PWSD principals review district’s scores during annual report to public
Campuses receive C on Report Card
Leaders in the Palestine-Wheatley School District presented the district’s annual report to the public Monday, saying that there is still work to be done to improve test scores.
PW Elementary School Principal Kristi Wilson told board members and the public that the elementary school has nearly 400 students.
"Our elementary includes kindergarten through sixth grades and we have a total of 393 students," said Wilson. "We employ 27 highly-qualified teachers. We hired five new teachers for the 22-23 school year. We have 22 students currently in our gifted and talented program."
Wilson said campus officials have placed an emphasis on math and literacy scores throughout the elementary school.
"Our focus for the 22-23 school year at the elementary is always to raise student achievement and focus on test scores with an emphasis on math and literacy," said Wilson. "We have begun using our new math curriculum and that is district wide. We have also added some items to our literacy curriculum at the elementary. The first two hours of our instructional day is for our classroom teachers to provide literacy interventions for those students who need support. This will help bridge the gap from lost time with inperson learning."
According to Wilson, the campus received a C letter grade, reflecting the time of in-person learning during the Covid pandemic.
"We continue to provide afterschool tutoring for students who need academic assistance in reading and math," said Wilson. "Pact 89 of 2021 suspended school ratings, which were our letter grades for the 19-20 and the 20-21 school years. At the time of suspension, Palestine-Wheatley Elementary School's letter grade was a C. Letter grades were issued for the first time this year since the suspension due to Covid. We held on to a C through the pandemic."
Wilson said the C rating is unacceptable and that the school could and would do better in coming years.
"Although we outrank the other schools in our co-op area, our goal is to rank highest in the state," said Wilson. "When I started the 19-20 school year, I felt the C was unacceptable and we began working on it, but then the pandemic hit. Hopefully, the next time we meet, it will be at least a B. That is our goal."
Palestine-Wheatley High School Principal Randy Cannon said 350 students attend classes at that campus with 54 enrolled in concurrent classes through East Arkansas Community College.
"We employ 21 teachers, all of whom are highly qualified. We have 54 students attending EACC concurrent credit courses, some of which are online and others
are taught on our campus. Another 22 students are taking the secondary education classes. EACC furnishes the teachers to teach these classes on our campus,” said Cannon.
Cannon said the high school also offers computer coding classes and that all students are required to take an online class before graduating.
"Technology is readily available to all students in our school," said Cannon. "We use computers, Chromebooks and iPads to fulfill our technological needs. Much of our testing is being done online rather than on paper. Our teachers also have access to the latest technology in their classrooms. The Department of Education has required schools to provide offerings for online classes in high schools to prepare students to take online college classes. We have continually increased our offerings of online high school classes to our students. We also offer a computer coding class to help students learn the workings of a computer and learn coding for developing computer applications. Every student has to take at least one online class to graduate."
According to Cannon, the school's ACT Aspire Assessment and ACT tests scores have not been up to par, especially since the pandemic.
"State testing is through the ACT Aspire Assessment," said Cannon. "This test is taken online by all students in grades seven through 10 in the high school. Our 11th graders take the regular ACT test. Our test results aren't what we want. As Ms. Wilson said, especially since Covid, there was some loss due to Covid. It was just a mess. We are trying to gain back what we have done there but it is a slow process. These scores aren't what we want them to be, and when we took them again this year, they are still not where we want them to be. I will be the first to admit that. We are trying to regain that. We were better off before Covid than we are now."
Cannon said the Palestine-Wheatley School District is a choice school for parents throughout the area.
"The letter grade that we got was also a C," said Cannon. "We are maintaining that C, but that is not at all where we want to be. We have some interventions which include some mandator y tutoring. We also offer tutoring to anyone who wants it in the afternoons. Our four-year graduation rate this last year was 93%, which is not bad. Academically, we out perform any other district in our area, but it doesn't mean that much. We are not doing what we need to be doing. We are not performing the way we need to perform. Yeah, we look good when compared to schools in our area, we are blowing them out of the water, but we are not where we need to be. Our school is considered in our co-op area as the school of choice. We get parents up here every week trying to enroll their child, saying they are in the district when they aren't."
According to Cannon, it is hard to regain ground lost during the pandemic, but the school is working toward score at least a B.
"Our school is a C school," said Cannon. "We are better than that. We need a higher score than a C. I am not concerned with an A, but we used to be a B. We need to get back to that B. It is hard to regain lost ground, but we have to do it. Our ACT Aspire scores are not where we want them at all. Our reading levels across all of our grades are not where they should be, especially after Covid. The bulk of our students come from school choice. We have more school choice students than we have local students. When I came here, the state department did a survey on us and said that we wouldn't be a school more than a couple of years because we did not have enough kids in the community to have school. We are doing it through school choice. It is a good thing, but it is a bad thing. It is a school without tradition. It is a school without the inner workings and where you really feel good about your school. These kids are my kids too and we are going to take care of them."
"When we were a B and now we are a C, other than Covid, what has changed?” asked board member Micah Jo Hilsdon.
"Covid was the main issue," said Cannon. "We are very barebones staff. We don't have very many teachers."
"So we need more teachers," said board president Derrick Boileau.
"Yes, we really do," responded Cannon. "I have teachers who are giving up their prep, they are getting paid for it, don't get me wrong, but they are giving up their prep to cover some of the classes. We do need to beef up our staff a little bit. We are down kids, but in high school, you can't divide the number of kids to teachers because of scheduling and making it flow."
"Are we actively seeking out teachers?” asked Boileau.
"Not right now, no," said Cannon.
"Well, if we need teachers I think we need to be actively seeking out teachers," said Boileau. "If that is part of the problem, then doing the other is the definition of insanity. It may be probable that they are not out there, but if we aren't looking for them then we can't fix it."
"We all are always actively seeking teachers," said Wilson.
"But we are not hiring," said Cannon.
"Well we may not have been hiring, but we may be hiring now," said Boileau. "If we are going to have a school, we need to have a school."
PWSD Interim Superintendent Danny Samples said teachers within the district are all highly qualified and that the 93% graduation rate is a commendable achievement for the district.
“Our school is considered in our coop area as the school of choice.”
– PWHS Principal Randy Cannon