Congratulations to the AAA Community- we have made it through the first three days of school with tremendous success. Thanks to your help and patience, things have gone extremely well and I am proud to say highly uneventful. Your trust in our school community by sending your students to school with a mask is greatly appreciated. We are working diligently to ensure every student and staff member remains safe and protected. We are following all CDC protocols and will continue to do so without hesitation. Student safety is our #1 priority.
For those that I haven’t met, I am Dr. Allison Roberts and am thrilled to be the CEO of the Arkansas Arts Academy. I come to AAA with decades of experience as an arts teacher and leader. I am an Arkansas native, growing up in Prairie County within a 4 generational farming family. My professional experiences have been in multiple different states and most recently working for Governor Asa Hutchinson as his Education Advisor. I want to thank everyone for their instant hospitality. I have met a few families at either the Back to School nights or the Meet and Greets held at both campuses. If I have not met you, please stop by the Administration Office to say Hello. My door is always open.
I wanted to update you on some changes that are happening within our district.
First off, I am very proud to announce that Heather Davis, the principal at the High School, has been promoted to the role of District Testing and Data Coordinator. I am thrilled- as this position is essential to continued student success and Heather has great strengths in this area. With Heather’s background in state testing coordination (for both campuses) and her foundational knowledge of district staff, she will play an invaluable role as we work to identify learning gaps, address loss of learning through COVID-19, work to increase integrated curriculum development as well as merge into data analysis and data decision making within our PLC development. Heather will work closely with teachers on both campuses to help facilitate data analysis, coach/mentor PLC teams, assist teachers with the identification of priority standards and help create individualized differentiated instruction. She will be available to model teaching, provide teacher relief for those wanting to observe colleagues and strengthen cross content collaboration. This work will help us ensure that our students are learning in approaches that best meet their needs and through methods that continue to excite and engage. With Heather's background she will be an incredible resource. I am so glad this position will free her up to work with teachers directly and with administrators to plan PLC experiences for teachers. As we move into all staff being on EdReflect as our evaluation tool, she will help you gather and upload the evidence to support your Personal Growth Plan goals. Heather will office in the Administration building and will also work closely with Beth Scott, our Director of Student Services, to closely align students modifications and IEP requirements within all testing and curriculum development. Please congratulate Heather. The timing isn’t ideal, but the work she is going to do, along with the great teaching staff will be extraordinary!
This will leave a vacancy for the High School Principal role, which has already been advertised. I will be looking for a few staff and parents to be on the interview committee. This is a significant role and I want the least upset possible. It's significant that the person selected understands the vision and mission of Arkansas Arts Academy and is willing to prioritize arts integration and instructional leadership in their role- as well meet the staff and students where they are. I promise to make this transition as seamlessly as it can be.
Secondly, I have asked Aaron Jones to relocate his office to the High School campus. This will allow him to increase his teacher contact time and be accessible for High School teachers throughout the day to help develop and implement arts integrated instruction. He is a wealth of information and experiences and I want to free him up to let him work his magic. Aaron will also work with the K-6 staff and hopefully generate greater K-12 collaboration around the arts. He will also assist in campus tours, help the arts teachers push out more into the community for exhibitions and performances and continue to fuel arts integration. As part of our driving mission at AAA, I strive to provide the resources to K-12 for advancing arts possibilities. Aaron will work in collaboration with Heather for rotating PLC planning alternating between academic data analysis and arts integration. They will make a dynamic team.
Pam Lewis, formerly the K-6 registrar is now the District (K-12) registrar and will be located at the Administrative office. We now have ONE location for all K-12 student registration. This will help streamline registration processes and ensure we have all the necessary information to enroll students. At the Administrative Office Pam will be in close proximity to our Student Services team, who ensure all SPED and 504 paperwork is in compliance when a student enters our district. We will also work to provide community resources for families if needed and have a better understanding of how to best provide wrap-around services to our families. If you are a community member that has resources to provide, please stop by and let us know.
I feel so blessed to work with such an amazing group of people and be surrounded by an incredible community. I can’t thank everyone enough for your warm welcome and incredible hospitality. Please reach out anytime if needed.
Have a fantastic weekend!
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Dr. Allison RobertsCEO
Arkansas Arts Academy
1110 W. Poplar Street, Ste. A
Rogers, Arkansas 72756
479-877-1795
aroberts@artsk12.org
