The Official Newspaper of the Diocese of Little Rock
In her many years shepherding North Little Rock Catholic Academy and the former St. Mary School, principal Denise Troutman has never lost one of her little lambs, but she found one once. On a field trip one year, counting noses yielded all of the students and one extra, confused and scared little boy.
“You always worry about sending children off on a field trip,” Troutman said. “You never know what can happen. I was never fully More... 
When Sacred Heart School principal Brian Bailey was 15, he recognized his calling in life.
“We had a Boys Club in Clarksville where I grew up. I hung out there from 8 in the morning until 4 p.m. all my (young) life” and when he turned 15, they asked him to direct activities in the club such as Pee Wee sports.
“It scared me at first, but it was one of those things that was natural. I’ve More...
“They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, ‘Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language?’” Acts 2:7-8
There are a lot of different dialects flying around Subiaco Academy these days with students from China, Korea, Mexico, Vietnam, Germany, Russia and many other points around the globe joining in among the homegrown sons of the Arkansas hills surrounding the all-boys middle and More...
Common Core State Standards have been debated among educators and parents since it was first adopted for public schools in 2010.
Vernell Bowen, superintendent for Catholic schools, said the Diocese of Little Rock has not adopted Common Core for its 28 schools but has reviewed them in light of updates to the diocese’s math and English curricula.
“Common Core has been adopted in certain Catholic dioceses, but not ours,” assistant superintendent Theresa Hall said.
Bowen and Hall said More...
These statistics are from the 2014-15 school year.
Enrollment
Schools: 28
Total enrollment: 6,889
Elementary enrollment: 4,911
Secondary enrollment: 1,978
Percentage of Catholic students: 74
Total enrollment in preschools: 732
Race and ethnicity
Percentage of white students: 88
Percentage of Asian students: 3.9
Percentage of black students: 1.8
Percentage of multi-racial students: 2.6
Percentage of Hispanic students: 10.2*
The remaining students are Native American, from the Pacific island region or unknown.
*Hispanic is not considered a race but an ethnic group.
Staffing
Total professional staff: 662
Percentage of staff who are laypeople: More...
The Catholic schools in the Diocese of Little Rock annually assess the students’ achievement in the academic areas through the Stanford 10 test at each grade level.
In February 2014, students in fifth and eighth grades in Arkansas Catholic Schools were administered the Assessment of Catechetical/Religious Education (ACRE). This is a test published by the National Catholic Education Association and is designed to strengthen catechetical/religious education programs. The assessment is based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church and More...
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