LRSD Spotlight

Pulaski Heights Middle School French and Spanish students spent part of their summer travelling to Italy and Greece. Led by teachers Mary Johnson and Elizabeth McFadden, the 19 participants stopped for this photo in Delphi, Greece, at the home of the ancient Oracle. Student highlights included visiting Athens, Rome, cruising to the Greek Islands, sailing around Capri and bargaining in Turkey. Senora Johnson and Madame McFadden have led more than 20 tours with their students and are already making plans for their 2012 adventure to France and Spain!

Korey Fells, a senior at Parkview Arts & Science Magnet High School, attended the NAACP ACT-SO conference in Los Angeles in July. ACT-SO is the Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics.

Korey, a music magnet student at Parkview, participated in the music composition category at the conference and came away with a Silver Medal, a laptop computer and $1,700. This is the first time anyone from the Arkansas NAACP branch has won a medal at ACT-SO.

The song Korey composed and performed on the piano was dedicated to the memory of former Parkview teacher Billy Watson.

The Delta Garden Study project at Mabelvale Middle School is featured in the August issue of Little Rock Family. The purpose of the school's one-acre vegetable garden, which was started last year, is to determine if gardening can have a positive impact on children's health and weight. It was funded with a grant from the USDA. Read the full article HERE on Little Rock Family's digital edition, or view the blog article HERE online.

Carol Fleming, M.S., CCC-SLP, a speech language pathologist at Pulaski Heights Middle School, recently visited Washington, D.C., as part of a group representing the School Finance Committee of the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA). While there, they met with Arkansas senators Mark Pryor and John Boozman as well as staff members of congressmen Tim Griffin and Mike Ross. They also met with Rep. John Kline (R-MN), chair of the House Education and Workforce committee, to discuss the re-authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). As members of ASHA working in the schools, Fleming and other members of her group were able to convey their thoughts and opinions on what is needed in the schools in order to serve the needs of the students.

In photo, from left: Carol Fleming; Lisa Cannon, Denver Public Schools; Kathy Wheat, Lawton (OK) Public Schools; Rep. John Kline; Marie Ireland, Virginia Department of Education; and Les Aungst, retired, ASHA PAC Chair.