Making school applicable
Making academic lessons practical is part of the goal for Pea Ridge school officials, according to superintendent Rick Neal. That philosophy was the foundation on which the plans for the proposed new high school was designed.
“The one thing that spurs me on about public education — high school education — is that if you’re trying to build this facility, you’re trying to build it where college and career meet, where it actually meets together,” Neal said.
“The design of this puts biology and chemistry right next to agriculture,” he said. “It brings lessons to life.”
With career education, teachers can explain why certain lessons are being taught and show how mathematics, algebra and geometry will matter in college or career.
“We will be able to offer some solid college courses for kids going on to college,” Neal said.
In the agriculture program, Pea Ridge schools are partnering with Jac’s Ranch and J.C. Beaver.
“What we want to do is work with partnerships in the area with our agriculture industry … get down deep into the beef science industry. Help them understand beef from the farm to the table and understand the why of agriculture all the way from growing the crop to getting it on the table.
Neal said Pea Ridge schools have applied for a case agriculture science education grant to provide a more science based program of understanding the impact from where the cow comes from and what happens from the time it is raised, what kind of product is put in it analyzing feed, vaccines, medications and getting some real science broadening students’ knowledge.
“The job market in our area is Tyson and Wal-Mart. They need
to understand how food really does work,” he said. Artificial insemination, managing the system of growing cattle and planning when calves are born and when they need to go to market, that’s the baseline of the agriculture market, he said. Culinary is part of a piece of agriculture.
“In our area, we’re seeing companies heavily engaged in different types of farming markets and restaurants buying local,” Neal said, adding that agriculture and culinary students need to know where the crop comes from.
The University of Arkansas Agriculture Department will be working with the Pea Ridge School District. This will involve 12-18 college hours, Neal said.
The purpose of this model is to be able to share spaces, he said of the plans for the new high school.
“What people don’t realize, students don’t know why they’re reading what they’re reading, don’t know why their doing the math. What career education does is give them the reason why they’re doing what their doing and prepares them for life.
“If they can do a geometry lesson and walk across the hall and do construction technology, it links it together and gives them the reason why,” Neal said.
The whole idea of what we’re trying to do with this model, this concept is to create a better educational delivery for our students and allow us to spread our facilities out and give us room to grow for many years to come,” Neal said.
Neal said that School Board members, school officials and city officials began meeting two years ago to consider where to place another school. They considered traffic plans and several locations. The one that was purchased on Hayden Road already has utilities; the others did not. That alone saves thousands of dollars, he said, adding that the current school buildings are not structurally suited to add a second floor.
The Fine Arts Auditorium and gym are just a portion of the plan for the high school, but provide space for activities for all of the students throughout the entire school district, not just at the high school.
“Sixty percent of our student body are involved in extracurricular activities — clubs, organizations — we have a population of athletes, band, choir … In our high school, we have at least 500 students involved in those programs. That keeps kids engaged,” Neal said.