Dragon Strong Community

Dear Dragon Community,

As we wrap up this school year, we are also busy preparing for the next school year. Some members of our faculty are reaching the career milestones of retirement, while others are going in different directions with role or career changes. As we build systems to ensure high levels of learning for all, we adapt and adjust, which means some new roles for some of our team, and new Dragons join the team.

We appreciate the investment each team member has made in our schools and with our teams, and we wish them the best.

As we welcome new members into our organization, we also welcome them into the community. When we extend a contract to our new employees, we give them "20 square feet" of the organization. This is a metaphor to symbolize the importance of their leadership and how they use and manage within their own space as part of the greater whole. Besides having the credentials, these candidates demonstrated their skill and commitment to owning their own "20 square feet" as leaders in their classroom, roles, and departments.

Please help these new Dragons see and experience why Mountainburg is such a special place to live, work, and teach.

Sincerely,

Dr. Debbie Atwell

Superintendent

Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year each building will have a full-time principal. Mrs. Howard has done an amazing job leading both schools, especially in the pandemic. She has a great vision and passion for the teaching and learning innovations of the Middle School Brain Academy, so she will be the full-time principal there to focus and lead the charter forward.

Mrs. Cristee has had the opportunity to intern for the principal role under Mrs. Howard's leadership and will step into the role as principal for MHS. Her dedication to the school and community, and her commitment to lead MHS into high levels of learning is Dragon Strong.

Coach Mike McDonald will step into the role of Student Performance Specialist for Middle School and High School, and continue to coach boys basketball. He will lead the behavior teams, oversee student activities and organizations, student discipline, and lead the student leadership in R Factor.

While I am sad to be leaving the high school, I am confident the high school students and staff are in great hands with Mrs. Courtney Cristee as their administrator.

I am thrilled to turn my sole attention and energy towards the great work we are doing in with our 5-8 students and programs. I'm proud of the team we have become, and excited to continue the journey of innovative, brain-based strategies in the classroom and developing physical activity and leadership outside the classroom.

I feel very blessed to start my third year as an administrator at Mountainburg Middle School Brain Academy, and to be part of a team that is willing to do whatever it takes to assure high levels of learning for ALL students!

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be Mountainburg High School's principal. I am looking forward to moving our school forward with PLC process and creating high levels of learning for all. We will continue honoring our history, building our present, to create our future. We are Dragon Strong!

I am excited to step into a leadership role with the school district. I am thankful for this opportunity, and I feel that I will be able to make a positive impact on school culture and student achievement. I look forward to working with Mrs. Howard, Mrs. Cristee, and our staff to make this happen.

Coach Tom Harrell will serve as Head Coach for the SR Dragons Football team and assist with the JR Dragons one last season, then retire with 34.5 years of service. Coach Harrell is the longest-tenured head coach in the state, and we appreciate all he has done for the Dragon community over the years.

Coach Zac Dean will assist with SR football, lead the JR football team as Head Coach, coach the SR girls basketball team one final season, and assume the role of Head Football coach and Athletic Director at semester.

Coach Paige Jones joins the Dragons to lead the 7th-grade girls, JR girls, and assist with the Jr Boys and Sr girls basketball. In 22-23 she will assume the role of SR girls head coach.

Zach Pense will assume the role of head baseball coach, and Little League Director for baseball and softball in 21-22. He will be assisted in baseball by Randy Hoelscher.

I am excited for the opportunity to lead the Dragon football teams and becoming the athletic director. I have big shoes to fill following Coach Harrell but am honored to have the chance. Go Dragons!!

My name is Paige Jones. I will be the new junior high girls' basketball coach for the upcoming 21-22 school year. Following the end of that year, I will take over for my brother, Zach Dean, as the senior high head girls basketball coach, as well. I graduated high school from Alma. I received my bachelor's degree in physical education from University of the Ozarks, where I played 4 years of basketball and tennis. I earned a master's degree in physical education from University of Arkansas and a master's degree in Educational Leadership from Arkansas State University. I began my coaching career at Van Buren, where I coached junior high basketball and volleyball and high school softball for 6 years. I then accepted the junior high girls basketball position at Alma and later moved up to serve as the senior high assistant girls basketball coach. I have 23 years of coaching/teaching experience.

I am married to Darren Jones. We have 3 children, Carsyn-21, Kelton-14, and Camdyn-8. My hobbies include fishing, working puzzles, and attending my children's events and activities. I am looking forward to becoming part of the Dragon family. I like the idea of coming to a smaller school and developing relationships with the faculty and students that will last a lifetime. Of course, being closer to Dairy Dream and mountainburgers is an added bonus!

I am very excited about the opportunity to coach baseball. I love the sport and hope to fill the shoes of my predecessors.

"I am excited to once again be welcomed back as the Mountainburg varsity
assistant baseball coach. I look forward to continuing the successful
tradition Coach Harrell, Coach Pense, and Coach Hamilton have built over
the past decade!"

We are excited to provide more support for literacy and math from professional development, coaching, and classroom support for teachers, to new Critical Reading and Critical Math courses for students.

We are super pumped about the new courses, Critical Reading, that Mr. Blakney will be leading at MHS!

"I owe everything I am (my personality and worldview, my demeanor and sense of humor, my curious nature, and my core values and beliefs) directly to reading--and it all started when I was a kid, reading the simplest stories and picture books (which still mean the world to me today). I later obtained a degree in English, but you don't need one of those to gain the knowledge, confidence, strength, and good will that reading can grant. All students, regardless of age or ability (or how far behind they feel) can become happier and healthier people through even the most basic kinds of reading, making my new assignment as "critical reading" instructor (working with students at whatever levels they need) absolutely the most important role I can assume."

My name is Sarah Walker and I am excited to be a part of the Dragon team! I am eager to serve as the Instructional Facilitator for the Middle School & High School. I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas in Agricultural Education & my graduate degree from Arkansas State University in Educational Leadership. I have spent the last 11 years in education & the last 7 at Harrison High School serving as the Agricultural Instructor/FFA Advisor. I am passionate about education & student growth/success. I am beyond excited to serve the teachers & students at Mountainburg!

As faculty and staff retire or change jobs, we welcome these new Dragons to the team and community!

I am married to Colleen Allen and have two sons, Trey and Ryan, plus a granddaughter, Cambree. I graduated from Mulberry High School. We moved to Mountainburg 8 years ago. I look forward to working for the school. This will give me the opportunity to be a role model for the students and give back to the community. In my free time, I enjoy watching Ryan play sports, hunting, and fishing.

As a 17 year employee of Mountainburg Schools, I have had several roles and have worked with some of the most amazing, hard-working, and dedicated professionals I have ever known. I feel beyond blessed to have had the opportunity to learn from and be a part of such an amazing team.

I am looking forward to my new role as Transportation Secretary with heartfelt enthusiasm. I am confident that the skills that I have gained during my employment with the district will serve as an asset to the transportation team.

I am originally from Van Buren but have lived here locally for the last twelve years. I have been married to my husband, Aden, for seven years and we have one daughter. I earned my Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Anthropology from the University of Arkansas Fort Smith.

When my daughter started preschool, I decided to return to the workforce. This past fall, I started working as a substitute teacher through ess South Central at Mountainburg Elementary School. When the position of Paraprofessional became available, I immediately applied. I am so excited for this opportunity to be employed at a great school in an amazing community.

My husband and I moved to Arkansas from Arizona 8 years ago, settling in Kibler, AR. I have four children and one grandbaby. I have a Bachelors in Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, and I am completing my Master's in Special Education. I have worked in the education field for over ten years, with the last seven at Alma Middle School. I have a passion for helping children, watching them grow, and watching them realize their potential. I love to sing, spend time with my family, and sit out by the fire and listen to nature.

My name is Lisa Diane (Pense) Faulkner, and I have accepted a position teaching Middle School Special Education for the 2021-22 school year as Mountainburg Dragon. I graduated from Mountainburg High School in 1982. After high school, I got married, and had a family (3 beautiful girls). I graduated from Arkansas Tech University in 1994 with a B.Ed. After graduating from college, I taught Kindergarten through third grades at Winslow and Mountainburg for a total of thirteen years. I graduated from Harding University in 2013 with a K-12 Special Education degree. I have been teaching Special Education at West Fork Middle School for the past 8 years. While I have been away from Mountainburg, I have met many new people, made a lot of new friends, and I have worked with many students that I will miss seeing every day. I have also gained two son-n-laws and 5 grandchildren! Even though I will miss teaching at West Fork, I am so excited to be returning to Mountainburg to be a Dragon again! It will be like coming home and having a reunion with old friends.

My name is Mrs Cynthia Johnson. I am a graduate and former Valedictorian of Mountainburg (1996) I previously taught at Mountainburg Public Schools and though family circumstances called me away, it’s finally time to come back home.

I will return to Mountainburg Public Schools as your 7th & 8th grade Science teacher. No matter how far away I’ve been, I’ve always bled true blue! I am so excited to return and not only be a Dragon again but help raise the next generation of Dragons.

My name is Mrs. Blackman, though most people in Mountainburg know me as Jordan Baker. I went to school through 8th grade in Mountainburg and am excited to be returning!

After graduating from Bible college in Oklahoma and working in marketing for a few years, I decided to return home to pursue my passion for teaching! I am absolutely thrilled to be working in Mountainburg and I look forward to serving our students and community in any way that I am able!

• Honor our History through Values and Traditions
• Build our present through Teamwork and Collaboration
• Create our future through Creativity and Innovation

Dr. Debbie Atwell is serving her third year as superintendent. She and husband Roger are MHS graduates, life long residents of the community, and are owned by dogs Woodrow & Sadie.

Email: debbie.atwell@mountainburg.org
Website: www.mountainburg.org
Location: 129 Hwy 71 SW, Mountainburg
Phone: 479-369-2121