HOPE, Ark. – In Arkansas, Hope Public Schools held its five-year district plan for the community meeting on Thursday evening at Hempstead Hall.
The district was recently awarded a $15 Million Magnet Schools Assistance Program grant (MSAP) by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE).
Dr. Jonathan Crossley, originally from South Carolina, has presided as the superintendent for Hope Schools for the last 18 months.
Crossley presented a PowerPoint presentation that seemingly turned into a pep rally.
Crossley kept the meeting upbeat, optimistic, hopeful, added some humor and created interaction by asking audience members to raise their right hand to take a pledge in support of the Hope Schools’ transformation.
The main message of the meeting was that the student comes first, let’s get the entire community involved in tutoring, mentoring, supporting, and volunteering and let’s invest in the teachers as well as the bus drivers and cafeteria workers.
“Now don’t come out and offer to substitute a class on one of your crazy days,” said Crossley with a smile.
Some of the goals of implementation included that at high school graduation, the student will have a job, a skilled trade certification, or have one year of college completed without the sting of student debt.
Farmers Bank was thanked as a big contributor to scholarship funds for the students.
Crossley said, “Taking care of the microcosm of the schools at the student level, benefits the community with better jobs, bigger businesses coming to the area as well as social and economic upward mobility.”
Dr. Crossley had pre-selected speakers on hand to face the audience, including the school board president, a high school principal, a representative from the University of Arkansas at Hope, a Bobcat alumnus and a soon-to-be graduate, who was also a student-elected board student council member.
Also listed as goals for the funding were to achieve approximately 90 percent on grade level by the end of 1st grade. Currently, that percentage is in the mid-fortieth percentile.
Home-to-school advisors for the child before he or she is in Pre-K, field trips abroad, or having the field come to the school. For example, Crossley said, instead of going to the symphony, we could have the symphony come to us.
Additionally, more clubs and extracurricular activities which have proven to result in higher rates of high school graduation.
Lastly, Crossley held a Q&A session where the last audience comment was said, “Thank you, Dr. Crossley, for what you are doing for Hope schools.”
The audience appeared to have mixed reviews, some laughing and clapping while others looked somewhat confused.
Another recurring message during the presentation, Crossley said, “I love you; I really do.”
