Islander parents meet with school district

SPRINGDALE — Marshallese parents are turning out in growing numbers to talk with School District officials and share concerns and wishes for their children, the English learning program’s director told the School Board on Tuesday.

The Marshallese parents “patrons shelf,” essentially a forum for islander families and the district, first met in October and drew around 80 people, said Mary Bridgforth with the district’s English Language Learners program. Turnout at the second meeting earlier this month, which focused on higher education preparation, was even more. The next meeting will come Jan. 26 at the district administration building.

“Our purpose was to learn from our families about how we can better serve our children,” Bridgforth said. “Their dreams for their children are the same as our dreams for our children.”

The district counts almost 3,000 Pacific Islander students out of about 22,000, most of them with roots in the Marshall Islands. They’re the second largest minority after Hispanic kids.

The January meeting’s topic isn’t set yet, but Bridgforth said the parents often want to know how to help their children at home with reading, even as many in both generations are still getting a handle on English. District officials said they valued the diversity in culture islanders bring; a choir about two dozen Marshallese students from HarBer High School sang holiday songs in the islands’ language for the board Tuesday.

That focus on reading joins neatly with a districtwide push to encourage reading at all grade levels. Elementary schools this fall began making sure students had at least 20 minutes devoted to reading every day, for example, and some have offered summer reading programs for years. Marcia Smith, an assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for sixth through 12th grades, said Tuesday the district’s secondary schools have begun emphasizing book clubs and fairs and making other changes along those lines.

The Marshallese community’s growing engagement with the district also follows a push within the community to take advantage of the educational opportunities available and go on to higher education. The Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese, United Way and other groups this fall started a program to help families start college savings accounts for their kids.

Much of the rest of Tuesday’s meeting focused on recognizing students who have excelled in debate, robotics and other areas. Superintendent Jim Rollins also pointed out the city will vote in February on a bond issue of more than $200 million for parks, streets and other projects that could affect where the district’s future schools should go.