Pirate Family,
First off I want to tell each and every one of you how much we miss you!! As I pulled up this morning my heart was extremely heavy, missing our kids and all our faculty and staff. For someone who is in this business because of my overwhelming love for kids, it’s so hard to be here during a time in which our kids would normally be here and they’re not. I miss seeing them get off the bus and out of their cars. My favorite part of my day is opening the door at the cafeteria for all our babies from 7:30-8:00 and getting to see their beautiful faces as they enter our campus. I know these are days none of us expected six months ago, but together, with help from a power stronger than ourselves, we can and will make it through!! I pray each and every family remains safe and all of your needs are met through the days ahead.
With this being said, our Pirate faculty and staff has spent many hours deriving the very best plan we possibly can to try and meet the academic and nutrition needs for our families. As with any plan, we must constantly monitor and adjust as variables arise or change that are beyond our control. The last thing I want any of you to experience is increased stress and anxiety as we move forward with our academic plan for students. I want to thank our leadership teams and teachers for making sure we had 10 full days of AMI work prepared before our original release from school. This preparation has allowed us to cover our student’s needs through Friday April 3rd.
Beginning Monday April 6th, we will use our new plan moving forward. Just like before we will monitor this plan and change it as we see fit based off guidance given from the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. Each and every family within the district received a call this past Tuesday to alert them to the new plan and how students that needed hard copies could receive those.
One thing I’ve learned through this process, even with my 6 kids at home, is that it is impossible for us to properly educate every child’s individual needs through offsite instruction. We know that some students will finish their AMI work extremely quickly and some will require extended time, but we’ve tried to create AMI packets in such a way that no student should have to spend more than 20-30 minutes on any given subject and we’ve limited the number of subjects to be covered each day. Parents that wish for their child to have more academic work than what has been provided please feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher or building level administrator and we can discuss options that will allow you to access valuable resources either on your own or that we as a school can provide through digital platforms.
Due to the increase in safety measures for families and staff we have moved to making meals for students 18 and under available for pick up on Monday’s from 7:30-9:30 am at the Wilburn School location as well as the school cafeteria in Concord. Both locations will be a drive through setting and we will give you meals based off the number of 18 year old and under children living in your home and the pickups will include two meals a day for 5 days. If you have not received meals previously, but are now in need of those please email amy.thirion@concordschools.org , Kenneth.moore@concordschools.org , travis.fletcher@concordschools.org , scott.whillock@concordschools.org , or call us at 870-668-3844 and let us know how many meals you need. All meals are free regardless of your current lunch status, but we are seeking other meal options through grants, so if your meal status may have changed due to employment please contact us and we can now fill out a new form that may qualify you for meals under the guidelines of this grant. If you are already receiving meals, you do not need to call or email because we already have you listed.
One final thought. As we all learn how to adjust through these days, please remain positive and refrain from negative talk. Our children are always watching and listening to everything we say and do as adults, but especially in times like these. They will learn from us and it will have an effect on them one day as they face trials in their own adult lives. We love each and every one of you and pray the Lord’s hand of protection on you all!!
Dr. Kenneth Moore
Superintendent