to make this happen.”

Cook said the main obstacle was ensuring Lakeside’s would have the necessary credentials for the partnership.

“Dr. John Hogan, NPC president, has been an exceptional leader, truly putting the students first, and Dr. Wade Derden, vice president for academic affairs, and Connie Poteet have been instrumental in working with our team,” Cook said. “We are so blessed to have NPC as partners.

“We are fortunate because many of our teachers already met the requirements of having a master’s degree in the area they teach. However, to offer the full associate degree, some of our teachers needed additional classes. Our board voted to pay for the teachers to take the additional classes necessary and also give them a $1,000 stipend per semester to teach the classes.

“I can’t say enough about Dr. Hogan and his team at NPC, the Lakeside School Board, and the those individuals mentioned above who have all worked so hard to make Lakeside a college campus.”

Lakeside Primary School is excited to be considered a School of Innovation by the state this year to offer the first K-1 Flex Classroom. The class is designed to allow students a more flexible school day by combining the best of the traditional learning, home-school learning and virtual learning.

The school will continue the scheduling interventions for every child, every day, which began last year, as well as continue incorporating physical education for every child, every day. Extracurriculars include Spanish instruction each week and after school care provided in collaboration with the Hot Springs Family YMCA.

At LPS, one of the strongest areas is small group instruction in both literacy and math. By collecting data and MAP testing, academic coaches can work with teachers to drive instruction and best meet the needs of all their students.

The new addition of the Compass Learning computer program was a great addition to Lakeside Intermediate School’s curriculum last year. The program allowed students to work on reading and math skills at home to extend learning opportunities. Project Lead the Way rejuvenated their science curriculum. It allowed many students to showcase their talents that might not have had that opportunity in the past.

The RAMMES documentary film festival has had continued success giving students a forum to display their creativity and filmmaking skills.

Last year, the intermediate school was very proud of its student-driven initiatives, including the implementation of the “Buddy Bench,” a student created newspaper and the Recycling Club. The parking lot was extended this summer to provide several additional spaces for faculty, staff and parents.

Lakeside Middle School will once again expand its offering to include drama, keycoding and two additional Project Lead the Way courses, Science of Technology and Energy and the Environment.

Last year, the middle school introduced the Environmental and Spatial Technologies program. It was a huge success with the students, which allowed more sections to be opened up this year. The excitement and success of the program in the middle has allowed growth in the high school’s program from the incoming eighth-graders who participated in the seventh grade.

The summer school program was revamped this year. Students were in the building for six weeks working on research, Legos, symmetrical tiles and more. The students took several field trips and had several visits from staff and students who had or will be traveling abroad.

Lakeside High School recently announced the expansion of its broadcasting program with specific offerings for students who are specializing in different fields, including district media, live events and news. Other growing course offerings are Social Media, Entrepreneurship, EAST Intro, Theatre classes and Advanced Placement Government. The school has also seen continued growth in Sports Medicine and the Lakeside Legacy Program.

The Showband of Lakeside marched at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida this summer, Andrew Neighbors competed at the National FBLA Competition in Los Angeles, and the high school welcomed changes in the coaching staff including Louis Jolly as head junior high football coach, Jeff Haynes as head cross-country and track coach, and Eddie Lamb as head coach of the senior high boys.

Principal Darin Landry praised the academic achievements of his students, who have earned the highest ACT scores in Garland County. The school’s students also continue to receive high scores in AP Language, AP Literature, AP Calculus and Statistics.