Magazine Schools announced on Wednesday afternoon that its elementary school has been awarded the prestigious 2023 Reading Initiative for Student Excellence (RISE) Arkansas School Award
Magazine Elementary Principal Jared Higginbotham, who was joined by members of the Magazine School District administrative staff and school board and representatives from the Guy Fenter Educational Service Cooperative, made the announcement to his staff during their final faculty and staff meeting of the school year.
An official award presentation by the Division of Elementary & Secondary Education staff will be held on campus during the fall of the upcoming 2023-24 school year.
RISE Arkansas fosters a culture of reading by coordinating a statewide reading campaign with community partners, parents and teachers to establish the importance of reading in communities, homes and schools. The first goal of RISE Arkansas is to “sharpen the focus and strengthen instruction.” RISE training was developed in 2017 to bring evidence-based teaching practices to the classroom.
In an effort to promote the continued growth of RISE Arkansas, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) recognizes schools that have successfully implemented these practices for their students.
This past spring, a team from the ADE and education service cooperatives used a rubric to score submitted applications. The rubric was based on the three goals of RISE, plus the minimum requirements from the application. Of those that applied, eligible schools advanced to a second round, which included a day-long visit from RISE specialists. The goal of the visit was to look for a schoolwide implementation of strategies and practices aligned with the science of reading.