LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Little Rock School District (LRSD) is asking for feedback on cell phones in the classroom, a year-round school schedule, their strategic plan, and more.
At a series of listening sessions, all of which will be attended by an LRSD board member, parents and community members will have the chance to give their thoughts.
"We want to hear from our constituents and from the folks that we serve,” Superintendent Jermall Wright said at the first session Tuesday night. “We don't want to make any decisions around cell phone use or around what our calendar will look like without having opportunities to hear directly from our stakeholders."
The cell phone policies and potential new schedule have garnered a lot of the attention, but central Arkansas’ largest school district is also using the meetings to share information about their four-point strategic plan.
"I really think they're looking out for students’ best interests” said Hannah Vogler, an LRSD parent who is planning to attend a session. “So I can't argue with that, right?"
Vogler also took a survey the district sent out Tuesday to ask about cell phones and a possible new school calendar. She said she likes the current cell phone policy, which requires students to put phones away in school, but said she's not sure how well it's being implemented.
“It's not that abnormal to tell kids, “you can't be on your phone in class”, because that doesn't really work, [but also] take them away when they go in class, or don't bring them into school,” Vogler said.
Vogler also said she takes exception to the idea that students need cell phones for safety, arguing that there are better ways to keep kids safe.
A district spokesperson told THV11 that the purpose of the cell phone discussions will be to, “Get feedback on whether or not stakeholders think we should restrict cell phone usage at schools. Currently students may bring phones to school, but they are not supposed to use them in a disruptive manner. We will use the information gathered to determine what recommendation to make to the school board.”
As for the possibility of the year-round schedule, which school districts in Pine Bluff and Hot Springs have already adopted, Vogler said she does see benefits, such as getting rid of summer learning loss.
But she also said there’s some potential risks due to the shorter breaks spread throughout the year.
"I'm a single working mom... Where is my kid going to go for childcare during this time" Vogler said. "Also, I think about teachers who unfortunately have to spend summers, a lot of times working at second jobs. Well, a lot of those second jobs aren't going to hire them for one week here or two weeks there.”
The LRSD spokesperson we spoke to said the discussion on this topic will center around, “Should the LRSD implement a non-traditional calendar [different than the one the district currently uses]? We’re not necessarily advocating for a change but exploring what stakeholders think and soliciting feedback on areas that should be considered if a non-traditional calendar is implemented. Any changes also require board approval.”
Vogler said she hopes to have her questions answered at a listening session and encourages other parents and community members to attend too.
"I think people need to take the survey,” Vogler said. “They need to go to the listening sessions so that the district can hear from them about what they think. I think they absolutely, 100% will take that under consideration."
A full list of the listening sessions and where they'll be held can be found here.