Arkadelphia Public Schools

We want to remind everyone of some important dates coming in February that are on our school calendar. Thursday, February 13, is our Parent Teacher Conference day from 2:00p.m. until 7:00p.m. There is NO school for students that day. Friday the 14th is a Flex Day for teachers; there is NO school for students that day. Monday, February 17, school will be in session for students as a make-up day for the snow day on January 10. Mark your calendars! #BadgerPride

This semester Arkadelphia Public School District welcomes Ms. Jaci Ruffin to Peake Elementary as a 3rd Grade Math and Science Teacher. Jaci graduated from Bismarck High School and Henderson State University. Ms. Ruffin was inspired to enter education by a passionate elementary school teacher she had the opportunity to shadow while Jaci was still in high school. Jaci shares that she is “extremely blessed and grateful for this new position.” Welcome Jaci Ruffin to the Badger Family! #BadgerPride

Families in the Arkadelphia School District can now access Parent Guidance Resources through the Cook Center for Human Services. Services available include Mental Health Series, On-Demand Courses, and Ask a Therapist. A live Ask A Therapist event is held each month. You are invited to register for the February 19 session. Visit https://cookcenter.info/ATLFeb19 to register today! We encourage parents to visit the Cook Center website at parentguidance.org We look forward to sharing more about these resources with our families through our school campuses. #BadgerPride

January 27–January 31: The last full week in January has been designated by the Arkansas Legislature as Holocaust Education Week in Arkansas. On Monday, Goza Middle School Eighth Grade Social Studies Teacher and current Arkadelphia Public Schools Teacher of the Year Meridith Armstrong was recognized as the 2025 AHEAD Teacher Award Recipient at a ceremony in Little Rock. The AHEAD Fund is dedicated to supporting teachers and their ambitions who go above and beyond in teaching the powerful lessons of the Holocaust. As the AHEAD Teacher Award Recipient, Mrs. Armstrong was given a $5,000 grant to purchase educational Holocaust materials and resources to instruct on the history and tolerance through the lessons of the Holocaust. She has some great plans for our students. Congratulations to Mrs. Armstrong on receiving this recognition and grant! You have gone above and beyond. #BadgerPride

In the January Arkadelphia Board of Education meeting, special recognitions were made during the Badger Pride Awards for the Arkadelphia Badger Football team. The District publicly recognized and congratulated the team and some specific individuals for their accomplishments and outstanding representation of our school district at the state level. A Badger Pride was presented to Head Coach Trey Schucker in honor of the whole team and the coaching staff. Coach Schucker was also recognized for being named 4A Farm Bureau Coach of the Year and to the 4A All-Star Coaching Staff (and now KATV/Red River Coach of the Year). Players recognized were Jaquavus Purifoy, Farm Bureau 4A Offensive Player of the Year; Carson Carozza, Brandon Burlsworth 4A Championship Player of the Game; and Brayden Wagner, 4A State Championship Game Farm Bureau MVP. Congratulations to the players and coaches for your outstanding accomplishment! #BadgerPride

January is wrapping up! Here is what's happening in the Arkadelphia School District this week. Peake Elementary is celebrating the Great Kindness Challenge. Catch the Badger Wrestling Match in the (new) Goza Gym on Thursday evening. Have a great one! #BadgerPride

As a Purple Star District, we are pleased to invite our military families to provide feedback to the Arkansas Council for Military Children (ACMC) using the following brief survey... https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSco38YlDXilwzb3WKeM_XVR_PToI0-LH_axUnAbpTp-RvIWrQ/viewform

We are excited to announce that the Arkadelphia Public School District has earned Purple Star School District status. The Arkansas Purple Star School Award recognizes schools and school districts that show a major commitment to serving students and families connected to our nation’s armed forces. Arkadelphia High School and Goza Middle School received the Purple Star School status in the spring of 2024; Peake received the award in November making us eligible to apply for the school district status. Visit the link below for more information on the Purple Star School District recognition. www.arkadelphiaschools.org/article/1985214 #BadgerPride

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

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

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

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