Bearcat Wrap-up Podcast

Happy First Friday of 2024!

Welcome back! I hope you all had a festive yet restful Christmas Break and are ready to continue our progress for this school year. The Spring Semester is an intense time bringing a heightened sense of intensity compared to the fall. This period is marked by a rapid acceleration in academic rigor, as students delve deeper into their curricula, building upon the foundational knowledge established in the previous months. Academically, it's a crucial time for ATLAS testing preparations, where we determine what level of impact we had on our students. The semester is also packed with various extracurricular activities and events keeping our students and community engaged adding to the dynamic and demanding nature of this period. With your sincere dedication to our mission, vision, and values, I am confident that all of us at Mena Public Schools will lead our students to a successful and enriching spring semester.

School Board Member Appreciation Month

The Arkansas School Boards Association (ASBA) and Governor Sarah Sanders announced that January is School Board Member Recognition Month in Arkansas. School board members play an essential role in their community and this is a time of reflection and gratitude for the unwavering dedication and service of our board members. Our esteemed board, led by President Kyle Cannon, Vice President Susan Rowell, and Secretary Robert Hines, along with the committed members Phillip Wilson, Todd Aynes, Edd Puckett, and Clint Montgomery, exemplifies a collective passion for educational excellence in Mena Public Schools. Their tireless efforts and decision-making have continuously steered our district towards a brighter future, ensuring every decision aligns with our mission to enrich the lives of our students and staff. This month, we extend our deepest appreciation to each of our board members for their visionary leadership and enduring commitment to our school community. Their work lays the foundation for our students' success, and for that, we are profoundly thankful.

Right to Read

The documentary film, Right to Read, is being made available for free viewing at home on February 1, 2024, in honor of Black History Month. The link in the title will take you to a Google Form to order your streaming link. Right to Read is a documentary film that explores the critical issue of literacy in the United States. It focuses on the challenges faced by students who struggle with reading, the impact of these struggles on their overall education and life opportunities, and the importance of effective reading instruction. The film typically highlights the science of reading and examines the gaps and controversies in the education system related to reading instruction.

Substitute Teachers

In the vibrant halls and classrooms of Mena Public Schools, our substitute teachers play a pivotal role in sustaining the continuity and quality of education. They are the unsung heroes who seamlessly step into various classrooms, adapting to diverse teaching environments with grace and expertise. A good substitute teacher not only maintains the educational momentum but also brings a fresh perspective and energy to the learning process. They are flexible, resourceful, and deeply committed to our students' success, often going above and beyond to ensure that every class is an opportunity for growth and discovery. Speaking from experience, being absent from your classroom is always hard but when you have a great sub, it makes our jobs a little easier when we return.

As we celebrate the dedication and impact of these invaluable educators, we invite you to nominate a substitute teacher from our school for the esteemed "ESS Employee of the Month" award. This is your chance to acknowledge their hard work, resilience, and the positive influence they have on our students' lives. ESS will honor their contributions and qualify them for an Employee of the Year Impact Award. Nominate a substitute teacher today and let their story of dedication and excellence be an inspiration to us all!

Please remember their Refer a Friend program as we continuously need good substitute teachers.

Closing

Weather forecasts predict some winter weather that may impact us next week. As of now, the forecast predicts very cold temperatures and for snow to start Sunday afternoon or evening. We will try to announce the decision about school on Sunday evening if the weather goes as forecast. Please pay attention to social media and email. Keep in mind that we have 5.7 days in the current calendar in which we could cancel classes without having to make them up at a later date. If we go beyond the 5.7 days of closure, we will make up those days with the Mondays we already have scheduled to close schools.

Draft rules governing tutoring grants and professional development have been released for public comment. See COM-24-060 regarding tutoring grants and COM-24-059 for PD rules.

Congratulations to Holly Harshman’s Avori Gortemiller for her winning entry into the Economics Arkansas Art Contest!

At Mena Public Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.

Have a nice weekend and stay warm!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com

Happy Wednesday!

I am proud to congratulate each of you for the academic achievements our students have gained this semester. Your dedication, expertise, and unwavering commitment to our students' education have yielded exceptional academic results, as detailed in our latest update.

In our K-5 grades, the growth in reading skills has been phenomenal. Every student showed progress, with an average growth ranging from 51 to 83 points, surpassing the 60-point benchmark that signifies advancement to the next level. This is a testament to your effective teaching strategies, adherence to plans and curriculum, and the nurturing learning environment you have created. Particularly noteworthy is the highest growth observed in Kindergarten (83 points) and 4th grade (77 points), showcasing your ability to adapt and cater to the diverse needs of our young learners.

Mathematics, a critical skill for future success, also saw impressive growth in 3rd through 5th grades. An average increase of 35 points and an equivalent of “7 months” of growth in a single semester is a clear indicator of the effective learning strategies and interventions you have employed. This success in a subject often perceived as challenging speaks volumes about your teaching prowess and the supportive learning atmosphere in our classrooms.

For grades 6-12, the strategic intervention schedule has proven to be highly effective. In Math, ELA, and Science, a significant number of students showed substantial growth, with 79.07% in Math, 87% in ELA, and 45.3% in Science demonstrating improvement. These figures are not just numbers; they represent the hard work, perseverance, and dedication of both our students and you, our esteemed educators.

Moreover, our students' performance in the ATLAS Interim Science assessment, where they scored above the state average, particularly in the 6th and 8th grades, is a clear indicator of the quality of education at our school. These achievements are a direct result of your commitment to excellence in education and your ability to inspire and motivate our students.

Here is a link to the report that was provided to the board last night.

As we move forward, we will continue to build on this momentum, striving for even greater heights in academic excellence. Your efforts are not only shaping the minds of our students but also ensuring a brighter future for them and our community.

Thank you for your extraordinary efforts and for making Mena Public Schools a place where students thrive and excel. We should return in 2024 looking forward to more achievements in the spring!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

At Mena Public Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.

Have a restful holiday break!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com

Happy Friday!

It is the last Friday of the fall semester and it has come upon us very quickly! Thank you for all you have done this week as we approach the end. I know that these closing days leading up to a break are busier as we wrap things up and I appreciate all of the effort that has been put forth to make learning happen.

Our performance targets have been updated but the academic data is not all in because of our assessment window still being open. That information will be reported to the board Tuesday night and I will do a short, final Wrap-up for the semester and provide those data to you all then.

I want to use this Wrap-up to celebrate some accomplishments of our classified staff members and provide some background information on the Science of Reading.

Teacher Apprentices

The Arkansas Department of Elementary and Secondary Education began a teacher residency model in the 2023 school year. As a part of that model, students enrolled in an education preparation program through an approved higher education entity can now apply for apprenticeships in local school districts. The program is a partnership between the education preparation program, the area cooperative, the local school district, and the state department of education. The local school district is responsible for employing the apprentice and assigning the apprentice to a Journeyman, a licensed master teacher in the district, who will provide guidance and support during their apprenticeship. While there are multiple entities involved in the apprenticeship program, the greatest responsibility lies with the apprentice. The enhanced responsibilities will include assignments and activities provided by the Journeyman for their growth into the role of teacher as well as professional development activities and lesson implementation where appropriate all while continuing their paid position in the district and their coursework through their educator preparation program.

Mena School District has been approved for four Teacher Apprentice positions that will begin in January and we are proud to announce these apprenticeships for Stacy Green, Jamie Grogan, LaShea Holder, and Jordan Trinidad. All four are a part of the REACH program and have exhibited high standards of excellence. As a district, we know the value of our staff, and working with these apprentices to take their next steps in the process of becoming teachers is a privilege. Congratulations to each of you and we commend you on your hard work! 

Along with the Teacher Apprentice position is a Journeyman that must be assigned and we understand the importance of this position as well. Journeymen must go through rigorous training provided through the National Institute of Excellence in Teaching (NIET) and the local education cooperative. This training gives them an understanding of the requirements and responsibilities of the Teacher Apprentice and how they can best support that position. District personnel who will step into the role of Journeyman include Amber Labertew, Katie Thomas, Tiffany Williams, and Hollie Montgomery. We appreciate your willingness to take on this opportunity. 

Sold a Story

During a literacy training I attended this week, I was made aware of a podcast series called Sold a Story. This is a documentary series of eight, one hour-long episodes covering the history and politics of reading instruction in the United States and the events that led to the emergence of the Science of Reading, which is our state’s foundation for reading instruction according to legislation.

I am only in Episode 5 but these are engaging episodes that take me back through the history of my career and help me better understand where we are today both politically and educationally. I encourage everyone to listen to all episodes of this podcast, especially those of you mid to early-career educators even if you do not teach literacy. Parents who have students learning to read now and those who started learning to read in the nineties should listen to this, as well. As you listen, reflect on our teaching practices and our professional development ‘heroes’ of the past.

Closing

We have had some kind organizations and individuals step up to help families with the unpaid lunch charges this week. We have been given nearly $7,200 which has assisted 193 students! I will not name any at this time as some wish to be anonymous but their benevolence is very much appreciated and I am sure the families who are impacted are appreciative of this as well. This is also a great relief to our front office staff who manage accounts and notifications, as well.

Again, I would like to recognize our bands and choirs for their fine, spirited holiday performances that have taken place this week. We have some tremendous talent at our school and some great directors who know how to polish and display it.

It was another great week at Mena Public Schools!

At Mena Public Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.

Have a nice weekend!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com

Happy Friday!

Thank you for all you have done this week to reach our performance targets for the year. Our trends in discipline and attendance continue on the same trajectories but we will have some academic updates by next week to see if our other efforts are paying off.

There is not much to write about this week; so, this Wrap-up will be all about the instructional data that has been collected in anticipation of our end-of-semester academic updates.

Data Update

Several more classroom walkthroughs have occurred since I last provided a report of what is happening. This link will take you to an aggregated report of charts and graphs showing the efforts taking place in our classrooms. There have been High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) items added to the instrument and it is encouraging to see that the district’s adopted curriculum material is being used. There has also been an increase in the Depth of Knowledge questioning reaching Level 3. This makes our continued focus on HQIM important in preparing our students to learn at high levels.

To ensure the correct amount of rigor in instruction, the use of HQIM plays a pivotal role. HQIM are designed with a deep understanding of subject matter, aligned with educational standards, and tailored to promote challenging, engaging, and meaningful learning experiences. They strike a balance between complexity and accessibility, ensuring that content is neither too easy nor excessively challenging for students. By incorporating a variety of learning modalities and resources, HQIM caters to diverse learning styles and needs, while consistently maintaining high expectations for all learners. This approach not only supports teachers in delivering instruction that is rigorous and standards-aligned but also empowers students to reach their full potential through materials that are both challenging and attainable. The appropriate use of HQIM in classrooms is a cornerstone for fostering a learning environment where rigor is thoughtfully balanced with student capabilities and educational goals.

Closing

We are grateful to all of you who are creating memories for our students, parents, and community through the learning-related activities that have taken place leading up to the holiday with holiday themes. From the Christmas concerts to read-alouds, there is certainly a relevance for our students in those activities that make learning more meaningful.

We hosted our first wrestling meet at The Rack this week. This was another milestone in our new program and a testament to the hard work and dedication of our coaches, volunteers, students, and parents.

Good luck to all of our spelling bee winners who are going to the Polk County Spelling Bee when we get back from the Christmas Break.

At Mena Public Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.

Have a nice weekend!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com

Happy Friday!

Thanks for all you did this week to model for our students the concept of lifelong learning! Working with Bailey Group, Solution Tree, and DESE consultants has caused much professional conversation about how to hone our abilities to make sure our students are getting what they need to be prepared and successful. It is a never-ending cycle of planning, doing, checking, and reflecting. As we continue our work, we will embrace these enriching experiences and collaborative efforts, ensuring that every step we take is a stride toward excellence in education and a brighter future for our students.

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, our role as educators extends far beyond the traditional boundaries of teaching. We are, in essence, perpetual students ourselves, constantly adapting and growing alongside the educational environment that surrounds us. This continuous journey of learning does not just enrich our teaching methodologies; it also allows us to model the very essence of lifelong learning for our students. By embracing new challenges, staying abreast of the latest educational trends, and reflecting critically on our practices, we not only enhance our expertise but also foster a culture of curiosity and resilience. As we evolve in our mastery, we demonstrate to our students that learning is a dynamic and endless journey, not just a destination to be reached.

For those just beginning their journey in this noble profession, it is important to remember that feeling a sense of inadequacy due to a lack of experience is a natural part of the growth process. Every seasoned educator has stood where you are now, and it is through consistent experience, learning, and the supportive guidance of peers that one's confidence and expertise are built. Embrace this phase as a crucial step in your professional development, knowing that with each passing day, you are gaining invaluable insights and skills that will shape you into the exceptional educator you are destined to become. It is okay to be where you are in your knowledge and skill level right now. Just be determined not to stay there.

All of us are still learning how to become better at what we do. I want to use this Wrap-up to not only share the latest data but also explain how we are using it in our leadership PLC meetings to find our weaknesses, develop better plans, and ask better questions.

Performance Target Insights

I have been reporting for weeks now that our attendance rates remain steady and on target and that our discipline has been increasing each week. You can see that latest update here. For our district leadership PLC team meeting, I asked the principals to bring detailed discipline reports to look for details, causes, and solutions. Here are some things we determined:

* We are more thorough with recording our discipline data this year compared to the last two years. So, it is obvious that we will see an increase because all of our discipline is being counted. This makes last year’s success less meaningful but we can admit our mistakes and move forward doing better.

* Our building and classroom discipline is not changing for the worse. It is actually somewhat better than in the past. We have had incidents outside the classrooms that have been larger scale involving multiple students, and that has had an impact.

* We continue to have a high rate of bus discipline referrals. In fact, there were several examples of students who have never had office referrals except from the bus.

So, what are we going to do?

* We will continue to record discipline as we are now and expect to finish the year with a likely increase knowing that our previous success was not accurate.

* We will revisit the BX3 process for buses and provide more support for true implementation.

* Ask the DeQueen-Mena Cooperative to offer classroom management sessions this summer.

* Provide more classroom management resources and support ourselves.

Our attendance targets are a different, more positive story. Overall, we are doing better as a district than we were a year ago. We can attribute this to our incentives and communication with families. There are individuals like Mrs. Craig and Mrs. Watts who are tracking students and putting the incentives together but it is also the result of each one of us being more aware of and working on the attendance problem.

This morning I created the latest attendance report comparing this year to last year-to-date and asked ChatGPT to provide an analysis comparing grade levels from this year to last and to evaluate the attendance of cohort groups of students. There are positive and encouraging results! Check them out here. I want to add that creating this analysis the old way would have taken an hour and this was done in five minutes or less.

Collective Teacher Efficacy

Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) is the collective belief of teachers in their ability to positively affect students. I call this “going from ‘I can’t’ to ‘WE CAN’”. John Hattie’s research has determined CTE to have the highest effect size (d=1.57) strongly correlated with student achievement. Your principals have or will be sharing information about this with you in the future as we determine how we rate in CTE and work to make it better than it already is. We know that the key to this is in our PLC work.

Hattie’s work is a collection of numerous studies, but specific research has shown that schools achieve more when teachers are involved in “structured, sustained, and supported instructional discussions” and are “investigating the relationships between instructional practices and student work”. This is how we create new knowledge as educators and improve our teaching, never feeling defeated by whatever issues we or our students face. This is also how our early career educators will become more knowledgeable and skillful.

Closing

Here is a big shout-out to Mrs. Chaney, Chung, and Albin for the Mena Middle School Library Book Tasting. It was like a multi-course gourmet meal, only with books. Check out the video.

Our basketball teams have gotten off to a good start this year and so has our wrestling team defeating Fort Smith Southside last night. Congratulations!

Congratulations to our Quiz Bowl team who won the Montgomery/Polk Counties Quiz Bowl Tournament!

Thanks go out to all of the drivers and teachers who took our Louise Durham students to see the Holiday Train on Wednesday. It was a lot of fun and Mena was able to give them a good crowd to perform for.

Please keep expectations high as we are in the home stretch of the fall semester! It goes fast!

At Mena Public Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.

Have a nice weekend!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com

Happy Friday!

Fridays before long breaks are even better Fridays and I hope yours has been good. Thank you for all you have done this week. Our academic updates for our performance targets will be done next month but our other trends continue on the same trajectory, which is good for attendance but bad for discipline. The district PLC team has started looking deeper into the discipline data for insights in hopes of finding ways we might reverse the trend. But as we head into this well-deserved break, we will carry with us a sense of accomplishment and the optimism to turn our challenges into opportunities for growth and improvement.

This is a Thanksgiving Wrap-up so I want to express my gratitude to all of you for the wonderful things that happened this week.

Project Lead The Way

This week began with the November school board meeting and our academic report was provided by students and teachers from Mena Middle School’s Project Lead The Way (PLTW) program. This is for 7th and 8th graders to engage in hands-on programs designed to introduce middle school students to the fundamentals of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This program focuses on developing critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills through real-world challenges.

The students presented robotics projects including a car and conveyor system showing their programming and demonstrating the actual work that programming intended. Also on display were prototypes of ankle fracture boots that met the standard medical criteria and guidelines only they were made from everyday materials such as cardboard.

This program will be very valuable to our community in the future by inspiring more scientists and engineers. Also, we learned yesterday that science will have more influence on our school report cards in the future. This is because STEM jobs are expected to grow over two times faster than the total for all jobs in the next decade. Science ATLAS results will be more heavily weighted in the formula and better elevated in the weighted achievement and growth indicators.

Thanksgiving Lunches

Our cafeterias served nearly 2,500 lunches to students and guests on Wednesday and Thursday. Serving that many meals in a limited amount of time took a lot of effort and extra help so I want to express our gratitude to our cafeteria staff, the adult volunteers, and our student volunteers, especially the Project Prevent Team, who helped to deliver one of our treasured traditions. Such an accomplishment underscores the invaluable contribution of each individual involved in making this happen.

Closing

Wrestling season will begin this evening at 6:00 with an intrasquad scrimmage in Rackley Gym. This marks a significant milestone for our wrestling team, now in its second year and going strong with 35 dedicated students. The growth and development of the team in such a short time are commendable and we thank the coaches and volunteers responsible for that. This scrimmage not only serves as the season's opener but also showcases the hard work and commitment of our wrestlers. It is a great opportunity for the school community to come together and support these athletes and cheer them on as they set the stage for what promises to be a thrilling wrestling season.

Congratulations to the impressive list of Bearcat musicians who made the Junior High and High School All Region Jazz Band this week! Their success is a source of pride for our entire school community. We look forward to hearing their wonderful Christmas performances soon and seeing how they continue to grow and excel in their talent.

Congratulations to our FCCLA Star Events participants and winners. Having judged these myself before, I know they are vital for student development, offering opportunities to hone skills in areas like leadership, teamwork, and career preparation. These events challenge students with real-world problems, encouraging creative problem-solving and critical thinking. Participation not only enhances practical skills but also builds confidence and fosters a sense of community responsibility. These events are a key component in preparing our students for successful futures.

On a somber note, the holiday season can be difficult at times; so, please remember our staff members who have lost loved ones and those who are dealing with illness at this time. Work family often helps those who are suffering through grief and illness.

At Mena Public Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break!!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com

Happy Friday!

Thank you for another week of teaching and learning! Our performance targets are continuing with the same trends as last week for attendance and behavior. Our academic reports’ hard data should be updated in December and January. That is the data that is gathered from across all students at all grade levels. Not all of the data is in yet but early indicators show that we are seeing growth coming from Tier 2 intervention data.

This Wrap-up is intended to update you all on the LEARNS workgroups’ progress for Early Learning, Career Readiness, and Accountability and Assessment, along with some of the information being shared with our Education Committees in the legislature.

LEARNS Taking Shape

During the summer when LEARNS was being challenged in court, the state department could take no steps in creating the rules to operate from, which put schools behind and delayed our actions at the local level. The uncertainty and disjointedness we feel here are the same for everyone in the state as information begins to trickle down.

I attended a conference this week where Ross White, Director of Career and Technical Education, spoke about the progress of the Career Readiness workgroups. He said that there would be a lot of information coming out in December and also shared an Analysis of Arkansas’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Programs report being used by the legislature and all of the workgroups for the development of the three major topics for Career Readiness in LEARNS: Career Diploma Pathway, Community Service diploma requirement, Workforce Reporting, Course credit replacement (CTE and Core course).

He made the point that we, the schools, are the starting point for economic development in our local communities and the state. It is the goal of LEARNS that all students have a clearly defined pathway to a career that is productive and lucrative. The data in the report detail the pathways that exist now, how clearly defined they are, and whether they are meeting job placement demands or not.

Legislative committees and LEARNS workgroups have also been provided with a similar report on Early Learning in the state. In this report, longitudinal tracking clearly indicates that students with early learning opportunities were more successful in school. The primary goal of LEARNS for Early Learning is to align all of the different public and private Pre-K programs, define Kindergarten readiness for Arkansas, and make these available to all of our kids.

Accountability and Assessment

Right now, DESE is in the process of finalizing the K-3 screener request for proposals (RFP) to go out to developers for that screener. We will soon know who will provide our screener and DESE will be looking for schools to pilot that this spring. Along with the screener work, DESE is working to streamline the K-2 ELA and math assessments. It is possible that the screener would meet the requirements for the assessment piece but that will depend on the vendor and what they create. DESE is hopeful as this would reduce the amount of assessment taking place each year.

We are delivering ATLAS interims right now and I appreciate the work and feedback during this process. It is brand new and our students and teachers are learning the nuances of ATLAS in preparation for the summative test this spring.

As our accountability piece continues to be tweaked, there is promise in the changes being discussed by DESE. One example is a recommendation that attendance no longer be used as one of our indicators since that is a variable that we really do not have a lot of control over. Another promising change being discussed is to weight growth higher in calculating our ESSA score. There have been examples cited of schools moving up an entire letter grade, sometimes two, just from that one multiplier change. I think that would help our district tremendously as we see growth as a motivation for our students.

Closing

Our Bearcats take on Rivercrest in Round One of the 2023 Arkansas High School Football Playoffs tonight in Wilson. The team left this morning with a great send-off from our schools. We wish them luck tonight as they continue to Make Mena Proud.

Veterans Day is tomorrow and I want to recognize the efforts of our Holly Harshman students and staff to honor our veterans. Thanks to all of those who put on those programs and thanks to all of our veterans who served.

The Mena High School Theatre Department’s performance of Newsies began today. You can catch a performance on Sunday at 2:30 pm or Monday at 7 pm at the PAC.

At Mena Public Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.

Have a nice weekend!!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com

Happy Friday!

Thank you for a successful Week 12! We are on day number 55 with 115 remaining. Our performance targets have been updated for the week and show that we are staying on track in attendance, but our discipline referrals were up again by 11 percent.

In this week’s Wrap-up, I want to focus on all of us being reflective practitioners who use data to guide instruction by comparing what we do to other professions.

Technicians and Engineers

To begin this week a team of K through 5 teachers and administrators met with a representative from Bailey Education Group. The DeQueen-Mena Coop got a grant for coop schools to partner with Bailey for professional development and coaching related to High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM). Our goal is to make sure we are getting the most out of the curriculum we are using and how to be both an engineer and technician of learning.

When Arkansas adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010 I was in the middle of my career working for the DeQueen-Mena Coop. During that time, just as Secretary Oliva points out when speaking to educators, there was no solid curriculum for delivering the standards. So, many educators and administrators started creating their own curricula. In other words, engineering the learning. It was my philosophy then that teachers had to be the engineers of learning, not technicians. I have changed that stance somewhat since then.

As we progressed through Common Core we learned a lot and one of the lessons was about Structured Literacy being the most effective way to teach kids to read and write. (If you have not seen The Right to Read documentary yet, please watch it to understand what I mean.) With this knowledge, our legislature passed The Right To Read Act in 2017 which centers around educators learning the Science of Reading. A part of the act also requires schools to adopt High-Quality Instructional Materials for use in teaching. 

HQIMs are research-based and proven ways of delivering Structured Literacy to students. It has already been engineered in the best possible way to ensure kids learn to read from it. In fact, researchers now estimate that 95 percent of all children can be taught to read by the end of first grade, with future achievement constrained only by students’ reasoning and listening comprehension abilities. This means that we must also be dedicated technicians of those HQIMs to reach our performance targets and make sure our students can read. 

Now, everyone agrees that there is no perfect curriculum and that supplemental materials are required. But those materials must also be high quality and used with fidelity both vertically and horizontally. We have to be both engineers and technicians and understand when we may be unbalancing the two. 

To quote Louisa C. Moats from the American Federation of Teachers,

“Teaching reading is rocket science. But it is also established science, with clear, specific, practical instructional strategies that all teachers should be taught and supported in using”.

There is great teaching going on at Mena Public Schools. We are all doing very hard work to help our students grow. We will use data to determine how well we are doing and to discover ways to improve.

Assessments

I know it seems that there is a lot of assessment going on and there has been. However, it should begin to reduce and settle into a routine. Much of the impression came from our baseline data gathering and the amount of time each of those assessments took for every student. Closely following all of that was the ATLAS system being released for use to create CFAs and having our students become familiar with that format and the tools within it. While the classroom assessment tool in ATLAS will be a place where our CFAs can be maintained eventually, right now our focus with ATLAS can be on allowing our students the opportunity and time to learn to use the system. Creating short assessments is sufficient. A goal for summer professional development will be to provide time for moving our classroom formative assessments into the ATLAS portal. Hopefully, this will help alleviate that added stress.

Thank you for being so cooperative in getting these early numbers together. We have reached a point where we are progress monitoring our students with the greatest needs but we will have mid-year assessments including DIBELS, ORF, NWEA, and STAR tests for all students to determine our growth in reading. For all of our assessments it is crucial that we remember their purpose: how much are students learning, how well are they learning it, and what learning comes next. If our assessment is not informing our instruction, we do need to reevaluate. This is the value and purpose of our Professional Learning Communities. Work with your team to review the current processes and bring ideas together that can support our student learning and classroom instruction.

Closing

It is Senior Night tonight for Bearcat Football, Band, and Cheer students. Please come out tonight to recognize the careers of these students who have made Friday nights so memorable for themselves and us. The ceremony begins at 6:30 followed by our rivalry game with Waldron.

Our Cross Country season ended yesterday with the state meet at Oaklawn. Congratulations to Samara Jaynes for representing us at the state meet and congratulations to all the runners for a successful season.

Some of you may want to express your thoughts about the waivers for early mathematics and science assessment options. In Spring 2024, Arkansas will transition from an end-of-grade to an end-of-course assessment when the Arkansas Teaching and Learning Assessment System (ATLAS) launches. The idea is that the waiver would mean students who are in an accelerated pathway would only take one state summative assessment instead of double-testing. You may read more details here and find the link for public comments.

At Mena Public Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.

Have a nice weekend!!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com

Happy Friday!

Thank you for your efforts this week! It was a good week - a short week - and although not quite as eventful as last week we still have much to reflect on. It began with our Ladycat Volleyball team in the state tournament, a very successful Louise Durham Fall Carvinval, Red Ribbon Week activities, and the Middle School Fall Dance, and ended with day number 50 of the school year. A big thanks go out to all of you who made these things happen for our students!

Our performance targets for Attendance and Discipline have been updated. We continue to stay ahead of our attendance target but for the third week in a row, our discipline numbers are higher compared to last year and the year before.

Current Attendance & Discipline

The image below is from the SmartData Dashboard which tracks our discipline numbers, types, locations, and student data. The District PLC Team met Wednesday to look into this data for insights into the surge in behaviors. We did conclude that a portion of this can be attributed to the additional activities and events we have had going on in the district, but there have also been some behavior issues involving groups of students as opposed to isolated incidents.

Still, the image shows that the vast majority of our students are responding to our behavior plans and as we settle back into routine school weeks we hope to see the trend heading back in a favorable direction.

Our Attendance for the district continues to be just above our target of 93.5 percent coming in this week at 93.8 percent. We have had our first series of attendance incentives and learned a lot from those activities about motivation to attend school. We want to continue these incentives but modify them somewhat to involve parents more for our younger students.

Instructional Data

We will be updating our academic targets again soon and as we prepare to look at how our district is doing we will compare that to the instructional practices being used. I have updated the walkthrough data that the principals have been gathering. You can view it here.

One of the things we are noticing is that the vast majority of observations indicate that we stay on the lower level of Bloom’s Taxonomy and our Depth of Knowledge for questions and assignments is mostly on the basic level of 1 and 2 with some level 3 and no level 4. That does not mean that this is not happening but it indicates that it is not frequent enough to be observed.

I have started a file with Depth of Knowledge resources for teachers linked here. There is not a lot here yet except for sentence stems to help with the development of questions. This will also help reach higher Bloom’s levels. If you have resources you use yourself, please add them to this folder.

Future Breaks

I mentioned in the opening that this was a short week and I wanted to remind everyone about this year’s calendar because we will have more, one per month, Mondays with school closed. This was done primarily to build in weather make-up days in the spring so they do not have to be tacked on at the end of the year when serious learning tends to taper off. These days also break the monotony of long weeks with only weekend breaks. It also provides a day for doctor, dentist, or other visits without having to miss school or work.

Closing

Congratulations to our Ladycat Volleyball team for another great season! Our Ladycats’ season ended on Wednesday in the state tournament after an inspiring comeback to defeat Southside Batesville in the first round Tuesday.

Our Junior Bearcats ended their season well with an overtime defeat of Ashdown here at home last night! Congratulations to those players and coaches.

Bearcat Football will be traveling to Ashdown tonight to take on the Panthers. Good luck to Coach Bentley and the Bearcats!

At Mena Public Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.

Have a nice weekend!!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com

Happy Friday!

Thank you for all you have done this week to balance the celebratory events with our regular work to educate students. As far as I know, there has never been a week like this at Mena Public Schools when we have an international film crew doing a documentary and our Governor establishes her administration here to tour and operate. It has been quite a memorable week.

Our performance targets are up-to-date and what is most notable is a 10.5 percent increase in discipline referrals in the last two weeks. That is really not a surprise considering what we have had going on here this week. Nevertheless, our district leadership PLC team will be looking into the possible reasons for this increase and work to return to the positive trends of previous weeks.

Governor Sanders

Governor Sanders and Secretary Oliva were our guests today and will be again at tonight’s homecoming football game. Early this afternoon the two of them spent some time at Louise Durham Elementary where they were hosted by several of our students and staff along with some student leaders from the other campuses. I want to thank Mrs. Sellers, Mrs. Buckley, and Mrs. Smart for putting together a Mena Bearcat-themed gift basket for the Governor and everyone who made the tour so enjoyable for her, the secretary, and their staff. They visited Tiffany William’s library, Jessica Dickison’s music class, and Tracy Floyd’s First Grade and were able to see the new security fence built using safety grant money.

This is a day our students will remember throughout their lives and it is important for us to capitalize on this experience by teaching them about not only public service but about the pride of our community and the way we work together. Mayor Smith and Representative Maddox along with Sheriff Sawyer and Chief Stueart have worked with the Governor’s staff to put together a great day for our community.

Budget Information

As we approach the holidays the question about a Christmas Bonus always comes up. When I presented this year’s budget to the board in September, I did not include a bonus. When Mrs. DePriest and I calculated what a bonus of $1000 or $750 would cost, we projected a deficit at the end of the year. We will look at this again at the end of the year.

Closing

Tonight, the 2023 Mena High School Homecoming Queen will be crowned and the Governor of Arkansas will join our pregame traditions. Please come out and be a part of a special evening as our Bearcats take on the Fouke Panthers.

Our Homecoming pep rally was really awesome today! It is great to have all the students come together like that, especially the elementary students. I am sure that several of them set a personal dream to become one of the student leaders they saw out on the court today - band, cheer, athletics, or court. We should have district pep rallies more often.

We also say farewell to our British students and film crew this weekend. It has been a very special experience for our school system and town to have had this taking place. Thanks go to the Love Production crew of Oli, Emily, Jason, George, Jenn, John, Ryan, Nelson, Lilly, Sophie, Clare, Jess, Dave, Hannah, Glen, Alex P., Olly, Alex M., Jodie, Felix, Michael, Sahiba, Colleen, Adam, Kallum, and Jean for capturing a special period of time here at Mena Public Schools. We also send our thanks to the families in London for entrusting us with Dae-Jaun, Jude, Lily, Magda, Naomi, Poppy, and Richae while this film was being recorded. We look forward to seeing the final production!

Volleyball senior night was last night followed by the last home game against Arkadelphia, which the Ladycats won in three sets. We wish them luck in the state tournament on Tuesday.

Our FFA livestock exhibitors have had a great week at the Arkansas State Fair. Congratulations to Kylie Hughes for winning Reserve Grand Champion with her market lamb! We also congratulate Claire Walston for having the Grand Champion Hampshire Market Hog and Jaylie Huff for her Grand Champion Junior and Open Charolais Composite Bull! Kylie’s work earned her a spot in the Arkansas State Fair Junior Livestock Auction. If you have not experienced that, take a look.

Here is a meaningful writing assignment for your students. It is the Holiday Cards for Our Military Challenge. Click here to see what to do.

Remember that Monday the 23rd is our fall break so we will all come together again on Tuesday to make a strong surge of learning leading up to Thanksgiving Break.

At Mena Public Schools our students are prepared, our staff is supported, and our community is confident.

Have a nice LONG weekend!!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bearcatwrap.substack.com