Cross County High School was featured in the September 2021 issue of Report Card: The Journal of the Arkansas School Boards Association for being one of the only schools in the state to report “no losses'' in the four tested areas of the 2021 ACT Aspire exam, with an increase of 11.5 points in reading. These results came at no surprise to the staff and administration of CCHS, who were disappointed when the students were unable to take the 2020 ACT Aspire. Teresa Fuller, high school TAP Master teacher, states that “we all came together to work as a team to make sure that our students did the best that they could do.” As part of the TAP process, the school implements strategies throughout the year to promote student achievement. Fuller added that “full implementation of the strategies and our teachers coming in and working hard every day to get the work done made a difference because the teachers had bought into the process and were able to see the results.”
This growth is also reflected in the reported ESSA Index, which indicated that Cross County High School would be considered a B-rated school. This is something that principal Stephen Prince has had his sights on for a while. “All of the growth and progress that Cross County High School has made is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the teachers, staff and students, especially during the pandemic. Another accolade that the school is excited to celebrate is being listed as “Best High Schools” in the 2021 US News and World Report.
The school is using this as motivation to propel them into even greater heights. The school was awarded the SOAR Grant, which allowed the English department to select and implement a new Reading curriculum. Kayley Holman, high school English teacher, states that she “believes that the diversity of text combined with the rigor of the new assessments are helping to hold students accountable for their own learning while building an environment for classroom discussion and engagement.”