From teachers to central office staff, cowboy hats, jeans and boots were in style during Watson Chapel School District’s convocation Thursday.
But putting boots on the ground in this district goes well beyond dancing to the recent hit by South Carolina artist 803Fresh.
“When we say ‘Boots on the ground,’ it’s not just a line dance. This is our action,” Superintendent Keith McGee said. “This is our action for how we’re going to elevate. This is who we’re going to become, the work that’s going to take place. That’s the boots on the ground. We’re going to work together and we’re all standing in together with that.”
“Boots on the ground” is just one theme for WCSD, which begins classes Monday. McGee said faculty and staff have also bought into the idea of “elevating our impact.”
The district reported showing incremental academic growth during the past school year, the first under McGee. To kick off this school year, employees were treated to live music by the high school band and choir and messages of encouragement from Mayor Vivian Flowers, Assistant Superintendent Aleta Posey and others inside the auxiliary gymnasium behind Wildcat Stadium’s home bleachers.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“We encourage them to build on the things that we’ve already accomplished in one year,” McGee said.
Phyllis Cage is going into her first full year as Edgewood Elementary’s principal after filling the role in the interim for Edgar Cooper, who stepped down due to health concerns. Cage is a 33-year education veteran entering her 10th year in the WCSD.
Cage is relying on her experience as principal at elementary and junior high schools in Louisiana, as well as her recent assistant role at Coleman Elementary.
“That helped me forge forward with all the things I had to learn about Watson Chapel School District administrators,” she said. “I was able to forge relationships and kind of change the culture. This year, my goal is to get more parents involved. I need my parents. I want them at the schools. I want them to know what the kids are studying and what their kids will be learning.”
Cage called her promotion a blessing in disguise because of her passion and heart for education.
“If I can carry that over to my staff and parents and students, we’re going to have an awesome year,” she said.
New York native Bianca Pilewski is a new face to WCSD and will serve as high school counselor. She and her husband moved to North Little Rock a few years ago from Maryland.
“These are my kids. These are the kind of kids I work with,” Pilewski said when asked why she chose to work at Watson Chapel. “It’s the environment I want to be in.”
The former microbiologist and biology teacher has stepped into a district that has recently established partnerships with Southeast Arkansas College and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff to help students work toward associate degrees in select fields. Pilewski added Arkansas is moving toward offering diplomas with merit or distinction to students who finish a career pathway in high-need and high-paying jobs like in automotive technology, welding and nursing.
“We’re behind in developing that, but which is good because I have the lens of seeing what it looks like at the end of the day to be a part of building it for the kids here,” Pilewski said.
Students in the White Hall School District will begin classes Wednesday. Classes in the Pine Bluff School District began July 28.
