GRAVETTE — Richard Page, who has completed his first month as Superintendent of Gravette Public Schools, recently spent several minutes explaining how these first few weeks have been both enjoyable and challenging as he looks forward to the fast-approaching school year.
“It’s been a great experience,” he said. “I have really enjoyed meeting many of the staff. They are great to work with and I’m looking forward to meeting and working with the entire staff.”
During a full staff meeting, Page explained, “I’ll talk for a few minutes, about 15 minutes or so” to explain the goals for the coming school year.
Page comes to Gravette from Neosho, Mo., where he was superintendent of schools for the past seven years.
A native of Little Rock, where he graduated from Pulaski County High School, he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
Originally a band teacher, he also taught choir and music in Missouri before returning to Arkansas to serve as band director for Green County Tech district in Paragould.
In 1987 he became instrumental music supervisor and high school band director for Joplin R-7 district. While turning the band program around, tripling the band in size, he also served as night school administrator, all the while completing his special education credentials at Pittsburgh (Kan.) State University.
Moving into the administrative field, he was elementary principal at Granby and assistant high school principal at Webb City before becoming central office administrator at Neosho. He held that position five years before moving to superintendent.
The Gravette School Board this spring selected Page from a broad field of applicants to serve the district as superintendent.
Page and his wife Pamela live in Bella Vista. They are parents of two grown sons, Samuel, who is married and lives in Dallas, and Kyle, of Little Rock. The superintendent paused a moment, then smiled, as he reported that Samuel and his wife will soon have a family.
“We’re going to be grandparents for the first time,” he said.
Involvement Important
“I want to become involved in the community,” the already-a-member of the Gravette Kiwanis Club declared.
Page spent several minutes talking about the need for “involvement,” not only by the school staff and by the students themselves, but also by the parents, whose role is to make sure their children reach their full potential as students.
He used as an illustration two types of well-meaning parents: helicopter and velcro.” Helicopter parents hover over their children while velcro parents cling to them, he explained.
But he continued noting that if their children make a mistake or skin their knee and have to earn their own money, they will learn valuable lessons.
Common Core Change
Page noted a challenge this year will be further adopting the Common Core Standards which Arkansas and other states have adopted to replace the Benchmark and No Child Left Behind programs.
The transition will take a lot of work, particularly on the part of the teaching staff, he observed.
Arkansas is looking at students in a new way, testing a class at the first of the school year and at the end of the year to compare progress. This replaces the testing only at the end of the year.
This will allow the teacher to evaluate the individual student, as well as the class, for a more accurate progress analysis. Under the Common Core system, comparison ofsimilar grade progress with students in other states will also be enhanced.
More reading will be emphasized in the Common Core Concept, which will also involve mathematics. Math will not only involve numbers but also reading a problem and understanding how it can be solved.
Page noted that character education and working together are vital for a successful learning process.
Page was highly complimentary of the facilities the Gravette District has provided for the students.
He minced no words in noting he looks forward to the year ahead with a positive attitude; that attitude is evident, he observed, in the staff and throughout the entire community.
Community, Pages 5 on 08/15/2012