Guy Fenter Education Service Cooperative, AR - Students First | Connect Grow Serve

Strong partnerships in action at today’s GFESC LEA Monthly Meeting! 🤝 District leaders from across the GFESC area came together to connect, share updates, and work through important topics impacting our schools. These meetings provide a valuable space for collaboration, problem-solving, and staying aligned to best support students and staff. We appreciate the continued partnership and commitment from our LEAs to make a difference in education every day! #GFESC #EducationMatters #SchoolLeadership

Great collaboration happening at today’s GFESC Secondary Principals Meeting! Area secondary principals came together for their monthly meeting to share updates, discuss current challenges, and collaborate on strategies that support student success across our schools. These meetings continue to strengthen leadership, communication, and innovation throughout our districts. We appreciate the dedication of our principals and their commitment to making a positive impact every day! #GFESC #EducationalLeadership #SchoolLeaders #Collaboration #StudentSuccess #ArkansasEducation

That’s a wrap on our Elementary Building the Base EL Teacher Cohort at GFESC! 🌟 Today marked the final day of this three-day institute, where educators came together to strengthen their foundation in supporting English Learners and Multilingual Learners. Throughout the cohort, participants explored language acquisition, student-centered strategies, and ways to create inclusive classrooms that promote meaningful learning for all students. We’re proud of the collaboration, growth, and dedication shown every step of the way—your impact will be felt in classrooms across the region! 🌎✨ #BetterTogether #ConnectGrowServe #GFESC #EnglishLearners #TeacherCohort #ProfessionalLearning #StudentSuccess

Another great day of learning at GFESC! 💻 Today’s Computer Science Praxis Review Day brought educators together for a focused session designed to support success on the Praxis 5652. Participants worked on building personalized study plans, explored helpful resources, and reviewed key concepts across multiple areas of computer science. Best of luck to everyone as you continue preparing—we’re cheering you on every step of the way! 🚀 #BetterTogether #ConnectGrowServe #GFESC #ComputerScience #PraxisPrep #TeacherSupport #ProfessionalLearning

Great collaboration happening today at GFESC! 🍎 Elementary principals from across the region gathered for our monthly Elementary Principals Meeting, led by Angela Miller. This time together provided an opportunity to connect, share updates, and collaborate on ways to best support students, staff, and school communities. We’re always stronger when we learn and lead together! 💡 #BetterTogether #ConnectGrowServe #GFESC #EducationalLeadership #ElementaryPrincipals #LeadToLearn

Fort Smith School District’s teachers and students nearing Spring break, but the learning mission continues!

Today at GFESC, Federal Programs and Curriculum Coordinators came together for a productive morning of collaboration and learning, followed by an afternoon ArAPP Workday. Participants engaged in meaningful discussions during the monthly meeting and then rolled up their sleeves to continue building strong, data-driven district plans through the AR App process. These ongoing sessions, in partnership with DESE, are designed to support schools in developing high-quality strategic plans that truly meet their students’ needs. We appreciate the dedication of our districts as they continue this important work! #GFESC #ConnectGrowServe #EducationalLeadership #SchoolImprovement

GFESC Counselors gathered today for their monthly meeting, led by Karen Grady! This collaborative session provided valuable updates, meaningful discussion, and the opportunity to learn from guest speakers on topics that matter most to our schools and students. These meetings continue to strengthen connections and support the important work counselors do every day. Thank you to all who attended and contributed to a great day of learning and collaboration! #GFESC #SchoolCounselors #StudentSupport #Collaboration #EducationMatters

Participants completed Heartsaver CPR/AED/First Aid Certification training today at GFESC! This course provided school staff with essential, life-saving skills designed for non-health professionals in educational settings. From responding to emergencies to preventing injuries, attendees gained practical knowledge and hands-on experience to help keep students and staff safe. Thank you to everyone who participated and is committed to creating safer school environments! ❤️ #GFESC #SchoolSafety #CPRTraining

Today at GFESC, school teams kicked off Day 1 of 2 of Developing Tier 2 Systems for School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS). Participants explored key components of Tier 2 support, including identifying students who need additional behavior support, progress monitoring, and ensuring interventions are implemented with fidelity. Teams are working together to strengthen their school-wide systems and will leave with an action plan to support student success in their buildings. We look forward to continuing the learning on April 8th! #GFESC #SWPBS #ConnectGrowServe

GFESC ArPEP Year 1 is complete! We are so proud of all of our candidates!

GFESC ArPEP Year 2 wrapped up today with the submission of their edTPA portfolios! Yay! We are so proud of all our of their hard work!

We thought the past two weeks of Quiz Bowl at GFESC were fast and furious—but today’s Battle of the Books took the excitement to a whole new level! Students in 3rd–6th grade teams gathered for a day full of lightning-fast thinking. Each grade level had its own reading list and then competed in 13 matches, where every question had only one type of answer: the book title and the author. 3rd grade First:Clarksville - Second: Charleston - Third: County Line 4th grade First:Charleston - Second: Booneville A - Third: Ozark 5th grade First: Paris B - Second: Van Buren - Third: Couinty Line 6th grade First:Paris B - Second Paris A - Third Mansfield B Now picture this: a room with as many as nine matches happening at once, buzzers going off at every table, teams checking their schedules, and students racing to their next match. It was organized chaos in the best way—crazy fun! These students were incredible. Teams of 2–4 readers were responsible for keeping track of their own schedules and rotating to their next match on time, and they handled it like pros. A huge thank you goes out to our coaches and volunteers, who served as fantastic moderators and kept matches running smoothly all day long. We also want to give a big shout-out to Misty Hawkins and her Regional Library staff for joining us and supporting this event year after year. Our regional library system is such an incredible asset to our schools and communities, and we are grateful for their partnership in promoting literacy. And a special thank you to Christie Mahl, who moderated six of the eight days of Quiz Bowl over the past two weeks and today stepped in to moderate her first Battle of the Books. Christie, we appreciate your dedication and commitment to supporting our students! We were excited to host 31 teams representing schools from Booneville, County Line, Charleston, Clarksville, Greenwood, Mansfield, Ozark, Paris, Scranton, and Van Buren. Wow—what a day and what a fantastic way to promote reading! #GFESC #BattleoftheBooks #BooksAndBrains

GFESC hosted Secondary Scheduling – Day 1 & 2 this week! Middle School and Junior High counselors, along with eSchool System Administrators and Coordinators, worked together on Day 1 to focus on Course Catalog and Master Schedule setup. These sessions help ensure schools are prepared for a smooth and successful scheduling process for the upcoming school year. Collaboration and planning like this help support students and staff across our districts! #GFESC #BetterTogether #ConnectGrowServe

Yesterday we welcomed our 6th Grade 5A and up teams to GFESC for Day 8 — the final day of this year’s Quiz Bowl tournament run. Joining us were teams from Alma (2), Greenwood (2), Fort Smith (3), and Van Buren (2), and from the moment the first match started, it was fast, competitive, and full of energy all day long. First Greenwood East Hills 1 Second: Fort Smith Ramsey Third: Van Buren Butterfield Better Luck Next Time: Fort Smith Kimmons MVP: Symphony Alexander - Van Buren Butterfield After watching the 5th graders the day before, we thought we had already seen peak pizza enthusiasm… but yesterdays’s group proved us wrong. These teams completely wiped us out! It turns out 6th graders are just as serious about pizza as they are about Quiz Bowl. 🍕 Throughout the day, we saw exactly what makes Quiz Bowl so special—incredible knowledge, quick thinking, teamwork, and great sportsmanship. The competition was strong, but the encouragement between teammates and respect shown toward opponents made the day even better. As we wrapped up the final matches, presented awards, and watched the buses roll out, there was that moment we’ve all been heading toward. After eight straight days of tournaments, we finally took a deep breath and a big sigh as it sank in… Eight awesome days of Quiz Bowl are officially in the books. And just like that… it’s a wrap until next year. A huge shout-out to all of the students, coaches, and volunteers who made these tournaments possible. Your enthusiasm, preparation, and support are what make this event such an AMAZING experience for everyone involved. Thank you for eight fantastic days of learning, competition, and fun. See you at Quiz Bowl next year! #GFESC #QuizBowl #BrainPower

Day 7 is in the books, and what a great day it was at GFESC! Today we welcomed our 5th Grade 5A and up teams, and even under cloudy skies, the enthusiasm inside the building could not have been higher. We had teams from Alma (2), Clarksville, Greenwood (2), and Van Buren (2). First Place: Clarksville Second Place: Van Buren Dawgs Third Place: East Hills A Better Luck Next Time: Alma Gold MVP: Kacen Cox - Alma One of my favorite parts of today was watching the team spirit on display everywhere. Students were cheering each other on, encouraging teammates between rounds, and one team even started doing jumping jacks before each match to get focused and ready to compete! After seven straight days of tournaments, that kind of energy is exactly what keeps things fun. We were also honored to welcome State Representative Aaron Pilkington (District 45) as a guest judge today. He shared that he competed in Quiz Bowl when he was in school, which made his visit even more special. It was great having him jump right in and be part of the action. And then there was the pizza situation. I’m fairly certain this group may have set the record for most pizza eaten at a tournament this year. When it comes to all-you-can-eat, these 5th graders clearly took that challenge seriously. As always, it is incredible to see the depth of knowledge these students bring. From science to history to random trivia you didn’t even know existed, they continue to impress us with how much they know and how quickly they can recall it. More importantly, we appreciate the great sportsmanship and healthy competition shown throughout the day. The encouragement, respect, and excitement for learning are what make Quiz Bowl such a special event. Now, as the buses roll out and the rooms grow quiet, it really starts to sink in…There is just one more day to go. #GFESC #QuizBowl #BrainPower

Johnson County Westside High School’s new teachers are spring forward into learning

Recognizing Fort Smith Schools’ new teachers for their hard work and dedication to students.

Mulberry Pleasant View Schools’ teachers are preparing students for success.

Day 5 of 8 days of Quiz Bowl Tournaments at GFESC was fast, focused, and full of great competition as our senior high 5A and up teams took the stage in a round-robin format. We welcomed teams from Alma, Greenwood, Northside, Southside, and Van Buren, and they came ready to play. The matches moved quickly, the buzzers were active, and the level of knowledge and strategy on display made for a great day of Quiz Bowl. First: Southside Second: Northside Third: Greenwood Better Luck Next Time: Van Buren MVP: Cody Goodson Senior high tournaments definitely have a different vibe than the elementary days earlier this week. The intensity is higher, the discussions run deeper, and the competitors are constantly thinking a step ahead. It’s always fascinating to listen to the conversations between rounds—students debating questions, comparing strategies, and coaches helping teams think through the next matchup. One thing never changes, though—the learning that happens throughout the day. Every match brings new challenges, new questions, and new opportunities to grow as competitors and teammates. Days like today remind us why Quiz Bowl is such a great activity. Great competition, thoughtful conversations, and students who genuinely love learning. Five days down… three more to go. Let’s keep it rolling! 🧠🏆 #GFESC #QuizBowl #BrainPower