Romania hosting 5 from Batesville
Two Batesville High School students and three district staff members are in Romania assisting a sister school in Sighisoara with their technology needs, Batesville High Principal David Campbell said last week.
Juniors Emma Whiteacre and Amanda Okolo, teacher Jeanne Roepcke and two technology specialists are delivering a three-dimensional printer and accompanying laptop computer and software to the school, and sharing information on how to best use the equipment.
The students, who are enrolled in Batesville High's Environmental and Spatial Technology class, known as EAST, applied for and received a $5,000 grant from Citizens Bank in Batesville for the equipment. The school is helping with the travel expenses, Campbell said.
The students and staff became aware of the technology needs at the Romanian school through Roberta Bustin, who is a missionary and teacher living in Sighisoara after teaching chemistry for many years at Lyon College in Batesville.
Once the Batesville team returns, the Batesville High EAST class will use Skype to work with the Romanian school throughout the year, Campbell said.
Protest of takeover leads to exchange
Little Rock School District Superintendent Baker Kurrus and Civic Advisory Committee member Anika Whitfield engaged in a brief but testy exchange at last week's monthly committee meeting.
Kurrus said he was troubled by a significant drop in district enrollment this year and noted that actions taken by district representatives affect those numbers.
Whitfield responded later in the meeting that committee members are supportive of the district, noting that otherwise they wouldn't be on the committee.
Kurrus asked her if a statement about "enslaving kids" was helpful. The statement was made at an organized protest against the state takeover of the school district. The protest, attended by Whitfield and fellow Civic Advisory Committee member Joy Springer, was billed as a "wake for democracy" and was held on the front steps of the district's administration building.
Whitfield, who accused Kurrus of "filibustering" and failing to provide specific facts about individual school enrollments to the Civic Advisory Committee, said she stood by the statement and that it was helpful in raising public awareness.
"It was not referring to you, but it was referring to the system of taking away our democracy," she told Kurrus about the "enslaving kids" comment. "That is helpful because it engages more parents to realize that they can't just send their kids to school and expect other people to teach them and fix them. You must be engaged, and you must be aware what is going on with your child."
Communications office wins awards
The communications office in the Pulaski County Special School District is the recent recipient of two awards from the National School Public Relations Association.
Awards of Excellence, the highest level of distinction, were presented in the categories of Publications and Electronic Media for the 2014-2015 Directory/Handbook (calendar) and for the district's annual branding campaign.
Staff in the communications office for the Pulaski County Special district are Executive Director of Communications Deborah Roush, communications coordinator Janet O'Neal, graphic artist Rob Moffett and photographer Katie Childs.
Metro on 09/27/2015