Dear Pirate Family,
It has taken me all day today to process the news that we received early this afternoon from Governor Hutchinson on schools being closed to on-site instruction for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. Even though this was anticipated, I had hoped to get to see all of you once again before school let out for summer. For all our students, but especially our seniors, my heart hurts for you. I know we had so many exciting days left ahead of us and I looked forward to sharing those days and memories to come with you all. One thing that I promise you is we will continue to discuss, as well as look to you, on how we can still make celebrating your 2020 graduation with a bang. It may not be the scene we all envisioned back in August, but I can promise you we will make it one to remember.
Seniors, as I pray for wisdom and the words to share with you in these days, I am reminded of something that helped me through times that I did not understand. Something that my parents shared with me which states “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Though we may not know it now or understand everything that is taking place, I hope that each of you knows that for whatever reason there is a time for this now. I’ve learned throughout my life that many of these times in which I’ve been allowed to go through were preparing me for something later in life, whether that be days, months, or even years down the road. I want you to know that we love you and we are here for you no matter what that may be!!
To all our students and families, I want to let you know that we will be doing our very best to meet all your needs in the days ahead. We will continue to bring meals to those who need them and the very best educational opportunities we can for all. We have ordered 3 devices that will allow us to provide hotspot locations for our families at Jerry’s Place in Drasco, Logan’s in Ida, and The Other Side in Wilburn. We are so thankful to all three of these locations for generously opening their parking lots and allowing us to plug these devices in for our families. The devices have been ordered and will accommodate up to 150 students at one time at each location. As soon as they are up and running we will make an announcement. This does not include the High School campus that will also be available for Wi-Fi access. We are opening these areas up so our families can access emails to communicate with teachers, virtual learning tools that we now have to offer, as well as other online learning opportunities.
All families in our district will have the ability to access our K-6 i-Ready and Istation curriculums for their children to supplement our current K-6 AMI packets if families so choose. K-6 students are already automatically enrolled in these platforms and students have their login information. If you need it again please contact the Elementary office and we can get the information for you. We are also able to now offer Edgenuity for all students in grades 7-12 for all classes. This includes AP classes for those families and students that want to continue to learn the current Arkansas standards in each core subject. These courses are taught by live educators and will include lessons and assignments to help continue the education progression for students. Please let us know if you child in grades 7-12 would like to participate and we can then enroll them into the same courses they were taking while onsite instruction was still taking place.
I also want each family to know how much we care about them, so we will be mailing out each Friday a weekly newsletter from the superintendent as well as the others on our leadership team that will contain encouraging words, updates, reminders, and important information that families will need to make the rest of this school year a success. Teachers will also be reaching out either through a letter in the mail or a phone call to each student. As always, if you have questions or concerns please contact us and we will do our very best to help you with these.
In closing I want all of our Pirate family to know that you remain in our prayers and remember all things are in His hands and He’s got this!!!! Looking forward to seeing you again soon!!
Sincerely,
Dr. Kenneth Moore
Superintendent