Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Anniversary Planned; Nevada Board Meets

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Nevada School, happy birthday to you.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Nevada School District. It was formed through the voluntary consolidation of five smaller districts that couldn't otherwise survive.

The parents of students in the area didn't want to send their children to Hope, Prescott, Emmet and/or Camden, so the school boards and superintendents of the districts involved began working on the consolidation effort. Those districts were: Cale, Bodcaw, Oak Grove, Willisville and Laneburg.

Those involved agreed to the construction of a new state-of-the-art facility to be located in Rosston. This, however, was after many hours of heated discussion.

Now, 10-years later, the Nevada School District is a model of how consolidation should work, and can work efficiently and effectively.

So, Feb. 6, 1998, the district will celebrate, not only the Blue Jays annual homecoming game against Emerson, but its 10th anniversary of existence.

According to Superintendent Rick McAffee, there will be two homecoming games Friday, Feb. 6, beginning with the senior girls, followed by the senior boys.

Once the games and homecoming ceremonies have been concluded, those present will be invited to the cafetorium where festivities for the anniversary will be held. McAffee said all former members of the Nevada School Board, all former superintendents, faculty, administration and staff are invited to attend.

In other business conducted by the Nevada School Board during its regular monthly meeting Thursday, Jan. 15, the elementary school will receive a grant for $31,000 to be used for a reading program.

According to Natalie Sherwood, NES principal, the program is for accelerated reading. Nevada was selected on the second round of grant picks. The money will be used to purchase computers for the library and books for the program. A reading club will be formed for students in kindergarten through the sixth grade, with books given to the members. Sherwood said the students will be tested on their comprehension rate by computer.

Teachers will be instructed in how the program operates, as well as how to use the software, Sherwood said.

In addition, the NES will again use the McMillan, McGraw Hill books for students in K-6, purchasing new textbooks to replace those worn out by use.

McAffee said NHS is still looking into creating a Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) program, but military personnel have not brought the information the district needs by so the program can be implemented.

He said ROTC would be good for students as a color guard could be involved in school activities and basketball games.

In addition, he said, students will benefit from many aspects of ROTC, including the discipline and respect they learn during drills.

McAffee attended the National Vocational Conference in December, with the featured speaker none other than Leonard Nimoy, better known as "Mr. Spock" from the original Star Trek television series.

McAffee said Arkansas was well represented at the conference, with 15 from the Dawson Educational Cooperative there.

Those attending, he said, learned how education is changing. Now, he said, instead of educators talking about the three R's, they're discussing the six R's, with the first being risk.

Risk is important in education as a method of imparting information to students and helping them learn. "Students," he said, "must take risks even if they fail. Failure is not the end of the world and they need to learn this."

McAffee said too many parents and others are hung up on grades instead of what their child is learning.

In today's economy, he continued, many companies are having to train those they hire to work with the equipment they have because schools and colleges simply aren't geared to do it.

By 2010, he said, most of the jobs which will be available haven't been invented yet. Therefore, schools can't educate the students for these jobs. However, he added, they can be taught how to learn, do research and problem solving skills abilities they can take with them anywhere for the rest of their lives.

Maintenance Supervisor Jim Cross said the district still needs one bus driver. One was hired during the Christmas holidays, but another left, leaving the current vacuum.

The custodial staff, though, is back at full strength.

Other than a few modifications needed, he said, the district passed its inspection for an IMPACT lab. Computer equipment can now be installed as soon as it's received.

Because of a federal computer being down, school districts in Arkansas didn't receive their food service reimbursement checks. The Nevada District wound up being two months behind in getting its checks, while some were three and four months behind.

This left a deficit situation for the food service budgets, which had to be made up from the operating fund. However, McAffee said, Nevada has received checks for most of the money it was owed.

Members of the board were informed of a bill for Braille paper. This, he said, is for a visually impaired student who uses a voice activated computer program for his work. The Braille printer prints in Braille and standard type, with the instructors getting the standard copy.

The district, he said, has two other students who are considered legally blind, but can see well enough to get around. They use computers with 17-inch monitors for their schoolwork.

And, as a final order of business, the board gave McAffee a vote of confidence by extending his contract as superintendent for another year.]

Before adjourning, the board was informed a dinner will be held in honor of Davis Benton, one of the original school board members. The dinner will be held Saturday, Feb. 7, at Western Sizzlin in Hope.

The board approved a resolution honoring Benton for his work on the Nevada School Board and as vice president of Region 12 of the Arkansas School Board Association.