Ryder Willeford, Acorn High School 8th grade student and athlete competed in the Rich Mountain Classic 2.5K Cross Country Race on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 and earned 1st place in the Junior Boys Division. Ryder set a new course record for the Junior Boys 2.5K Cross Country Course.
Congratulations, Ryder and Coach Keith Willsey!
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Acorn JB Tigers vs Kirby JB Trojans
Acorn - 30 vs Kirby - 43
Top Scorer: Brayden Dukeshire - 13 points
Acorn SR Lady Tigers vs Kirby SR Lady Trojans
Acorn - 69 vs Kirby - 28
Top Scorers: Josey Dollar - 13 points, KaitLynn Ledbetter - 11 points, Isabella Lozier - 11 points, Kimberly Cline - 8 points, Addisyn Ledbetter - 8 points, Victoria Squires - 8 points
Coach 's Quote: "For our first game of the year I thought we played very well. I was very impressed with our defense overall. We shot the ball very well for our first game out as well. The effort was there and I only look for us to improve from here on out." Coach Chris Ledbetter
Acorn SR Tigers vs Kirby SR Trojans
Acorn - 22 vs Kirby - 51
Top Scorer: Ethan Gilbert
Thank you to ARVEST Bank for volunteering and serving in the concession!
Practices are in full swing, and our young Tigers are gearing up for an exciting season. The first game will be November 15th against Cossatot River at the Acorn Gym, beginning at 9:00 a.m. All teams will play. Come out and support our future Tigers as they take the court!
The rest of the season is as follows on the Acorn PeeWee Basketball schedule: 🏀
Acorn JG Lady Tigers vs County Line JG Lady Indians
Acorn - 18 vs County Line - 31
Top Scorers: Jozie Daniels - 8 points
AbiGail Slaten - 5 points
Coach 's Quote: "I felt like our effort was good during the game but we just looked very nervous which is normal for junior girls at the beginning of the basketball season. I feel like we will rebound back and give a better performance throughout the year. This is a fun bunch to coach and look for great things as this year progresses." Coach Chris Ledbetter
Acorn JB Tigers vs County Line JB Indians
Acorn - 45 vs County Line - 32
Top Scorer: Brayden Dukeshire - 19 points
Coach 's Quote: "Playing hard covers up a lot of mistakes." Coach Ricky Dollar
AHS Lady Tigers District and State Results
The Acorn Lady Tigers competed in the 2A-1 Girls District Tennis Tournament and were crowned district doubles champions and district doubles runner-up! KaitLynn Ledbetter and Lanee Shaddon won District Champions for doubles and Adalyn Bohlman and Addisyn Ledbetter won District Runner-up for doubles. The Acorn Lady Tigers Tennis Team won the 2A-1 District Girls Team Championship!
The Acorn Lady Tigers competed in the Girls State Tennis Tournament with the following standings with both teams winning their first round games, fought hard but came up short in the second round games:
Adalyn Bohlman & Addisyn Ledbetter vs Hampton with W 7-5, 6-4 and vs Riverside L 6-1, 6-0
KaitLynn Ledbetter & Lanee Shaddon vs Parkers Chapel with W 6-0, 6-2 and L 5-7, 2-6
Coach Scott Bohlman commented, “I am super proud of both of these teams and this is the first time I had multiple teams win matches at state. I am proud of how well our Acorn Lady Tigers and Acorn Tigers Tennis Athletes played this year, both individually and as teams.”
Congratulations to the AHS Tennis Athletes and Coach Scott Bohlman on a great season!
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Ouachita River School District
Through a safe, caring, and serving environment, students learn, grow, excel, and succeed...this is our mission in preparing students for LIFE!
October is Community Helpers Month!
Acorn Preschool had the pleasure of welcoming some wonderful community helpers this month. We would like to extend a big thank you to Officer Warren McPherson with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Duane Harvey & FirePup from the Mena Fire Department, and Smokey the Bear with the U.S. Forest Service for visiting and sharing with our preschoolers about the important work you do to help keep our community safe.
Our students loved learning from you and enjoyed your visits! 🐻🚓🔥
“Get ready for game night! Let's pack the stands with PINK! The Acorn Teams will host Kirby at home on October 21, 2025. Action tips off with the Junior Boys at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Senior Girls, then the Senior Boys. Come out and pack the gym to cheer on your Tigers!”
WALDRON, Ark. — October 14, 2025
The Acorn Junior Girls Cross Country Team turned in an outstanding performance at the Tri-County Invitational – Emmett Barnett Memorial XC Meet, held at Waldron High School, finishing second overall in a field of more than seventy runners. Leading the way was Genevieve Simborio, who dominated the race from start to finish, taking first place with a time of 10:41.8. Kylie Ezell – 9th place, 12:27.6
Emma Gray – 19th place, 13:21.8 (medalist)
Kaelyn Donald – 22nd place, 13:49.8
Lacelynn Southern – 30th place, 14:51.9
Breezie Harris – 31st place, 15:06.0
Evie Norris – 35th place, 15:27.6
Brylin Clark – 43rd place, 17:16.5
Payton Meyer – 47th place, 18:22.0
RaLynn Sharp – 49th place, 18:23.1
Junior Boys - Team 6th
The Acorn Junior Boys earned sixth as a team. Ryder Willeford, 8th grade student at Acorn High School set the tone with a top-10 finish in 10:21.4
Acorn Junior Boys — Individual Results
Ryder Willeford (8), 10th place, 10:21.4
Kooper Hollin (9), 27th place, 11:32.4
Trent Phillips (9), 34th place, 12:01.3
Cy Young (9), 35th place, 12:02.7
Koy Long (8), 39th place, 12:39.0
Issac Johnson (9), 44th place, 13:45.9
Aaron Belcher (7), 51st place, 15:59.5
Cody Rusert (8), 57th place, 17:43.6
Brayden Bowles (7), 62nd place, 23:21.2
Senior Girls — Individual Highlights
Kloe Husser (11) represented the Lady Tigers in 13th place with a time of 28:55.3
Senior Boys — Individual Highlights
Senior Zane Newton paced the Tigers in 6th place with a time of 20:21.1 .
Ayvaan Flores (9), 18th place, 24:43.5
Casten Horn (10), 28th place, 32:07.9
Congratulations AHS XC Athletes & Coach Keith Willsey!
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Ouachita River School District
Through a safe, caring, and serving environment, students learn, grow, excel, and succeed...this is our mission in preparing students for LIFE!
Acorn Tiger Sponsor shirts are available to order, please turn in your order form and payment to the AHS Office by October 31st!!!!
We are so grateful for Mrs. Jackson’s leadership, dedication, and the care she shows to our students and staff each day. We love you and are truly blessed to have you leading our school. Thank you for all that you do for the Acorn Elementary family! 💚
Wear PINK for the October 21st game and get one free bag of popcorn at the concession stand!!!!!!
Ouachita River School District - Acorn Elementary School and Oden Schools have been recognized by the Office for Education Policy (OEP) at the University of Arkansas as schools where students are “Beating the Odds” through demonstrating high growth on the ATLAS tests. The awards for growth reflect regional and statewide recognition.
The OEP awards are based on the 2025 content growth score calculated by the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education of Education and reflect how much students at each school improved from 2024 compared to how much other students with similar prior achievement improved. Schools recognized were based on Overall growth, as well as for growth in Math and English Language Arts as separate categories. According to the UA Office of Education Policy, the performance awards reflect recognition for schools with high student academic growth, with growth being the best indicator of the positive impact schools have on students.
Acorn Elementary School and Oden Schools are recognized for the following awards:
Acorn Elementary School received the following award:
High ELA Growth (Southwest region)
Oden Schools received the following awards:
High Overall Growth (Statewide)
High Math Growth (Statewide)
High ELA Growth (Statewide)
High Overall Growth (Southwest region)
High Math Growth (Southwest region)
High ELA Growth (Southwest region)
The Office for Education Policy (OEP) is one of several research centers within the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas. OEP staff includes faculty members, research associates and graduate students who specialize in education research and policy. OEP provides current national, state, and regional education research to support state lawmakers and educators in thoughtful decision-making in PK-12 education in the State of Arkansas.
Congratulations students, teachers, staff & parents!
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Ouachita River School District
Through a safe, caring, and serving environment, students learn, grow, excel, and succeed...this is our mission in preparing students for LIFE!
AHS Construction Technology Pathway students partner with Pre-Educator Pathway class and instructor to set up digital calendar display equipment in the classroom.
AHS CTE Pathways - putting skills to action!
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"Acorn Parents, guardians, and loved ones, please click the link below to access our Veterans Day survey. We would be honored to celebrate your Veterans during our program. We kindly ask that you complete the survey at your earliest convenience. Thank you for helping us honor those who have served!"
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc1rzLW5ziCPxkgjuhn7FZbro4CFKGGpRFzUY8NnwRjyiLYBA/viewform?usp=header
Welcome ALL VETERANS!
Acorn High School presents ANNUAL VETERANS DAY PROGRAM
Thursday, November 6, 2025
12:00 - 1:30 PM
Mary Davis Gym - Acorn High School
143 Polk Road 96
Mena, AR 71953
Guest Speaker: Mayor Seth Smith, City of Mena
Please get in touch with Chad Frost, AHS Veterans Day Program Coordinator, for lunch headcount by Friday, October 31st, at (479) 394-4833 or cfrost@orsd.k12.ar.us
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Acorn vs Kirby Basketball Games
The food drive is to providing non-perishable snacks, ready-made meals, juices, bottled water, etc.. for the Acorn Schools' Backpack Program.
Thank you for supporting the AHS Project Prevent Food Drive!
🎀 Acorn Elementary will be celebrating Red Ribbon Week October 28th–31st! 🎀
We’re so excited to celebrate being Drug Free with our students! Check out our fun dress-up days below and let’s all dress to impress while showing our commitment to a healthy, drug-free lifestyle! 💪❤️
#RedRibbonWeek #DrugFreeLooksLikeMe #AcornElementary#AEStigersSERVE
