That seems to be Leslie Public School's motto. When parent Cathy Bayne learned in 1998 that extra programs existed for special needs students and high achievers, but not for the average student, she and two other parents volunteered to teach a character curriculum. Once a month, they visit K-5 classrooms to explain character concepts such as generosity, obedience, gratefulness, and truthfulness. They reinforce the lessons with skits, role playing, songs, and stories, Bayne says. What we're doing is reminding them more than teaching them.
Most kids have a pretty good sense of right and wrong.
The school also serves as the community center in Leslie, whose town square contains a half dozen businesses and whose economy is supported by the timber and cattle industries. Additionally, long hallways extending from one end of the building to another provide an excellent track for walkers, many of whom are senior citizens. Leslie's former school, long the center of town before the new school was built in 1986, has new life as a stage theater, vocational-technical complex, art center, and museum. We have exposure to the world outside of Leslie, Arkansas. Such activities and resources, combined with the town's community spirit, bring young and older people together, McLeod says.