Although Glen Rose is considered a small, rural school district, administrators believe that strong academics and school activity programs are the reasons the number of students is increasing.

Glen Rose elementary Principal Sherri Hollingsworth, left, welcomes second-grader Aubrey Jackson, 7, and her mother, Sharon, during open house on Thursday. Administrators said Glen Rose is “one of the best-kept secrets in Arkansas” with strong educational programs.

Glen Rose is also the reigning state champions in 3A football after a dramatic, last-second 35-34 win over powerhouse Shiloh Christian in 2007. This put football on the map for Glen Rose and also put Glen Rose on the map for people in Arkansas. However, administrators believe that is not the only reason why people are drawn to their school. 

“We are one of the best-kept secrets in Arkansas,” Superintendent Nathan Gills said. “We have a strong academic program background and though we are a relatively small rural school, we are not extremely small. I think people come here because the students like that our teachers are very caring about them, and I think the parents like that we don’t have a lot of the problems of larger area schools.”
Glen Rose is located in Hot Spring County, but a large percentage of its students are from Saline County. High School principal Vic Gandolph said the high school expects around 390 students this year, around 20 more students than last year.
The overall school district is projecting 1,052 students and Gills said that he believes between 33 and 40 percent of those students are from Saline County. Gills and Gandolph said the number is high because of the Arkansas School Choice program.
Gills also said he believes the school district has a very strong staff to best educate the students. Elementary principal Sherri Hollingsworth said she agrees with that sentiment.
“I would put my staff against any other school in Arkansas,” Hollingsworth said. “We care about every aspect of a child’s education, and I think it shows in our teachers and staff.”
Hollingsworth believes the most important aspect for the students is to have a well-rounded education. She said if students are observed shaving problems, district officials work diligently to correct them. Glen Rose has many before-school and after-school tutoring programs to work with students at all grade levels that keep parents and teachers coming back, she said.
“I think it is the warm and friendly staff and reputation we have for staying progressive academically that entices parents and students,” Hollingsworth said. “Our teachers are close-knit and like family. They are very caring, close and they communicate a lot with each other to help the students.”
The district has instilled many new programs for not only student involvement, but also for the parents. One of those programs is ED Online in which parents may access students work assignments. Parents are given a password so that only their child’s assignments can be accessed.
Another new program is the JEDI technology program, which Hollingsworth explained is an intervention that “enables students that might be weak in one area to be stronger.”
The Barton system is a new reading program that Hollingsworth hopes will show success where other programs have failed.
Other programs include everything from field trips and a health camp to a math and literacy night in which the children turn their parents into students.
“The community knows that we’ll go that extra mile to work with the students and parents,” Hollingsworth said. “This year we are also focusing on attendance including offering incentives. I think attendance is part of teaching responsibility and also students miss out when they don’t attend.
“We are focusing on this not only because of state requirements, but for the child. It makes learning hard on the child when the don’t show up and then they have to catch up with lesson plans.”
The emphasis on education and working with individual students to achieve high standards begins with the elementary schools, but Hollingsworth said it does not end there.
“The elementary teachers also communicate with the middle school teachers about students coming into their school,” Hollingsworth said. “We want to help make that transition from elementary to middle school as easy a process for the student as possible.”
The staff and teachers communicate with each other throughout the students’ lives so that by the time they reach high school they can possibly start preparing for a secondary education, Gandolph said.
To help make that transition, he said the high school offers unique programs for students to earn college credits in algebra, freshman composition/English, trigonometry and more.
“There are [advance placement] classes where a student could get up to 18-hours of college credit,” Gandolph said. “I think that is another reason people come to our schools, because of the educational opportunities we can offer. That and we have a great teacher to student ratio. We have smaller classrooms that creates a more family atmosphere and I think the community appreciates that. We are kind of the hub of the area.”
Gandolph said academic programs in Glen Rose show in their test scores. In the 2007-2008 school year, students had scores well above the state average in many areas. In geometry, the state average was 60 percent and Glen Rose scored an 68 percent average; In Algebra, the state was 66 percent and Glen Rose was 78 percent; and in literacy the state average was 51 percent and Glen Rose scored 59 percent.
“We expect the best,” Gandolph said, “not just from our students, but from our faculty as well.”
Beyond the educational opportunities, Glen Rose offers students various extracurricular activities.
“We have a great band and choir that has won numerous awards,” Gandolph said. “We have updated technology with 20 mobile laptop computers with wireless internet for students to use. We have great football, basketball, baseball, cheerleading and other sport activities.There are just too many positives here for students and parents.”
In 2005, Glen Rose decided to enhance its sports facilities by building a new sports arena that overlooks the campus.  “It is a multi-facility building,” Gills said. “It definitely helps attract students.”
Teacher Denette Smith also has a Family Consumer Science class that she said is “more than just about cooking and sewing”. She believes in hands-on experience programs including a program in which students taking home [fake] babies to learn about parenting.
Another teacher, John Jones, not only runs the FFA classroom, but is teaching students how to make their own bio-diesel fuel. The program involves taking old cooking oil from the cafeteria and actually running several school trucks with the product.
Enhanced safety features include video cameras in the classrooms and building tornado-proof facilities at both ends of the campus. A school resource officer is also located on the campus.
With all the steps taken in education programs, safety and activities, Glen Rose officials believe they have one of the best school districts in Central Arkansas.
“Each school has a unique atmosphere and culture,” Gandolph said. “The bottom line is we are here to benefit the children and teach them.”
“People are very proud of their school,” Gill said. “We are a bedroom community, but everyone ... is very supportive. We have 100 percent turnout at parent-teacher conference in the elementary school. Our test scores continue to improve each year, and I think that says something about our schools, especially considering that we are a district that has a 50 percent free and reduced-lunch enrollment and we still maintain a strong education with our students.”
Glen Rose is also the reigning state champions in 3A football after a dramatic, last-second 35-34 win over powerhouse Shiloh Christian in 2007. This put football on the map for Glen Rose and also put Glen Rose on the map for people in Arkansas. However, administrators believe that is not the only reason why people are drawn to their school.  
“We are one of the best-kept secrets in Arkansas,” Superintendent Nathan Gills said. “We have a strong academic program background and though we are a relatively small rural school, we are not extremely small. I think people come here because the students like that our teachers are very caring about them, and I think the parents like that we don’t have a lot of the problems of larger area schools.”
Glen Rose is located in Hot Spring County, but a large percentage of its students are from Saline County. High School principal Vic Gandolph said the high school expects around 390 students this year, around 20 more students than last year.
The overall school district is projecting 1,052 students and Gills said that he believes between 33 and 40 percent of those students are from Saline County. Gills and Gandolph said the number is high because of the Arkansas School Choice program.
Gills also said he believes the school district has a very strong staff to best educate the students. Elementary principal Sherri Hollingsworth said she agrees with that sentiment.
“I would put my staff against any other school in Arkansas,” Hollingsworth said. “We care about every aspect of a child’s education, and I think it shows in our teachers and staff.”
Hollingsworth believes the most important aspect for the students is to have a well-rounded education. She said if students are observed shaving problems, district officials work diligently to correct them. Glen Rose has many before-school and after-school tutoring programs to work with students at all grade levels that keep parents and teachers coming back, she said.
“I think it is the warm and friendly staff and reputation we have for staying progressive academically that entices parents and students,” Hollingsworth said. “Our teachers are close-knit and like family. They are very caring, close and they communicate a lot with each other to help the students.”
The district has instilled many new programs for not only student involvement, but also for the parents. One of those programs is ED Online in which parents may access students work assignments. Parents are given a password so that only their child’s assignments can be accessed.
Another new program is the JEDI technology program, which Hollingsworth explained is an intervention that “enables students that might be weak in one area to be stronger.”
The Barton system is a new reading program that Hollingsworth hopes will show success where other programs have failed.
Other programs include everything from field trips and a health camp to a math and literacy night in which the children turn their parents into students.
“The community knows that we’ll go that extra mile to work with the students and parents,” Hollingsworth said. “This year we are also focusing on attendance including offering incentives. I think attendance is part of teaching responsibility and also students miss out when they don’t attend.
“We are focusing on this not only because of state requirements, but for the child. It makes learning hard on the child when the don’t show up and then they have to catch up with lesson plans.”
The emphasis on education and working with individual students to achieve high standards begins with the elementary schools, but Hollingsworth said it does not end there.
“The elementary teachers also communicate with the middle school teachers about students coming into their school,” Hollingsworth said. “We want to help make that transition from elementary to middle school as easy a process for the student as possible.”
The staff and teachers communicate with each other throughout the students’ lives so that by the time they reach high school they can possibly start preparing for a secondary education, Gandolph said.
To help make that transition, he said the high school offers unique programs for students to earn college credits in algebra, freshman composition/English, trigonometry and more.
“There are [advance placement] classes where a student could get up to 18-hours of college credit,” Gandolph said. “I think that is another reason people come to our schools, because of the educational opportunities we can offer. That and we have a great teacher to student ratio. We have smaller classrooms that creates a more family atmosphere and I think the community appreciates that. We are kind of the hub of the area.”
Gandolph said academic programs in Glen Rose show in their test scores. In the 2007-2008 school year, students had scores well above the state average in many areas. In geometry, the state average was 60 percent and Glen Rose scored an 68 percent average; In Algebra, the state was 66 percent and Glen Rose was 78 percent; and in literacy the state average was 51 percent and Glen Rose scored 59 percent.
“We expect the best,” Gandolph said, “not just from our students, but from our faculty as well.”
Beyond the educational opportunities, Glen Rose offers students various extracurricular activities.
“We have a great band and choir that has won numerous awards,” Gandolph said. “We have updated technology with 20 mobile laptop computers with wireless internet for students to use. We have great football, basketball, baseball, cheerleading and other sport activities.There are just too many positives here for students and parents.”
In 2005, Glen Rose decided to enhance its sports facilities by building a new sports arena that overlooks the campus.  “It is a multi-facility building,” Gills said. “It definitely helps attract students.”
Teacher Denette Smith also has a Family Consumer Science class that she said is “more than just about cooking and sewing”. She believes in hands-on experience programs including a program in which students taking home [fake] babies to learn about parenting.
Another teacher, John Jones, not only runs the FFA classroom, but is teaching students how to make their own bio-diesel fuel. The program involves taking old cooking oil from the cafeteria and actually running several school trucks with the product.
Enhanced safety features include video cameras in the classrooms and building tornado-proof facilities at both ends of the campus. A school resource officer is also located on the campus.
With all the steps taken in education programs, safety and activities, Glen Rose officials believe they have one of the best school districts in Central Arkansas.
“Each school has a unique atmosphere and culture,” Gandolph said. “The bottom line is we are here to benefit the children and teach them.”
“People are very proud of their school,” Gill said. “We are a bedroom community, but everyone ... is very supportive. We have 100 percent turnout at parent-teacher conference in the elementary school. Our test scores continue to improve each year, and I think that says something about our schools, especially considering that we are a district that has a 50 percent free and reduced-lunch enrollment and we still maintain a strong education with our students.”