Arkadelphia Public Schools

January Badger Pride Award! Peake Elementary parents who contributed their time, creativity, and hard work to construct the Peake Christmas float were recognized at this month’s Arkadelphia School Board meeting. They were nominated by Peake Principal Mary Snowden. She shared that their dedication made Peake’s participation in the Arkadelphia Christmas Parade truly magical and memorable not just for students, but for the community as well. Thank you parents for your efforts that brought joy to so many and truly embodied the spirit of the season. Congratulations to ALL the recipients–Denise Freeman, Hayley Hughes, Marena Malcom, Katie McGlone, Jay Neal, Spenser O'Brien, Kia Russell, Shane Seaton, Kirsten Sims, and Emily Williams. #BadgerPride

Badger Fans, you do not want to miss Channel 7 Sports this evening at 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. KATV Sportscasters Steve Sullivan and Jack Allen visited Badger Fieldhouse today to announce that Coach Trey Schucker has been named the Red River Arkansas Football Coach of the Year. Mitch Ward from Red River Auto was present to make the trophy presentation. Congratulations Coach Schucker on being named the 2024 Red River Coach of the Year! #BadgerPride

The Arkadelphia Public School District is excited to announce that Ms. Karen Ford has been hired as a K-2 Special Education Teacher at Peake Elementary School this semester. This is Karen’s 10th year in the Arkadelphia School District. She began as a Paraprofessional at Perritt Primary, moved to Peake Elementary this year, and completed her degree at Henderson State University in December. Ms. Ford says she chose to be in education because she wants to make a difference in the lives of students especially students with different abilities. Thank you Karen Ford for being a teacher! #BadgerPride

Highlights of today's Community Health Fair held on Peake's campus. Thank you to all the organizations who came together to provide this event for our community that resulted in over 300 individual medical screenings. A great day of service on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Here is what's happening this week. A reminder there is NO SCHOOL on Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Tuesday evening, Badger Basketball will travel to Camden for make-up games. We will see everyone on Tuesday. #BadgerPride

Arkadelphia Public Schools welcome Anissa Middleton to the Goza Middle School faculty this spring! Ms. Middleton is the English teacher for our fifth-grade students. She began her own education in Arkadelphia until she moved to Benton where she graduated high school. She grew up with many educators in her life who inspired her to pursue a career in education including her Godmother and AHS Teacher of the Year Robin Jones. Ms. Middleton says she feels “extremely excited and blessed” to start her new position. We are so happy to have you in the Arkadelphia Public School District! #BadgerPride

The Gifted and Talented Students in the AHS Class of 2025 hosted the Cone Foundation Grant Awards Ceremony at the Ross Foundation this week. The students raised the funds for the grants, which are matched by the Ross Foundation. A total of $11,000 was given to organizations and projects this year. Thank you to the Ross Foundation for your partnership in this long-standing program. #BadgerPride

Monday, January 20th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. there will be a Community Health Fair held in Peake Elementary School. There will be a variety of screening opportunities, preventative services, door prizes, food, and more. This event provides needed health services to people of all ages. We appreciate all these organizations and sponsors for bringing this to our community. Make plans to attend! #BadgerPride

2024-2025 AHS Internship students recently completed the ACT WorkKeys. Of the 79 students who took the exam, 72 earned a National Career Readiness Certification. The Certification consists of four levels based on scores–Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. AHS Internship Teacher Kristin Cloninger was recognized with a Badger Pride Award at the December School Board meeting for being instrumental in ensuring every Internship student completed the WorkKey modules in preparation for taking the exam on December 4. Mrs. Cloninger was accompanied by four of her Internship students who shared their perspectives on the WorkKeys curriculum and how it will benefit them in the future. To read more about the Board presentation and see a full list of students who earned the Career Readiness Certification visit www.arkadelphiaschools.org/article/1968258

Check out the Chartwell Food Service Arkadelphia Newsletter this month! The newsletter highlights last semester but also shares some of the Discovery Kitchen Fun planned for January. On Tuesday, Regional Exec Chef Catherine Thayer hosted a Global Eats booth that featured Italian Cuisine for students to taste test. Buon appetito. Hot Chocolate Day is January 31! #BadgerPride

This year, Jamie Rusher joined the faculty at Goza Middle School as a Special Education Inclusion Teacher. Jamie has 25 years of teaching experience. She is thrilled to be the co-teacher on the middle school 6th grade team this year. Ms. Rusher graduated from North Pulaski High School and has two master’s degrees in education from UALR. We are so glad to have Jamie Rusher in the district! #BadgerPride

Friday, January 17th, Badger Swim and Dive will host a home meet at the OBU Sturgis Physical Education Center. The diving events begin at 5:45 p.m. and swim at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free. The swim team is coached by Jennifer Hurst. Support our Badgers! #BadgerPride

Arkadelphia Public Schools will be closed on Monday, January 20th in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. We hope everyone is having a great week! #BadgerPride

AHS FCCLA is now selling a variety of awesome King of Hearts shirts and hoodies! This is a fantastic opportunity to show your school spirit as we approach basketball homecoming as well as support FCCLA. You can order from an FCCLA member. You can also place an order online by using the QR Code on the graphic or visit Arkadelphia High School under the Schools menu at https://osp.osmsinc.com/ArkadelphiaAR/ (scroll down to find the FCCLA merchandise) Order by January 29th For more information please contact Robin Jones at robin.jones@arkadelphiaschools.org. #BadgerPride

Here is what's happening in the Arkadelphia School District this week. We will see you on Monday! #BadgerPride

Arkadelphia Public Schools will be open on Monday, January 13. Classes will begin on each campus at their regularly scheduled time. Buses will run as normal. We look forward to seeing our staff and students back to school on Monday. #BadgerPride

With the forecasted weather making its arrival, classes are cancelled and the Arkadelphia School District will be closed on Friday, January 10th. Get ready to make your snowman! Stay safe and warm! #BadgerPride

AHS Students Ezra Campbell and Spencer Seel were recognized in last month’s Arkadelphia Board of Education meeting with a Badger Pride Award. The CKH leadership trait emphasized in December was teamwork. Their AP Biology Teacher Tiffany Edwards nominated these 10th-grade students when she observed them taking the initiative to begin working on a future project together during available class time. Thank you Ezra and Spencer for being leaders in your school and demonstrating teamwork! #BadgerPride

Athletic Event Update: Tonight (Jr. High) and tomorrow evening (Sr. High) basketball games at Camden Fairview have been postponed. These conference games will be made up at a later date. The 7th Grade Basketball Jamboree scheduled for Saturday in Arkadelphia has been canceled.

After an update from local officials, a decision has been made to cancel classes and close our district/schools on Thursday, January 9. We do not want to risk having to send staff and students home on treacherous roads once the weather moves in. We will continue to monitor road conditions and temperatures for future announcements. We encourage everyone to stay safe at home.