Students present Leader in Me; board hears ELL and gifted‑and‑talented reports

Two upper‑elementary students led the Pledge of Allegiance and told the board about Gravette’s Leader in Me program, explaining that the program teaches students confidence, how to stand up for peers being bullied, and daily leadership responsibilities through a school‑wide Lighthouse team.

A school staff member described how the Lighthouse team was selected: all students completed a survey of roles; staff assigned students to leadership teams and provide lanyards and name badges; Lighthouse members meet with staff weekly to relay observations to counselors and administrators. The board praised the students’ participation and noted that board members visit schools monthly to connect with staff and students.

The board also received an English Language Learners (ELL) update. ELL presenters said the program’s numbers have been maintained or are slightly down this year, with more students exiting monitoring — the stated goal — and with some recently arrived students making notable progress. Staff noted challenges in interpretation and translation for some families and said the district is engaging contracted interpretation services for parent conferences.

Rachel Gibson, gifted‑education coordinator, gave the gifted program report: 98 students receive direct instruction in grades 3–6 and 161 students are identified through grade 12. Gibson described enrichment visits to K–2 classrooms, monitoring to identify referrals, and pressure on staff capacity as elementary enrollments grow. She recommended limited targeted secondary offerings (for example, a freshmen seminar) to support identified students who do not find a niche in existing high‑school programming.