ADE Briefs

Read all about the leadership team at Alma Intermediate School at the in ASCD’s Education Update. Posted by JJT.

Another 289 Arkansas teachers earned certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching to make Arkansas eighth in terms of number of newly certified teachers. This brings the total of National Board Certified Teachers in Arkansas to 1,690. Arkansas ranks ranks 15th in the total number of teachers who achieved certification over time. The Arkansas [...]

At one time, “zero tolerance” was the go-to policy for such infractions as alcohol or drug-use at school. The more you listen to Steve Anderson, superintendent of the Lake Hamilton School District, talk about his district’s new “Second Chance” program, the more you have to wonder about the wisdom of zero tolerance and its frequent [...]

A method for rating high schools in terms of “status” and “gains” was approved by the Arkansas State Board of Education. This is similar to the system already in place for elementary and middle schools. For the high schools, the Benchmark Examinations are the Grade 11 Literacy Examination and the end-of-course (EOC) examinations of Algebra [...]

The Arkansas State Board of Education tabled the action item in which the board was considering a request from the Osceola Communications Arts Business School, an open enrollment charter school, to amend its charter due to a lack of pertinent information from the charter school representatives. Osceola Communication Arts Business School appeared before the State [...]

Arkansas Department of Education staff member Laura McDowell gave the State Board of Education at its meeting Monday an update on Arkansas’s Coordinated School Health program, which is federally funded with grant from Centers for Disease Control. The charge from the Centers for Disease Control is to improve students’ health by building capacity and partnerships [...]

The Arkansas Department of Education will begin live-streaming via the Internet the regular monthly meetings of the Arkansas State Board of Education starting with the December 13 meeting. You may link to the site for viewing from ArkansasEd.org. The link will be posted by the Calendar of Events listing for the meeting. Or, the direct [...]

Sam Dillon wrote in the New York Times that the nation’s high school graduation rate may have hit its low and be on the rise again. He cites a report from America’s Promise Alliance called “Building a Grad Nation,” which shows a jump in the national graduation rate from 72 percent in 2001 to 75 [...]

In this week’s radio address, Governor Beebe discusses the importance of STEM education — which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics — and tells how Arkansas’s Discovery Museum in Little Rock enhances students’ opportunities to develop an interest in these fields. Link here to hear the Governor’s remarks. Posted by JJT.

Economics Arkansas is holding its 15th Annual Bessie B. Moore Arkansas Awards for Excellence in Teaching Economics luncheon today in Little Rock. Fifteen educators will receive awards — six “Veterans,” who will receive $1,000 each, and nine “Newcomers,” who will each get $500. The Veteran winners and their projects are: Nancy Archer, Pulaski County School [...]