annual report

2018

conway public school district

table of contentsconway schools at a glance

students first

athletics

staff committed to excellence

value and respect diversity

by the numbers

innovative educational opportunities

cultivating community relationships

safe and caring environment

conway schools 2018

Total Enrollment= 9,975Enrollment by Grade: K-7771-7902-7923-7784-7845-8246-794

Special program enrollment:Gifted and Talented: 889 (8.89%)Special Education: 1, 260 (12.6%)ESL: 513 (5.13%)Pre-School: 280

Free/Reduced Lunch

Percentage:

49.17%

Certified Staff=778Classified Staff=407 Total staff=1185

7-7368-7399-76110-75011-75112-699

school configuration:Pre-school: 1 (pk)elementary: 9 (k-4)middle school: 4 (5-7)conway jr high: 1 (8-9)conway high school: 1 (10-12)

DISTRICT DEMOGRAPHICS:

DISTRICT EXPENDITURES:

students first

Gail OudekerkPerfect Score on both the ACT (36) and SAT (1600)National Merit ScholarMember of CHS OrchestraModel United Nations

Archer MurrayPerfect Score on the ACT (36)National Merit ScholarMember of State Champion Quiz Bowl TeamGovernor’s Coding Cup Champion

Kate FreyaldenhovenPerfect Score on the ACT (36)National Merit ScholarCHS Cross Country RunnerKey Club SecretaryCHS BETA CLUB

national merit scholars

govERnor’s coding champions

state champion quiz bowl team

in the last 4 years, conway has had 9 students make a perfect 36 on the act

class of 2018 ap stats628 graduates200 honor graduates$12.1 million in scholarships

748 students1454 exams863 with a 3+60.2% with a 3+

move it!Act 1062 of 2017 created an opportu-nity for Arkansas schools to double their recess time. Marguerite Vann El-ementary was chosen, along with 23 other schools throughout the state, for the extended recess pilot program for the 2018-19 school year.

“When I think back on my favorite mem-ories as a student, many of those mem-ories happened on the playground. I can describe my elementary play-ground and the games we played in detail. When you ask our students what their favorite thing about school is, many say ‘recess.’ Some say that doesn’t count, but I don’t know why not.

The research for play and its effect on learning is overwhelmingly positive. Our teachers have already seen this make a difference for our days at Vann. The students look and feel less tired and overwhelmed. They appreciate the breaks and the ‘down time.’ It is chang-ing our learning environment.

Many of our students live in apart-ments, or are latch-key kids who may not have the chance to play outside when they get home. Parents also con-stantly battle cell phones and video games.

We have many goals for this extended recess pilot. We want to see our test scores rise, our kids be more active, have more focus in the classroom, and our school’s obesity percentage to drop. But the most important thing that I want for our students is for them to have more time to be kids.”

Jana Hedgecock, Physical Educa-tion Teacher, Marguerite Vann Elementary

Sr High Volleyball- conference champscross country girls- conference champsJr High Blue Boys Basketball- conference champsJr High Blue Girls Basketball- conference champsSr High Girls Basketball- conference champsJr High White Team Boys Track- conference champsSr High Boys Track- conference champsSr High Girls Track- conference champsBaseball- conference champs7A Central Coach of the Year- Coach Nance and Coach CrowAll Star Head Coach- Coach Destefano and coach Page

go wampus cats!

staff committed to excellence

teacher of the year

every kid you see in the hall, be kind to them, be excited to see

them, be even more excited when they succeed. But, let them know

where the line is from the get go. Let them know how far is too far. Help them to

understand that even though you want them to enjoy themselves in class, it is on your terms. This

will benefit both parties. Trust me. Regardless of what you think now, kids do need structure. Even if they say they don’t.

Structure doesn’t mean rigid. It means having a plan. It means com-municating goals and expectations. It means communicating what

the consequences are if expectations aren’t met. You’ve been very blessed to work with so many incredible teachers and amazing students. Keep learning from them. Every period. Every

day. You got this.”

“My advice for you is to

love kids but set boundaries. Say hello to

“What would you say if you could go back and give advice to your ‘first year’ self?”

Average Teacher Salary: $56, 651

67% of CPSD teachers have a master’s degree

national board certified teachers: 66

-A.J. Spiridigliozzi, CPSD Teacher of the Year, 2018-19

value and respect diversity to take a closer look at culture and challenges them

to try something new.

Students in our World Language Program adopt a country we have studied, research its customs, tradi-tions, travel, food/drink, and clothing, then creatively display this at their tables by making tri-fold boards, food, crafts, games, etc. We also seek out community members and local businesses to share their culture with our school. We have had more than 30 countries represented at the festival, with more than 600 people in attendance.

This event doesn’t happen overnight. It takes months of planning and preparation. Each year I work with the most amazing team of world language teachers, fac-ulty, staff, and administrators who go above and be-yond to make this event so successful. It is amazing to watch it all come together and see students learn so much more in three hours on a Saturday than I could ever teach them by myself in a year.”-Martha Hibbard, CJHS World Language Department Chair

“At Conway Junior High School, we have a lot of diverse students from many diverse cultures. the intent of the multicultural festival was to provide a platform for students and families to share their culture with others. We have students that are adopted and research the heritage and culture from their biological family, students who use sign language as a means of communication, students who have heritage from multiple cultures and want to learn more about one or more of these cultures, and students that do not know the first thing about culture. Regardless, this event encourages all students

by

Varieties of fruits/vegetables

planted in school gardens: 23

Varieties of herbs planted: 7Varieties of flowers planted: 5

numbers

the

Core Values: 6Legs on the Wampus Cat: 6

Total Participants in Athletics: 1509 on 91 different teams

Miles ran by Conway Cross Country Runners: 25, 344

CPSD Maintenance: Rolls of Toilet Paper Used: 12,000Packages of Paper Towels: 24,000Number of Trash Bags: 200,000

Total Square footage in CPSD: 1,886,624

Car Doors Opened/Closed daily at Elementary Drop-off: 1,693

Average Daily Steps taken by CHS AdministratorS: 13, 600

Average Daily Steps

Taken by CHS StudentS:

7, 663

Kilowatts of Electricity used in one month by CPSD: 1,775,048 kw

test scores

More detailed information can be found on our District Website.

innovative educational opportunities

playing with power

school science teachers. We began a collaborative pro-cess of determining which standards, among the many standards, our kids needed to know in order to be suc-cessful in the sciences. We learned that everyone didn’t have the same ideas about which standards were ‘power’ standards. We had conversations in grade level teams and in vertical teams about what the students needed to know and why. Throughout the process, I found myself learning and gaining confidence in my own under standing of the scientific knowledge and skills that were most vital to my students’ success. From my own experience I think Most experienced

-Elise Hampton, Middle School Science Instructional Facilitator

“In my first year as a science teacher I was completely overwhelmed. There was so much to teach my kids and so little time! my mother, a teacher for almost 30 years, said to me ‘Elise, what do these kids really need to know to be successful? Focus on that. They’re not going to re-member every little detail about sc-ience, so focus on those major things that are really important.’, I took her advice and discovered that I stressed less and my kids learned more. I had no idea that I would hear that same advice a couple years later when the concept of power standards was introduced to the middle

teachers were already determining power standards, but these decisions were not consistent within and across grade levels and like I did, novice teachers learned the importance of prioritizing standards, usually after becoming overwhelmed. Our continued work on the power standards addresses these issues, and as we address these issues, we will find that our students learn more, and they master what they real-ly need to know.”

cultivating community relationships

616 Staff Members (52.6%) participated

and$15, 250 total prize

money given last year

616 Staff Members (52.6%)How much money we gave away in prize money $15, 250 total prize money given last year

staff

wellness

“When the district announced the Staff Wellness Program, I honestly had no intentions of participating. I thought ‘Oh that all sounds fine and good,’ but I wasn’t going to do it. Then my boss Sharon Burgess made sure I signed up for the program. I went to the 1 mile walk last fall. That was the first time I had ever walked a mile, and it was right past my house. I’m not go-ing to lie, I thought about stopping right there and going inside to the couch. But I didn’t. I was proud to finish that mile with my Food Service friends.

That first mile was the beginning of quite a journey. I start-ed watching what I ate and attending the other Staff Wellness events. (They were inside and air conditioned!) In January, my husband joined me and we decided we would go ‘all in’and try to get healthy together. I started walking every night. We used the gym membership I had been paying for in vain for the last three years. We started riding bikes together. Once we saw progress, we wanted more.

Now one year later, I have lost 50 pounds and 6 pant sizes! I am a Type II Diabetic, but no longer require ANY medication for this. My husband and I ride our bikes almost every day, all around town together. I cannot even describe how much better I feel throughout the day. I love being a healthy example to my family and our students and staff.”-Angie Robertson, CPSD Food Service Manager

safe and caring environment

In the Summer of 2018, new safety entranc-es were installed at Conway Junior High School and Conway High School, provid-ing another “layer” of protection for our students and staff. The glass walls require all visitors to be checked in through the front of-fice and then manually buzzed in for entry into the main building.

During the course of the 2017-18 School Year, the district complet-ed the first phase of our safe room project. Now all 9 elementary schools have safe rooms that will not only keep students safe during inclement weather, but can also be used as mul-tipurpose space for Physical Education and other classes.

“Teachers inspire the smallest hearts to

grow big enough to change the world.”