Happy new school year! The Health Information Form was sent to all parents this morning via email. Please complete one form for each student.
The guidance below will help you determine when your student should stay home from school. If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to your campus nurse.
Katie Milligan, RN (ES campus) kmilligan@artsk12.org
McCrea Sikkink, RN (HS campus) msikkink@artsk12.org
@AAA welcomed all teachers back to campus today. Discussing our AAA strategic plan, @ArtfulLearning, Arts Integration and how we will continue to collaborate with our incredible community and museum partners. We ended the morning session with everyone tie-dying! Where else but an arts school. #arkansasartsacademy, #schoolchoice, #artsintegration
Please help us welcome Kyle Smithers to AAA High School. Mr. Smithers has been teaching history and coaching football, basketball, and soccer in south Arkansas for the last 4 years. He graduated from Gravette High school in 2012 and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith in 2018 with a bachelor's in History Education. He loves to work out, stay active, go to the lake, and hang out with friends. He is excited to get to work at Arkansas Arts Academy this upcoming school year!
AAA is excited to have Thomas Free join our math department! He will be teaching Geometry and Algebra II. Mr. Free holds a BBA - Baylor University (Accounting / Finance), a MBA - Baylor University (Finance / Economics) and a MAT - University of Arkansas (Secondary Math)
In his spare time Mr. Free enjoys writing, painting, track and field official, horse racing, farming (Cotton, Soybeans, Corn), commodities (Gold, Oil) and stocks (Research / Buying and Selling).
He is also a big fan of hair bands of the 80s !
Mandy Hicks will be joining the AAA HS Team as an Academic Coach, as well as teaching Honors Math courses. Mrs. Hicks is entering her 32nd year in education, and math is her passion! She and her husband, Clayton, enjoy spending time with family and friends, especially the grandchildren. Mrs. Hicks began her teaching career in Louisiana, and she also taught for 18 years in Springdale. She's worked as an AP Calculus Reader, and she conducts workshops for both students and teachers in mathematics. At home, she and her husband have one dog, two cats, and a small flock of chickens.
Welcome to AAA Valerie Breckenridge! After going back to school in her thirties, Mrs. Breckenridge obtained a BA in English while simultaneously taking all education courses and began teaching immediately in Cave City, AR, her home town. She now has 23 years of teaching experience in Arkansas and Florida. She returned to Arkansas two years ago to live near her young grandchildren. She has two cats, Mr. Darcy and Ms. Lizzie, named for Pride and Prejudice. She loves living in the Rogers area. She is thrilled to be a part of Arkansas Arts Academy as Academic Coach for English and History. She looks forward to the opportunity to serve our school and our community!
@artsk12.org is looking forward to seeing students and families next week as gear up for the start of school on August 17, 2023.
We are excited to have Brian Davenport join our team as one of our new P.E/Health teachers. Mr. Davenport graduated from Southern Nazarene University and has 12 years of teaching/coaching experience. He moved to NWA in 2014 from Little Rock. He absolutely loves being a dad, and spending time with my kids. He also enjoys being outdoors, exercising, and being active. His hobbies include basketball, hiking, fishing and camping.
"I wholeheartedly believe that visual and performing arts are such a vital parts to the educational development all students. I am so excited to be a part of the Arkansas Arts Academy family of students and staff!"
Help us welcome Mr. Davenport!
Welcome Elizabeth Cole to the AAA HS Team! Mrs. Cole will be teaching 8th grade math and Algebra I. This will be her second year teaching and she is so excited to hit the ground running. She and her husband have three children who keep them very busy. Some of her hobbies include reading, doing puzzles, and playing board games. We are excited to see all the amazing things that will be happening in her classroom this year!
Important Information for the week! Check it out!
https://www.smore.com/yv6jc4
Ellen McEwen is excited to join the AAA HS team as a 9th grade English teacher. She taught freshman composition courses at the University of Arkansas for three years while working on her master’s degree in Comparative Literature & Cultural Studies, spent two years at Fayetteville High School as a paraprofessional and long-term sub, and most recently co-taught English 10 at Springdale High School. She loves speculative fiction; knows how to play piano; is slowly teaching herself the accordion and bass ukulele; is in two different Dungeons and Dragons campaigns; and enjoys hiking, camping, and kayaking when she has time and the weather cooperates. She lives in Fayetteville with her husband, Shaun, and their two cats, Mulligan and Leia. She is looking forward to getting to know the students at AAA and continuing to improve as a teacher. Welcome Mrs. McEwen!
Arkansas Arts Academy High school is happy to bring Taylor Moseley to the team. He is originally from Nashville, TN. He now lives in Northwest Arkansas with his wife Anna and his 3 month old Harrison. Growing up he fell in love with all things outdoors, hunting, and fishing. Taylor is also the proud owner of Flourish Coffee Company, serving up bean juice since 2022.
Taylor has been a physical education teacher for the past two years.
Taylor said, "I am so incredibly excited to share the craft and practical skills that archery has to offer. Whether you are looking for a unique and fun skill with the potential to compete nationally, or interested in taking your first steps into the world of hunting and conservation, archery has a world of treasures to offer." Taylor will be teaching a combination of P.E/Health, Archery, and Mountain Biking. Welcome to AAA!
Arkansas Arts Academy High School is excited to add Theresa Daniels to the team. She is a longtime educator from South Arkansas. She enjoys music and reading in her spare time. She also enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband, Bruce, and their grandchildren. Mrs. Daniels will be teaching Career Development and Key Coding this year! Welcome to AAA!
Kindergarten families, we cannot wait to meet you at Open House on August 14 at 5:00. After you meet your teacher, join us on the playground for a picnic hosted by PTA! Please let us know if you are coming by using the QR code or by clicking on the link below by August 10. The elementary is at 2005 S. 12th Street in Rogers. See you there! https://forms.gle/fCZrxRi9SFFJMKGv9
AAA is excited to welcome Todd Belin a dancer/choreographer and owner of MOVES IN MOTION LLC created to Impact, Inspire, and Motivate individuals through movement to Arkansas Arts Academy High School. His mission is to create opportunities for the performing arts and provide services for all things entertainment! Belin graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a BFA in Dance Performance. Belin has studied Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop and Choreography. Later he moved to Atlanta, Georgia to continue the building of his career and studying the numerous styles of urban and ethnic dance. Belin has worked with many different companies across the nation such as Dallas Black Dance Theater, Arkansas Festival Ballet, Ozark Ballet Theater, Afriky LoLo, ATLA Connect, Contra Tiempo and more. He has been published in many articles for his work such as Shoutout Atlanta, Voyage ATL, Inviting Arkansas, Butterfly Magazine, Arkansas Democratic Gazette and more. Mr. Belin offer services such as group/private dance sessions, community dance classes, mentorship and more. We are very excited to have Mr. Belin join our team and help inspire the upcoming generation of dancers!
Keith Todd grew up in a small farm community in northwest Arkansas called Clifty, Madison County. As a teen, he began agricultural work with cattle and on a breeder chicken farm on which he eventually served as foreman. Academically, he has earned an associate degree from Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville, Arkansas, a bachelor of education in secondary social studies with an emphasis in history from Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri, and a masters degree in history from the University of Arkansas, where he also worked full time at the University Bookstore as the assistant textbook department manager for their bookstore and later their logistics and warehouse manager. His master’s thesis—a biography of the pre-gubernatorial life and career of Arkansas’s eighth governor, Isaac Murphy, won the Foster Beason award for the best thesis or dissertation in Arkansas history from the Arkansas Historical Association in 2019. He has previously taught at Lakeside High School in Hot Springs, AR and W. B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi, TX, the former from which he has recently moved to again take up residence in his beloved Ozarks. His hobbies include paintball, mountain biking, playing bass guitar and drums, calligraphy, hiking, learning, and traveling. Welcome to AAA!
AAA K-6 Welcomes Ms. Shannon Banks!
Ms. Banks is starting her 31st year in education! Most recently she taught Special Education and psychology in Bentonville Schools. "I’m looking forward to making new friends and working with students in Reading Intervention!" Ms. Banks is a native of Oklahoma, and she came to Arkansas to attend Harding University in Searcy. She has a 16-year-old son who attended AAA in elementary school and a 28-year-old daughter who attended high school at AAA, where she developed a passion for guitar playing! "I am a (volunteer) certified wildlife rehabilitator with the Arkansas Game and Fish, and I enjoy working out, yoga, hiking and being with my family and friends. I’m looking forward to meeting teachers, students and parents soon!" Welcome to the AAA team, Ms. Banks!
AAA High school welcomes Dr. Bianca Kuczynski to the team! This will be her ninth year in high school education. She is a native of Germany, but has spent her adult life in various southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and now Arkansas). Dr. Kuczynski and her partner have four furry babies (a Husky, an Akita mix, and two cats) who keep them busy. This Hufflepuff can't wait to continue her career in education at AAA!
ACT 656 was announced today!
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