WHITE HALL, Ark. — The White Hall School District is kicking off its 2024-2025 school year by putting a new spin on the meaning of communication and collaboration.
Incoming sophomore student, Logan Guinn, said she is excited about the new changes implemented by school leadership. She also explained how student's issues and concerns have been a priority for staff.
“I think it's definitely created better connections. We have more trust in our faculty now," Guinn described.
A $50,000 grant to the district from Forward Arkansas through its LeARner's Collective Initiative is fueling the revamp.
“We worked through some of those things with how we wanted to address with our faculty and our students, how they wanted to feel valued," said High school Principal Nathan Sullivan. “I think we were one in five schools in the state that got to go through phase two, and that comes with a pretty hefty grant that we're going to use to cultivate our culture here at White Hall High School.”
Principal Sullivan said they have been looking to improve from the top to the bottom— from training younger teachers and rebranding the school to even rewarding students.
“These are big kids, so big kids want to be patted on the back too. So we started a student recognition month. We brought our ninth graders in, our 10th, 11th, 12th, and we let the teachers choose what they want to recognize a student, maybe, 'Hey, you're the best helper in class' and they got a certificate, got the picture made, and the kids really like it. That spawned from a group called 'Pizza with a Principal," Sullivan described.
“It was just mainly a group of kids who were selected, and we got to talk about the issues that we believe that the school has, and we got to put our feedback on some of those issues," Guinn added.
Guinn also explained how she has already seen a shift in morale for the more than 900 students and over 70 staff members in their school district.
“Hearing their side of the story makes us realize that, hey, maybe some decisions were meant to be and happen for a reason," Guinn said.
As the school semester kicks off this week for White Hall students, Guinn said she is excited to take harder classes, join more organizations, and continue her journey of being a White Hall Bulldog.
“We get to leave behind a legacy for those like behind us because I have two younger sisters, and knowing that the decisions that I make now will soon affect them for the better," she said.
To learn more about Forward Arkansas and its LeARner Initiative, please click here.