After spending 28 years pouring her heart into removing barriers so children can learn, Grace Davis has left her mark on education in Siloam Springs.
Davis, who currently serves as the director of teacher quality and community relations for the Siloam Springs School District, announced in March that she plans to retire on June 30.
"I would say she is somebody that is going to be dearly missed in the education world," said school board member Connie Matchell, who retired as an administrator in school district in 2015 and as chair of John Brown University's teacher education program in May. "She has brought so much good in our area, to the Siloam Springs School District, to JBU, that I guess her mark has been left and will be seen through years to come."
Davis has spent the past 26 years of her career in Siloam Springs. For the first 15 years, she worked as an associate professor of teacher education at JBU, developing and initiating their English as a second language program, before crossing over to direct the university's professional development school in partnership with the school district, before moving over to the district five years ago.
"My heart has always been with kids and how can we remove barriers so children can learn, whether it is language barriers, or hunger, immediate needs, or social/emotional, let's just take care of it so they can learn," she said.
Background
Davis grew up internationally, the daughter of a surgeon who worked on medical projects around the world and went to high school and college in southern California.
She spent kindergarten and first grade in Belgian schools, which were taught in French, while her father studied tropical medicine before her family moved to the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the age of six or seven, she remembers knowing that she had more privilege than her Congolese friends just because she was an American with a passport. This set her on a course to look for ways to find equity in education.
"All of my developmental years were transitory, multilingual and multicultural," she said. "When you are a kid it's what you know so you think it's normal. When I went to college I realized my experience wasn't typical."
After college and graduate school, Davis taught in the U.S. and then in Senegal in West Africa. After coming back to an American school, she taught in a second grade classroom that had 11 nationalities and eight first languages.
"They learned a tremendous amount, and I learned that it doesn't matter what the passport or language is, if children are safe, cared for and you give them information, they will learn," Davis said. "That is what set me on the trajectory for ESL and to be an advocate for English Language Learners."
Work at JBU
Davis came to Arkansas around the time English as a second language became a need in the state. She was one of the founding members of Arkansas Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ARKTESOL).
"It was a really wonderful effort because we were able to pull together conferences and professional development way back when this was all so new in the mid to late 90s and create a really strong support system and support system for teachers across the state," she said.
Davis was able to get a federal grant to offer ESL classes to teachers in Northwest Arkansas, specifically Rogers and Siloam Springs, so they could earn up to 15 hours of graduate credits in ESL, Matchell said. Davis also had a heart for research and always based her work on a solid background of research instead of just the next thing to come along, Matchell said.
"She has always struck me as a consummate professional, always spot on with things, always so kind and caring about kids and wanting to make sure that all kids have a good foundation for learning," Matchell said.
Work in SSSD
Even while she was still in post secondary education, Davis worked extensively with the Siloam Springs School District as she prepared new teachers, according to Superintendent Jody Wiggins. Davis brought a wide and deep knowledge of ESL and ELL to the district, he said.
"Once she came on with us, she continued in that role of working with intern teachers and new teachers and remained one of our go-to experts on English language learners," he said.
In the school district, Davis also oversaw the Panther Health and Wellness Center and was instrumental in bringing Bright Futures, a program that links student needs with community resources, to the school district, Davis said.
"I've always wanted in my very small way to champion those who might be on the edges to help them come into their ability to access and be all that they can be," Davis said.
Davis has a passion for meeting the needs of students in the school district, according to Kelly Svebek, director of assessment and accountability for the district.
"There are so many things that Grace Davis is behind the scenes making happen that people don't even realize," Svebek said. "She is a strong advocate for English language learners, she has trained a lot of teachers from JBU. ... She is an advocate for kids all kinds of ways."
Watching students teach
Whether it is watching a JBU intern get students in the classroom excited to learn or helping meet a parent's need through Bright Futures, Davis said her best memories are moments when she was making a difference with children.
Many of the teachers in the school district are Davis' former JBU students.
"It has been such a pleasure to be able to work with them as colleagues and see how they have just taken all their gifts and talents and what they have learned to care for kids," she said.
Second grade teacher Stacy Honea said Davis has had a lasting impact on her life and has left a legacy at the school district. As one of Honea's first professors, Davis pushed Honea and her other students towards excellence in the classroom. Even though Davis expected a lot from her students, she would do anything to help them be successful, Honea said.
"I am the teacher I am today because she pushed and challenged me, but also most of all because of her encouragement," Honea said.
Honea has also been a mentor in Davis' teacher mentoring program and has attended training that Davis has organized.
"She is just a positive light in the district, challenging us to be better, being that encourager," she said.
Looking forward to retirement
Davis said she doesn't know what the next chapter in her life will be but she is confident that it will include kids and families as well as advocacy and support.
"I'm so grateful to JBU for my many years there and the opportunities they gave me to develop programs and to teach and I'm so grateful to Siloam Springs School District to finish out my career on the direct implementation side of supporting students in the classroom," she said.
General News on 06/03/2020