MORRILTON, Ark. — One elementary school in Arkansas is working to reshape the future by introducing a new and innovative learning model.
At first glance, it looks like your everyday Pre-K classroom, but the theory behind these activities paints a much bigger picture for Morrilton Primary School students.
"We are so excited about the growth we’ve seen in children in just the four months we’ve been involved in this, and it’s been tremendous," said Principal Sharon Wilson.
The South Conway County School District has now adopted the “fueling brains model" for students at Morrilton Primary School.
"We focus on brain capacity for executive functioning dealing with inhibition control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. The two classes are separated into rooms: Right-brain and Left-brain," Wilson described.
The right brain room features brighter lights with a noisier environment while the left-brain room features a dimmer and quiet environment.
“The left-brain classroom is Montessori, and the right-brain classroom is Reggio Emilia. We look at a lot of different activities to help those skills into the children," she said.
Superintendent Shawn Halbrook shared that the district made the decision to go all in with the fueling brains model.
“Through a consortium agreement [and] through our education cooperative we were able to get the cost down for this first year below $100,000. It was still a significant investment for our school, but the return on investment is going to be much greater later," he explained.
The program serves over 140 students in the community with seven classrooms. Three for left brain, three for right brain, and one hybrid room.
“It’s a paradigm shift compared to what they used to have to do and the growth of how they’ve embraced it. It’s helping our kids grow and that helps our entire community grow," Halbrook added.