Process Leading Up To 100 Days

On the first 100 days of the new high school, I have taken time to reflect on the process that has led to this day.

I cannot help but remember certain people that played a key role in leading to this date. There are too many for me to name them all and I would be afraid to miss someone if I did, but without a doubt, I must mention Mr. Ron Wright, our former Superintendent, members of our board Tim Burnett, Wesley Stevens, Jeff Oxford, Sally Zelenka, Herbert Dorman, Tony Parsley and Bleaux Barnes. These people set a vision for a new high school with greater opportunities for our students than we could provide 12 years ago. Without their willingness to allow the district to save a portion of their balances every year, and refund and restructure debt during a period of record low interest rates, the idea of building a new high school without any additional millage would have been nothing more than a dream. I appreciate our current board comprised of Jeff Oxford, Travis Warren, Doug Williams, Amy Hill and Wade Cash for making the decisions that have led us to the implementation of that vision sought so long ago.

As proud as our district is of the structure that has been erected, we are even more proud of the opportunities that this structure has provided for our current and future students of Farmington Career Academies. Some of the many new opportunities that we are now able to provide include educational opportunities in Bio Medical, Pre-Engineering, Television and Media Production as well as Career Technical Education in Welding, Orientation to Teaching, Marketing and multiple agriculture programs. While the expansion has allowed us these opportunities on our new campus, we have also been able to work with all the schools in Washington County to offer classes cooperatively in our Senior Hall at our former high school. These classes do not affect a large enough number of students for us to offer them independently, but working with our neighbors in our county, we are able to attract enough students to enter into a partnership with Northwest Technical Institute and Northwest Arkansas Community College.

We live in a world of constant change, and education is different in each decade than it was in the decades before. Teaching skills change, students change, curriculum changes, and with all these changes, it is imperative that we, as educators, are constantly looking for the best opportunities for our students. I hope and pray that most believe, as I do, in that this building will serve the needs of our wonderful students in an ever-changing educational environment for many decades to come.