Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Board Updated On Block Scheduling

Prescott High School students will have some form of block scheduling in the future, but what kind is another matter.

Following a public hearing to discuss block scheduling and the four-period day, a committee was formed to look into it.

Hyacinth Deon told the Prescott School board at its regular monthly meeting Thursday, March 22, the group had met three times and had a preliminary report ready.

However, the two factions involved, those who want to keep the current block scheduling and those who want an A/B schedule, have formed and hit an impasse.

Board member Jeff Haynes, who is on the committee, said he's in the group preferring the A/B schedule.

According to Haynes, the "A" portion of the schedule could be on Tuesdays and Thursdays where classes are 90 minutes for courses in math and science. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday the classes would be an hour long. This, he said, is in keeping with how college schedules are.

The question is, Haynes said, should students have four classes per semester or eight? The decision will be left up to the school board.

Superintendent Ron Wright said sometimes groups lose sight of who the customer is in such cases, the students.

He voiced confidence the committee would be able to reach an agreement by the April board meeting.

Wright said the official dedication of McRae Middle School's gym will be held Saturday, April 14, at 10 a.m.

Members of the board will be participating in the ceremonies, with an old-timer's basketball game organized by the Kiwanis Club for the afternoon.

In addition, Wright said, members of the McRae Alumni Association have been invited to speak on the remodeling and changing the school's name.

Philip Holtoff, McRae Middle School gifted and talented instructor, was on hand with a first for MMS students.

He said the eighth and ninth grade Quiz Bowl team finished third in the state contest in its division.

Prescott's team was mostly made up of eighth grade students, who competed against ninth graders. This, Holtoff said, bodes well for next year's team.

He asked the board to send the team members letters of appreciation as this is the first time a Prescott team has made it to the state contest.

Quiz Bowl teams, he said, are divided according to a school's rating with the Arkansas Activities Association in basketball. This means Prescott is an AAA team.

The MMS students finished second to Pulaski Academy, a private school, while beating Central Arkansas Christian, another private school.

The board agreed to send framed letters of appreciation to the students.

The district, Wright said, gained two students since February, and this is good as the formula used in figuring school revenue ends with the third quarter.

With these two students, he said, the district will end on an up note.

The new PHS gym is going up rapidly, he reported. The steel skeleton is mostly in place with the roof being put on as the steel goes up. Wright said work would begin soon on the walls.

However, the slab still can't be poured, because of wet weather. But, he said, with a partial roof on the building, some of the slab could be poured.

There's still about $2 million in the budget to get the gym work completed, he said, and it will be close as there's still a lot to be done.

The board accepted the final two bids on the gym: for the floor and painting.

Crandall Duncan Painting Inc. had the low bid for the painting while Royal Floor Covering will do the floor work with the exception of the basketball court, which was another bid in itself.

When asked what had to be painted on the gym, Wright said it will begin with the metal beams, all exposed metal work, a lot of walls and the Sheetrock.

The board agreed to pay $1,000 to help repair the tennis court in the city park as the PHS team uses them for its matches and practices.In all the repairs will cost $3,500, with the city picking up $1,500 of this and the Prescott Tennis Association paying $1,000.

Wright said the school and city have been good working partners and this is something needing to be done.

Also, the Wolves and Wolverette teams have some up-and-coming young players who will benefit from the better courts.

The board approved out of state travel for Aaron Morton, a student who earned a trip to a storytelling contest in Denton, Texas; for Holtoff to go to Dallas to see a Mediaeval Times demonstration; to Janice Barnes to go to Yosemite National Park for a science camp; and for Deon to attend a workshop in Memphis on instructional strategy.