Campus Talk: ForwARd Education Group To Release Initial Report

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FORWARD EDUCATION GROUP TO RELEASE INITIAL REPORT
A new education coalition, ForwARd Arkansas, will release a report at midday today on the state of Arkansas education. The group will unveil its “State of Education” report to the Rotary Club of Little Rock (Club 99), which is meeting at the Clinton Presidential Center Tuesday.

The report includes the group’s research on school performance, student demographics, test scores, graduation rates and other education metrics.

ForwARd Arkansas was established as a strategic partnership of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Walton Family Foundation and Arkansas Board of Education and formally announced its formation earlier this month. It aims to push for more research-based state policy for pre-K through college education with a focus on schools in academic distress.

ForwARd Arkansas Steering Committee Members include:

· Shane Broadway is the director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. He has served as a member of the Arkansas State Senate and State House of Representatives, Speaker of the House and member of the Senate and House Education Committees.
· Toby Daughtery is the lead recruiter and outreach coordinator for The STAND Foundation.
· Kim Davis is the director of economic development and external relations for the Northwest Arkansas Council and a member of the State Board of Education.
· Bill Dillard III is vice president of Dillard’s, Inc. and serves on the board at eStem Public Charter Schools and the Arkansans for Education Reform Foundation.
· Marcy Doderer is the president and CEO of Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.
· Matt Dozier is the president and CEO of the Environmental and Spatial Technology (EAST) Initiative and former teacher at North Pulaski High School in Jacksonville.
· Bob East is the co-founder of East-Harding, Inc. and owner of Advanced Cabling, Inc.
· Sen. Joyce Elliott is a current Arkansas State Senator and former member of the Arkansas State House of Representatives. During her time in the General Assembly, she has served as Senate Majority Whip, vice-chairman of the Senate Education Committee and chairman of the House Education Committee.
· Melanie Fox has served on the Little Rock Board of Education, Little Rock Public Education Foundation Board and Little Rock PTA Council Board. She is co-founder of J&M Foods.
· Lavina Grandon is the founder and president of the Rural Community Alliance and a retired teacher, with extensive experience in rural schools.
· Johnny Key is the associate vice-president of university relations at the University of Arkansas system, former member of the Arkansas State Senate and State House of Representatives and former chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
· Tom Kimbrell serves as superintendent of Bryant Public Schools. He was the former commissioner of education for state of Arkansas, executive director of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators and superintendent of the North Little Rock and Paragould school districts.
· Ginny Kurrus is the former state president of the Arkansas PTA, president of the Little Rock PTA Council, and long-time Little Rock School District volunteer.
· Michele Linch is the executive director for the Arkansas State Teachers Association. She is a former science teacher and director of the Arkansas Leadership Academy’s Teacher Leadership Institute.
· Hugh McDonald is the president and CEO of Entergy Arkansas, Inc. and former director of the Arkansas Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education.
· Justin Minkel is a former Arkansas Teacher of the Year, Milken Educator and Teach for America alumnus. He currently teaches at Jones Elementary in Springdale.
· John Riggs is the president of J.A. Riggs Tractor Company. He has been a member of the Arkansas State Senate, president of the Little Rock School District Board and member of the State Board of Career Education.
· David Rainey is the Assistant State Director of the JBHM Education Group and serves on the Arkansas Rural Development Commission. He is a former member of the Arkansas State House of Representatives and House Education Committee.
· Scott Shirey is the founder and executive director of KIPP Delta Public Schools and a Teach for America alumnus.
· Ray Simon is the former deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, chief state school officer for Arkansas, superintendent of Conway School District and math teacher at North Little Rock High School. He recently formed a consulting company focused on education policy and practice.
· Kathy Smith is a senior program officer at the Walton Family Foundation, responsible for education initiatives. She has also served as a high school English teacher and secondary curriculum director.
· Ladonna Spain is a school improvement specialist and school improvement zone leader for the Arkansas Department of Education. She served as Gifted and Talented and Advanced Placement Coordinator in the McGehee School District and taught in the Tiller School District, Delta Special School District and McGehee School District.
· Bob Watson is the former superintendent of El Dorado Public Schools. Well known for his innovative leadership in the south Arkansas community, he helped launch the El Dorado Promise and pass a bond initiative to build all new facilities in the district.
· Sherece West-Scantlebury is the president and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. She previously served as CEO at the Foundation for Louisiana, program associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation and has extensive experience with community development, public policy and advocacy and public service.
· Darrin Williams is the CEO of Southern Bancorp, Inc. and former member and Speaker Pro Tempore of the Arkansas House of Representatives.
· Kenya Williams is co-chairman of the Strong-Community leadership alliance and works closely with the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Opportunity to Learn Campaign. She is also a member of the South Arkansas Adult Education Advisory Council.
· Diana Gonzales Worthen is the director of Project RISE (Realizing and Increasing Student Excellence) at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

EL DORADO PROMISE SEES AP ENROLLMENT DOUBLE
The El Dorado Promise turns eight years old this year, and community leaders are pointing to increases in Advanced Placement (AP) course offerings and enrollment as more signs of success.

A study by the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas (OEP) on the impact of the El Dorado Promise shows that in 2006, prior to the Promise, about 11% of El Dorado High School students were taking one or more AP tests. By 2014, nearly one quarter of the high school’s population was taking at least one AP course. The study also shows that the number of students taking AP tests has more than doubled since the El Dorado Promise was announced in 2007.

According to school officials, student passage rates in AP courses have risen as the participation has increased, bucking a trend that usually shows lower pass rates after expansion.

The El Dorado Promise allows students of the El Dorado school district to attend any accredited two or four-year college or university in the U.S. The maximum amount of the Promise scholarship is based on the maximum resident tuition payable at an Arkansas public university, currently $7,889.

El Dorado Promise students are currently enrolled in 64 different colleges and universities and have received degrees from 37 colleges and universities throughout the U.S.

HIGHER ED CHIEF CANDIDATES FIELD 15 APPLICANTS
With Shane Broadway leaving the director’s post of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education for his new role with the Arkansas State University System, 15 applicants have applied to be his replacement.

The director of ADHE is appointed by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board following a search process and selection that includes substantial input, review, and recommendation from the President’s Council, subject to confirmation by the Governor. The Director serves at the pleasure of the Governor and is a member of the Governor’s cabinet as an advocate for higher education, according to state law. A decision on a replacement is expected in the next two weeks.

UALR VICE CHANCELLOR RETIRING
UALR Chancellor Joel Anderson said Bob Adams, vice chancellor for finance and administration, will retire on June 30, 2015. A search for the new vice chancellor will begin immediately.

Adams came to UALR in February 2009 after serving as vice chancellor for business and finance for the Tennessee Board of Regents for seven years and previously in other state and higher education finance positions in Tennessee since 1973. Adams will retire to the Chicago area.