October School Board Newsletter
Learn about exciting news throughout Springdale Schools
NWA Safety Report Card
Springdale Schools received an A+ for school safety
Axios gave Springdale Schools an A+ for school safety based on survey data compiled by the media outlet.
The rating was based on following five focus areas noted in the 2022 Arkansas School Safety Commission's final report:
1. Mental health and prevention
2. Law enforcement and security
3. Physical security
4. Intelligence and communication
5. Audits, emergency operations, and drills.
Axios polled 10 NWA school districts for the survey, which included two questions for each category. In the interest of keeping students safe, Axios has opted to not disclose the specific questions or answers.
The 10 schools surveyed are taking a layered approach to many of the recommendations from the Arkansas School Safety Commission, according to Axios. The scores likewise demonstrate how Springdale and other NWA's school districts have implemented best practices.
Read the full story here.
Celebrating School Psychology Specialists
The Arkansas School Psychology Association awarded Springdale Public Schools psychology specialists with the 2023 Outstanding Service Delivery in the Practice of School Psychology
award.
The award honors a school psychology department in a district or cooperative that demonstrates a high level of sustained excellence in developing traditional or non-traditional programs of school psychology service delivery to meet the varied needs of their students, according to the association's website.
The ASPA recognizes the contributions of individuals and programs that promote the well-being of children and advance the field of school psychology in Arkansas annually, according to the website. Founded in 1949, the association is a statewide, nonprofit professional organization whose purpose is to advance psychology as a science, a profession and a means of promoting human welfare in a challenging and changing world.
Office for Education Policy Awards
The Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas recognized John Tyson and Hunt elementary schools as schools where students demonstrated high growth on the ACT Aspire.
The Outstanding Educational Performance Awards are part of an annual report through which schools with high student academic growth are recognized.
John Tyson was recognized in the Elementary School Level report with the following awards:
• High Overall Growth (Statewide)
• High Overall Growth (Northwest Region)
• High Math Growth (Northwest Region)
Hunt was recognized in the report for:
• High Overall Growth (Statewide)
Awards are based on the 2023 content growth score calculated by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, according to the OEP. These growth scores reflect how much students at the school improved from 2022 compared to how much they were expected to grow considering prior achievement. Schools are recognized based on overall growth, as well as for growth in math and English language arts separately.
Beating the Odds
John Tyson, Bayyari, Monitor and Knapp elementary schools and Helen Tyson Middle School were also recognized by the Office for Education Policy as schools that are Beating the Odds because students demonstrated high growth on the ACT Aspire, even though the schools serve a high percentage of students who receive free and reduced lunch.
John Tyson Elementary received the following awards:
• High Overall Growth (Statewide)
• High Math Growth (Statewide)
• High ELA Growth (Statewide)
• High Math Growth (Northwest Region)
• High ELA Growth (Northwest Region)
Bayyari Elementary received the following award:
• High ELA Growth (Northwest Region)
Monitor Elementary received the following awards:
• High Overall Growth (Statewide)
• High Math Growth (Statewide)
• High Math Growth (Northwest Region)
Linda Childers Knapp Elementary received the following awards:
• High Overall Growth (Statewide)
• High Math Growth (Statewide)
• High Math Growth (Northwest Region)
Helen Tyson Middle School received the following awards:
• High Math Growth (Statewide)
• High Math Growth (Northwest Region)
Michael Tapee Earns Milken Award
The School Board celebrated Hellstern Middle School mathematics teacher Michael Tapee, who was recognized with a 2023-24 Milken Educator Award Oct. 3 at a surprise presentation in the school’s cafeteria.
The educator of eight years was the first in the nation to receive this year's $25,000 recognition and became part of a community of Milken Award recipients.
The Milken Educator Awards, created by Lowell Milken in 1987, have rewarded and inspired excellence in the world of education by honoring top educators around the country with $25,000 unrestricted awards. The awards target early-to-mid career education professionals for their already impressive achievements and, more significantly, for the promise of what they will accomplish in the future.
Tapee is among up to 75 recipients across the country this school year who will receive the award.
WATCH: Michael Tapee's Surprise Award Presentation
EAST Projects Win National Award
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, selected a project by former John Tyson Elementary School students as the regional winner of the Presidential Environmental Youth Award.
The award recipients are Izzy George, who is now a sixth-grader at Helen Tyson Middle School, and
Henry Moody, currently a Don Tyson School of Innovation sixth-grader.
The President’s Environmental Youth Award recognizes outstanding environmental stewardship projects developed by K-12 youth, while the PEYA program promotes awareness of the nation's natural resources and encourages positive community involvement.
The students were recognized for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools responded by serving breakfast and lunch in plastic bags. While the precaution helped prevent the spread of the virus, it also spiked the school’s plastic consumption.
The Education Accelerated by Service and Technology students addressed the concern by working with the plastic recycling company NexTrex to create a program to place recycling bins in every hallway to collect the plastic bags and to prevent contamination of the environment. To date, the school has prevented about 500 pounds of plastic from polluting the ecosystem through the project.
The students have also been invited to Washington, D.C., to receive the award, will have an opportunity to speak to the EAST Initiative Board and will present the project to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Thanking Community Partners
Leigh Waycaster
Milk & Sugar Bath Co.
Korenda Allen
Beaver Water District Human Resources
Terry Clark
Burger King
Damon Donnell, Student Services director, and Rodney Ellis, Workforce Training director, thanked community partners Milk & Sugar Bath Co., Beaver Water District and Burger King for their ongoing support to Springdale School District and its families at the October School Board meeting.
National Bullying Prevention Month
October was first declared National Bullying Prevention Month in 2006. Since then, the month has been a time to acknowledge that bullying has devastating effects on children and families.
Being bullied can severely affect the person’s self-image, social interactions and school performance and can lead to mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, substance use and even suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network has compiled a list of helpful resources for parents and caregivers, children and teens, mental health providers, educators and school staff and policy makers.
Learn more here.
WATCH: Construction Update with Jeremy White
WATCH: The Full October School Board Meeting
Springdale Public Schools
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Location: PO Box 8 Springdale Ar 72764
Phone: 479-750-8800