Farmington Schools - good news in great school

Farmington Campuses Bob Folsom Elementary and Lynch Middle School were selected as RISE AWARD Schools!

Farmington School Principals Shannon Cantrell and Julia Williams were recently notified that Folsom Elementary and Lynch Middle School have been selected as recipients of the 2022 RISE School Award by the Arkansas Department of Education-Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. Both schools will be recognized this July at the 2022 Arkansas Department of Education Summit being held at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Folsom Elementary School and Lynch Middle School are two of only ten schools in Arkansas receiving this award for excellence in literacy.

The Reading Initiative for Student Excellence, RISE Arkansas, fosters a culture of reading by coordinating a statewide reading campaign with community partners, parents, and teachers to establish the importance of reading in communities, homes, and schools. The first goal of RISE Arkansas is “sharpen the focus and strengthen literacy instruction.” RISE training was developed in 2017 to bring evidence-based teaching practices to the classroom.

RISE Arkansas recognizes schools that have successfully implemented the RISE literacy practices. Farmington School District had two of the 31 schools in the state submit an application for the award and were two of 22 schools that advanced to the second round of the application process. A team of RISE specialists monitored reading instruction at each campus looking for school-wide implementation of RISE strategies and practices aligned with the science of reading. The RISE Team looked closely at the reading instructional shifts across twelve different areas. Both campuses excelled in literacy instruction and were selected as 2022 RISE Award winners!

Both of these schools are a great example of combining the PLC process and RISE training and implementing it for the benefit of students. Congratulations to the staff, students, and leadership at Folsom Elementary and Lynch Middle School! Thank you to our teachers for putting in the hours and effort needed to positively impact literacy success for our students, school, community, and state