The 2022 - 2023 school year is the fifth year for the Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD) to be under the leadership of Dr. Charles McNulty.

Each year, the board members receive a minimum of nine (9) hours of training and instruction in this state’s school laws and the laws governing school boards’ powers, duties, and responsibilities.

On May 06, 2021, after 39 years of federal court supervision, United States District Court Judge D. Price Marshall declared Pulaski County Special School District unitary in all areas except facilities. PCSSD submitted its required proposal of truing-up inequities between Mills High School and Robinson Middle School in August of 2021.

The Arkansas Department of Education has accredited all PCSSD schools.

The District has 16 elementary schools. This year, 14 of the 16 campuses have Pre-K classes that serve three and four-year-olds. All schools in PCSSD strive to take each child’s education personally.

• Student learning data, including Aspire, NWEA Maps, and district formative assessments, are regularly reviewed in professional learning communities and school improvement leadership teams to improve student learning experiences. 

• PCSSD uses Edulastic and Progress Learning for common formative, interim, and summative assessments as a tool to guide student learning. 

• Multiple data are routinely analyzed, and strategies are selected at each school to meet their unique student population needs throughout the year to ensure continuous school improvement.  

• K-5 campuses implement Everyday Math and IXL programs while supplemented with initiatives to increase higher-order thinking skills, rigor, and writing.  

• PCSSD added Studies Weekly for science and social studies instruction in grades K-5.

• K-5 campuses implemented Mystery Science and Generation Genius to enrich science instruction.

• 10 of the 16 elementary schools received grants for PLTW Launch to pilot throughout the next two years, implementing at least one module during this initial first-year pilot.

• K-5 implementation of Benchmark will help meet Science of Reading guidelines from ADE. LEXIA will be implemented in K-8 to supplement reading needs such as phonemic awareness and comprehension.

• RISE, Phonics First, and the Science of Reading are intentional initiatives that further increase students’ reading ability.

• Alternative Learning (AL) classrooms provide Tier 2 interventions and additional support by outside service providers when needed at each school. The Center of Innovation serves as our tier 3 initiative for AL.

• DRIVEN Virtual Academy (DVA)  is a full-time, 100% online school for students in K-12 within the Pulaski County Special School District. Driven Virtual Academy will distinguish itself from other schools in the area by providing flexibility in coursework with self-paced options, mentoring programs, and curriculum delivery flexibility.

PCSSD has ten (10) secondary schools on nine (9) campuses, including DVA and the Center of Innovation. The four middle, one junior, and four high schools provide rigorous learning opportunities for all students. The District has developed school improvement plans to monitor and improve student achievement following the Desegregation Plan 2000.

• Reveal Math and ALEX programs are used at 6-12 campuses while supplemented with initiatives to increase higher-order thinking skills, rigor, and writing.  

• PCSSD added Studies Weekly for science and social studies instruction in grades 6-8.

• Student learning data, including Aspire, NWEA Maps, and district formative assessments, are regularly reviewed in professional learning communities and school improvement leadership teams to improve student learning experiences. 

• Learning Ally will be implemented this year to help secondary schools foster cultures of reading for each campus.

• Newsela is implemented 6-12 to help foster grade-level reading in all core subjects.

• PCSSD uses Edulastic and Progress Learning for common formative, interim, and summative assessments to guide student learning. 

• Science of Reading is an intentional initiative that further increases students’ reading ability.

• 6-8 implementation of myPerspectives will help meet Science of Reading guidelines from ADE. LEXIA will be implemented in K-8 to supplement reading needs such as phonemic awareness and comprehension.

• Alternative Learning (AL) classrooms provide Tier 2 interventions and additional support by outside service providers when needed at each school. The Center of Innovation serves as our tier 3 initiative for AL.

• The Center of Innovation (COI) houses our tier-three alternative learning environment classes. It also serves as a professional development center for the district where district-level and statewide professional development.

• Participation in Project Lead the Way (PLTW) at each middle school prepares students for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programming at District high schools. 

• Each secondary school offers Pre-Advanced Placement, Advanced Placement, and Career Technical Education course offerings to prepare students for college and career pursuits. 

• Edgenuity, an online tool approved by the Arkansas Department of Education, provides online access 24/7 to American College Test (ACT) preparation.

• Certified staff provides real-time course and credit recovery to Grades 6-12 through the District’s after-school intervention program. 

• DRIVEN School of Innovation (SOI), beginning its fifth year in the district, provides a personalized learning atmosphere where students can advance in subjects, stay on a prescribed track, or receive support for content. Mastery is the goal of the SOI. Maumelle, Mills, and Robinson High Schools of Innovation have nearly 450 students participating.

• DRIVEN Virtual Academy (DVA)  is a full-time, 100% online school for students in K-12 within the Pulaski County Special School District. DRIVEN Virtual Academy will distinguish itself from other schools in the area by providing flexibility in coursework with self-paced options, mentoring programs, and curriculum delivery flexibility.

• PCSSD and the Donaldson Scholarship Program collaborate with UALR and Philander Smith College to promote college readiness through ACT preparation sessions, mentoring, and providing scholarships to students. 

• In partnership with Ford NGL and the Academies of Central Arkansas, all freshmen in PCSSD are taking the foundational course for our Career Academy model, Freshman Seminar or AVID Seminar, to prepare for college and career readiness.  

The district utilizes Schoology, Google Classroom, Screencastify, and Kami to maintain continuity of instruction with students who attend traditionally and virtually at DRIVEN Virtual Academy. The district curriculum continues to be monitored K - 12 and implemented district-wide. The writing initiative 6 Traits + 1, a district-wide initiative, helps our students in grades 1-12 develop strong writing skills, strengthening them as learners through intentional feedback processes. Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) programs have continued to grow in each school. Teachers use Edulastic and Progress Learning for common formative assessments and small groups throughout the district to assess student growth and inform instruction. Additionally, teachers administer Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) MAPS interim assessments at all grade levels.

The District has implemented three new BIG ROCKS. STEM is LIT, our new STEM initiative, emphasizing literacy instruction in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The other BIG ROCKS is Culturally Relevant Teaching, which encourages teachers to acknowledge the importance of cultural backgrounds, experiences, and interests of the students and stakeholders of the school and the greater community. Lastly, SMALL GROUPS is a BIG ROCK that fosters intentional and purposeful teaching and instruction driven by student data. Small groups occur across our secondary schools at least twice per week to target intervention, extension, and reteaching opportunities for students.

Each campus has dedicated time to conduct Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings. The goal of PLCs is to use data to guide instruction. During these meetings, teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators discuss the data and share strategies to help students grow academically.

Positive Behavioral Interventions Supports (PBIS) continue to thrive at all campuses throughout the district with an extension to our buses. We continue to see positive outcomes with this program as it increases learning opportunities and decreases behavioral occurrences. Socio-emotional learning is embedded as a part of our day with students to assist them in navigating day-to-day concerns that students face more in today’s society.

As we utilize these various academic and behavioral initiatives to strengthen our students, Instructional Coaches continue to provide additional job-embedded professional development to support classroom teachers. Additionally, the district and state provide professional development opportunities to all certified and classified staff. It is the goal of PCSSD to equip teachers with the necessary tools to give each of our students a quality education.

In November 2021, the Pulaski County Tax Payer approved refinancing three bonds for 80 million dollars of facilities projects.  Below is the listing of those projects.

• Mills University Studies High School: multi-purpose facility; $15 million

• Robinson High School: expansion to increase enrollment to 1,500 students; $35 million

• Maumelle High School: indoor practice facility, softball field, and baseball field; $11 million

• Sylvan Hills High School: band room; $1 million

• Baker Elementary School: expansion to increase enrollment to 700 students; $5 million

• Harris Elementary School: modifications and facility improvements; $3 million

• College Station Elementary School: modifications and facility improvements; $3 million

• District lighting upgrades: interior and exterior lights will be upgraded to LED lighting across the District, which will save approximately 33% on electricity costs annually for the District; $2 million

• New Northwest Transportation Pound: $4 million

• District Integration: If additional funds are available upon completion of all other projects, new integration software to align fire safety, access control, and cameras all in one will be installed; $1 million

  Additional projects completed:

• Chenal Elementary:  New Fire Alarm System

• Sylvan Hills Junior High School:  New Vestibule entry

• Sylvan Hills Middle School:  Fire Alarm System replaced and New Painting

• Sylvan High School:  New CBI classrooms 

• Robinson High School:  Indoor Practice Facility received new restrooms

• During the 2022 - 2023 school year, the I.T. Department will expand with new projects:

  • Replace computer labs in several areas throughout the district.

  • Upgrade wireless capabilities in several schools throughout the district.

  • Replace outdated interactive boards with new state-of-the-art boards. 

  • Install new intercom systems at schools with the greatest need.

  • Library Learning Centers continue to add to the collection of online e-books.

  • Implementing content filter capabilities that allow parents to monitor and control students' online activity.

  • Install a next-generation firewall appliance to provide an extra layer of protection against cyber attacks and ensure better overall privacy and security.

  • Upgrade the district's current standard fax lines with a digital fax solution.

• The District is beginning the eighth year of its 1:1 device initiative and continues to make strides to extend education outside the classroom and ensure every student has an assigned device.

• The District is projected to start the 2022-2023 school year with approximately 18 million dollars in the legal fund.

• The projected ending legal fund balance for the 2022-2023 school year is 16.2 million dollars.

• The District outsourced food service and ended the 2021-2022 school year with 1.3 million dollars in the food service fund.

• Classified employee salaries were increased by approximately 3%  in the 2021-2022 school year.

• The beginning teacher salary was raised to $40,000.00 in the 2021-2022 school year.

• The District restructured bonds that generated 80 million dollars to fund building projects.

• The District also transferred $2.5 million from operating to the building fund for the track field at Maumelle High School.

• The chart below represents revenue and expenses from the legal fund for the fiscal year 2021-2022. 

• The Communications Department continues to:

  • Oversee the marketing and advertising budget for the Pulaski County Special School District.

  • Actively retain students zoned for PCSSD while recruiting students outside the District zones.

    • These retention and recruitment efforts are managed through organic and paid marketing efforts via social media and local media (i.e., Arkansas Business Publishing Group publications, Savvy, etc.) as well as digital marketing platforms (digital billboards, banner ads, social media ads, etc.)

  • Effectively coordinate media relations with local media to promote District initiatives, school events, student and teacher successes, educational opportunities, and much more.

    • Media relations are managed through regular press releases, media advisories, web stories, and social media posts to publicize newsworthy events around the District.

  • Maintains an annual calendar of events for the District and school-specific events, planned closures, holidays, and more.

    • The District website has its own Google calendar embedded in it for stakeholders to know about key dates and events. 

    • PDF versions of an “at-a-glance calendar” for families and our “grid calendar” for staff are available on the District and school websites.

  • Communicate with stakeholders when there is a need to pivot instructional plans due to inclement weather or other reason, such as power outages.

  • Implement and execute a strategic social media plan to disseminate information to all stakeholders (parents, staff, students, and the community).

    • PCSSD currently has nearly 17,000 Facebook fans, over 3,500 Instagram followers, and almost 4,200 Twitter followers.

  • Handle crisis communication situations for the entire District and assist with necessary communication needs at each school.

  • Respond to all Freedom of Information Act requests according to Arkansas laws. 

  • Fairly significant overhaul of the People Assisting Local Schools (PALS) Volunteer Program to assist our schools’ needs better.

• The PCSSD website (pcssd.org) network:

  • The district website accrued nearly 1.2 million page views during the 2021-2022 school year.

  • The district website also encompasses 26 individual school websites. There is an additional site for the Center of Innovation.

• The Communications Department had several successful endeavors in the 2021-2022 school year: 

  • Continued effective communication with all stakeholders amid the COVID-19 pandemic

  • Received national recognition for strategic work in public relations, as noted by the National School Public Relations Association:

    • Golden Achievement Award for the implementation of the PCSSD Teacher of the Year program in its inaugural year (2020-2021 school year).

    • Publications and Digital Media Excellence in three areas:

      • Internet/Intranet Website: PCSSD Branding Website (internal)

      • Branding Package: Mills University Studies Rebranding Package

      • Video Produced In-House: Live Q&A Winter Weather with THV11

  • Further perfected its branding efforts with updates to school branding guides and improved the design of many school logos.

• During the 2022-2023 school year, the Communications Department will enhance current marketing tactics and expand with new projects:

  • Created a Google calendar for each school website in order to allow schools to share site-specific events on their websites as well as districtwide events.

  • Refreshed logo and branding guide for Sylvan Hills High School. 

  • Created and distributed a crisis communication plan to all school administration and district-level administrators to use in emergency situations.

  • Enhance internal communication within all departments to ensure all staff members are aware of the efforts of the communication department. This additional piece of internal communication will also allow the department to facilitate additional opportunities for community events within departments.