School Board Meeting Recap: April 28, 2025

At the April 28th Board of Education meeting, Northside Principal Chris Carter presented plans for a new mural at Northside High School, designed to honor the school’s past while looking toward the future. Local artist Bryan Alexis has been contracted to create the mural. He shared that he explored Northside’s archives to draw inspiration from the school's rich history. He stated the mural's significance, and Board members supported the project.

Dr. Kellie Cohen Minton, Director of Student Achievement,  shared information about extended learning opportunities available to students this summer. These include career camps for middle school students, ACT and PSAT prep academies, summer credit recovery, special education ESY, and a Full STEAM Ahead science camp. Career camps are first come, first served, and transportation will be provided.

Dr. Tony Jones, Director of Secondary Education, presented the district’s response to the Bell to Bell, No Cell Act, which bans using cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, and Bluetooth devices during school hours. Dr. Shawn Hinkle, Kimmons Middle School principal, and Dr. Jennifer Crawford, Ramsey Middle School principal, shared insights from their pilot programs, which began at the start of the 2024-2025 school year. They reported less resistance than expected and stated that students and parents responded positively to the phone-free policy. Both principals were pleased with their phone-free experience, which included decreased disciplinary incidents compared to the same period the previous year. Dr. Starr, Director of Elementary Education, also addressed the policy at the elementary level, stating that legislation supports procedures already in place in those schools.

Dr. Jones also presented the adoption of the English Language Arts textbook for approval. A committee, comprised of teachers in grades 6–12, district staff, a parent, a student, and a college professor, reviewed options and selected Into Literature by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The chosen materials meet the state requirement for Highly Qualified Instructional Materials (HQIM) and will cost $1,619,851.20 over six years. The Board approved the adoption.

Dr. Bone, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, presented an update on the district scorecard data as of April 17, 2025. The continuous improvement plan measurements align with the district’s strategic goals. Dr. Bone also discussed simulated letter grades for the district, in light of proposed changes from the Arkansas Department of Education. The state is considering a shift from the current formula for calculating school letter grades to a model that emphasizes student achievement, growth, and readiness, particularly student performance on the state’s standardized assessment, ATLAS.