We hope Trojan elementary students (students in grades K-6) will join in on the FUN next week (March 1 - 5, 2021) for Read Across America Week! Find a theme in this update for each day, all of which were selected by our staff members to reflect the national 2021 Read Across America Theme: “Create and Celebrate a Nation of Diverse Readers.”

After School Tutoring is now offered at the HSSD Welcome Center (702 Main Street), Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Educational staff members and a translator will be at the Welcome Center during these times to offer homework help and general classwork assistance to Trojan students. To arrange for your child to attend, or with questions, call Ms. Margaret Freeman at 501-620-7815.

Due to dangerous roads and winter weather, there will be no on-site classes at the HSSD Tuesday, 2/16 - Thursday, 2/18. These will be Virtual Days, and students in K-12 should complete work and engage with teachers online and/or in any take-home work provided by teachers.

We proudly celebrate each of our outstanding HSSD School Board members, in this update. Please join us in appreciation for all that they do to serve our HSSD, and the Hot Springs community.

Our Gifted and Talented Program organized/hosted Spelling Bees at all four elementary schools, and our Hot Springs Junior Academy. We are proud of all Trojan students who prepare and participate in these annual academic competitions!

The HSSD will provide FREE bulk meals for the upcoming Christmas break holiday (12/23 - 1/5) to families by request. Chartwells, our HSSD food service provider, will prepare and package meals for pick-up on 12/21 and 12/28 between 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Each bulk meal package will include 5 days of breakfast items and 5 days of lunch items. All orders must be turned in by December 15, 2020. All children 18 and under who live in the household of a student qualify to receive a FREE bulk meal package

At the Governor’s press conference on Thursday December 4, modifications to current quarantine guidelines for persons with no symptoms were announced by Governor Hutchinson and the Arkansas Department of Health. The guidelines were passed down by the CDC on Wednesday, December 3. Find all details about changes, in this update ...

Our HSSD Institutional Law Enforcement Agency has launched a new program for our K--6 students called "U Got Caught!". This initiative allows our law enforcement officers (LEOs) to recognize students in front of their entire class for an act of good character, bravery, kindness, selflessness, or general good judgement. This program is focused on building relationships between our LEOs and young students, and on showing our kids that LEOs at every level are as interested in praising citizens for doing what is right, as they are in protecting the public from and/or punishing wrongdoers.

On October 20-30, students in grades 3-10 will be taking ACT® Aspire® Interim Assessments at all HSSD elementary schools. For three days during the two-week period, students will test in one subject area- one day in Math, one day in Reading, and one day in Science. Each test will last under one hour. The valuable data we gain from these assessments allows us to make evidence-based decisions when addressing your students’ strengths, areas for improvement, and growth potential across classrooms and subject areas as defined by state education standards.

Last October, the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education was awarded a federal Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant from the US Department of Education. Statewide school districts were invited to apply for grant money from those funds to advance literacy skills and development including pre-literacy skills, reading, and writing for all children from birth through grade 12, in respective schools populations. The following HSSD schools received CLSD grants: Hot Springs World Class High School, Langston Elementary Leadership Academy, Main Street Visual & Performing Arts Magnet School, Oaklawn STEM Magnet School, and Park Magnet an IB World School. Find details in this update about how HSSD schools plan to utilize funds to advance literacy skills for students in K-12!