PSD holds annual report to public

By John Miller, 10/24/23 11:33 AM

PRESCOTT – October is annual report to the public for school districts in Arkansas.

Monday night, the Prescott School District presented its report to the public, though only one member of the public was there, at the October Prescott School Board meeting. All others present were employees of the district or presenters.

Superintendent Robert Poole said the district’s top goal is reading and scores need to increased across the board, math, he added, is also important. The idea is to get all students at grade level. He pointed out the district is fully accredited and working to correct deficiencies. “We’re not where we want to be, and we’re looking to improve,” he said.

He pointed out with the LEARNS Act money will be tough and cuts will have to be made. “There will be a lot of tough decisions to be made on how we do things.”

Angie Bryant was next, saying a lot of federal money is spent on salaries and benefits because the positions are needed. She said the district buys supplies for children with ESA funds as many families can’t afford them.

Bryant said the district’s pre-K is exceptional and worth spending money on. The program is something the district doesn’t want to lose, she added, but is waiting for guidance from the state and governor. She pointed out there are new ELA and math standards, primarily getting back to basics and not focusing on common core. Science standards are also being revamped.

The stage, she continued, realized with COVID-19 all schools in the state focused on remediation to get students caught up from what was missed while schools were shut down. Remediation continues, but is being done at certain times, while teachers are now focusing on getting students to grade level. “We’re pushing students to higher standards.” Teachers and students alike are being required to step up their game.

Kim Grimes talked about Prescott Elementary School, saying representatives from the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) came to the pre-K and were impressed. She said plans are o send a video crew to film the two four-year-old classrooms.

The current student-teacher ratio for PES is 13:1, and all subgroups improved in attendance. Last year, she said, around 20 percent of students were chronically absent, but this has been reduced by two-thirds, but a lot of children are still arriving late and leaving early. This was addressed at the recent parent-teacher meeting.

Grimes said teachers do a lot of tracking toward real word problems and not just number problems. She added there’s more student engagement in all three campuses with a reading specialist in Prescott every Monday and Tuesday.

Jay Turley talked about Prescott Junior High School, saying the teacher-student ratio is 12:1 and scored have been going up since COVID-19. He added teachers are working on the basics and being more intentional, while also eliminating fluff and getting parents more involved in absenteeism. Students work in small groups and help teach one another, he said, adding grades reflect where the students are. The data, he added, shows students are learning.

Tommy Poole reported on Prescott High School. He said the average teacher experience at PHS is 22 years and things are improving each year. He pointed out there are new policies for unexcused absences where students lose credits after 10, and their parents are called after five. There is also Saturday school and added reading classes.

In other business, the board approved the annual compliance report and was told about a policy update.

In the superintendent’s report, Poole said there are 908 students enrolled at the district, 302 at PHS, 267 at PJHS and 339 at PES.

The board approved a resolution the master plan, as required by the state, those the district doesn’t have any plans to update facilities at this time. Poole told the board to start thinking about what it wants for the future.