• Category 1

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: pre k - 4
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 4,515
    Student Enrollment: 450
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 1.1%
    White/Caucasian: 94.9%
    Hispanic: 2.4%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0.2%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:17
    % Reduced Lunch: 50%
    % ELL Learners: 1%
    Founded: 1972
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Brock Dickinson
  • CONTACT:
    12018 SH 196
    Texarkana, AR 71854
    870-653-4343
    brock.dickinson@dragons.k12.ar.us
Genoa Central Elementary School
Texarkana, AR
We ask ourselves, “What is best for the students and how can we help them grow?”
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
Genoa Central Elementary's success is due to a combination of highly effective educators and supportive parents and community members. Our teachers understand what should be taught in the core curriculum. They know they are the experts, but they also know how to ask for help. The teachers have enough experience to determine whether students are being taught the body of knowledge, the understandings, and the skills that they are expected to learn. Most importantly, the teachers have a grasp of using the resources to close learning gaps. Our parents trust the school to do what is in the best interest of their children. The community supports the school and families by buying into the concept of higher standards, innovative teaching, and advanced learning. Our continued achievement and growth is a direct result of the collaboration between the school, community, and parents.
2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
Our school has embraced a true team culture. The district provides opportunities for teacher teams to strengthen their subject-matter knowledge while learning new research-based, student-centered instructional strategies. The best staff development combines content knowledge and instructional methods. Our teacher teams have worked tirelessly to make decisions that are in the best interest of the students. Our master schedule revolves around providing research-based intervention with minimum loss of core instruction. The culture of our school is one that welcomes discussion, new strategies, and redefines and shares their knowledge with others without judgment. As a result, teacher retention is very high.
3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
ESEA funding helps support many initiatives and improvement areas. The elementary school has hired personnel to help provide high-quality intervention on a daily basis. Our school has also been able to purchase supplemental materials aimed to help our at-risk students grow. We have become 1:1 with technology in order to provide supplemental curriculum and support digital literacy. Support is provided by our literacy and technology facilitators to implement best practices in the classroom.
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
Our teacher teams are dedicated to attaining professional learning that meets the individual needs of each staff member so that they can meet the needs of our students. Our administration believes in the importance of teachers' choice in choosing professional development. Intensive training in horizontal and vertical curriculum alignment as well as integrating technology into our core curriculum has been provided. We have also worked hard to provide training in a cross-curricular approach for core and activity/special courses. Professional learning and data are used to promote higher standards and provide demanding content. These experiences provide the foundation for raising expectations.
5. Talk about the cultural shift leading up to your school's success.
We ask ourselves, “What is best for the students and how can we help them grow?” In the answer to that question, we often find that we must identify the things that students should learn in greater depth. That is where the true shift in learning occurs. Our teachers know enough about state standards to help identify the most important elements in those standards. In other words, that “covering everything and learning nothing” does not work. Through ongoing professional development, our teachers have a better understanding of literacy. Reading, writing, and speaking are “learning tools” that are essential across the curriculum. The teachers recognize that by using these literacy skills, they build a foundation for the students to use in all subjects, courses, and for the rest of their lives. Ultimately, the results come in the form of sustaining a focus on curriculum, instruction, and student learning.
6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
At Genoa Central, we are extremely blessed to have great relationships with all stakeholders. These relationships are invaluable to our successes. Ours is a very small community without many opportunities for local industry, so it is vital to partner with the ones that are available to use. The majority of our parents work outside of the district’s parameters so a lot of our industry support comes from those outside resources. The district provides community and parent events throughout the school year in order to strengthen relationships. We host literacy nights, fall festivals, and events that provide opportunities for parents, grandparents, and the community to visit the school. Outside experiences can deepen teachers’ subject-matter knowledge and suggest ways to connect classroom activities to the real world. These networking opportunities bring all
stakeholders together in a culminating environment that fosters the common interest of all students.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: pre k - 4
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 4,515
    Student Enrollment: 450
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 1.1%
    White/Caucasian: 94.9%
    Hispanic: 2.4%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0%
    Native American: 0.2%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:17
    % Reduced Lunch: 50%
    % ELL Learners: 1%
    Founded: 1972
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Brock Dickinson
  • CONTACT:
    12018 SH 196
    Texarkana, AR 71854
    870-653-4343
    brock.dickinson@dragons.k12.ar.us