ForwARd Arkansas Updates State Board Of Ed On Planning Process

Sarah Whites-Koditschek with our content partner, KUAR FM 89.1 reports:

The Arkansas State Board of Education heard an update Friday from ForwARd Arkansas, a project established by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and the State Board of Education.

Jared Henderson, of ForwARd Arkansas, told the board of his team’s efforts to seek community input and set goals for closing the educational achievement gaps between Arkansas and other states.

“We tried to reflect what we heard in the surveys from community members. And so for example, under high quality classroom instruction, the second bullet, we talk about a culture of mutual respect, of high expectations for all, of teamwork and continuous growth,” he said.

Henderson explained his group had met with 48 focus groups and conducted 8,000 surveys statewide.

ForwARd will develop a full plan for the state by this summer.

So far, it has reviewed the states whose educational systems have made the greatest strides in the past 10 years to set measures for the state for the next five, 20, and 25 years.

Currently, Arkansas is ranked 49th in the nation for college degree attainment.

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