By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
Jacksonville High School’s new principal kicked off his first year on the job with a school and community meeting Monday morning to brainstorm about how to turn around failing test scores and plummeting enrollment.
Principal Henry Anderson introduced himself to the crowd as the seventh principal in five years at Crossett High School. He said test scores went up 20 to 40 percent in different subject areas.
Anderson explained how such a feat was accomplished.
“If you (the teacher) were not doing what you were supposed to do, I would camp out in your room… We (the school) are going to be where we need to be. I hope you guys will join us as we shift in the right direction…We will return to being the center of excellence,” Anderson said.
The first game of day was “That’s me.” The icebreaker requires that if a statement — such as “I am a teacher” — applies to you, you have to stand up and say, “That’s me.”
Nearly everyone in the room stood up when Anderson voiced the statement, “I am committed to making Jacksonville the best it can be.”
He shared that one catalyst to change at Crossett was a “principal’s cabinet,” a group of students who helped formulate ideas to improve their school. Engaging students to increase the success of the school was one of the main goals discussed at the event.
Accountability was the key word for the day, Anderson said. “We all have a hand in that accountability piece. For the last nine years our product has been defective…If your students succeed, they’re yours. If they fail they’re yours, too. They can’t fail if you keep trying to reach them.”
Another game instructed members of the audience to go to one of four corners. In each corner, there was a poster board with an answer to “What is the purpose of education?” The four choices were “employment,” “social justice,” “social interaction,” and “academics.” Members went to the answer they agreed with the most and each group explained why their answer was the best.
After that, groups of two people each had to come up with two educational priorities and then join with another group of two to pick a first and second choice out of their four priorities.
Then, the priorities that were written down on neon pink and green paper were taped to one wall and organized into sections. The priorities listed included school safety and security, discipline, restoring confidence and pride in the school, community involvement, improving academic performance and improving communication between teachers, parents, administration, students and the community.
In another activity, four articles were passes out. Each person was asked to read one of the four. Topics ranged from the importance of student engagement in school policy to how a supportive community with a positive attitude toward the school can help the school get funding.
The last game was “Headliners.” Groups of five to seven individuals wrote on one side of a poster board the current reality at Jacksonville High School and wrote on the other side what they wanted to see 12 months from now.
Most of the groups said the school suffered from a bad reputation, low test scores, little student discipline and less than desirable communication between everyone involved with the school’s success.
All the groups wanted to see the school improve in those areas, although art teacher Marvin Lindley expressed the most concern. He said he wanted the district to not only say things but to actually follow through on them with action, explaining that PCSSD had made promises before that hadn’t been kept.
PCSSD’s new superintendent, Jerry Guess, had walked into the meeting earlier and introduced himself. He said he agrees with Lindley that the follow-through has to be there for the school to improve.
Anderson repeatedly said teachers and administrators would have the resources they needed from the district and Guess confirmed that.
Guess and Anderson joined city officials, PCSSD administration and community members at the New Teacher Welcome on Tuesday at the Jacksonville Community Center. The 60 new teachers who joined schools in the district received “goodie bags” of donated items from the chamber.
Also attending were state Rep. Jane English, Mayor Gary Fletcher, Alderman Aaron Robinson, Little Rock Air Force Base school liaison Terry Shaw; Jody Urquhart, vice chairman of the chamber board; Larry Biernacki, treasurer of the chamber board; Brenda Bowles, PCSSD superintendent for equity and public services; PCSSD executive director of communications Deborah Roush, Homer Adkins principal Lisa Peeples, Arnold Drive Elementary principal Julie Davenport, Murrell Taylor Elementary principal Jackie Smith, Tolleson Elementary Sonja Whitfield, Star Academy principal Chris Jones, Lighthouse Charter School Principal Norman Whitfield, Lighthouse Flightline Charter School Principal Evan McGrew and many others attended the new teacher welcome.
