Making the grade

Green Forest Elementary School Principal Heather Ogden admits her emotions got the best of her when she received notice that her school was honored at a statewide level for testing administered last April.

“I honestly cried when I found out,” she said. “I was sitting on my couch and I got the email and cried.”

In results recently released by the Arkansas Department of Education, Green Forest Elementary learned it once again finished in the top 5 percent among public schools in the state in testing growth and will be awarded $41,312.46. The results came from the ATLAS exams, a test given to all third through 10th graders that debuted last year.

Green Forest Elementary had received the honor multiple times in the past under longtime principal Danette Chaney, now the principal at Green Forest Intermediate, so Ogden said maintaining the standard in her first year over the school was fulfilling.

“They received the award the previous year, and few years before that, so I was anticipating we would,” Ogden said about expectations for the school to once again earn the honor. “But, we also were starting a new test … ATLAS, so I wasn’t sure how it would all work out. I was hoping and really excited when I got the news.”

“I worked at another district before but I’m from Green Forest and graduated from here so I’ve always watched the school so I was really excited when we got the honor and we’re continuing to grow our test scores. It’s exciting and an honor. I’m so proud of our teachers and our students. They worked really hard and it paid off, and I’m really happy for that.”

First-year Green Forest Superintendent David Gilmore agreed.

“I wasn’t really surprised because they traditionally have done really well at the elementary … showing a lot of growth with those students,” he said regarding the honor. “We appreciate all the effort that group, and any of our teachers, are putting in throughout the district.

“The elementary school has traditionally performed very well and I’m very proud of that.”

Ogden commended the third-grade teachers for the hard work that went into learning the new testing format and getting the students prepared for the exams. The tests covered science, math and literacy, which includes reading and writing.

“Navigating the testing system is really difficult, especially for third grade,” she said. “My third-grade teachers are above and beyond … they know what they’re doing and they jumped in and really embraced it and worked really hard on getting the kids used to the format.

“This was all my staff, like they’re just amazing. I feel like I’m just along for the ride sometimes because they are just go-getters and it’s just a wonderful place to be.”

Gilmore and Ogden said an elementary school-based committee will meet and decide how the reward money will be spent.

“The elementary will put together a committee and they will decide how they’re going to spend the money,” the superintendent said. “… There’s several options, but I’ll let them have that committee and make that decision.”

Ogden said 120 third graders took the test last year and there are 118 in the class this year. The statewide honor is motivation for this year’s third-graders as they prepare for April’s ATLAS testing, but so is a challenge from another of the district’s schools.

“Mrs. Chaney, the previous principal at the elementary, she received several of these,” Ogden said. “Well, she’s now the principal at the intermediate school. She and I are very competitive and she’s said ‘watch out, I’m coming for you. We’re going to be on there, too.’ ” That wouldn’t surprise Gilmore, either.

“I know our teachers are working really hard and I wouldn’t be surprised if more buildings get recognized in the future as hard as everybody is working,” he said.