Graduation is a special thing in Bentonville. Seniors walk across the football field on their home campus to receive their high school diplomas. It’s a beautiful day for the families of Bentonville Schools, but it would never happen without a dream team of administrators from both campuses. That group is led by three individuals. Dr. Jennifer Morrow, Dr. Jonathon Guthrie and Mr. Jack Loyd worked what felt like never ending days in the month of May to ensure seniors and their families enjoy commencement exercises.
This trio was recently recognized by Superintendent Dr. Debbie Jones for going the Extra Mile. Despite days of dicey weather forecasts, hours of setup and down to the last-minute planning, this group never gives up when it comes to creating one final high school memory.
Dr. Morrow is the Executive Director of Secondary Education, Dr. Guthrie is the Principal at Bentonville West High and Mr. Loyd is the Principal at Bentonville High.
Join us in congratulating Kendra Schacht who was recently promoted to principal at Vaughn Elementary School. Kendra is currently in her eighth year with Bentonville Schools and previously served as the assistant principal at Vaughn.
This woman has the biggest heart for children and animals alike. Kendra and her husband, Ryan, are parents to two sons, Jonathon and Eric, who are both in high school. Four rescue dogs also make their home with the Schacht family, and she keeps a small plastic shovel in her car to rescue turtles trying to cross the road! (We couldn't make this up if we tried!) She says all kids and animals deserve a safe passageway in this life, even the snapping turtles! #whereexcellencelives
Takin' over the 202! Four of our best from Washington Junior High School competed in the National History Day Competition in Washington, D.C. this week.
Maliya Gurel's presentation on the life of aviation pioneer Louise Thaden was selected as one of the 10 best in the nation and the top winner from the state of Arkansas.
Riley Woody, Emma Morrow and Cecilia Chenault, also students from Washington Jr. High, presented on the World War II Code Girls who secretly worked to crack enemy code.
We're proud of these young ladies for reppin' us well and their sponsor Erin Valentine! #whereexcellencelives
Camp Explore is on for summer! It's not too late to register your kiddos for one of our camps taught by licensed teachers! For more information, go to https://www.bentonvillek12.org/page/camp-explore
One of the best things about summer is seeing the Bentonville Schools' Book Bus out and about! Tonight's route starts near Vaughn Elementary School and will be available for Park & Play at the Vaughn playground at about 7:00 p.m. A culture of reading is no accident, and it starts at home! If you live close to Vaughn, roll out for a good book and a fun time! #whereexcellencelives
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
