Students tell about institute participation
GRAVETTE — Nicole Vogt, Bart Walker and Logan Smith, 11th-grade students at Gravette High School who participated in the GHS Student Voice Institute, attended the March 15 meeting of the Gravette school board and led the pledge of allegiance to the flag to open the meeting. They reported on some of the things they learned at the institute and said they worked on identifying problems in their school experience and developing ways to address them. The students said they were recommended by faculty members to attend the institute because they exhibited leadership abilities.
Business manager Dennis Kurczek gave the February financial report with a detailed statement of assets, liabilities and fund balances.
Board members approved the consent agenda, accepting the resignations of Holly Hudson as custodian, Melinda Griffin as high school counselor and Debbie Shields as a food service worker. Jay Oliphant expressed special thanks to Griffin for her many years of service as a counselor. They also accepted the recommendations for the expulsion of two middle school students for a period of one year (students may enroll in March 2022 for the 20212022 school year) and one high school student for the remainder of the school year with a recommendation to be moved online (student may enroll in August 2021 for the 2021-2022 school year.)
Norman Mitchell, the athletic director, reported on the status of spring sports. He said the school is permitted to have 50% attendance at baseball and softball games and moving extra bleachers from McAbee Field has allowed 253 spectators at baseball games and 230 at softball games. Mitchell also gave a report on a proposed wrestling program at Gravette schools. He answered some questions about how wrestling events are organized. There are 15 weight classes, he said, and only two classifications, large schools and small schools, at the state tournament. He presented information about schools participating in wrestling and projected costs and said there would be no unusually high expenses. He said he feels wrestling is probably the most feasible sport to add to the school’s schedule.
“There are some challenges, he said, “but they can be overcome.”
Both Heather Finley and Tracy Moorman said it seemed like a sport that might attract some students who aren’t interested in participating in any other sport. Mitchell agreed he would like to recruit some new students into the sports program.
Superintendent Maribel Childress reported on endof-school activities and said the 2021 prom has been scheduled for Saturday, May 1, from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Ravington in Centerton. Heather Finley, board president, said a barbecue is planned for April 9 at the new volleyball gym to raise money for Project Prom.
Childress also reported on an incident that occurred at Gravette Middle School on March 3 during a canine maneuver. She said the school values its strong partnership with the Gravette police department and appreciates the work of the school resource officers. Good communication between all parties is important, she said, and she thanked the board members, parents and middle school teachers for their support. Jay Oliphant also praised the middle school staff, saying they did a “really nice job” of handling the incident.
In action items, board members approved BiLD Architects as the architects and Crossland Construction as the construction manager for renovations at the Western Benton County Career Center. Clay McGill, with BiLD Architects, and Robert Adams, with Crossland Construction, attended the meeting to answer questions about the project. Bidding on the project will be held in May and construction time will be about five weeks, with completion expected about mid-July before school starts. Board members approved the second reading of the school policy updates. There are three sets of policies, one for certified personnel, one for students, and one for classified personnel. All updates are being made to ensure compliance with Arkansas School Board Association regulations.
Updates to the district’s Ready for Learning Plan were approved. The school is taking data and recent adjustments in covid regulations to make six changes and allow more flexibility so more Glenn Duffy Elementary students can eat lunch in the cafeteria with their schoolmates. Some of the changes include 1) changing the wording to say students “may” wash their hands with hand sanitizer rather than “will” wash when changing locations; 2) changing requirements for each student to have his own personal belongings to allow shared belongings if they wash hands or use hand sanitizer after use; 3) changing requirements for smaller groups to allow two or three classrooms to gather together on the playground; 4) the middle school fishing derby and end of school field trips, dances and rallies may be permitted; and 5) virtual parent-teacher conferences may now be held in-person or virtually. Childress said Governor Hutchinson may lift the mask mandate on March 30, but Gravette school staff and students will continue to wear masks through the April 19 board meeting.
Board members approved the 2021-2022 school calendar with August 16 as the first day of school, February 21 as a professional development day and May 24 as the last day of school. There will be a one-week Thanksgiving break, a two-week Christmas break and a oneweek spring break with five state-mandated snow days at the end of the year.
Superintendent Childress said the district is applying for 10 alternative-methodof-instruction days.
Childress said she, virtual principal Taos Jones and assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction Becky Sears have been considering the options for virtual school in 20212022. They recommend providing onsite face-toface instruction only for students in kindergarten through 10th grade and allowing full-time onsite instruction, hybrid onsite/ virtual instruction or fulltime virtual instruction through Virtual Arkansas for grades eleven and twelve.
Board members voted to give approval to seek an Act 1240 waiver to allow library media specialists to adjust their time schedule so current staff members can be used for teaching courses to help with the remediation of students who are failing. Childress said the goal is to help all students who are failing to catch up and graduate with their friends. She said the second semester has been better, with a smaller number of failing students than the first.
Board members voted to rehire certified staff members at all four schools. They adjourned the regular session and went into executive session about 7 p.m. to discuss personnel matters.
Following the executive session, agenda items to replace a retiring computer lab teacher with an additional PE teacher and to add a communications and technology administrative specialist position were tabled until a later meeting.
The board approved a request by the Gravette High School FFA advisor for qualifying FFA competitors to travel to the state competition in early April.