
Join us as we celebrate our Assistant Principals!


📢 Reminder: Arkansas Schools' Cell Phone Policy 📢
To help students reconnect and focus on learning, Act SB142 bans cell phones during the school day in public schools.
🔹 "Bell to Bell, No Cell" – Phones must remain off during class time.
🔹 More focus, less distraction – This policy helps improve engagement and social interaction.
Thank you for supporting a positive learning environment! 📚
Gentry Public Schools – Ensuring All Students Connect, Learn, and Succeed


This is a reminder that the school calendar has been updated to include April 18 and May 23 as makeup weather days. The six makeup days will now be April 18, May 23, and May 27-30, 2025, with the last day of school on May 30.


We are excited to welcome Kayla Rios to Gentry Public Schools as our ESOL Paraprofessional! Kayla Rios, a proud 2020 graduate of Siloam Springs High School, has a deep love for family and a passion for helping others. Having always heard wonderful things about Gentry, she is excited to get to know her coworkers and students. In addition to her dedication to education, Kayla has a love for baking and has been creating and selling cake desserts for over two years. Growing up, she often translated for new students at school, helping them navigate their new environment. Many of those students have since become lifelong friends, and seeing them thrive and speak English today fills her with pride. Now, as part of the Gentry School District, Kayla is grateful for the opportunity to once again support students in learning and understanding a new language—an experience she finds truly rewarding.


We are thrilled to welcome Sergio Chavez to Gentry Public Schools as our new Custodian! A 1996 graduate of Springdale High School, Sergio values the excellence of the Gentry School District and truly enjoys being part of the team. He finds joy in helping students in the cafeteria, as it brings back fond memories of taking his daughters to lunch. A proud father of two wonderful daughters, Sergio enjoys exploring different parks and has a passion for almost all sports. Grateful for this opportunity, he is excited to be part of the Pioneer family and looks forward to the journey ahead!


🐾 Have You Met Freya? 🐾
Gentry, meet Freya—the PD's four-legged safety superstar! 🐶
Gentry has joined some of our neighboring districts in providing an SRO-trained handler, ensuring our schools are even safer for students and staff.
Freya is a German Shorthaired Pointer and a certified narcotics and tracking K9, working alongside her handler, School Resource Officer Barbara Duffney. The duo trained together last year at the National Canine Training Center in West Virginia, where Freya graduated as the fastest and most accurate dog in her class! 🚀🎓
Now, she spends her days patrolling the district with SRO Duffney, adding an extra layer of safety and prevention to our schools.
If you see Freya around, give her a wave (or a treat if SRO Duffney approves 😉). She’s always on the move, keeping our campuses safe—one paw at a time! 🐕👮♀️


Go Pioneers!


Hello Pioneers! Check out the image or click the link below to view our "Board Meeting Recap" flyer from the 3/20/25 board meeting!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/162YKw3s9ybVC9lAHmUf5CGop2V6phYeh/view?usp=drive_link


We are thrilled to announce that Coach Teters will be joining our volleyball team as the Assistant Coach for the upcoming season! 🎉🏐
Coach Teters will be working alongside Coach Smith and Coach Bruce to continue building a strong and competitive volleyball program here at Gentry. This is a huge step forward for our athletes, bringing even more experience and dedication to the court! Coach Teters is excited to step into the role of Assistant Volleyball Coach while continuing his position as Head Softball Coach. The fall and spring nature of the sports ensures that the two seasons will not conflict.
Volleyball is such an important part of our athletic program, and with this incredible coaching team in place, we’re more committed than ever to developing our players, fostering teamwork, and striving for excellence. Together, Coach Teters, Coach Smith, and Coach Bruce are ready to take our athletes to new heights, both on and off the court.
We can’t wait to see what’s in store for the upcoming season, and we’re excited to watch our volleyball program grow stronger than ever! 💪🏐 Let’s go, team! 🙌
#GentryVolleyball #GoLadyPioneers #BuildingChampions


Enjoy your week off, Pioneers! We will see you on Monday, March 31, 2025, at the regularly scheduled time.


Go Pioneers!


Dear Gentry Families,
At the board meeting earlier this evening, the board voted to accept a proposal to amend the current 2024-2025 school calendar, making April 18 and May 23 regular school days to serve as two of our makeup days. The six (6) total makeup days for the 2024-2025 school year are now set for April 18, May 23, and May 27-May 30, 2025, which will help us avoid extending the school year into June.
Additionally, the board approved an amendment to the 2025-2026 school calendar, embedding five inclement weather makeup days during the school year. These days will be January 19, February 20, April 17, May 26, and May 27, 2026. Any additional makeup days, if needed, will begin on May 28, 2026. Updated calendars will be added to our website soon.
These changes were made to prioritize student instruction and based on feedback from staff. If you have any conflicts with this year’s amendments due to previously arranged plans, don’t worry—just let the building administration know, and we will offer some flexibility to accommodate the changes.
Thank you for your understanding and support.


🚨 Big News for Our Lady Pioneers! 🚨
We are beyond excited to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of our girls powerlifting team, who just brought home the 4A Championship and finished 2nd overall in the entire state! 🎉🏆
A huge shoutout to Coach Seligman—he's been an incredible leader for generations of our Pioneers, and now he's extending his success to our Lady Pioneers powerlifting team! His dedication and passion are truly inspiring, and it’s no surprise that he’s already seeing tremendous success. This program not only helps our athletes get stronger, but it's also building confidence, creating connections, and fostering a winning mentality across the board. 💪🔥
We’ve got to give a special congratulations to Emery Withers, Callie Jordan, and Neela Mcgowan for being named All-State and State Champions in their weight classes. An extra round of applause goes to Neela Mcgowan, who was named Best Lifter of the Meet and set 3 new state records! Talk about an unstoppable force! 🙌💥
This program is helping our athletes build strength that will benefit all of our sports teams, and it’s just the beginning! The girls are now setting their sights on Nationals in Oklahoma City on April 5th, and we’re hoping to bring home a National Championship to Gentry! 🎯
Please join us in congratulating the team and thanking Coach Seligman for his outstanding leadership. The future is bright for Gentry athletics! Go Lady Pioneers! 💙💪💙
Stay tuned for more updates, and let’s get ready to cheer them on to victory at Nationals! 👏 #PioneerPride #LadyPioneers #StrengthInNumbers #GentryStrong


We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!


We are excited to welcome Brittany Thompson to Gentry Public Schools as our Technology Technician! Brittany brings over a decade of IT experience, having previously worked with Springdale Schools. She and her husband, Coach Thompson, are proud parents to Zander and Berkley May.
High school sweethearts, Brittany and her husband share a deep love for football and take great pride in being part of the Gentry community. She is excited to support the district and cheer on the Pioneers! She enjoys providing hands-on technological support to both staff and students.
As a football household, she takes pride in being part of this program and witnessing its growth over the years. In her free time, Brittany and her family love playing video games, spending time outdoors, and she has a passion for crafting.


Pioneer Families, starting in the 2025-2026 school year, Gentry Schools will join the statewide phone-free policy to help students stay focused. Click below for more details!
https://www.gentrypioneers.com/article/2085306


It's National Promposal Day! Who is ready?


Today is National Dream Day! The modern world is a place where dreams really can come true! Whether the dream is to become a person who travels all over the globe, who contributes to the education of children, who climbs a mountain or who is a great world leader, the idea for National Dream Day is that any of these aspirations and dreams should be pursued with perseverance. Dream big, Pioneers!


We are excited to welcome Alisha Key to Gentry Public Schools as our Middle School Secretary! Alisha Key holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Purdue and spent seven years in finance with Walmart before joining Gentry Public Schools. Married to her high school sweetheart for 11 years, she has four children—two in primary school and two in middle school—who have thrived in Gentry schools for the past three years. Passionate about the community, she and her husband have coached basketball and soccer with GYO, leading a soccer team from U6 to U14 since moving to Gentry. A dedicated book enthusiast, she can often be found with a fantasy novel when not on the soccer field. Grateful for the warm welcome from both the town and schools, she is excited to be part of Gentry Public Schools' continued growth.
