The OnlyConstant isChange!

The Annual Report2008-09

2 The Only Constant is Change!

FayettevilleBoard ofEducation

Susan HeilPresident

Tim HudsonVice President

Tim KringSecretary-Treasurer

Howard HamiltonMember

Jim HalsellMember

Steve PercivalMember

Becky PurcellMember

The Fayetteville Board of Education is the governing body of theschool district, charged with setting policies and direction for ourschools. Seven members serve on the board, and members areelected to five-year terms.

Jim Halsell was elected to the at-large seat #2 on the Boardafter a run-off election in September of 2008. Halsell replacedConrad Odom, who had filled the unexpired term of John Delap,who left the Board to return to teaching.

The Board meets monthly on the fourth Thursday of each month(except November and December, when they meet on the thirdThursday) at 5 pm in the Adams Leadership Center at 1000West Stone. All regular meetings are broadcast live on fayar.tvand online at www.fayar.net

The Only Constant is Change! 3

New Retires,Thomas NamedSuperintendent

On June 30, Dr. Bobby New retired as superintendent of theFayetteville Public Schools, concluding his thirty-seventh yearcareer as an educator. New was the eighth superintendent inthe history of the district, and he served for thirteen years. Weare grateful to Dr. New for his years of dedicated service andthe myriad accomplishments achieved under his direction.

In April of 2009, the Fayetteville Board of Education voted tohire Vicki Thomas to replace New as superintendent, effectiveJuly 1, 2009. Thomas was previously the deputysuperintendent for the Pasasdena (TX) Independent SchoolDistrict. A native of Walnut Ridge, AR, Thomas received her BAdegree from the University of Arkansas. She received hermasters degree and her superintendent’s certification from theUniversity of Houston at Clear Lake.

From Mrs. Thomas:

“I am truly honored to have the opportunity to serve as yoursuperintendent of schools, and my family and I look forward tobecoming a part of this wonderful community. It is impressiveto see the great value that the citizens of Fayetteville place oneducation. Working together, we have the opportunity to buildupon the wonderful traditions of excellence that are in placeand to continue to create a world-class educational program.

“I look forward to meeting you in the near future, working withyou, and providing service and support to our campuses as wework diligently to meet the needs of students!”

� The FHS Choir won “Best in Snow” at the 2009 DisneyChoir Festival in Orlando.

� FHS golf coach Kyle Adams was named the 2008Arkansas Golf Coach of the Year.

� Holcomb Elementary School teacher Helen Eaton wasnamed the 2008 Arkansas English Teacher of the Year.

� The FHS baseball team won its fourth consecutive statechampionship.

� The FHS girls golf team won their fourth consecutivestate championship.

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AnotherYear ofChampions!

Fayetteville High School continued the tradition of championshipteams in 2008-09, including record-setting performances inbasketball.

The Fayetteville High School boys and girls basketball teams bothcompleted undefeated, championship seasons in the 2008-09season. No other public high school in the U.S. has had two teamscomplete perfect seasons in the same sport in the same year!

FHS senior Fred Gulley was named the 2009 Gatorade ArkansasBasketball Player of the Year.

Both the girls golf and boys baseball teams won their fourthconsecutive state championships. Girls golf coach Kyle Adams wasalso named the 2008 Arkansas Girls Golf Coach of the Year.

The Only Constant is Change! 5

The NationTakesNotice

National recognition came to several of our programs during the2008-09 school year. Here is a collage of the proud winners.

counter clockwise from upper left:

� The Woodland Jr. High’s 2009 yearbook wins national designaward.

� The Fayetteville High School choir wins “Best in Show” at the2009 Festival Disney.

� The Fayetteville High School Marching Band performed in the2008 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

� FHS-TV took first place in the 2009 Student TV Networknational competition.

Also, the district website (www.fayar.net) received a nationaldesign award, as did the 2007-08 Annual Report.

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Arkansas’sBest EducatorsWork Here

Helen EatonHolcomb Elementary School

Matt SaferiteRamay Jr. High School

Geniece YatesFayetteville High School

Each year educators from our district are recognized by their peers for their oustandingwork, and 2008-09 was no exception.

Helen Eaton, who teaches at Holcomb Elementary School, was named the 2008Arkansas English Teacher of the year.

Matt Saferite, the principal at Ramay Jr. High School, was named the 2009 ArkansasSecondary Principal of the Year by Arkansas Association of Secondary SchoolAdministrators.

Geniece Yates, who teaches journalism at Fayetteville High School and is the facultyadvisor to The Register student newspaper, was named the 2009 Advisor of the Year bythe Arkansas Scholastic Press Association.

Also, McNair Middle School was named to the “Schools to Watch List” by the NationalForum to Accelerate Middle-School Reform.

Congratulations to these very deserving winners! It’s great to see the rest of the statetaking notice of what we’ve known for years. Some of the best educators in Arkansas(and the nation!) work in the Fayetteville Public Schools!

The Only Constant is Change! 7

The Budget

Operating a school district that serves more then 8,500students, employs more than 1,300 staff members, andmaintains more than 2,000,000 square feet of facilities requiressubstantial amounts of money. Below is the 2008-09 budget forour school district.

More than 80% of the district’s budget is spent on salaries andfringe benefits. Also, more than 56% of our revenue comes fromlocal property taxes. Federal funds comprise only 9% of ourannual revenue.

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Creating a21st Centurylearningsystem

The Fayetteville School District has begun work on an ambitiousproject: create a 21st Century learning system that better addressesthe gap between how students are educated and the skills they willactually need in their careers.

Several factors led to the decision to make such a monumentalchange. For many years, Fayetteville has had the highest test scoresin the region, but that is no longer true. In fact, Fayetteville no longerhas the top scores among Northwest Arkansas schools in eithermath or literacy scores at any grade level on the ArkansasBenchmark Exam. Also, a significant number of Fayetteville studentsare dropping out, and unprecedented numbers are seeking GEDdiplomas. In addition, the achievement gap between the "haves" and“have-nots” is as high as 40% in some grade levels.

Rather than simply ringing the alarm bells, the school board, thesuperintendent, and all district staff have embraced this opportunityto create something remarkable. It's time for a major, systemicchange to Fayetteville Public Schools to provide all students the 21stcentury learning skills necessary to be successful in an ever-changing, global society.

To begin the change process, representatives from every school inthe district, from grades K-12, and district administrators developed adraft framework for the massive job ahead.

Sixty-two key people representing all schools, all grade levels, and allprograms formed seven teams to tackle a critical component of ournew 21st century learning system. Each team is gathering data,conducting additional research, and collaborarting in a variety of waysto define goals and timelies.

The seven teams include:Curriculum / Instruction / Assessment Learning Structure Professional Learning Time and Scheduling Parternships Student Support Services Communication

As a result of the work performed by the seven teams, it was decidedthat the district would focus on developing a district-wide system forassuring literacy and other 21st Century learning skills.

We will work with Phi Delta Kappa International to complete acurriculum audit by Spring 2010. In the meantime, a district literacyteam will gather data from all schools to add to the informationcollected during the curriculum audit to develop a district-wide literacyplan. The literacy team will also provide ongoing professionaldevelopment for teachers in research-based literacy practices.

The Only Constant is Change! 9

Creating aNew

FayettevilleHigh School

The process to create a new Fayetteville High School has been along and sometimes contentious one. There is near unanimousagreement that the facilities at FHS are outdated and should beupgraded or replaced.

Here is a timeline of the decisions made to date:

February 22, 2007: School board votes 4-3 to accept the Future of FHSCommittee’s recommendation that the future of Fayetteville High Schoolshould be as one campus, instead of two. Also, the board votes 7-0 toauthorize the administration to try to determine the value of the currentFHS and administration building properties and try to determine if thereare any parties interested in purchasing the properties.

March 17, 2007: School board votes 4-3 to accept the recommendationof the Future of FHS Select Committee that the future grade span of FHSshould be 9-12.

October 25, 2007: Board member Tim Hudson agrees to chair the FHSSelect Committee II and outlined some considerations for the newcommittee, including academics, affordability, accessibility, added value,and sustainability. The primary charge to the committee would be toanswer the question “where will we build the grades 9-12 high school?”

April 24, 2008: The Future of FHS Select Committee II presents arecommendation that the new Fayetteville High School be constructed onproperty on Morningside Drive that is bounded to the north by HuntsvilleRoad and to the south by 15th Street

May 29, 2008: School board votes 6-1 to offer FHS property for sale tothe University of Arkansas, also votes 7-0 to authorize the adminstrationto pursue purchase of the Morningside Drive property for a new FHS.(However, negotiations did not ultimately result in a sale, and the UAwithdrew their offer.)

September 25, 2008: School board votes 7-0 to commit to building anew 21st Century high school on the current FHS site. The Board alsovotes 7-0 to authorize the administration to “conceptualize and present aplan for a 21st Century school district.”

December 18, 2008: School board votes 6-1 to set a target size for anew high school of 3,000 students in grades 9-12, to be contingent uponthe curriculum and architectural design being centered around a 21stcentury learning model and small learning community concepts.

May 28, 2009: School board votes 6-1 to place a millage rate increaseproposal on the ballot for the annual school election for the constructionof new facilities, including, but not limited to, a new high school.

June 25, 2009: School board votes 6-0 to ask voters to approve a 4.9 milincrease on the September 15 school election ballot for the constructionof a new Fayetteville High School, based on master plan #2, which wasdeveloped through a series of community meetings.

September 15, 2009: Millage increase is defeated by a margin of 63%against, 37% for.

October 22, 2009: School board votes 7-0 to approve a resolution toallow the district to receive stimulus tax credits that will enable the districtto make $45 million in facility improvements at FHS and $7 million towardthe construction of the new Happy Hollow Elementary School.

October 26, 2009: School board votes 6-0 to enter negotiations withHight Jackson/DLR/Marlon Blackwell architects for the design of facilityimprovements to FHS.

October 27, 2009: School board votes 7-0 to enter negotiations withNabholz Construction to be the construction manager for the facilityimprovements to FHS.

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Some changes were more visible than others in 2008-09.Physical changes were made to several campuses, and anoutstanding educator completed her final year of service.

Butterfield Trail Elementary School was the proud recipientof a new playground, courtesy of Kaboom and Home Depot.

Woodland Jr. High received a facelift just before marking the50th birthday of the school in 2009.

The new Happy Hollow Elementary School was approved bythe school board. Construction will begin in the 2009-10 schoolyear.

Root ElementarySchool principal FayeJones retired in Juneof 2009. She beganher work in theFayetteville PublicSchools in 1970, andshe served as akindergarten teacherfor 22 years beforebecoming anadministrator. Thankyou, Faye, for a jobextraordinarily welldone!

In a Year ofChange,Even MoreChanges

The Only Constant is Change! 11

Changing theWay We

Communicate.While the tried and true methods of communicating are still activelyused throughout our district, newer methods and student-producedcommunications were the newsmakers of 2008-09.

Our web site (www.fayar.net) has become the primary conduit forreleasing information to our community. News releases are postedto the district’s blog page, as well as being disseminated to themedia. The national-award winning re-design of our web pages hasresulted in a content-rich, yet navigationally-friendly web presencefor the school district.

Fayetteville High School students became some of the first highschool students in the nation to broadcast high school footballgames live on cable television and the Internet. With the help ofengineer Cary Pollock and FHS TV teacher Peggy James, FHS-TVcreated a remote broadcast vehicle (a renovated school bus) andbroadcast all of the home football games from Harmon Field.Students operated the cameras, directed the camera shots, andproduced the signal that was sent to Cox Cable and to our districtwebsite. Thanks for Cox Communications and the City ofFayetteville for making these broadcasts possible!

Social media became part of the district’s communication toolboxwhen we open a Twitter account (fayar) and a Facebook page inJanuary of 2009. The accounts became even more valuable duringthe ice storm, when cell phones were the primary method ofcommunication for many households in Fayetteville for severaldays. Our public information officer, Alan Wilbourn, is also a regularTwitter user, and he can be followed at Alan_Wilbourn.

PreparingStudents forLifetime ofChange

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