Vaping added to district’s drug policy
PRESCOTT – Another meet, another title.
February’s meeting of the Prescott School Board opened with the presentation of trophies for the boys and girls indoor state track championship to Brian and Jeremy Glass. Superintendent Robert Poole pointed out the Wolves have won several outdoor state track titles, but this is the first time the thinclads have brought home the state indoor crowns.
Trish Brown updated the board on opportunities for special education students for post-secondary and employment opportunities. She said Project Search helps these students find jobs. This program has been around for five years and has seven locations, including one in Camden, where local students can go. Those being trained for jobs go through a nine-month internship, which rotates different skills. The students are paid for the work they do during the internship. They work on a newsletter, financial skills, host a reverse job fair where potential employers are invited to come to them and create their own mission statement.
Additionally, she said, several work in the WIN program where they do equipment and supplies. Brown pointed out these are valuable jobs and students can work in radiology and janitorial/housekeeping. The program has a 90 percent placement and also partners with Arkansas Rehabilitation Services.
There is also a program which sends such students to the Arkansas School for Math and Science for a week to help them prepare for jobs. During their free time, the students get to tour Hot Springs, something they ordinarily wouldn’t get the chance to do. Eleven students in these programs have reserved Serve Safe certifications, which means they can add another $1 an hour to their pay.
The board approved transferring two students from the Prescott district to the Nevada School District.
It also approved a Saturday school from 9-11 a.m. on Saturdays to be held in the FACS building. This is primarily for students with excessive tardies and they will have assignments to complete in order to get credit for the work done.
Vaping was added to the district’s drug policy, as was a Second Chance Program. Vaping will be treated the same as any other violation under the current drug policy, which means a student caught with or using such a product could be suspended for 10 days on the first offense. However, this would also fall under the Second Chance Program which would place the student on probation for a specific period after they’d served the suspension and while suspended, such students won’t be allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities.
Students violating the Second Chance Program would be recommended for expulsion. Poole said vaping is a serious issue at the school needing to be addressed. He added, cell phone violations could be included in the Second Chance Program as well.
PHS Principal Tommy Poole was asked about cell phones and said the new policy is going better than expected and cell phones haven’t been a problem.
In the end, the board approved lumping vaping in with all other drug, alcohol and tobacco policies. These policies apply to students on all school property.
The board was informed of two options for school calendars for the 2023-24 school year. One is like the current calendar with 178 days and AMI days built in for bad weather. The other is for 171 days, with school starting earlier and ending later with no bad weather days built in. Any time missed for inclement weather would be added to the end of the year. Both versions will be presented to the Personnel Policy Committee (PPC) and brought before the teachers. The PPC will make a recommendation on which it prefers. The board was informed it’s position in this was to accept what the PPC recommends.
The district enrollment stands at 899, with 338 in Prescott Elementary School, 258 in Prescott Junior High School and 303 in PHS.