November School Board Meeting News

The Springdale Public Schools School Board met Nov. 16.

Regular monthly School Board meetings are held at 5:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at the District Administration Building at 804 W. Johnson Ave.

Meetings are livestreamed HERE monthly.

The School Board celebrated Samuel Carrero of Don Tyson School of Innovation and Lucas Foliart of Har-Ber High School, who have qualified as National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists.

About 16,000 Semifinalists will be considered for Finalist standing, according to the National Merit Scholarship website. Some 7,100 Finalists will be notified beginning in March that they have been selected to receive a Merit Scholarship award, according to the website. Students who receive Merit Scholarship awards will earn the distinction of being designated as National Merit Scholars.

Read the full story HERE.

Springdale Superintendent Dr. Jared Cleveland presents awards to National Merit

Semi-Finalists Samuel Carrero and Lucas Foliart.

The School Board congratulated Har-Ber High School for being in the 6% of Arkansas schools that received the Silver Advanced Placement School Honor Roll recognition.

District Academic coach Mike Fotenopulos said schools must meet the following criteria for the most recent graduating class to earn the recognition:

• College Culture: 50% or more of the graduating cohort took at least one AP Exam during high school. (HBHS scored 53%.)

• College Credit: 30% or more of the graduating cohort scored a three or higher on at least one AP Exam during high school. (HBHS scored 35% and achieved Gold standards for this requirement.)

• College Optimization: 5% or more of the graduating cohort took five or more AP exams during high school. At least one of those exams was taken in ninth or 10th grade so students are spreading their AP experience across grades, rather than feeling disproportionate pressure in any single year. (HBHS scored 15% and hit platinum standards in this area.)

Academic Coach Mike Fotenopulos

The School Board also celebrated Charlie Whorton, a VIA Don Tyson School of Innovation student who golfs for Har-Ber High School.

The student-athlete shot a 76 and a 77 for a total of 153 to take first place Sept. 26-27 at the 6A Girls Golf State Tournament at Springdale Country Club.

Read the full story HERE.

Tim Rippy, Har-Ber High School golf coach, and Charlie Whorton, VIA Don Tyson School of Innovation student

The School Board likewise extended athletic recognitions to the Har-Ber High Cross Country team, the 6A State Runner-Up!

The Har-Ber High Cross Country team

Associate Superintendent Melissa Fink told the Board that the Arkansas School Recognition Program has provided eight financial awards totaling $328,700 to six high-performing or high-growth Springdale schools.

The following Springdale schools were recognized with Top 5% Performance awards:

• Hunt Elementary School, $52,000

• Young Elementary School, $47,700

The following Springdale schools were recognized with Top 6-10% Performance awards:

• Hellstern Middle School, $39,450

• Shaw Elementary School, $30,200

• John Tyson Elementary School, $25,650

The following Springdale schools were recognized with Top 5% Growth awards:

• Hunt Elementary School, $52,000

• John Tyson Elementary School, $51,300

The following Springdale school was recognized with Top 6-10% Growth award:

• Monitor Elementary School, $30,200

Read the full story HERE.

Associate Superintendent Melissa Fink

Melissa Fink likewise shared that John Tyson Elementary School has been designated as a School on the Move Toward Excellence.

The Schools on the Move Toward Excellence campaign celebrates schools that utilize a continuous cycle of inquiry (plan, do, check) to demonstrate improvement on recent state and federal accountability reports. This results in improving student achievement and growth in English Language Arts and mathematics, while also improving other measures of school performance.

DESE highlights schools that show significant progress on different indicators through the campaign, such as:

• Increase in letter grade and ESSA School Index score by at least 5 point

• Weighted Achievement score increased by at least 10 points

• Value-added Growth score was higher than 97.5% of schools

Assistant Principal Ashley Kirby and Principal Shelly Poage of John Tyson Elementary School

'Tis the season for the Springdale Public Schools Caroling on the Creek event! Mark your calendars for a magical night of caroling, celebrating and Santa Claus!

You can hear holiday classics Dec. 1 from elementary, middle, junior high and high school music programs in Springdale!

Bring the whole family, and celebrate the holiday season with your community.

Come see the largest Christmas tree in Arkansas, and don’t forget to tell Santa what you want for Christmas!

Caroling on the Creek 2023 is Dec. 1 starting at 5:00 P.M. at Shiloh Square and Turnbow Park in Downtown Springdale.

This event is hosted by the Springdale Public Schools Choral Music Department!

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Location: PO Box 8 Springdale Ar 72764
Phone: 479-750-8800