406 St. Francis St., Marked Tree, Arkansas  72365   (870) 358-2913

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Softball


Principal's Blog

Link:  markedtreehighschool.blogspot.in



As some of you have seen, there is a lot of construction taking place on both campuses.  This was made possible by the citizens of our community and we are so grateful that you voted to improve our facilities.  It is my sincere hope that we give you something to be proud of for years to come!  As with any new endeavor, there will be change.  Both campuses will operate slightly differently.  We have started trying to disseminate that information through social media and our webpage, but we also intend to share it at open house tonight.  A traffic plan for both campuses will be shared tomorrow through out social media platforms.  We apologize for the inconveniences we are sure these changes will create, but these are means to an end.  Please be patient with us during this exciting, yet challenging time.

There is a lot of concern about the space at the high school.  Let me reassure we have a plan that works.   There are 21 classroom spaces to accommodate 250 7th-12th graders.  While it appears we won't have as much classroom space as we did in past due to losing so much of our school, we only utilized 5 classroom on the old end.  While we won't have as much square footage, we will have plenty of room.  That is due to us being more efficient with how we use our space.  For example, Coach Frazier does not utilize his classroom in the morning.  That created a way for Coach Permenter to have his math classes.  It will look drastically different that what it has in the past, but we are certain the plan will work.

Also, I know many of you are concerned about why it took so long to get started!  Why would we be starting this, now?  As many of you have heard me say, there are three factors when it comes to construction:  time, quality, and money.  We get to control two of those factors.  The two most important  factors to our district is having a high quality product while being as fiscally sound and responsible as we can.  While we were ready to start around the middle of May, our architect and construction manager told us that if we waited and made our design better, we could save a lot of money.  Not only did we save money, but we saved so much that we are going to be able to build a new elementary cafeteria.  This effort cost us time!  However, we thought it would be better to have a later starting date, save $800,000, and use that money to build a cafeteria.  Did it create an inconvenience?  Absolutely.  Will it give us a better product?  There is no doubt!

Concerning new initiatives, we are focusing greatly on improving reading in our district.  Since last February, we have worked diligently on creating an aligned, viable curriculum for our students.  If you have read my posts in the past, you know how important this goal is for me.  More importantly, it is extremely important for each student who graces us with their presence.  A lot of time, effort, and resources are going into this initiative.  We hope you take part in it by ensuring that your children read at home.  While it is important they read their assigned school work, I can't stress enough the importance of allowing them time to read for pleasure.  That is truly how lifelong readers are built.  If we build a community of readers, we also build a generation of students who have the power to change their lives.  Ultimately, most of the knowledge we gain will come through one of two avenues: reading or experience.  



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