Izard County STEM School

Congratulations to the 2026 Best of Area Wide recipients! These well deserved honors go to: 🏆 Billy McBride, IC STEM High School Principal 🏆 Manda Jackson, IC STEM High School Teacher 🏆 Greg Workman, IC STEM Elementary Paraprofessional 🏆 IC STEM Preschool, Best of Area Wide Daycare/Preschool. Samantha Johnson (director); Jackie Densford and Jana Pepper (lead teachers); Jaime Owsley, Madyson Lewis, Patricia Gasper, and Aliyah McCollum (teaching assistants).

🏐🏈⛳ We have a FULL week of Cougar athletics ahead! 🐾

There are plenty of opportunities to cheer on our Cougars and Lady Cougars this week, so mark your calendars and come out to support our student-athletes!

📣 PLEASE NOTE: A Junior High B game has been added to Friday night’s lineup at Dermott.
• Junior High B — 4:30 PM
• Junior High — 5:00 PM
• Senior High — 7:00 PM

It’s going to be a busy week, and we’re ready for it! Good luck to all of our Cougar athletes competing this week!

🐾 GO COUGARS! 🐾

We are excited to share additional concurrent (high school + college) credit opportunities now available to Izard County STEM 9-12th grade students! For many years, we have invested in our students' futures with ACT prep classes, AP classes and exams, and tuition and textbooks for concurrent enrollment. Expenses associated with college classes were covered by our school district, allowing students to earn both high school and college credit for specific classes. At least one student simultaneously earned an associates degree and high school diploma, and we want to help more of our students get a solid start on their post-secondary educational goals. Effective this school year, the LEARNS Act is helping fund those opportunities through Access to Acceleration (A2A) for eligible students. There are also new programs available for Merit and Distinction designation, qualifying students who meet the criteria for additional scholarship opportunities. To help families within our school district navigate the many educational avenues currently available to them, Izard County STEM School District selected Manda Jackson to serve as the Career Coach. Mrs. Jackson is already familiar with our students, as this is her ninth year teaching business education courses at our school. Additionally, she worked in higher education for more than eleven years before joining IC STEM School. Mrs. Jackson understands the importance of higher education, whether that be through skilled trades or classes that will transfer to a University. Last year, we had twenty-five students enrolled in concurrent credit classes. This year, more than sixty IC STEM High School students are taking classes through Ozarka College. Our school is committed to helping all of our concurrent credit students be successful in the 244 college credits they are currently enrolled in! We provide transportation for students taking classes on Ozarka's Melbourne campus, as well as a distance learning lab at our high school for students taking classes online - all during their regular school day. We anticipate continued growth in our concurrent enrollment and look forward to seeing our students meet and exceed their educational goals! "Every child, Every day, Whatever it takes"

🎶 BIG NEWS FOR COUGAR NATION! 🎶

Congratulations to Izard County High School junior Gage Nielsen on being selected to the National FFA Band!

This is an incredible honor, with only approximately 80–90 FFA members from across the nation selected each year to participate.

Gage will have the opportunity to represent Izard County, our FFA chapter, and the state of Arkansas while performing alongside some of the most talented student musicians from across the country at the National FFA Convention & Expo! 🎺

We are incredibly proud of Gage for earning this opportunity and can't wait to see him take the national stage!

Congratulations, Gage! Cougar Nation is proud of you! 🐾🎶

#CougarPride #NationalFFABand #FFA #IzardCountySTEM

⛳ GOOD LUCK, COUGARS! 🐾

Good luck to our Cougar golfers today as they hit the course at Turkey Mountain!

🏌️ Tee Time: 3:00 PM

Play hard, have fun, and represent Cougar Nation well!

GO COUGARS! ⛳🐾

📍 UPDATED PICKUP LOCATIONS & TIMES! 📍

We have updated pickup locations and times for the Horseshoe Bend After School Program route!

We’re excited to see enrollment continue to grow! As more students join the program, these locations and times may need to be adjusted just a bit—but don’t worry, we will always keep families well-informed of any changes.

Please take a look at the updated route information and make note of your pickup location and time. 🚌

Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we work to make the After School Program convenient for our families! 🖤🤍

If you’ve been in the drop-off or pick-up lines or spent any time on our Elementary or Preschool campuses, you might have noticed a new face! 👮‍♂️🐾

We’re excited to officially welcome David Brantley, our new School Resource Officer for the Elementary and Preschool campuses, to Cougar Nation!

Officer David brings 22 years of experience with the Florida Highway Patrol, where he served as a state trooper and received extensive training in public safety. He also has experience working with the State of Arkansas Department of Children and Family Services, giving him a unique background in both public safety and working with children and families.

In this new role, Officer David is looking forward to shifting his focus from enforcement to prevention, guidance, and building positive relationships. His goal is to help create a safe, secure, and supportive school environment through positive interactions with our students and collaboration with parents and staff.

We’re excited to have Officer Brantley as part of our school family and look forward to seeing him build relationships with our youngest Cougars and their families!

If you see him around campus or in the drop-off line, be sure to say hello and help us give Officer Brantley a big Cougar Nation welcome! 🖤🤍🐾

📢 Reminder! Interested in joining the IC Fishing Team? Be sure to attend this informational meeting on TUESDAY (Aug 18) at 6 PM. For more info, please email: kish.pool@iccougars.org

🚨 AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM STARTS TOMORROW! 🚨

The Izard County STEM Schools After School Program begins Monday, August 17. If you haven’t registered yet, now is the time!

✅ Preschool–8th Grade
✅ School dismissal - 5 pm
✅ Transportation provided
✅ Snack provided
❗️ Limited spots available!

Register your child today!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bYVcYNTC3O8zxMdICYcw_gbJntP0AQxxOtuVVG1kknQ/edit?usp=sharing

🍎 At Izard County STEM School, we believe that every student deserves to have access to a nutritious meal without worrying about cost or stigma. When students are hungry, it can be harder to focus, learn, participate, and make the most of their school day. We are proud to announce that we are providing free breakfasts and free lunches to every PK-12th grade student enrolled in our school district again this year, for the seventh consecutive year. According to Arkansas Department of Education guidelines, each free breakfast costs $3.05 and each free lunch costs $5.22. This is a yearly value of $1,389.36 per student! We also provide free snacks each day to our after school program students, and we deliver free meals throughout the summer months to all our students. Providing free meals to all students helps ensure that everyone starts the day ready to learn, supports student health and well-being, and removes one more barrier for families. It’s about more than breakfast and lunch—it’s about taking care of our students and giving every child the opportunity to succeed. Every student. Every day. Whatever it takes!🥛🍎📚

📣 UPDATE FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE

If your student receives regular services from the school nurse—such as assistance with medication dosage, receiving medications during the school day, dietary restrictions or special dietary needs, or other ongoing health-related services—please make sure updated orders and necessary documentation are sent to Nurse Brooke Kimble as soon as possible.

Having updated information on file will help ensure that Nurse Brooke and our school staff can provide your student with the care and accommodations they need throughout the school year.

📧 Questions or updated orders may be sent to brooke.kimble@iccougars.org.

Thank you for helping us get everything in place for a safe and successful school year! 🖤🐾

🐾🖤 WELCOME BACK, COUGAR NATION! 🖤🐾

The first day of the 2026–2027 school year is here, and we couldn’t be more excited to have our students back on campus! 🎉📚

We’re looking forward to a GREAT year filled with learning, growth, friendships, memories, and plenty of Cougar pride!

📸 We want to see those first-day smiles! Drop your first day of school pictures in the comments below! 👇

Here’s to an amazing 2026–2027 school year! 🐾

#CougarNation #FirstDayOfSchool #BackToSchool

We are looking forward to a great school year! Here are some reminders with drop-off and pick up guidelines, as well as times for student arrival and dismissal.

To allow coaches the opportunity to attend a faculty event, tonight's Mighty Mite practice will be at 5:00 for 3rd-6th grade. It will take place in the Fine Arts Gym.

All seniors are invited to gather for breakfast at 6:45 AM on August 12 at The Calabama Restaurant in Franklin. Though this is not a school sponsored event, we hope you will join your classmates with a fun way to kick off the school year! Transportation and meal payment is on your own.

Pre-ordered 2025-26 yearbook distributions have begun! Unfortunately, we've had a very small percentage need to be exchanged due to a printing calibration issue. If you notice a severely discolored page in your copy, please return to your homeroom teacher or Manda Jackson at the middle/high school ASAP. Thank you!

Due to tomorrow's Back to School Bash and Open House, Mighty Mite Football practice has been canceled for the evening.

Instead, we hope you'll join us as we kick off another great school year!

🎉 Back to School Bash: 4:30 PM
🏫 Open House: 5:00 PM

We can't wait to welcome everyone back to Cougar Nation and see our students and families as we get ready for an exciting year. See you tomorrow! 🐾🖤

Thank you to Deana and Erica from FNBC for providing lunch during in-service! We appreciate you always supporting our teachers and staff.

Looking for a rewarding way to make a difference in the lives of students? Join our team as a Substitute Teacher! Apply today by clicking below link, and help us inspire the next generation.

As a substitute teacher, you'll:
📚 Support student learning in a positive environment.
🍎 Enjoy a flexible work schedule.
🌟 Make a meaningful impact in our school district.

If you're interested in becoming part of our team, we'd love to hear from you! Link to apply:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XaZOq4g_Qo_s0bCpuv_bc9FwnnFamzd1/view?usp=share_link

Please help us keep our students safe by following these drop off and pick up guidelines! These graphics also include important times for student arrival and dismissal.