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SEC presents 'Every Pirate Every Day' year-in-review, spotlights academics and attendance work
Summary
Angel Hogan Smith presented a 180-slide year-in-review for SEC, highlighting enrollment, electives, extracurricular successes and a staff-led plan to address chronic absenteeism. The board received the presentation and honored staff including teacher of the year Ariel Perry.
Angel Hogan Smith, introducing the site presentation, told the board the school’s guiding principle is “Every Pirate Every Day,” and framed the year as focused on student belonging and growth. “Our mission is to create a safe and nurturing environment where students can build confidence and find their place in the world,” she said.
Smith told the board SEC has a staff of 35 and reported enrollment of 155 seventh-graders and 148 eighth-graders. The presentation summarized academic and program areas the school emphasized this year — project-based learning, advanced math and Algebra I options, VEX robotics, choir and band partnerships with the high school, and a range of club activities including FCCLA, TSA and NJHS.
Ariel Perry was named SEC teacher of the year; Smith and colleagues credited her with innovative instruction and strong student connections.
School staff flagged chronic absenteeism as a continuing concern. Smith said about 70% of SEC students maintained good attendance in 2024–25, and that the district is implementing tiered interventions: daily monitoring, parent contacts, home visits and counselor or family-support check-ins for students who miss multiple days. Staff described attendance recognition events and end-of-year awards as part of a broader effort to reduce absences.
The presentation listed facility and equipment improvements funded this year, including new weight-room equipment, HVAC work at a gym, and replacement of some school fleet vehicles. Staff also described recent community partnerships and volunteer efforts — a food drive that provided 25 bags of meals per break, collaborations with the Poteau Women’s League and work with local technical centers — that the school said support student engagement and basic needs.
Board members thanked SEC staff for the detailed presentation. No substantive board action was required on the presentation itself; subsequent agenda items addressed routine approvals and budget matters.
The board recognized multiple staff and student awardees during the meeting, including Mary Shaw and Emry Tomlin as support employees of the month and Ariel Perry as teacher of the year. The meeting moved on to financial and policy agenda items at the conclusion of the presentation.
