DEER — The Deer/Mt. Judea School District Report to Patrons was delivered prior to the start of the board of education's regular meeting held Oct. 21. The leading message conveyed was that according to the most recent release of state testing results, the school district's elementary students are in line or exceeding state averages.
The Arkansas Department of Education released school and district results from the first administration of the Arkansas Teaching, Learning, and Assessment System (ATLAS), which replaced ACT Aspire, the previous assessment. Students took the new ATLAS assessments in the spring, and for the first time ever, parents will soon have access to their child’s scores through the parent portal and can begin conversations with their child’s educators regarding supports to elevate learning.
While the test scores are encouraging, superintendent Bill Mazaur said the school district's teachers will be analyzing the results in depth. Because ATLAS is new, the results serve as a new baseline for measuring student learning in Arkansas and should not be compared to results from different assessments administered in the past.
The Arkansas Department of Education issued a press release on Oct. 16 announcing the release of the test results.
“As we complete the release of ATLAS test data, we are very confident in the new system and know that the results accurately reflect student achievement in Arkansas,” ADE Secretary Jacob Oliva said. “From revising academic standards to writing test items to assisting with setting cut scores, the ATLAS system was built by Arkansas teachers for Arkansas students. Now that we have results, parents and educators can begin having conversations about needed supports to elevate learning across all levels.”
Now that schools have their test results, the following efforts will be prioritized:
Individualized reading plans will be created for every student in grades K-2 who are at risk of reading difficulties.
Individualized math plans will be provided for every student in grades 3-8 who scored level 1 in math.
Students will have increased access to high-impact math and reading tutoring programs available at https://dese.link/tutoring.
A system for acceleration will be developed to support and provide additional learning opportunities for advanced students.
The school district's annual report noted several facts about the district and set out its vision and mission as well as core values.
Enrollment statistics for both schools and the digital education program show there are 178 students in grades K-6 and 162 students in grades 7-12. There are 39 certified staff employees and 34 classified employees.
While enrollment is spread out equally between the Deer and the Mt. Judea campuses, the greatest enrollment of students, about 150, are enrolled in the digital learning program.
Program director Shelley Tomlinson said efforts have been made to streamline the program's enrollment and learning materials ordering process. The latter generated complaints a year ago.
Work is also progressing in the area of retention of students.The program enrolled 80 new students since last May.
The school district is adjusting to new requirements under the LEARNS Act. These include new graduation requirements and recognitions including diploma with merit and diploma with distinction. The district is providing new career and technical education (CTE) pathways towards earning specified certifications. These include OSHA training, retail management, animal systems and a pre-education pathway that allows schools to grow future teachers in house.
Rainy Yeager, Mt. Judea counselor, is also the district's testing coordinator. She discussed the ATLAS testing program and explained its ties to Arkansas standards. A K-3 screener exam recently showed that K-3 students are in line or exceeding state averages.
Deer High School Principal Joe McKinney focused on the School Improvement Plan as it pertains to communicating with parents and families. He spoke of a new school district communications app that uses live streaming to allow the district to transmit events and information online.
In the areas of curriculum, Mt. Judea School Principal Lindsey Graham noted the use of technology to deliver education programs. The district has issued 300 new Chromebooks to students this year.
Literacy, math and science curriculums have all been updated.
Nandra Campbell, of NMC Education Services of Springdale, was hired by the district to be a consultant. Campbell previously was employed by the Springdale School District as an academic coach pushing high school students toward high achievement. Campbell, who was an assistant principal at Westwood Elementary School, spent a year in the academic coach role. Dr. Campbell organized NMC Education Services, LLC in February, 2023.
Campbell reviewed the school district's Title I program which utilized federal funds to ensure low income students can meet the state's academic standards. The money is used to hire support staff, and purchase classroom items and technology.
Federal funds also provide professional development for teachers and student safety.
Mizaur concluded the report on the topic of school safety. Through grants the school district has added radios, cameras and door locks and formed emergency response teams across the district. Those efforts will continue as funding becomes available.
