ADE Briefs

The following cities/ school districts have been identified as potential grant recipients for the high school FIRST Robotics program this season:  Benton, Blytheville, Conway, El Dorado, Fort Smith, Harrison, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Rogers, Russellville (There are already teams or grants applications for Mountain Home, Springdale and Searcy.)  These grants provide [...]

Arkansas First Lady Ginger Beebe presents HealthierUS School Challenge Awards: At the 2011 Child Nutrition Directors’ Conference, hosted by the Arkansas Department of Education, Child Nutrition Unit, Lavaca and Harrisburg School Districts were recognized for their hard work in creating healthier environments for Arkansas children. Ginger Beebe, Arkansas First Lady, Dr. Tom Kimbrell, Arkansas Department [...]

Kudos to the ADE’s Division of Research and Technology. The National Center for Education Statistics, an arm of the USDOE, presented the Arkansas Department of Education with a “Gold” Award for turning in data on time.  This award was given during the NCES Summer Data Conference held is Bethesda, MD on July 28, 2011. About [...]

Verizon Wireless and KTHV invite students within the KTHV viewing area to participate in the Thinkfinity.org Summer Challenge, an essay contest for students who are preparing to head back to school. The challenge includes two categories: Grades K-4 and Grades 5-8, with one winner from each category receiving an Apple iPad2. In addition, each winning student’s school [...]

The SBE put out for public comment slight modifications to rules concerning required training for local school board members. Dr. Kimbrell said the law only requires training for “district” board members so there is nothing required training for board member of charter schools.

During a discussion about how the ADE handles schools on academic distress, board member Sam Ledbetter of Little Rock said the state needs to take a stronger stance. As an example, he cited middle schools in Little Rock, which he described as among those with poor performance. He said the state’s efforts need to be [...]

Members of the Arkansas National Guard thanked Dr. Kimbrell for his cooperation with the guard regarding ADE General Counsel Jeremy Lasiter, a guard member who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. Lasiter was described by Col. Steve Eggensperger, commander of the 189th Airlift Wing, as a perfect example of a “citizen warrior.”  Eggensperger presented Kimbrell with [...]

At the start of the August meeting of the State Board of Education today, Arkansas Education Commissioner Dr. Tom W. Kimbrell said federal budget cuts could range between 3 and 6 percent of federal funds coming into Arkansas for education. Public schools aren’t exempt under the deal arranged by Congress last week on the federal [...]