TASD hires band director, approves playground purchase

Vincent Flieder
Vincent Flieder

TEXARKANA, Ark. -- The Texarkana Arkansas School District Board of Trustees approved the hiring of Vincent Flieder as its new head band director during a regular meeting on Tuesday evening.

Flieder currently serves as a teacher and assistant band director at Arkansas High School.

"Mr. Flieder's creativity and passion for music is unmatched," Superintendent Dr. Becky Kesler said. "Our students love him, and the program will excel under his leadership."

Flieder earned a bachelor of arts in music in 2016 and a master of music in jazz studies in 2021 from the University of Arkansas-Monticello. He brings six years of music education experience to his new role in TASD.

"I am extremely excited and honored to have this opportunity to continue the tradition of running an award-winning band program in the Texarkana Arkansas School District," Flieder said. "I am going to dive in full-force and push our students to reach their full potential by creating learning experiences both in and out of the classroom."

In other news from the meeting, the board approved the administration's recommendation for the purchase of playground equipment at Harmony Leadership Academy from Playground Boss at a cost of $188,000. The equipment has a capacity of 134 children and has 38 play stations for ages 5 to 12.

Also approved was the $233,000 purchase of Smart Labs for the Arkansas High School Freshman Academy. Last month, TASD's trustees approved the purchase of Smart Labs at Harmony Leadership Academy, North Heights Community School and Fairview Elementary for approximately $724,518.

The labs are meant to provide more science, technology, engineering and math opportunities to students in the district to address learning loss due to COVID-19. Implementing a fully functional Smart Lab with training and curriculum resources will help rejuvenate and provide engaging learning opportunities to improve TASD's academics, according to the district.

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