DE QUEEN – The De Queen School District is entering its second week of the new school year with increased enrollment and a strong academic report from the Arkansas Department of Education.
On Monday, Superintendent Jason Sanders provided members of the De Queen School Board with a state-mandated academic report rating the district in the top 14 percent of Arkansas schools. He also noted an increase of nearly 40 students enrolled at De Queen Public Schools compared to last year.
“We’re happy to see we’re growing at De Queen,” said Sanders. “We’re very pleased to see we’re in the top 14 percent of all academic schools in the state and the top school in this area in just about every single test, every single grade.”
Students at De Queen Public Schools are likely to notice a big change this school year: the cuisine. The district launched a new partnership over the summer with Chartwell’s Food Service to provide more nutritious and innovative food options for students and staff. The company provides food service for both the University of Arkansas and the University of Oklahoma, along with sports venues and theme parks across the country.
Sanders said the district is excited to offer its students a variety of new and quality meal options this year.
“There’s a lot of offerings for the kids, a lot of options and the quality is very good,” said Sanders. “Our staff has done a tremendous job in this transition. We’re also looking at starting a coffee shop at our high school in the next month or so.”
In addition, the district is investing around $100,000 in each of its four kitchens to implement the new food service options alongside renovations aimed at updating the facilities and making them more aesthetically pleasing.
Sanders also provided an update on another exciting development at De Queen Public Schools: a brand new agri-science department and a first-ever school farm. The district hopes to keep the cost of the new facility around $400,000-500,000 and complete it sometime this winter. Sanders said De Queen is seeking grants to help cover the expected cost.
Part of the appeal of the proposed school farm is to provide space for students who don’t have access to land to raise their own livestock.
“We call it a school farm but it’s basically an animal science facility,” explained Sanders. “Our architect is working on those plans and we’re going to other schools to see what they’ve done. We think there’s a lot of neat programs we can use this facility for. For instance, if a student always wanted an animal project but that’s not an option for their family, they can rely on this facility.”
Given agriculture’s importance to the economy of Southwest Arkansas, Sanders said the new facility would provide vital educational experiences for students at De Queen Public Schools.
“Raising and taking care of animals, with our industry in Southwest Arkansas, is big,” said Sanders. “By having animals on site for kids to see, our judging teams to see, we can do some things we haven’t been able to do in the past.”
One of the final items discussed during Monday’s school board meeting was a perennial issue: a lack of bus drivers. That shortage has been felt across the nation ahead of the return of school this month. Sanders said the district still lacks a few drivers and has had to rely on teachers, coaches and administrators to fill the gap. Monday night, the board approved a small increase to the pay for substitute drivers who drive longer routes to help bring more fairness to the substitute driver program.
The next meeting of the De Queen School Board, which will include the district’s annual Report to the Public, is scheduled for Sept. 12 at 5:30 p.m.