Washington County Schools Start Smoothly
1,003 New Students Report In Springdale
Last updated Monday, August 18, 2008 9:32 PM CDT in News
By Rose Ann Pearce
THE MORNING NEWS
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Butterfield Trail Elementary School in Fayetteville was buzzing by 7:30 a.m. as students and parents searched for classrooms and their new teachers Monday, as did thousands of students across Washington County.
Springdale officials were surprised when more than 1,000 new students reported for classes. In 2007, 15,970 attended the first day of school in Springdale compared with the 16,973 students in class Monday.
Hartzell Jones, the district's assistant superintendent for personnel, said most of the registrations came in the past two weeks. Springdale school officials, like others in Northwest Arkansas, were predicting a much smaller increase in new students because of the economic downturn.
Springdale is welcoming its largest kindergarten class of 1,629 students, Jones said. Kindergarten enrollment in 2007 was 1,533; in 2006, 1,532.
In Donna Modica's second grade at Butterfield Trail, the early arrivals settled into chairs to color an apple and two pencils copied onto a sheet of paper. Later in the morning, the children cut out each piece and glued them together.
As more students arrived, they too found seats and began coloring. Michele White, a literacy aide, worked her way through the chairs, applying name tags as students arrived.
Most of the 27 students assigned to Modica's classroom were in place at 8 a.m. when Principal Joey Folsom announced on the intercom that it was time to say the Pledge of Allegiance. The pledge will start each day, Folsom announced.
The scene was likely repeated in schools across Northwest Arkansas on Monday as students started a new school year. The only new school to open this year in Washington County was Folsom Elementary School in Farmington, named for retired teacher Bob Folsom.
"Smooth" was the word of the day for district officials starting the school year. Things were running so smoothly at Springdale High School that by 9 a.m. -- 15 minutes after the bell sounded -- students picking up schedules or making changes were out of the office and in class, a spokesman said.
Back at Butterfield, after reciting the pledge, Modica and White began the business of getting the students organized, first by storing tissue, wipes and disinfecting hand wash, hanging backpacks on hooks in the hallway, putting crayons and markers in plastic bags and collecting extra pencils and red ink pens in tubs.
Students are sitting around tables this year, rather than at individual desks, meaning "there is no place to put things," Modica explained.
Within the first hour, the students learned Modica's first two classroom rules: Use your whisper voice to talk to your neighbor and raise your hand to talk to the teacher.
"You have a lot of important things to say," Modica said. "When you raise your hand, I get my eyes and ears ready to listen. I won't talk to you unless you raise your hand."
The students also were catching on to a "heads down" command, which Modica uses as a control measure when children get too talkative.
As the week progresses and the students settle into the second-grade routine, they will spend the first two and half hours each day in reading with an hour each day set aside for math, an hour and 15 minutes for science and social studies, and an hour for special activities such as music or art.
Folsom said the school year was starting with a good first day as students and teachers took construction in stride. The school is undergoing a major renovation to accommodate more students and to enclose the classrooms.
The school is closed off from the addition under construction. Five portable classrooms ring the school. Wooden walkways lead to a temporary entrance.
"I'll miss the open space," Modica said. "We'll have bigger rooms but we won't have the camaraderie we have now." She has been a Butterfield teacher for 19 of her 26 years as a teacher.
The new addition is to be completed by December, at which time the classrooms will be moved to the new section and work will begin enclosing the old classrooms. The project is expected to be finished by August 2009, at which time new attendance zones likely will be completed by the Fayetteville School Board.
AT A GLANCE
Butterfield Trail Elementary School
Address: 3050 Old Missouri Road, Fayetteville
Attendance: 429
Mascot: Broncos
Motto: "Blazing trails to the future"
Source: Fayetteville School District
AT A GLANCE
Enrollment Totals
Here's a look at first-day attendance this year compared to the first day of school last year.
School officials say enrollment figures fluctuate widely during the first two weeks of school as students withdraw, transfer or return from late summer vacations.
Oct. 1 is the first official enrollment report to the Arkansas Department of Education.
Benton County
School District 2008 2007
Benton County School of the Arts 455 457
Bentonville 12,100 11,824
Decatur n/a 596
Gentry 1,458 1,463
Gravette 1,721 1,675
Northwest Arkansas Academy of Fine Arts 212 212
Pea Ridge 1,599 1,556
Rogers 13,618 13,355
Siloam Springs 3,642 3,524
Washington County
Elkins 1,139 1,137
Farmington n/a 2,100
Fayetteville 8,311 8,251
Greenland 765 n/a
Haas Hall Academy 118 87
Lincoln n/a n/a
Prairie Grove 1,634 1,628
Springdale 16,973 15,970
West Fork 1,256 1,251
Source: School Districts
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