In Gentry, new grants and programs kick off a new academic year
“Gentry Primary School is the first elementary in Arkansas to receive a STEM Lab Grant from Rural Tech Foundation” ~ Dr. Terrie Metz
Dr. Terrie Metz, Superintendent of Gentry Public Schools, has just completed 33 years in education. For almost half of that time—16 years— she has been an educator in Gentry. “I have been a middle school teacher, intermediate school teacher, high school assistant principal, and federal programs coordinator,” she said. “This will be my fifth year as superintendent of the Gentry Public Schools.”
Metz has a lot to be proud of as the school year begins. “Gentry Primary School is the first elementary in Arkansas to receive a STEM Lab Grant from Rural Tech Foundation,” she said. “All students learn about robotics, engineering, technology, science and math. The Primary School also received a grant for a bike program.”
In addition to these exciting grants, Gentry Primary School has partnered with United States Tennis Association (USTA) to bring tennis to the PE curriculum for K-2 students. “The Primary School also received a grant for a sensory path and technology,” Metz continued. “All of this while we have spent the summer focusing on the remodeling of our Gentry Primary School.”
Gentry Intermediate School will be implementing STEM into extracurricular activities. Gentry Middle School also welcomes a new principal, Danielle Freeman. “Gentry Middle School will be dedicated to using our Encore time to enhance student academic achievement by way of a Response to Intervention System,”
Metz noted. “Students will use this time to receive targeted assistance from classroom teachers.”
Over at Gentry High School, the entire school will be focused this year on reading instruction with new strategies in place. “Our high school has expanded the Alternative Learning Education Program,” Metz explained. “Robotics has also been expanded at the high school, and we will have e-sports teams for the second year. Finally, our agriculture program continues to expand with the addition of a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine.”
Both the administration and the teachers have been working to be ready as the new academic year welcomes students back on the campuses. “We have been preparing and reviewing instructional process and materials,” Metz noted. “Staff have been training through the summer refining their teaching craft. Administration have been looking ahead and planning further implementation of our district vision.”
The pandemic remains top-of-mind for the superintendent, her staff, and teachers. “We are always focused on student and staff safety,” she said. “Having experienced safety protocol implementation last year and having a successful school year despite the current situation, we are ready to provide a safe environment that allows us to focus on learning.”
Metz wants to assure all parents that Gentry Public Schools are ready and eager to welcome their young learners back. “We are excited to have their children back at school,” she said. “Partner with us to create a positive environment for everyone. The parents should know that their students’ growth in academics and social emotional wellbeing are at the forefront of our minds.”
While Metz spent several years teaching around the country during her long career—including Wyoming, Oklahoma and Arkansas—she has a special connection to the school district she has made her professional home for the past sixteen years. “Our district is truly a community,” she said of Gentry Public Schools. “Not only do we pursue excellence and seek to maximize the potential of every student and faculty member, we support and care for each other. We are the Pioneer Family. So, to all of the students I say ‘get ready, we are going to have a great year!’”