Mulberry Pleasant View Schools on the Rise (Published in Press Argus 10/24/2018
By Marie McHaffie
Last week, the Arkansas Department of Education released the “Schools on the Move toward Excellence Report”. This report shows improvement in the overall ESSA index score which is based on several factors including test scores and attendance. Mulberry High School was ranked 4th with an improvement index score of +6.88. This was out of 275 schools that showed improvement. The weighted achievement increase is based on points awarded for each student that is close, ready, and exceeding. The scores indicated that more students are meeting the grade level expectation. Mulberry High School was ranked 6th. As a comparison, Fort Smith Schools ranked 2nd on this list. Mulberry High School was moved from a D grade in 2017 to a grade of C in 2018. The Pleasant View Campus was awarded a B and the Marvin Campus a C. Principal of MHS, Mr. Brad Williams commented on the achievement, “The Mulberry High School teachers have proven their commitment to educating students and following our mission through the recent recognition by the Arkansas Department of Education. Congratulations to the Mulberry High School teachers, staff, and students for their outstanding accomplishments.”
The district has also adopted Social and Emotional learning with the Heartbridge program. Superintendent, Dr. Lonnie Myers, stated, “I am very proud of our teachers and administrators as they have worked together to improve the culture and climate of our school district. Everyone has truly worked together to develop leadership in each and every student in our district. The hard work is paying great dividends in student achievement."
Pleasant View Campus principal, Mr. Dennis Fisher is encouraged and thrilled with the growth and the grade his school received stating, “I think the academic growth we are seeing is a result of not only quality instruction, but a direct result of the positive change in the district's climate and culture." Marvin Primary Principal, Mrs. Toni Hopkins has adopted a school wide reading program where students are challenged to read one million words or more each year. She is encouraged by the growth in the district as well, “I think we are beginning to see the results of solid changes we have made to our curriculum, instruction and social emotional learning. I attribute our growth to dedicated teachers who work hard to meet the needs of our students to help them be successful, not only at Marvin, but district wide."
School improvement specialist, Melody Sebastian has been working closely with teachers, administration, and students to help improve test scores. She has developed curriculum maps and developed new strategies for student growth and achievement. The district is on a trajectory for improvement and looks forward to the next summative results.
Pictured: Amee Parish, MaKala Robinson, Adam Hoyle and Principal of MHS Mr. Brad Williams