PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Dollarway High School students will officially be making the move over to Pine Bluff High this year.

In 2020, the Arkansas Department of Education approved the merger of the Dollarway School District into the Pine Bluff School District.

The decision came due to continue financial concerns that the district will only operate one middle school and high school at the start of the 2023-2024 school year. 

“I've been here like since Pre-K. So, it's gonna be like hard adjusting. But, it's like nothing we can do about it. So, I'm just trying to make the best out of it," said Madison Jones, junior at Dollarway. 

Jones has been a student at Dollarway for over a decade, but, when the fall rolls around, her first steps as a senior will be through the doors of Pine Bluff High School.

“I'm excited to go and experience new things such as the cheer team and like different other activities that we didn't have out here," Jones said. 

The merger will move 42 rising seniors along with the other 100-plus underclassman from Dollarway High about four miles down the road.

“Our 11th graders that are at Dollarway High School this school year, they won't be a part of their own high school when they graduate and that's a shock. So, I'm trying to prepare them for the shock before next school year happens," Superintendent Jennifer Barbare explained. 

 Barbare has only led the district for five months now and has been using her time over the last few weeks to talk and prepare students for the big change.

“If you really do walk among kids and talk with kids, they want what's best for Pine Bluff School District as well. They just want to go to school and have fun and that's what we're trying to do with just different emotions in meetings," Barbare said. 

Taking into consideration what students would like to see and have, Barbare added that they are considering suggestions.

For example, they have discussed putting Dollarway-Pine Bluff High on diplomas or possibly giving them a certain graduation chord to acknowledge students affected by the merge. 

Although some are taking time to embrace the change, many are happy to welcome the Cardinals over.

“We're your home, we're your new home, you know, we're gonna treat you like family because we're all one now," said Chastity Reed, a senior at Pine Bluff High. "So just be comfortable and be open to new things, because we are seniors, and we're almost grownups.”

Students have been pushing one another to be positive, but also the community to be supportive.

“We need positivity. No negativity," Reed said. 

Barbare added that during this transition she wants parents to know that they have the student's best interest. 

“We're worried about academics, and we're worried about safety, we want to make sure we have the best thing for all of our students. At this time, we're looking to transition into a new high school, we need our community to support that our students deserve it,” she described.

While it’s important to embrace new environments, Dollarway students said they will never forget where they’ve come from.

“I will always be a Cardinal at heart," Jones said. 

Students in seventh through ninth grade will also make a transition to one middle school.

Any student that will be in seventh, eighth, and ninth grade next school year within the Pine Bluff School District will go to Robert F. Moorhead. Additionally, Dollarway High Campus could also be utilized for space to house those students. 

The superintendent said they will continue to have transitional meetings and activities all throughout the summer to get more than 1,400 students adjusted before the first day of school.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other state leaders introduced the idea early on to offer Arkansas school districts an opportunity to apply for grant money to purchase pouches to keep schools' phones free.

However, what does that look like for each school district? Well, according to Education Secretary Jacob Oliva, they are leaving that decision up to the school.

"We're giving districts the ability to determine how they want to implement a policy that limits or restricts cell phone use in the classroom, " Oliva said.

Oliva said that 20 districts have signed up to participate in this program, and the state has earmarked around $7 million to support it.

"The phone is not locked away in a different room," Oliva said. "It has a clipping lock, and you just go up to this little device that's hanging on the classroom door, and you push it against it, and it opens it."

However, many questioned whether this was the right way to allocate funds compared to leaving the phones at home or in the car.

Oliva said that exact questioning is why they left the choice to the district to figure out what works best for their students and staff.

"We believe in supporting those local decisions," Oliva said. "The school districts know their students the best. The leaders know what works and what doesn't work with their students and families, so we're providing flexible options. What we know is that cell phones are a distraction, and when we talk to school leaders and schoolteachers, that's one of the things that they prioritize and say, 'We need help with."

Oliva said the pilot program aims to help improve adolescent mental health and limit screen time.

Lesley Landry, a parent of two, said she's not opposed to helping our state's mental health crisis, but she would've liked to see these funds used in a different way that affects students sooner.

"I'm a big advocate of free lunches for all kids, and I will tell you right now, I know there are students in school whose parents may not meet the income requirements for free lunch, and they don't get lunch," Landry said. "I think that's a better place for us to spend our money to make sure all kids are fed."

Landry said that placing phones in pouches still poses a safety concern. 

"I want to keep my kids safe, but it's a parenting decision at a certain point," Landry said. "Some kids I know don't have cell phones, but how do you legislate them, or how do you mandate parenting?"

But Oliva said this is also something state leaders take into account for too, as "safety is always a top priority,"

"I like to tell people we've been in school for over 100 years, and cell phones weren't part of it that entire time," Oliva said. "We still found ways to get messages to students and for students to communicate, and if there's an emergency, that's why we have those provisions available for districts to work with their families and make those needs."

Oliva added that this project cannot be executed overnight and that the state will examine pre- and post-survey data, student achievement and referral and attendance rates to measure the overall impact.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — In the wake of Little Rock School District Superintendent Dr. Jermall Wright’s surprise decision to resign Thursday, people in and out of the district are lamenting the move and trying to get him to reconsider his resignation.

Greg Adams, who is on the LRSD school board representing Zone 8, was sad to hear the news.

"I really liked Dr. Wright and supported him,” Adams said, “And I think that he had the board support, and so, I’m just so disappointed that that he decided that it was not best for him to stay."

Adams isn’t alone. Following Wright's announcement, a Facebook group was formed with the intention to keep him as superintendent.

Chad Henson is someone who joined that group, saying he worked as a Pre-K paraprofessional at the district’s Rockefeller Early Childhood Center as recently as this year.

"There's been several superintendents before him,” Henson said, “and out of all of them, he's legitimately made the most progress."

Henson no longer lives in Little Rock, but he said he’s still passionate about the fact that Wright was the right man for the job and he wishes he could reconsider.

"I'd like him to come back and continue the work he was doing against all odds,” Henson said, “Which I know is not the easiest thing to do in the Little Rock School District." 

Dr. Wright did release a statement Friday morning, following his initial resignation letter on Thursday.

This letter was shorter than his resignation letter, which listed many of his accomplishments and things he was proud of.

Friday’s statement said in part: "I understand this news may come as a surprise, and I want to assure you that this decision was made with careful thought and reflection. I will continue to serve diligently during the transition to new leadership."

Adams said he didn’t know exactly why Wright stepped down, but based on his initial resignation letter, he had a guess.

"He talked about the board,” Adams said, “And, you know, needing to be really aligned with the superintendent. And so, my guess would be that that he felt that needed to be better."

Adams said that the next step will be a meeting with the board and Dr. Wright on Monday.

He said as far as he knows, the opening and closing of the meeting will be open to the public, but the majority of the session will be private.

He also stressed that even with Dr. Wright gone, the board wants to continue to make progress, and they welcome public feedback as they do so.

CABOT, Ark. — The school year is on the horizon, and for some districts, it’s already here. Nearly every teaching position has been set at this point, but there's still time to apply for a classified job in a school district.

“It’s never too late to become a school bus driver in Arkansas," said Doctor Tony Thurman, superintendent of the Cabot Public School District.

According to Dr. Thurman, there's always a need for more school bus drivers, plus it's easy to apply

“I can speak for all districts and say if you’re interested at all in becoming a school bus driver even to the point if you’d like to test drive a school bus to see if it’s something you could do," he explained. "All you have to do is contact the transportation director and just tell them you have this interest, and you’d like to try it out. They’ll work with you, I can guarantee it.”

Aside from bus drivers, Arkansas school districts have several other classified jobs, such as cafeteria and custodial workers, with flexible work hours.

“We have staff that prefer to work at night. During the school day, it’s kind of hard to get all the classrooms taken care of so our staff finds it much easier to get things done at night when no one is in the building," Dr. Thurman added.

Over the years he’s seen the need for classified jobs expand tremendously, especially in larger school districts. Now, it's become a year-round search to fill these positions in any school district.

“I don’t know if any school district in Arkansas would tell you that we don’t need bus drivers. Bus drivers are in great demand and being in great demand also means great pay," he said.

Dr. Thurman added that an individual can disperse their pay over 12 months if they choose instead of 9 during the school year. It’s a great opportunity for a secondary or primary job.

“If you work for a school district don’t forget you get insurance and retirement. It’s something to consider. You may make a few more dollars working at a fast food place down the street but the benefits package and the long-term benefits are something to consider,” he described.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The time is now to begin getting your kid ready for another year of school.

With a change to the schedule for Little Rock School District, Thursday night was the final board meeting before the first day.

LRSD Superintendent Jermall Wright ensures everyone is ready to return to the classroom.

"I'm excited," Wright said. "I'm sure parents are excited. I'm not sure how excited our students are to be coming back to school, but we have been making preparations, and we are ready for day one of school on August 12th."

The first thing parents need to do is check in with schools.

"All schools will be able to provide information on start times, end times, any specific events going on," Wright said.

The district has changed somewhat since LEARNS was implemented, notably the reading and math plans.

"[For] any child that falls below a certain point, LEARNS now mandates that we have a success plan in place for every child that does not meet the qualifying score," Wright said.

Over the summer, the board updated the student handbook, which parents may need to review.

LRSD board member Vicki Hatter said the board revised the student code of conduct this summer.

Wright also said teachers have frequently complained about cell phones in the classroom. With some districts considering a new rule banning phones, LRSD is weighing its options.

Additionally, the superintendent plans to spend this first semester hearing from faculty and parents before making any changes.