Ramey says first day of school went smoothly

Students in Siloam Springs and across Northwest Arkansas went back to school on Monday.

Superintendent Ken Ramey said the first day in Siloam Springs went smoothly.

"Overall we were very pleased how we started off," he said.

Attendance on Monday was up nearly 80 students from the first day of school last year. A preliminary headcount on Monday showed that 3,999 students were present compared to 3,922 in 2013.

A total of 4,162 students are enrolled in Siloam Springs. Some of those students may have moved out of the district or may not have been present on the first day. The official headcount won't be taken until after the first 10 days of school, Ramey said.

"It's going to fluctuate wildly as we go along," he said.

The state uses the three-quarter average enrollment count as the official number of students for the year. Last year the three-quarter average was 4,030.

There was a buzz of social excitement at the high school on Monday morning, according to principal Jason Jones.

Freshmen started their high school experience with a class meeting on Monday, Jones said. Some admitted to being nervous while others were excited, but they were all ready to start the school year on the right foot, he said.

After the freshmen meeting, students were introduced to their uplink mentors. Mentors are juniors and seniors that are responsible for helping five or six freshmen adjust to high school.

The mentor program eases the apprehension and fear of coming to high school, Jones said. Statistics show it has also lead to a drop in discipline notices and tardiness among freshmen, he said.

Mentors not only help new students stick to the official school rules they also teach them what is socially acceptable in high school, Jones said.

"The mentors are able to provide them with very informal conversations about life as a high school student," Jones said.

One major change is the high school has a new schedule this year. In the past the high school has used a four-by-four block schedule. Students took four classes a semester and spent about two hours in class each day. It took students one semester to finish a full credit class and a half a semester to finish a half credit class.

This fall the high school switched to an A/B block schedule, Jones said. Students will spend about two hours in each class on alternating days. Friday will be a "fast day" with eight 50 minute sessions.

Students will take eight classes per semester and attend classes on alternating days -- similar to the schedule at the Northwest Arkansas Community College.

It will take students a full year to finish a full credit class and one semester to finish a half credit class.

The new schedule will reduce the number of days disrupted by state-mandated tests from 70 days out of 170 instructional days in a school year to 34.

"We're all working though it, including staff," Jones said.

Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students at Northside Elementary also got off to a good start, according to principal Michelle Paden.

There have been a few changes in the way students are dropped off at the school, she said. The pickup and drop off line for kindergarten students has moved from the north side of the building to the east side. Pre-kindergarten students must still be walked inside the building so parents can sign them in inside the cafeteria.

Another change is that pre-kindergarten students will be eating in the cafeteria instead of their classrooms, Paden said.

Outside of the expected first day of school traffic, everything went well at the Intermediate School, principal Tim Hornbuckle said.

Teachers and students went through a big change last year when the school was formed, taking fifth grade from Southside Elementary and sixth grade from the Middle School. This year Hornbuckle said he plans to keep as many things the same as last year as possible to give teachers and students some continuity.

Hornbuckle said he wants to make sure that parents feel free to contact the school and communicate any issues their students may have.

"We want parents to feel welcome in our building at any time," he said.

The school year started off "very, very good" at Southside Elementary, principal Dan Siemens said. The school opened its doors a little early so parents could walk their students to class on the first day and meet the teachers.

Students in Southside Elementary came back to a school with an updated building. Over the summer the tile floor in the cafeteria and east wing of the school was replaced, an office for the school resource officer was built, classrooms were painted and the roof was replaced, Siemens said.

Siemens encouraged parents to get involved with the school and their student. He advised parents to make sure students have a nice place in their home to sit down and study and set aside time each day for reading and math.

"Sports are good, but we need to say focused on academics," he said. "We have to keep a balance."