The Conway School Board reviewed the district’s campus evaluations and grades from the Arkansas Department of Education at Tuesday’s board meeting.
The Department of Education gave four district campuses an “A,” four a “B,” five a “C,” and two a “D.” The grades are intended to reflect a school’s overall performance based on standardized test scores for the 2022-2023 school year.
Most of the district’s campuses maintained or improved their ratings for the 2021-2022 school year, with Conway Middle School, Julia Lee Moore Elementary School and Woodrow Cummins Elementary School moving up from a “B” to an “A.” Simon Middle School’s rating rose from a “C” to a “B.”
The campus with the biggest decline was Margaret Vann Elementary School, which dropped about 5 percentage points from a “C” grade to a “D” grade.
This year will be the last time Conway will receive such a letter grade from the education department, as new evaluations will be implemented for next year.
“We have a job to do,” Superintendent Jeff Collum said Tuesday. “There’s a lot of celebration on this sheet, but there’s also a part where we look at it and say, ‘We know we have work to do.’ The team is ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. I am.”
Collum also spoke about the stigma that some low-rated schools receive after releasing their results, noting that the data is a snapshot of standardized test scores and that it “doesn’t tell the full picture of what’s going on” on campus. No,” he said.
“We’re going to continue to work on it and keep moving the needle,” Collum said. “We have 16 great campuses…We’re going to get even better, but we have great campuses.”
Collum also updated board members for next spring’s school board elections. Area residents interested in running for the two open school board seats may apply between November 6 and 14, prior to the start of early voting on February 20, 2024, and Election Day on March 5, 2024. It can be filed with the county clerk until the following day.
Two board seats will be open in the 2024 election. Longtime school board member Tripp Leach’s term expires in 2024, as does Trey Guyer.
Geyer, who was elected in May to finish out the final year of former board member Scott Champlin’s term, will need to run again to retain his seat on the board and serve out a full five-year term.
Board members are also scheduled to adopt a proposed budget for the 2025-2026 school year on Nov. 14. The school district must release a budget by January 4, 2024, prior to the election.
Collum told board members that the district’s first Champions Community Circle event is scheduled for Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. at Bob and Betty Courtway Middle School. Collum will begin the event with a presentation and then take questions from the audience.
“This is the first step in our continued efforts throughout the rest of the school year,” Corum said, adding that he thinks the event “will be a great accomplishment.”
Board members also unanimously approved a motion to appoint Linda Hargis as the district’s Arkansas School Boards Association delegate. Hargis has served as a delegate for the past year.
In a notable final piece of business Tuesday, board members received an update on the completion of renovations at Carl Stewart Middle School. The renovation took him two and a half years, and most of the work he completed in two summers.
The renovations now completed cost just under $6.2 million. The school district completed it on budget at a cost of over $660,000.
“Everyone involved in this matter, [renovation] They did a great job,” middle school principal Ginger Campbell said in a slideshow shown Tuesday. “We have a professional atmosphere. We have areas where teachers, counselors and administrators congregate. It’s a place that our students can be proud of. When you drive up, you see the building and you know it’s a school. , adequate parking is available when events are held on campus. Our students and community deserve this.”
The Board of Education will hold its regular November meeting at the administration building on November 14th from 6pm. The board’s work session is scheduled for Nov. 8 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., also in the administration building. All Board of Directors meetings are held in public. A livestream of the meeting can be viewed on the district’s YouTube page. Conway Public Schools offers overflow seating in the Conway High School auditorium for monthly meetings.
Staff writer Kolton Rutherford can be reached at krutherford@the.
cabin net.