Springdale School District

This is Mason Parrington's drawing of the wackiest snowman using labeled shapes from Sonora Elementary! Thank you for sharing with us!

Pictured here is Allena, from Sonora Elementary, creating a game to be played in the snow. Thank you for sharing with us!

To continue on our first ever remote teaching and learning snow day, check out these photos of students from Sonora Elementary! Abbey Ebey created a snowman who is promoting mask wearing. She plans on creating a story to share how she built her snowman! Kevin is excited to play in the snow and try out his new game he created with his family. Emma Elliot and her brother created a trap out of a box, wooden dominos, and tape. They plan on trapping an elf and bringing it to school! Lily Smith is measuring how much snowfall they got with a yardstick.

Students from George Elementary are wrote 5 sentence paragraphs about their favorite snow activity or memory. Pictured are third grade students from Mrs. Weatherford’s class, Aracelis Diaz Gandia and Matthew Zamora. Thank you for sharing with us!

Nothing like seeing snow up close. Jax, a first grade student, is looking at snow and ice crystals through the microscope. How fun! Thank you for sharing with us!

Bayyari teachers and staff continued their PD work from the Solution Tree PLC grant they received. Teams took turns zooming to create common formative assessments. Today they met with the assessment coach, Angie Freese from Minnesota. Way to go! Thank you for sharing!

Seen here is Daniel, third grade student from George Elementary! Daniel participated in activities off of his choice board! Thank you for sharing!

Seen here is Daniel, third grade student from George Elementary! Daniel participated in activities off of his choice board! And Ryla is writing about her snow sledding adventure this morning. Thank you for sharing with us!

The Springdale Schools will have remote teaching and learning on Monday, December 14, 2020 . All school buildings will be closed.

Please see the flyers below for important information regarding enrollment at Don Tyson for 2021-2022. Sign Up at: https://t.ly/XCw2

Elsa and Anna along with other characters made an appearance at Winter Wonderland at Parson Hills Elementary last night. Families drove through a tunnel Christmas lights to receive a food box and toys. All donations were made thanks to Central States Manufacturing.

"I substitute because I like being on the same schedule as my kids. I particularly like subbing at their school, Westwood." - Rebekah Johnson

Calling all future Super Subs! Join the Springdale family today by applying at www.sdale.org! Make a difference in your community! #SuperSubs

"Subbing is good if you want to get into education. It gets your name out and gets you into a good environment." - Brian Handley

DR. ANNETTE THOMPSON NAMED PRINCIPAL OF NEW JIM D. ROLLINS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Dr. Annette Thompson, in her 19th year as principal at George Elementary School, has been named the principal of the new elementary school currently under construction in Tontitown. “We are overjoyed that Dr. Thompson has chosen to lead the new elementary school as she begins this new journey with the community of Tontitown,” said Superintendent Dr. Jared Cleveland. Dr. Thompson said, “This is an exciting opportunity. I am grateful to Dr. Cleveland and the school board for allowing me to start a new journey in the Springdale District. I’ve been involved in the Northwest Arkansas Innovation Hub for four years and am anxious to take what I’ve learned into a new environment.” Named Arkansas Elementary Principal of the Year in 2017, Dr. Thompson has been a principal in the district for 21 years. She was principal at Lee Elementary for two years before moving to George. She served as a student teacher at Smith Elementary while she was at the University of Arkansas, then taught three years in Amarillo, Texas before returning to Smith where she taught for nine years. She moved to Lee as assistant principal and was in that position for two years before being elevated to principal. In partnership with the Walton Foundation and the Arkansas Office of Innovation for Education, Dr. Thompson was selected to study innovative educational practices in New Zealand. She has also visited several schools dedicated to innovative learning practices throughout the United States. Dr. Thompson will begin her new role July 1, 2021. The Tontitown elementary school is scheduled to open in August, 2021.

STEPHANIE LONG NAMED PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FINALIST Springdale will have the Presidential Award for Science winner. Turnbow Elementary third grade teacher Stephanie Long has joined Lisa Taylor of Shaw Elementary as the finalists for the award. “I’m floored,” says Long. “I’m in shock. This has been a professional goal of mine. To be named a finalist is a humbling experience. My dad, Steve Long, taught chemistry for 45 years, mostly in Rogers. When I was growing up he was named a finalist one year, then won the award the next. He is my role model so this is very exciting.” Long, though, would have preferred not to know who the other finalist is because, “I didn’t want to view this as competition. I’ve met Lisa through professional development and I have friends who teach at Shaw but I don’t know Lisa well. To make it to this point means all the finalists are doing great work. For Springdale to have both finalists speaks volumes about our district. It’s great that Springdale will have the winner. And, we have a finalist (Lindsey Hall at Young Elementary) in math, too.” This is the second time Long has been nominated but the first time she has been qualified. “I earned national board certification in December of 2017 and was working with Jake Beers, who is now assistant principal at Jones but was our district math teacher on special assignment then, on science curriculum for district first and second graders,” Long explains. “He nominated me but at that time I didn’t meet qualifications because you had to have taught more years than I had in kindergarten through 12 th grade. “I’ve been at Turnbow Elementary for my entire 11-year teaching career but the first four years were teaching pre-k. So, in 2019, Jake nominated me again. I am very thankful.” What does Long, a University of Central Arkansas graduate with a master’s from the school and ESL degree from the University of Arkansas, like best about teaching science? “Science is hands-on and applicable to living in the real world,” she responds. “Before the pandemic I brought in local scientists and science groups to visit with our students in the classroom. I like giving our students real life experiences.” Long has had several teaching experiences, herself, even though all have been at Turnbow. She has taught first, second and third grade, including some blended classes with students from different grades. She is in her first year as a third-grade teacher and 15 of her students from last year’s second grade class are with her again this year. “Looping with 15 of our students from last year has provided some consistency during a pandemic,” Long says. “I started this Presidential Award process last year with these students and they are finishing it with me now.” Long, Taylor and Hall are perfect examples of the whole district working to benefit the whole child. They are among hundreds of great teachers who help make Springdale Public Schools #THEChoice.

LISA TAYLOR NAMED PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FINALIST IN SCIENCE Lisa Taylor has been a teacher at Shaw Elementary since it opened in the fall of 2007. She has earned several honors for her work in teaching economics but, in the most unusual year of her career, she was surprised to learn she is one of two finalists in Arkansas for the Presidential Award in Science. “I turned in the video and did the paperwork but had forgotten about it,” Taylor explains. “Because of COVID, everything was delayed. It was surreal to be named a finalist when there are so many other things we have been concentrating on. It is a silver lining to a crazy year.” Final documents were due in May but the deadline was extended until October because of COVID. Taylor wasn’t notified until early December. Now she is required to write an addendum to her original paper. “I am working on a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on STEM at the University of Arkansas,” says Taylor. “I’m addicted to learning and want to share my knowledge and passion for teaching. The paper for the Presidential Award and the completion of the UA semester are coming at the same time but I will get it all done.” It’s ironic Taylor is up for the Presidential Award in science since she did not take the subject until she was completing elementary school. “As a kid I struggled with reading so I didn’t go to social studies or science,” Taylor recalls. “They put me in extra reading sessions. My first science class was in the sixth grade. At a convention for teaching science I attended in 2012 they told us by fourth grade students already have attitudes toward liking science or not. That puts a lot of weight on the shoulders of elementary teachers. “I use science to get students interested and teach reading through it. Our job is to create the wonder of science for our students. We do some different things. We even take apart things like vacuum cleaners so the students can see what they are made of. They love discovery. They bring items, like printers and motors, into class and take them apart. I let them explore and they are creative.” Creative teaching has allowed Taylor to be recognized as a Presidential Award finalist in science. In her 23 rd year as a teacher, Taylor is among the many instructors that exemplify working together for the whole child. That’s one of the reasons Springdale Public Schools are #THEChoice.

A great day visiting Archer Learning Center! School Board President Michelle Cook and member Eddie Ramos joined Superintendent Dr. Jared Cleveland and team to learn about the 21 CCLC tutoring program and tour a chemistry classroom

It was a great day at Monitor Elementary today! School board members walked the hallways and visited the classrooms.

LYNDSAY HALL NAMED PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR MATH FINALIST In her third year as a teacher at Young Elementary, Lyndsay Hall believes “everyone is a math person. Each person’s mindset toward math determines how far they will go.” Hall’s thought process and passion for teaching math has earned her one of two finalist spots in Arkansas for the Presidential Award in Math. “My goal was to be a finalist,” Hall says. “Yes, I’d like to win but being a finalist is one of the highest teaching honors you can attain. I’m glad I still have a shot at winning. I’m not sure when they announce the winner but our addendum to all we produced earlier is due in the next two weeks.” Completing the work toward the Presidential Award should not be difficult for Hall since she is teaching most of the same students she had last year when she began the process. “We worked on fractions last year and I pushed our students past the third grade into fourth grade work,” Hall explains. “I looped with this group of students to teach fourth grade this year. All I’ve ever taught is third and fourth grade but this year we want to challenge them with some fifth-grade work before the year is over.” Hall admits finishing her video was tricky last spring as COVID’s forced change to remote learning was coming. “We produced our video on the last Thursday we were in class,” Hall says. “The deadline was May but we knew there was a chance we would be going remote. The deadline was later extended to October but our video was done without wearing masks since we completed it in March while we were still in school. “The video shows how our students are discovering things on their own rather than learning from me, the teacher. They know it’s okay if they are wrong. In fact, we learned that’s how our brain grows. They ask questions of each other and you can see them grow. “I’ve taught math the traditional way and the way we are teaching it today. Our current methods allow students to learn faster and go farther. They learn that good mathematicians don’t give up.” Hall is glad she didn’t give up on pursuing the Presidential Award and is honored to be one of only two finalists in Arkansas. She and so many teachers like her are examples of how the entire district community comes together for the benefit of the whole child. Amazing teachers are another reason Springdale Public Schools are #THEChoice.