Registration for Camp Explore is now live. This summer camp was created to serve rising kindergarteners up to sixth grade. Check out the more than 80 unique camps at https://www.bentonvillek12.org/page/camp-explore
#whereexcellencelives
Today is the last day of Arkansas Board Member Appreciation Month, and we have one final board member we wish to acknowledge.
Joel Dunning boasts almost three decades of education management, teaching and coaching experience with students of all ages and from different backgrounds. His passion for improving the quality of learning comes from his diverse experience while participating in nine different school systems in four states, including the prestigious Colorado School of Mines. Throughout his career in education, Joel has served as a teacher, counselor, assistant principal, principal and curriculum director. Joel holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Geology, a Minor in Biology and a Master of Arts in Administration and Counseling. In college, he played football and ran track allowing him to better connect with younger athletes throughout his career.
Joel serves as the Director of Education for Unity Energy. He and his wife live in Bentonville. Thank you for your commitment to our students, Joel. #whereexcellencelives
Wednesday, February 1, will be another posted AMI day for students. Teachers will post assignments to their Google classrooms, and your child will work at his or her own pace. District offices will be open. #whereexcellencelives
Slipper game is strong with this one! Two-year-old Mabry Lyles is getting it done while mom Alyson Lyles, a teacher at Evening Star Elementary, takes care of her other kiddos.
Thank you to all our teachers, students and parents who step up and continuously go with the flow to keep everyone learning. #whereexcellencelives
Tuesday, January 31, will be a posted AMI day for students. Teachers will post assignments to their Google classrooms, and students will work at their own pace. District offices will also remain closed. Stay safe today and tomorrow. #whereexcellencelives
Jeremy Farmer is a proud Bentonville High School graduate now watching his own children make their way through the district. Daughters Aubrey and Emerson started in Bentonville Schools as kindergarteners.
Jeremy is employed with Launch Marketing where he works in sales and business development. He has served the district and community through leadership roles in his daughters' parent-teacher organizations and is a former president of CASA of Northwest Arkansas.
Thank you, Jeremy, for your commitment to the Bentonville Schools' Board of Education. #whereexcellencelives
Bentonville Schools' Board of Education Vice-President Willie Cowgur is as All-American as they come. He and his wife, Martha, both grew up in Bentonville and graduated from Bentonville High where he was a football and baseball standout and she was a star on the hardwood. No surprise these former all-state athletes passed their love of athletics on to their children; Cole, Caroline and Will. Willie can often be seen on the sidelines, coaching and supporting his kids in their athletic endeavors and at the occasional Harry Styles concert with his daughter.
Willie is a family man. Plain and simple. That love for family carries over to the students of Bentonville which he considers extended family. Thank you, Willie, for going to bat for all our kids. We're grateful for you during Arkansas Board Member Appreciation month and every month of the year. #whereexcellencelives
All after-school events are canceled for today. There will be no games, practices or rehearsals. #whereexcellencelives
Kelly Carlson serves as the Bentonville Schools' Board of Education President. Kelly's family moved to Bentonville in 1997 when he was a sophomore in high school. We'd like to say his time at Bentonville High proved to be the turning point of Kelly's life, and, in a way it was, but it wasn't a class or teacher that changed his path. It was a girl. It's always a girl, isn't it? Kelly met his wife, Cortney Pangle, at Bentonville High. Years later, Team Carlson is raising two daughters, Julianna Mae and Caroline Kelley.
While his ladies have his heart, he still finds time for one other love. For the last two years, Kelly has been converting a 2019 Dodge Promaster to a camper van. In it, the family has traveled to 21 of Arkansas' 56 state parks. Not a bad ride, right?
Kelly, thank you for your commitment to Bentonville Schools as we celebrate you and your colleagues during Arkansas School Board Appreciation Month. #whereexcellencelives
Kindergarten pre-registration begins one week today! Mark your calendar and visit bentonvillek12.org for more information. #whereexcellencelives
Tatum Aicklen is a new addition to the Bentonville Schools' Board of Education but is a familiar face to many. This hands-on mom of four has long committed her time to our parent-teacher organizations and served on our district reopening committee during the COVID pandemic. Her children, with her husband Michael, are Renshaw, Lily, Annabelle and Henry. She says they drive her desire to make Bentonville Schools the best it can be for all children. Motherhood, she told us, completely upended her as a person and her purpose. She credits them for making her more patient, level-headed and understanding when problem-solving in her home and on the board. (Her nine-year-old says she's especially decisive as well. When it comes to clutter, her go-to resolution is to throw it away. All of it. 😳)
This valedictorian of her high school senior class went on to graduate from Louisiana State University with a degree in business before landing in Bentonville.
Tatum and her colleagues on the board volunteer their time in service to our staff and students. Show them some love during Arkansas Board Appreciation Month. #whereexcellencelives
Do you remember the icy cold temps and snow that pelted our area back in November? These five men absolutely do. That's because they were doing the unthinkable to make sure Tiger Stadium was ready for a playoff game. The Bentonville Schools' grounds crew, consisting of Jaime Duenas, Jaime Duenas, Sr., Candido Sanchez, Jose Vizcaino Bringas and Jon Cottrell dragged the field, blew off the bleachers and even wiped them down with dry towels in a matter of hours.
“That game wouldn’t have taken place without their readiness and drive,” Athletic Director Scott Passmore said.
Our facilities represent the excellence that is Bentonville Schools. It was an easy choice to select these gentlemen for the Extra Mile Award In January. Join us in congratulating Jon, Jaime, Jaime Sr., Jose and Candido. #whereexcellencelives
Jennifer Faddis is the neighbor we all wish we had. She's the mother of five, a mental health professional and has perfected the homemade buttermilk biscuit. She was recently elected secretary of the Bentonville Schools' Board of Education but has served the district for more than a decade in numerous roles on the board, in parent-teacher organizations and in the schools of her kids.
Jennifer grew up wanting to fly high with the Blue Angels in the U.S. Navy, but fate had different plans when a cute boy named Lance walked into the college bookstore where she worked. She knew immediately who he was. He couldn't remember her name. (True story.) But he asked around and asked her out the next day. Twenty-five years later, the couple is still going strong and parents to Hope, Luke, Sara, Welly and Emma.
January is Arkansas Board Member Appreciation Month. Jennifer and her colleagues are volunteers who commit a lot of time with little fanfare. We hope you'll drop a thank you here as we recognize each of them this month. #whereexcellencelives
It's School Board Recognition Month in Arkansas. Over the next couple of weeks, we want to introduce you to the folks who volunteer their time and talents to support Bentonville Schools, beginning with Becky Guthrie. Becky is new to the board of education but hardly a stranger. This Bentonville born and bred girl taught at Apple Glen Elementary for a decade before retiring to care for her three sons.
If you have the chance to visit with Becky, she'll share a lot about her faith and family. Her husband, Clay, and children, Caleb, Charlie and Cason, are her world. Recently, her party of five took on surfing together.
Whether on vacation with her family or at home settled around the dinner table with red velvet cake (her specialty), Becky is in her element when she's around kiddos, whether they be her own or the children who call Bentonville home.
Thank you, Becky, for your commitment to Team Bentonville. #whereexcellencelives
We're thrilled to share this with you! Camp Explore hosted by Bentonville Schools is coming THIS summer! More than 80 unique camps for students entering kindergarten through sixth grade. Join us January 18th for a lunch & learn to get all the details. #whereexcellencelives
I'm singing! I'm at a school and I'm singing! You got it! That was Buddy and Jovi at Willowbrook Elementary this morning spreading holiday happiness! Superintendent Dr. Debbie Jones and her husband Coach D.J. Jones greeted students as they hopped off the bus and across the way along with Santa because, you know, they know him! Enjoy the break, Bentonville! You've earned it! #whereexcellencelives
This is just what we needed to start off the week leading up to Christmas! Kindergarteners from Central Park Elementary made 150 treat bags for the men and women at the Benton County Sheriff's Office. We're especially mindful of our friends at the BCSO as they mourn the loss of Detective Paul Newell right now. Grateful for men and women everywhere that wear the uniform in service of others. #whereexcellencelives
Congratulations to the Bentonville High School Golden Tamer Dance Team for another Arkansas state championship! This makes three consecutive championships for these ladies and their coach Megan Walbe! To say their practices are intense is an understatement, but they make it look effortless when it's go time. Congratulations, Golden Tamers. #whereexcellencelives
Write on, Bentonville! Just before the Thanksgiving break, third graders at Evening Star Elementary hosted a book signing! Students wrote and published their own work with the help of their teachers. The project, start to finish, was an opportunity to learn how to take a concept to a celebration! Way to go, Evening Star! #whereexcellencelives
Happy Thanksgiving, Bentonville Schools! We hope your day is filled with family!
Just before the break, the team at Tennie Russell Primary School hosted its annual feast for students and parents. The meal is one of our favorite traditions in Bentonville! #whereexcellencelives
