I was just curious. Who is distracted by those types of piercings? Seems to me that would be a minor concern.

Why not go to a uniform dress code if you are going to put so many rules on what our kids wear.

Didn't know if ppl were aware but one can go to the Trumann School District website and there are plans showing the new school and what is going where.

Well, hopefully the auditorium will be finished. It would be nice for the class of 2009 to graduate in the new school since they were supposed to begin their senior year there. It's sad that things got so behind. But, that is the way it goes with everything. Nothing seems to be completed on time. Especially a project such as this one.

So, will they wait and move in when the next school year starts? It would be rough to move in the middle of the school year. If they did, when would they have time?

By the end of this year.

I agree mjen72472 while this is extremely interesting. It has nothing to do with the schools!

Again, I'm not sure how much the mayor can do. Federal Housing is that, Federal, not local. It is controlled by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and then the President. We could petition, but there are no guarantees.

Well, isn't that an interesting website......

I second that jill and mjen!! If you read this Ms. Mayor..... I think I speak for more than myself when I say, get up and do something about it!

It is very frustrating to see how some of the residents in government housing live. I knew of a family who had a trampoline and 4-wheeler that also took a trip to Disney World! Those are the kinds that should have to work for a living. Unfortunately, they give the rest a bad reputation. It is obvious that the government housing in Trumann is not being used the way it was designed. One would think the mayor would want that investigated.

Sorry to be so harsh. Maybe it would have been better stated like this. When a person living in the projects can afford a better car than I drive and I work hard for all that I get, then I think they could afford better housing! When I see people who live in the projects out partying all the time and living life beyond their means then they need to get out of the projects too. The Federal Housing was started and was intended to help those who could not afford certain luxuries! The projects for the most part in Trumann is a JOKE!

I am pretty sure if the federal government was actually overseeing the housing projects in Trumann they would have done away with them long ago. I would bet if we petition the government for control then we could get control and then start getting rid of them.

I would just like to say that I think our school system is just as good as others in the surrounding area. I would put our students up against any others in the state. Our school is no different than others. The same problems exist in all schools. Some are worse than others, but there are MUCH WORSE than Trumann. Trumann School District is made up of very highly qualified teachers. If any have seen the state test results that were published you can see that our students scored above the state's average in many areas. Doesn't that tell you something??? Sure, there is room for improvement..but isn't there in ALL schools?? You can see that our scores are improving every year. It is obvious the students, teachers, parents, and administrators are doing all they can to make sure everyone achieves. Teachers can't work miracles....if you think about it the state wants teachers to cram 9 months of curriculum into 7 months just so the state test can be given to see if the students master the skills for that grade level!!!! To me that doesn't seem very fair. Education starts at home and if more parents were involved in their child's education, the school would be a much better place. One of the problems we have here is a lot of the parents aren't educated themselves and they feel intimidated when they come to a parent/teacher conference. IF parents would attend, they would feel differently....showing up says a GREAT DEAL and shows that you are committed to your child's education. Teachers would LOVE to help you help your child at home. I just hope that our school distict continues to improve and that more and more parents become involved. To me, parental involvement is the way to get things done. Parents are the voice and if you want change, then you have to speak up!!!

Concerning Trumann Schools and Trumann in general.

#1. Clean up the 350 units of Federal Housing and bring it under the city's control. More revenue would be generated for things the city needs such as its own ambulance service, a swimming pool, cleaner streets, animal control, etc.

#2 Elect active, more hands on school board members.

#3 Elect city council members and a mayor that can comprehend what is best for the city will most generally reflect a positive result within the school.

#4 Stop nepotism in the city and the school. Hire the qualified.

#5 Possibly should be #1, get control of the out of control election process. Probably would not hurt for the State to come in and operate our polls for at least two election periods.

#6 Put discipline back in the school and in the courts.

#7 Support and reward those that are doing their jobs, dismiss those who are not.

#8 but not final, "because this could go on forever," let's keep our complaints within it's borders. Don't air our dirty laundry on Channel 8 or The Jonesboro Sun. Outsiders should only here about the best and not about the areas we need to improve upon, unless it requires outside help.

We could really use a PR Director for the town as well as the school. Then maybe, we would have someone that could tell us when to shut up and go to work and guide us through this apparent identity crises.

At this point I would say, "Keep the words flying." There is enough getting said, eventually someone or group will take on the responsibility for a positive change. It could even begin with a handful of kids with a winning attitude setting the example for the rest of us to follow. But with all the negative comments they hear, wouldn't that be sort of a miracle?

SURE EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN OPINION AND MY ENTRY WAS IN NOWAY DIRECTED TOWARD YOURS. I DONT EVEN KNOW YOU OR YOUR CHILDREN, AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO WORK YOU PROBLEMS OUT AND I HATE THE FACT THAT THEY WERE OVERLOOKED!! SERIOUSLY!

OH YEAH, I WASN'T SCREAMING, JUST SITTING QUIETLY AT MY DESK. I HAVE A BAD HABIT OF TYPING IN ALL CAPS. MRS. NOEL WOULD BE SO DISSAPPOINTED IN ME!! HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I TOO HAVE HEARD NEGATIVE REMARKS ABOUT TRUMANN, BUT IT'S FUNNY NO ONE CAN TELL ME SPECIFICS. SO IT ALL GOES BACK TO-TRUMANN HAS A BAD REP. AND I THINK THAT GOES BACK 20 OR 30 YEARS AGO. WE MOVED HERE 26 YEARS AGO AND THE RUMORS AND TALK FROM SURROUNDING TOWNS WAS MUCH WORSE THEN, THAN TODAY. THEN I WAS EMBARRASED TO TELL SOMEONE I'M FROM TRUMANN BUT TODAY NOT SO MUCH. TRUMANN IS A GREAT TOWN, AND I THINK IT'S GETTING BETTER!! YES IT HAS IT DRUGS, LOTS OF HOUSING PROJECTS(WHICH IS ANOTHER SORE SUBJECT WITH ME, BUT I SPARE YOU FROM THAT) BUT THESE ARE THINGS THAT EVERY SMALL TOWN OR BIG CITY HAS IN COMMON. I HAVE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE WITH TRUMANN SCHOOLS! MY SON HAS MADE GREAT LIFE LONG FRIENDS, WETHER THEY BE FELLOW STUDENT OR TEACHERS. HOWEVER, I MUST SAY THE STUDENT ONLY GETS OUT OF SCHOOL WHAT THEY PUT INTO SCHOOL. I HAVE FAMILY THAT HAVE GRADUATED ALREADY AND SOME THAT ARE STILL IN SCHOOL THAT HAVE HAD PROBLEMS. YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE (YOU HAVE TO READ THE NEXT PART WITH A WHINEY VOICE) BEEN PICKED ON, MISTREATED, DISCRIMINATED AGAINST. BULL CRAP!! IF THEY WOULD SIT DOWN, SHUT UP, KEEP THEIR HANDS TO THEMSELVES AND LISTEN TO THE TEACHER THEY WOULD GET ALOT MORE OUT OF IT AND IT MAY NOT BE SO MISERABLE ON THEM OR THEIR PARENTS. SORRY... I'M SURE THERE ARE SOME LEGITIMATE STUDENT-TEACHER PROBLEMS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. I JUST WISH THEY COULD BE ADDRESSED AND PUT IT BEHIND THEM, BECAUSE NEGATIVE PUBLICITY IS WHAT EVERYONE HEARS AND REMEMBERS, AND THIS IS WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO OVERCOME.

DISCLAMER: I AM SORRY IF I OFFENDED ANYONE. PLEASE DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY IT JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION.

Anyone can respond but I'd like to hear yours too. If you don't really want to discuss them in an open forum, you can email me at trumannpd_7@yahoo.com. Sometimes discretion is better in certain situations. I don't want to put you on the spot or anything.

Wow. I don't know how I missed all of this. What opportunities do the other schools present that Trumann Schools lack? Whats being said about Trumann Schools everywhere you go? What are the problems you're having at Trumann School?

I've had kids in Wee Cat, Cedar Park, Central, and Trumann Middle and High School. My only complaint was that Central was in Harrisburg in the middle of nowhere pretty much. I haven't ever had any problems with the faculty or administration so far. My two youngest seem to be doing just fine. However, My oldest was a bit too much like me I suppose, and I got to know the principals fairly well for the silly stuff he'd do on occasion. Nothing criminal, just stupidity, like his dad. Honestly, most of it funny. But I never had any problems with the punishments that were handed down.

They were always more than fair and followed their policies and procedures. I suppose since I haven't witnessed any myself I guess I'm just curious to hear what you've encountered.

I agree. Support those business owned and operated by Trumann residents first!!

BRyce go to sonic there only 99 cents

Yeah selling it would make the most sense but what would anyone do with that building in it's current location???

If we don't sell it we could always use it as a school much like the SUCCESS school in Jonesboro. You know for the kids who just can't cut it in a normal school setting. Just a suggestion!

OK on to a much different subject. What will the old Central Elementary School building be used for once the new school is built? Just wondering?

OK, hopefully this will be my last post on the subject as I feel the need to defend myself once again. I had no intentions of making anything I said personal to anyone else's posts and I have no problems with anyone chiming in and saying what they want, only trying to make the point that negativity spills over to our children and if they see us, and they are watching and listening, talk about their school then they will feed off of us and adapt our same attitudes and beleifs. I know not everyone will believe the same as me b/c we are all different and I have no problem with that. This was turning into a 2-person debate and there was no point in continuing b/c obviously our beliefs cannot be changed and nothing gets done by typing on this blog anyway. So until someone else comes along with a new perspective, then I am done. That is what I meant by the dead horse comment.

I'm finished commenting about this whole school situation. It's like beating a dead horse and it's getting a bit ridiculous and out of control.

That is the point I have been trying to make. I'm glad someone else came on and voiced an opinion.

My point was that things go on at other schools, not just Trumann, and we should defend our school to others but our defense should be 100%. We don't need to say we want our kids to go here and how proud we are and then jump on the bandwagon and participate in all the negativity.

I think part of the problem of people and parents is that we keep trying to compare our school to surrounding schools and we feel that we just don't measure up. It is not fair to our students, teachers, or administrators to think we aren't as "good" as certain schools that are supposed to be the "best" and that we are just a bunch of dummies that don't have the ability to compete with larger schools in metropolitan areas. Just in the last couple of weeks I have read about some students who attend the "best high school in the state" who poured some type of liquid (I can't recall what it was at the moment) into an empty coke bottle and placed it in their chemistry teacher's mailbox and some of it leaked out. This prank was because they felt the teacher was too tough on them or something to that nature. In Springdale, Ar, there was a kindergarten teacher and a middle school teacher arrested for being intoxicated at school. I don't recall our school making the paper for anything like that.

My point is, there will always be things that we don't agree on and sometimes it will be the policy or the rules of the classroom or just what kind of mood we are in on any given day, but just because things don't always go our way we can't expect the world to stop turning to cater to us. Now I don't mean when there is obvious mistreatment of a student or anything that goes against the rules of the school and by no means would I minimize any incident or situation anyone may have had, but sometimes we just want things our way and we think if we do enough or say enough then we can make it happen. When we visit a certain restaurant or store and we get bad service, do we stop going to that restaurant or store? No, we keep going back even if we swear we won't. Same thing applies to school, church, or our families and friends for that matter. We must learn to deal with things that we don't like every single day of our lives. Life is about choices, not feelings. Character is developed by the way we handle situations that make us uncomfortable, and that is what we should also be teaching our kids, and by we I mean us as parents.

I would like to comment in response to some of these posts. I am an elementary principal with past experience in the Trumann School District. I feel that the district seems to be moving in the right direction lately. I hear that the personnel changes have been beneficial and I know that there are some very valuable hard-working teachers in the Trumann Schools. They are also producing some very high-achieving students such as the one who posted a comment on this space. Trumann should be proud of the accomplishments but should also always look forward to continue improving.

I feel that you cannot jump on every bandwagon or every grant that comes along. Our kids are our greatest responsibility and their parents our greatest ally or adversary. We must be open to parents and keep them informed and included at all costs. However, as I tell my parents, they have had their education. I love to have them happy but my sole responsibility is giving their children the best education I can possibly give them. Sometimes this does not always coincide with what is popular with parents or the community.

I work in a school very much like the Trumann Schools, about the same socioeconomic make-up but fewer students. My teachers know that I will do whatever I can to make their jobs easier and, in turn, I expect them to take care of the students. In my tenure in my current system, this has always worked. Sometimes its not roses but it works overall. Our scores for Math are 89% proficiency and 78% in Literacy. I am very proud of my teachers, students, staff, and parents for this accomplishment. My suggestion for the Trumann District would be to focus on what is best for the students. Don't worry about what looks good, just do what is right. That has always worked for me.

Parents, you need to be as involved as you can in your child's education. You were their first teachers. Continue in that vein as helpers and cheerleaders for your school. Again, I think that the district is taking measures to move in a forward direction but it takes everyone working together, not against one another, to make noticeable gains. My hopes are that the current improvements continue to gain hold and build for a brighter future for the students and society.

I believe it is our duty as parents to try to make sure our kids are being treated the way we think they should be. There have been a few things that I haven't agreed with in the past that pertained to my kids, so I got all the facts and went from there. With that said, I don't think enough parents are informed enough about what their child is doing at school or if they care at all. Questionnaires is not a bad idea, but those should be mailed and not given to the students to take home.

I meant husband, not huband. Carin, we need automatic spellchecker on here!!!

I don't want to start a lot of negative conversation, however I must speak out on this topic. Having just graduated from Trumann High School, I think I am more than qualified to discuss Trumann Public Schools. My personal thought is this, Trumann Public Schools prepares students as well as any other school district. I would put our top students against any other school's top students.

I believe it is important to understand that education is a direct result of what you personally put into it. There are subjects that I am better at, because I put more into them, not because I had bad teachers in any of those areas. Also many times teachers have a lot to deal with, with students. I know our class never consisted of the perfect students, and there were times when we made teaching a difficult task. However, I believe overall our teachers/administrators did an incredible job.

When it comes to the personal policy there is need for some minor improvement. However, as Student Council President my senior year and Vice-President my junior year, I served on the THS Handbook Committee, along with teachers and administrators. I don't know about the personal book, but I know this committee spent a lot of time trying to develop new/better ways of fixing our schools problems, yet it is extremely difficult. I assume that the personal policy is the same way.

I also currently serve in an organization that's purpose is to show the good side of Trumann. One thing that we have found is that the majority of Trumann's negative reputation doesn't come from outsiders talking about Trumann, but it comes from within. I am in no way an overly positive person, but I do know if we focus purely on the faults of anything, that's all anyone else is going to see.

What I would like to see here is a forum of ideas. I would like to see people discussing possible fixes for problems, not identifying problems and talking about how no one has fixed them. I'm not saying that any of you are, but I am just stating this for future posts.

Trumann High School gave me the skills I need to go forward in life, and I will always be grateful for that. I am extremely proud to say that I am an alumnus from Trumann High School.

Going to the source??? You mean go to the teacher? Ha! No that won't do. I have had a few problems this year and it always got overlooked. REAL problems got overlooked. I know that you feel strongly about the school system and the system as a whole is not all bad. I mean I know that Jill's husband is a school board member so I can understand her not wanting the bashing of the schools. However, I agree with jmcgowan. I also think that the whole faculty policy book needs to be updated. I am sure all of the things that I KNOW have happened this year would have surely resulting in much more than a slap on the wrist!!

I hope with the new school comes improvement in teaching and less movies watched.

Well, I dont drive by on a daily basis but when I do get by there I am glad to see it going up finally.

Glad to see it is moving a little faster these days. Was beginning to wonder if we were still actually building a new school.