ADE Briefs

The recent heavy rains have forced several districts to close today due to high water or treachorous driving conditions, so this is a good time to remind superintentdents to notify ADE when the decision is made to close schools. Closing Notifications Superintendents should include the full seven-digit LEA number of the school(s) in the e-mail [...]

Economics Arkansas and Dr. Curt Anderson from the University of Minnesota showed a group of school administrators that economics lessons could be fun. Anderson led the group at the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators conference yesterday through an interactive exercise on price setting in various market situtations. Through sponsorship of Economics Arkansas, Anderson will be [...]

Governor Mike Beebe’s radio address this weekend spotlighted the problem of overweight and obese children. These youngsters are at higher risk for developing chronic health conditions including diabetes and hypertension. Obesity can lead to other serious health problems as well, among them heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, respiratory issues, reproductive complications, skeletal and joint [...]

Anthony Mullen was a member of the New York Police Department who dealt with teens once they crossed to the wrong side of the law. Those experiences convinced him to try to reach young people before they got into trouble, so he decided to become a teacher. And in 2009, he was named National Teacher [...]

The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) reports today that anticipated supplies of the H1N1 Influenza A (Swine Flu) vaccine have been arriving in the state but in limited quantities. At the Mass Flu Clinics occurring around the state on October 29, 30, 31, health officials will have seasonal vaccine available for the general public; however, [...]

John Krupa has a good story in Wednesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about the success of a three-year-old literacy project in Augusta. The whole community was encouraged to read more: the local literacy council provided tutors for people of all ages, young mothers were given training on creating literacy-friendly homes and churches cooperated with a writing project [...]

The Office of the Governor announced today that Governor Mike Beebe has accepted a recommendation by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration to cut the state budget by $100 million for the current fiscal year. The revised budget forecast comes after revenues fell below those predicted for the first three months of the fiscal [...]

Green Education Foundation is launching the largest gardening initiative in history, calling on Pre K-12 schools to plant 10,000 indoor or outdoor gardens. GEF’s website will provide everything that a novice would need to plant gardens, including checklists for school approvals, plot location guidelines; indoor container garden suggestions, funding sources (including grant templates) garden plans, [...]

Libraries, schools and bookstores across the country (and ADE!) are encouraging teens to pick up a book, magazine or a newspaper and read during Teen Read Week™, October 18 – 24. The event is the national adolescent literacy initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest-growing division of the American Library Association. [...]

Michelle Rhee at the Clinton School of Public Service Here’s a snippet of Washington, D.C., school chancellor Michelle Rhee’s remarks at the Clinton School of Public Service this week, in which she recounts advice from Warren Buffet for solving public schools woes in the district. You may need to link twice to see it. Posted [...]