Engagement MATtERS Arkansas
Engagement updates for the families, schools and communities of Arkansas
October 2021
Students work in the Muleshoe Market in Mineral Springs, Arkansas, to learn retailing skills in a community service learning model.
muleshoe market gives to community, gives students an opportunity to serve
The Muleshoe Market is a backpack and pantry program that serves the students of the Mineral Springs School District in southwest Arkansas. The Muleshoe Market provides food and hygiene items to students and families in need. This year, the District started a Community Service class that can be taken as an elective. The students help by ordering, packing and delivering food. They also are learning to budget and take inventory. This year the Market packs around 44 weekly backpacks for grades K-6 to take home each Friday. They also have roughly 20 high school students grades 7-12 who come and either shop the pantry or email their order in to be packed.
"This is a great program and it really helps the community since the District has such a high poverty rate," said Wendy Reed, Engagement District Coordinator and head of Federal Programs for the school district. "We are very proud of our sponsor, Shelly Furr, and the tremendous amount of time and work she puts into the store and working with our students. We are also very fortunate to have a wonderful superintendent, Mr. Billy Lee, and a very supportive school board that helps when needed," Reed added. The Muleshoe Market was developed through a Harvest Foods grant. Tyson Foods and Pilgrim’s Pride plants in the region donate food and meat products.
In case you are curious about the name, "Muleshoe" was a CB radio handle nickname that all the truckers gave to Mineral Springs during the 1950s-60s. They called Texarkana "TK," Nashville (AR) was "Orange Crush," and Mineral Springs became "Muleshoe!" More local lore: in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Mineral Springs' football team's defensive line started calling themselves the "Muleshoe Wrecking Crew," and it stuck.
dream center dreams big
More than 100 students from schools in Little Rock's Dunbar neighborhood—including middle-schooler Nadia Owens, above—took classes, grew healthy foods they also learned to cook, and collaborated on fun learning projects over the summer at the Dream Center. Part of Every Arkansan, a community-based nonprofit, the Dream Center and City Serve partner with community volunteers, schools, and faith-based organizations to serve the needs of scholars and their families. Every Arkansan is expanding to communities throughout Arkansas: contact Jessica Mauthe for more information.
Bright Futures Arkansas
Bright Futures USA has been quietly working in Arkansas communities since the Pea Ridge community joined forces with Dr. CJ Huff as an affiliate on September 12, 2013. The organization supports communities all across Arkansas to create local plans for meeting the basic needs of students and families, building leadership capacity, and developing service learning opportunities in local communities. See this page to find out how to get your community started with the Bright Futures model for successful community-led engagement to support schools and their families.
Backpack Bash
"The Backpack Bash is sponsored by community churches and businesses who purchase backpacks and supplies for every student at the Piggott School District! Our school's clubs and staff help distribute these to our families. This is my first year as superintendent and it was a joy to help with this project."
- Mr. Freddie Bowen, Superintendent
GRANDPARENTS Night
“One of our favorite events every year is Grandparents Breakfast. Due to Covid, we aren't allowing parents in the building unless they have an appointment. We came up with "Grandparents Night" instead (outside for good airflow). Grandparents (and students who brought their grandparents) got in to Friday’s home game for free, and had their picture made at our photo booth. We had a great turnout!”
- Brianna Goodman, Family and Community Engagement Coordinator
SMACTalk
The DESE Social Media Awareness Campaign (SMACtalk) is back for 2021-2022. This month features a video by Rachel Schell, parent of an Arkansas student. An updated parent poster (in English & Spanish) is also available for distribution.
Back-to-school playbook
ADE has developed grade-level curriculum guides for parents to help their student hit learning targets by the end of each grade level! Parents: print these out and put them on the fridge! Or, break up a boring road trip and make learning fun:
Digital Learning Unit helps parents "pivot"
When teachers were thrust into building online and blended classroom experiences during the pandemic, ADE's Digital Learning Unit was there providing training and support, including resources to help parents explore digital learning.