ADE Briefs

Dr. Tom Kimbrell of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators passes along this information about new superintendencies in the state.

Batesville South Side: Roger Rich replaces Dan Foley
Bismark: David Hopkins is yet to be replaced
Blytheville: Richard Atwell replaces Dr. Bruce Daniels
Caddo Hills: Paul Shelton replaces Donald Henley
Clarksville: David Hopkins replaces Don Johnson
Danville: Alan Love replaces Jimmy Cunningham
Dollarway : Thomas Gathen is yet to be replaced
Fayetteville: Bobby New is yet to be replaced
Fordyce: Don Collins replaces Pam Blake
Fouke: Tommy Tyler replaces Paulette Smith
Gurdon: Bobby Smithson is yet to be replaced
Hamburg: Max Dyson replaces Marilyn H. Chambers
Hampton: Jimmy Cunningham replaces Max Dyson
Lafayette County: Mark Keith replaces Jack Broach
Marion: Don Johnson replaces Dan Shepherd
McGehee: Thomas Gathen replaces Barbara Wood
Omaha: Jerry Parrett replaces Mark Sanders
Marked Tree: Annessa Thompson replaces Gary Masters
Palestine Wheatley : Don Collins is yet to be replaced
Pine Bluff : Frank Anthony is yet to be replaced
Smackover: Donald Smeltzer replaces Darrell Porter
South Mississippi County: Gary Masters replaces Rogers Ford
Stephens: Mark Keith is yet to be replaced
Westside Greers Ferry: Steve Lucas replaces Russell Hester
Posted by JJT.

The Arkansas Business and Education Alliance, sponsor of the Arkansas Scholars program, will hold a luncheon to honor business and education leaders at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, June 11.
The Alliance will honor former State Senator Jodie Mahony of El Dorado and Bill Fisher of Paragould as ABEA’s Policy Leaders of the Year. Carol Langston, vice president of Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock; Bill Kessinger, superintendent of the West Memphis School District; and the staff of the El Dorado News-Times newspaper have been named ABEA’s Friends of Education.
Claiborne Deming will deliver the keynote address at the event, which is a fund-raiser for the Alliance and its Arkansas Scholars program. Scholars are students in participating school districts across the state who from graduate high school having completed the Smart Core curriculum, scored a 2.5 GPA and have maintained a 95 percent attendance rate.
Tickets are $50 and may be purchased by contacting Tara Smith at taras@adhe.edu or 501-371-2055 by June 5.
Posted by JJT.

John N. McDaniel of Jonesboro High School and Helena Liu of Little Rock Central High School are among the 141 outstanding high school seniors U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced this week as 2009 Presidential Scholars. The students have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, artistic excellence, leadership, citizenship, and community service. Presidential scholars will be honored for their accomplishments in Washington D.C., tentatively scheduled from June 20-24.
McDaniel said his most influential teacher was Wright Porter; Liu said hers was Annice Steadman.
The Arkansas Department of Education commends these students and teachers both.
Posted by JJT.

The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) held a news conference at 2 p.m. today to announce the state’s first five confirmed cases of the novel H1N1 influenza A virus (swine flu) —four cases in Pulaski County and one case in Lawrence County. The samples were tested and confirmed by the public health laboratory at ADH.
Illness has occurred in active duty service members from other states who are training at Camp Robinson. A school-aged child from Walnut Ridge Elementary School in Lawrence County has also been confirmed positive for the virus.
Dr. Ken James, Arkansas Commissioner of Education, announced at the news conference that he has been in communication with Lawrence County’s superintendent and that the situation is being well-handled there. Letters are being sent to school district students’ families to inform them of the confirmed case. In keeping with current Centers of Disease Control guidelines, the school will not be closed. School personnel will monitor children for flu-like symptoms and fever of 100 degrees or more. Those children should be sent home and advised to visit their physicians.
“With so much more being known about this virus than even a week ago, we know that a confirmed case in a school is not reason for panic but it is an important reminder that we need to continue with those behaviors that inhibit the spread of the illness.”
Please refer to the Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner’s Memo for complete guidance for schools to follow to prevent and deal with the H1N1 flu virus.
Posted by JJT.

Intel will award Cedar Park Elementary School in Trumann $100,000 for being one its of its three U.S. Intel Schools of Distinction and another $10,000 for being one of six schools in the nation honored for extraordinary commitment to educational exellence and innovation in the areas of mathematics and science. An Intel news release says that Cedar Park was recognized for “offering its students a rigorous, challenging and engaging program that teaches mathematics skills and how to apply them to solve real-life problems, approach projects as a member of a team, and communicate succinctly on the subject.”
“Congratulations to the administration and staff at Cedar Park Elementary,” said Dr. Ken James, Arkansas Commissioner of Education. “This award attests to the exemplary effort being made at the school to provide students with the academic foundation they need to become productive citizens in the 21st-century global economy.”
Posted by JJT.

The Arkansas Department of Education will hold the 2009 Educators Career Fair from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 16, at the Metroplex/Team Summit Event Center, 10800 Colonel Glenn Road, in Little Rock. The Educators Career Fair is designed for licensed Arkansas educators who are looking for opportunities to grow professionally by adding areas to current licenses, renewing expired licenses, or pursuing advanced degrees.
In addition to consulting with representatives from the Arkansas Department of Education, attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about financial aid, colleges of education programs and requirements, and open positions with Arkansas school districts.
The 2009 Educators Career Fair is free, but registration is requested. To register, visit www.TeachArkansas.org or call 501-683-1088.
Posted by JJT.