Dear Parents/Guardians:
As you may have heard, all Arkansas schools have been closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year as mandated by the Governor, so we will continue with AMI days. Teachers will continue to be available each day from 7:30am-3pm through Google Classroom, Facebook, or email. We understand this can be a challenging time for many parents, but we are here to help.
Secretary of Education, Johhny Key, said that schools are to focus on the essential standards taught up to the time of closure in core content areas such as math and literacy, and then coordinate the use of other subjects such as art and social studies to create engaging learning opportunities. Our teachers are working hard to create engaging lessons for students that will keep them on track during this difficult time. We are grateful to all of our parents for working with your children to help make them successful during this time. We love seeing the pictures you're posting on Facebook.
As a district, we will be preparing more information for our students, parents, and staff. We hope to post a decision by May 1st regarding graduation which meets the Governor's social distancing mandates and the CDC’s guidelines. For specific questions, Seniors need to contact Ms. Mayo or their respective teachers.
The past few weeks have been a challenging time for our community, state, and nation. I'm reminded everyday though of the amazing human spirit. Even during a global pandemic, our teachers and staff have maintained a positive attitude and have worked to insure our students are fed and educated. What an amazing community we live in.
These are also serious times we live in and I encourage you to follow the recommendations from our leaders to stay home, stay safe, and save lives. Together, we can make it through this.
Sincerely,
Susan Kissire
Bismarck Elementary is selected as 2019 National ESEA Distinguished School
"We focus on creating personal and academic success for each child, because we recognize that we are not only creating learners, but our future leaders."
Welcome to
Bismarck School District
On behalf of the Board of Education, faculty, and staff, we invite you to visit us and discover the many advantages offered by our district. We provide the opportunities of a large school within a smaller school environment. Our students have access to some of the best educators and programs in Arkansas. We focus on creating personal and academic success for each child, because we recognize that we are not only creating learners, but our future leaders. Our accomplishments are significant, and they did not happen by chance. They are the result of dedicated individuals who care deeply about the well-being of each and every individual and who are committed to excellence. Our district is an extension of our wonderful community. Through our work as a collaborative community, our students will develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to achieve at a high level.
Susan K. Kissire
Superintendent
Bismarck School District is committed to ALL students’ success through:
- Student-centered learning
- 21st century knowledge and skills
- High expectations
- A collaborative team approach
- Strong, positive relationships with parents & community
Bismarck Public School serves almost 1000 students in three (K-12) schools in Bismarck, Arkansas. We are centrally located between Arkadelphia (12 miles) and Hot Springs (15 miles). The District's vision, mission, and principles guide its curriculum and extra-curricular activities.
DISTRICT ANNOUNCEMENT
Commissioned School Security Officer Program (CSSO)
Although Bismarck School District has already implemented numerous additional safety features/procedures the past few years, they are happy to have full-time SRO Deputy Justin Baker. Surveys show that SRO’s increase feelings of safety among students, teachers, and administrators. They can also deter aggressive behavior, and empower staff to maintain order and address behavioral issues in a timely manner, diminish classroom time spent on discipline and behavioral disruptions, improve school safety, and improve relationships between law enforcement and youth.
Bismarck Schools will also have commissioned school security officers in addition to its one school resource officer beginning in 2020. No teachers will be armed, only a handful of non-instructional staff volunteered to train to become CSSO's. The decision to adopt the CSSO program was approved at a school board meeting back in May 2019.
The volunteers underwent 60 hours of intensive training with law enforcement. The school district says it wants CSSO's on and around campuses should there ever be a school threat or serious situation which warrants additional security in a timely manner. The CSSO’s will work in close correlation with HSC law enforcement and will undergo an additional 12+ hours of training each year in order to maintain their certification.
For safety reasons, how many CSSO's there will be, or who they are, will not be publicly shared. We believe having CSSO's at the schools serves as a preemptive measure to keep students safe. District officials feel that it is best practice that only non-instructional staff perform in this role to avoid that direct interaction with students.
Bismarck School District has also played an active role in the development of the Hot Spring County Conversations, Our Vision for the Future, county-wide plan, where representatives from throughout the county and district prioritized areas of importance. Public Safety and Law Enforcement was a priority area for the Bismarck community so BSD has taken a proactive approach for the school setting. We want to do our part to support our community and work toward an even greater Bismarck.