DeQueen-Mena Education Service Cooperative

Mount Ida did our part in World Gratitude Day by celebrating and thanking the maintenance and cafeteria staff who are keeping our lights shining bright and bellies fed!
#LittleStepsBigFuture
#BuildingBrightFutures
#thinkcoop1st

Today’s DMESC Staff Meeting focused on what matters most—positive student outcomes. We celebrated the accomplishments of our districts and are proud of all DMESC district letter grades. This reflects the dedication and hard work happening in our schools every day. Several departments shared how their goals directly impact student outcomes, and staff collaborated on ways we can continue strengthening the support we provide. We also had the opportunity to recognize Bonita and Leigh with certificates honoring their years of service. Our purpose remains clear: We Serve and Support our schools so that ALL students Succeed. 💚💙
#thinkcoop1st

💚💙13 Districts. One Cooperative. A Shared Commitment to Students. 💚💙

DMESC is proud to celebrate our 13 school districts and the incredible work happening across our region. We are 1 of only 5 education service cooperatives in Arkansas with no D- or F-rated districts!

This achievement belongs to the educators, administrators, support staff, school boards, students, families, and communities who work every day to help students succeed.

To each of our 13 districts — congratulations, and thank you for the work you do for students every day!

💬 Help us celebrate! Give your DMESC district a shout-out in the comments!
#thinkcoop1st

Early Childhood leaders participated in CKH Process Champions Training a one day training designed to take select educators and turn them into on site mentors who keep the CKH momentum alive.
#LittleStepsBigFuture
#BuildingBrightFutures
#thinkcoop1st

DMESC Early Childhood is proud to partner with Capturing Kids Hearts!
This Pre-K-12 program focuses on a powerful truth: "If you have a child’s heart, you have their mind." By prioritizing relationships, educators create safe, thriving classrooms where students truly want to learn.
Here is how it works:
🤝 The EXCEL Model: A 5-step framework to engage, listen, communicate, empower, and launch students positively every day.
📝 Social Contracts: Classrooms collaboratively build agreements on how to treat one another with mutual respect.
☀️ Good Things: Starting class by sharing positive, real-life moments to build a strong community.
💬 Restorative Questions: Using a supportive 4-question process to redirect behavior instead of relying on immediate discipline.
The results? Higher student achievement, fewer discipline referrals, and happier teachers! 📈❤️
#LittleStepsBigFuture
#BuildingBrightFutures
#thinkcoop1st
#Education #CapturingKidsHearts #SchoolCulture #TeachingTips #ClassroomManagement #EdChat

Early Childhood leaders participated in CKH Process Champions Training a one day training designed to take select educators and turn them into on site mentors who keep the CKH momentum alive.
#LittleStepsBigFuture
#BuildingBrightFutures
#thinkcoop1st

DMESC middle school teams spent the day exploring what career readiness can look like in grades 6-8! Districts across our co-op dug into the Career Readiness Self-Evaluation Rubric, explored hands-on Paxton/Patterson College & Career Readiness Lab stations, and left with real strategies (and a few "quick wins") for building a career-ready culture on their campuses. Big thanks to DCTE’s Sunni Teal and Dr. Gary Udouj for today’s presentation and every team that showed up ready to plan so students can explore!!
#thinkcoop1st

💻🔧🛡️ Shoutout to the Tech Teams Who Keep It ALL Running!
Today, on National IT Professionals Day we’re celebrating our amazing district tech teams—the people behind the passwords, Wi-Fi, devices, updates, cybersecurity, troubleshooting…and the occasional. "Have you tried turning it off and back on?"😄
Most importantly, thank you for the work you do every day to protect our students, support our staff, and keep our schools connected and secure.
We see you, tech teams—and we appreciate ALL you do! 💙💚
#NationalITProfessionalsDay
#thinkcoop1st

Terry Young and Ann Frachiseur volunteered at the Dive into Good Health Fair sponsored by Mena Regional Health System on Saturday. The program is hoping to recruit more grandparent volunteers in our area. Working as a Foster Grandparent is great for all senior adults physical and mental health. Call 14793854319 if interested.
#AmericorpsSeniors
#thinkcoop1st

Today, we pause to remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001, honor the heroes who answered the call, and reflect on the courage and unity shown in the days that followed.
We will never forget. 🇺🇸
#NeverForget #September11
#thinkcoop1st

The Foster Grandparent Program of DMESC does a Service Project each year in remembrance of 911. Projects are always centered on ways to lift up our community. This year grandparents donated non perishable food items to food pantries in 7 different locations around our coop area. They also donated food to 3 districts for their school backpack programs. In honor of the ones we lost on 911, go do something kind and caring for others today!
#AmericorpsSeniors

📚💡 Great conversations and collaboration at today’s Curriculum Coordinators Meeting at DMESC!
We always enjoy bringing our district leaders together to share ideas, connect, and support the great work happening across our schools. 💙💚
#thinkcoop1st

#thinkcoop1st

📢 Computer Science Teachers—Save the Dates! 💻🗓️
1st meeting this year - September 23rd
The 2026–2027 CS Impact meeting schedule is here! Be sure to mark your calendars and use the registration numbers below to secure your spot. We can't wait to learn and collaborate with you this year!
#thinkcoop1st

#thinkcoop1st
We Serve and Support our schools so that ALL students Succeed

🩺 Supporting Our School Nurses!
Leigh Garner, DMESC Community Health Nurse Specialist, hosted our Mandatory School Screening Workshop for DMESC school nurses.
We appreciate our school nurses and the important role they play in supporting the health, safety, and well-being of students each day! 💙💚
#thinkcoop1st

Capturing Kids’ Hearts and the Leadership Blueprint 360
On Thursday members of the DMESC Early Childhood Team Participated in the Leadership Blueprint training with Ron Fox from CKH. It was a meaningful and eye opening experience for leaders to bring awareness to their leadership strengths and weaknesses.
Capturing Kids’ Hearts (CKH) is a relationship-centered approach designed to strengthen school culture, increase student engagement, and create safe, supportive learning environments. The framework equips educators and leaders with practical strategies for building meaningful relationships, establishing clear expectations, promoting student responsibility, and responding to behavior in ways that preserve connection and dignity. Through intentional relationship building and consistent implementation of CKH processes, staff develop environments where students feel connected, valued, and ready to learn.
The Leadership Blueprint 360 extends these principles to school and organizational leadership. The process provides leaders with comprehensive feedback regarding their leadership practices and their impact on others. By gathering perspectives from multiple sources, the 360-degree approach allows leaders to identify strengths, recognize areas for growth, and better understand how their leadership is experienced by colleagues and staff. Results are used to support reflection, establish meaningful leadership goals, and develop an individualized plan for continued professional growth.
Together, Capturing Kids’ Hearts and the Leadership Blueprint 360 support a culture of relational leadership, accountability, trust, and continuous improvement. Leaders model the same relationship-based practices expected in classrooms, creating greater consistency between organizational leadership, staff interactions, and the experiences provided to children and families.
#thinkcoop1st
#LittleStepsBigFuture
#BuildingBrightFutures

Today Beau spent time with new Career Development teachers from across DMESC at Dawson for New Career Development Teacher Training!

These educators are adding a new endorsement to their teaching licenses and preparing to build strong career exploration and career development programs for students in the early and middle grades.💼📚

We’re proud to support them as they get started! 💙💚 #thinkcoop1st

Applicants must successfully pass required background checks. Interested applicants should submit a resume to Kelli Parson, kelli.parson@dmesc.org