We're welcoming a new face to the family this week! Billy Tipps is the new athletic director for Bentonville Schools. He's a solid coach, veteran AD and all-around nice guy. He most recently served as athletic director in Enid, OK, where in short four years, the athletic program was completely rebuilt under his leadership. In his last year there, the baseball team competed for a state championship, football went to the playoffs for the first time in 20 years and the softball program enjoyed a total turnaround.
Despite an impressive resume, Billy is prouder of his wife, LeAnn, and their daughter, Grace, and openly admits to watching Hallmark movies with his favorite girls! (Come on now, how can you not like this guy already?😆)
Make plans to say hello to Billy at one of two meet and greets next week! #whereexcellencelives
The Arkansas Department of Education has designated Vaughn Elementary School as an Arkansas STEM school! The honor isn't an easy one to receive and comes after a full year of working to integrate meaningful STEM opportunities for all students into daily instruction. The teachers at Vaughn are committed to critical thinking, collaborative and creative science work to better prepare students for later in life. Congratulations, Vaughn Families! #whereexcellencelives
The best comes to those who work hard and wait patiently. Veteran educator Callie Sanchez has been promoted to principal at Fulbright Junior High School! Callie currently serves as the assistant principal at Washington Jr High and has been with Bentonville Schools for 11 years. She's also one of the primary organizers of the Choose Love Movement in our community.
Callie and her husband, Rudy, are parents to two sweet sons. Aiden is going into the third grade this fall, and Grayson will be a first grader.
Callie is a Northwest Arkansas native and quite literally grew up inside Quigley's Castle in Eureka Springs. Her great-grandmother built the tourist favorite, laying the rockwork by hand herself. Callie says life there was such fun, meeting new people in the halls of her home every day. With that welcoming background, we suspect Callie will do just fine at Fulbright. Congratulations, Callie! #whereexcellencelives
We've always known Washington Jr. High Band Director Jared Jones was a total vibe. It seems the rest of the nation is catching on now. Jared was recently named the National Jazz Educator of the Year. He was selected by the National Jazz Festival for the title after a former student nominated him. If you haven't attended one of Washington's jazz band performances, plan to do so in the fall. Jared and his students are the life of every party! #whereexcellencelives
For the first time, the Bentonville High School ladies' and men's running programs have achieved the triple crown in the same year! That's cross country, indoor track and outdoor track state championships for both programs in the same year. These two powerhouse programs are led by Coach Randy Ramaker and Coach Mike Power. You want to run? You come to Bentonville Schools. It's that simple. #whereexcellencelives
School's Out for Summer! #whereexcellencelives
In Bentonville, we like to say no bad days. But some days are better than good. They're extraordinary. This was one of them. Every first grader at Mary Mae Jones Elementary received a brand new bicycle and helmet today! This incredible gift was made possible by our friends at Can'd Aid and Yasso! Professional Cyclist Jeff Lenosky personally shared his love of biking with our kiddos before they hopped on for themselves! This is everything, isn't it? Thank you to the good people at Yasso and Can'd Aid for one of the best days ever! #whereexcellencelives
Bentonville Schools' Class of 2023. Enough said. #whereexcellencelives
The dream team right here! The Bentonville High School Ladies Soccer Team has brought home an Arkansas State Championship. These girls defeated Fayetteville 3-0 over the weekend to finish an amazing season. The ladies are led by Head Coach Steven Porter. Well done, ladies! #whereexcellencelives
A beautiful day for new beginnings. Well done, Class of 2023. #whereexcellencelives
We had hoped to avoid this situation, but weather conditions have forced us to reschedule tonight's commencement for Bentonville High. Graduation for BHS is rescheduled for Saturday, May 20, at 1:00 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to your family and know tomorrow will be a beautiful day for our seniors on their home campus. #whereexcellencelives
Did you know jazz music belongs to us? Not Bentonville Schools exactly, but it's an American-born art we celebrated big today! Bentonville High School and Bentonville West High School were two of only 10 high schools in the nation visited by the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz for a peer to peer informance as they call it! The Arend was rockin' today thanks to some of the top student performers in the world along with some celebrity jazz mentors, including Don Braden! Students at Bentonville West will get the same awesome opportunity tomorrow! #whereexcellencelives
Leave it to Bentonville High School Orchestra Director Jesse Collett to take it an extra step when winning the Extra Mile Award. Jesse was nominated for this award five times in a single month. “If asked to walk an extra mile for his students, he will go two and then carry them a third,” penned parent Megan Willardson in her nomination. That's powerful, isn't it? In addition to those beautiful words, Jesse's students just recently brought home the equivalent of an Arkansas State Championship after competing in Cabot. Congratulations, Jesse, and thank you for all you do to make Bentonville #whereexcellencelives
We recently hosted our annual retirement dinner for some incredible folks who have committed, in some cases, 40 years to children. These are some of the best, and we couldn't be happier for them as they plan this next chapter. A special note of gratitude to Judy Marquess who shared her words of wisdom as our keynote speaker. #whereexcellencelives
You know you live in a great place when you ask to send 1,300 students into the community and your city says, "Bring it on!" Over the last two days, businesses across Northwest Arkansas have welcomed every eighth grader in Bentonville Schools to get onsite job training. This is an extraordinary opportunity, and it takes a dream team to coordinate this endeavor. Fortunately, we have the best! If you know one of these career development teachers or a community manager who hosted one of our teens, give them a big thank you! #whereexcellencelives
What an honor to celebrate the Bentonville Schools' Teachers of the Year! These professionals were nominated by their peers and then selected by a committee of administrators in the district. The 2023 Teachers of the Year in Bentonville are Debbie Pschierer from Vaughn Elementary, Christine Hancock from Creekside Middle School and Tara Nutt from Fulbright Jr. High. Congratulations, ladies! #whereexcellencelives
It's not too late to register for Camp Explore! So many unique camps that focus on business, STEM, fashion, reading and, more than anything, fun! Go to https://www.bentonvillek12.org/page/camp-explore for more information! #whereexcellencelives
This is National Teacher Appreciation Week! We're grateful for these incredible people. They truly make Bentonville Schools #whereexcellencelives
This is what can happen when you have a big idea and you stay after it! More than a year ago, the students in Mr. Carter Coriell's class at Evening Star Elementary set out to make the month of May Bike Month in Arkansas. They wrote Arkansas State Senator Bart Hester and Arkansas State Representative Delia Haak who took up the resolution in the legislature and just this week Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed off on the proclamation. Nothing worth having comes easily! Way to go, Evening Star! #whereexcellencelives
Our students gain real world experience while still in school, preparing them for life after graduation. Recently, Teresa was honored for her extraordinary career by Superintendent Dr. Debbie Jones with the Pinnacle Educators Award. Congratulations, Teresa! We wish you happiness, joy and no alarm clocks as you enter retirement this summer! #whereexcellencelives
