Fine arts auditorium to serve community
A fine arts auditorium in the new high school would provide seating for 1,200 people and be available to all students in the school district as well as the community. Currently, band and choir concerts as well as musicals for Primary and Intermediate students and kindergarten graduation are held in either the high school cafeteria or one of the gyms.
“People use our facilities for everything,” school Superintendent Rick Neal said. “We are the Embassy Suites and Convention Center of Pea Ridge. Most school districts charge, we don’t. We are a community school. We are a giving school.”
Various community organizations including the Optimist Club, Granny’s Quilts of Love, the Lions Club, Ridge Rockers and Alumni Association use school facilities for meetings, auctions and other events.
“That multi-purpose facility is used 365 days a year by our community,” he said, adding that many of the youth organizations events for elementary-aged children are held at school facilities.
Expanding the school programs is essential for students today to be prepared for their future.
“We are allowing our students to have a global education. That’s just as important as learning agriculture or fine arts. All things are important. It’s not just about one program,” Neal said.
“The world has changed. Education has changed. Our responsibility as educators is providing hope and preparing students for a career and college,” Neal said. “We’re sitting here with the largest Fortune 500 companies right outside of Pea Ridge. They want students ready for the work force. It’s our job to get them ready.”
“Those programs are the perfect programs to provide lifelong interests and leadership skills
throughout their lives,” Neal said. “They can attain as much socially in those programs and so much more culturally because those programs provide an interest and a value. That’s what encourages those kids to come to school.”
“In some people’s mindset, one size fits all. But school is so much more than just one thing. It’s multiple opportunities. There are different kids, different interests. For one, it may be agriculture. For another, it’s band or arts,” Neal said.
“Everybody’s not the same. We need to be meeting the needs of all kids. That’s what good schools do. It’s not about ball. It’s not about fine arts. It’s not about PRMBA.
“I think what we’ve done over the years is to show that all our students are important. We don’t focus on one thing. We focus on many things. That’s why we are successful,” Neal said.
“April Smith does a great job with the music. Kevin and Matt and Sara Beth do a fantastic job with the band. We have a great coaching staff and teachers who are doing wonderful work,” Neal said. “I think it’s important to understand that it’s not just one group or one population that our community utilizes … We’re a community school and we allow the community to utilize all the facilities.”
“This facility has the capability of being used by everyone. It’s a unique deal for Pea Ridge,” Neal said.
“Our plans are simple, not extravagant,” Neal said, “just like we’ve always done at Pea Ridge. We build to the need, not to the extravagant. We don’t have the Bentonville pocket book.”