Pine Bluff School District officials officially unveiled their latest Star Academy program inside the Pine Bluff Junior High Ninth Grade Academy on Friday.
The event drew officials from the Arkansas Department of Education, the Redcoats of the Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Shirley Washington and other civic leaders. The Academy provides 80 eighth-graders with what the district calls an innovative education opportunity to learn through a project-based and technology-driven curriculum.
“For me, it’s listening to these students about the excitement of working first of all with the pairs and looking at how they work at their own pace,” said Sheila Whitlow, associate deputy commissioner with the ADE’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. “The motivation I’m hearing from [the students] is exciting as well, so I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the other content areas.”
The eighth-graders attend the classes across the street from the regular seventh- and eighth-grade building of Pine Bluff Junior High. The program was launched in January.
“It’s less chaotic than it was at a traditional school,” student Johniah Perry said. “I say, if you have behavioral problems, they’re better over here and they’ll get better over here. You get taken away from all the distractions over there and you have more space to learn here.”
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Each student is required to complete 10 modules in a class with seven days to complete each one. All core classes are studied in the curriculum.
One of the modules in science class tells students what supplies are needed to perform projects, eighth-grader Khyliee Spratt said.
Classmate Kourt Bradley said students learn different types of science in that core class but they’re focusing on earth science. The girls were sharing their experiences with Whitlow.
The Star Academy curriculum, which is also used at the Explore Academy for grades 7-9 on Dollarway Road, ties lessons to real-world experiences outside of the classroom. Students from Pine Bluff and Watson Chapel school districts attend the campus, supervised by the Arkansas River Education Service Cooperative.
“Because of the opportunity to expand the program, they serve more students here within the district utilizing this program,” said Robin Mussa, vice president of curriculum developer Nola Education of New Orleans. “Only a few students are allowed to be part of the program at Explore.”
Star Academy is implemented in nine districts across eastern and southern Arkansas.
Robin Mussa of Nola Education, the developing firm of the Star Academy; Charles Colen, Pine Bluff School District board member; and Jennifer Barbaree, PBSD Superintendent, talk during an open house for the Star Academy at the Pine Bluff Junior High Ninth Grade Academy on Friday, March 8, 2024. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Cathi Swan (center) of the Arkansas River Education Service Cooperative and Superintendent Jennifer Barbaree (right) of the Pine Bluff School District go over modules with students in a science classroom at the Pine Bluff Junior High Ninth Grade Academy on Friday, March 8, 2024. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)