Gov. Sanders appoints Gary Arnold to State Board of Education

Gov. Sarah Sanders announced Friday (Nov. 1) that she has appointed Gary Arnold to serve on the Arkansas State Board of Education. This is Gov. Sanders’ third appointment to the Board of Education.

Arnold, whose term will expire on June 30, 2027, is replacing Steve Sutton.

“Gary is a longtime education leader and was one of our key allies in the LEARNS implementation process as part of the Rules and Regulations Taskforce,” said Gov. Sanders. “With the help of Gary’s careful stewardship, the first school year with Arkansas LEARNS was a huge success, and the second year is shaping up to be even better. Now parents will have Gary on the Board of Education, fighting for a better Arkansas.”

Arnold serves as director of Head of School Certification at The Council on Educational Standards and Accountability (CESA) and as the founder and partner at NextEd, LLC. Before this role, he spent 16 years leading an independent school in Central Arkansas.

“The best part of being an educator is learning something new every day. If we’re honest, we’re all students for life. Always learning. Always growing. Always getting better. That drives ADE’s vision for Arkansas to be a national leader in student-centered education,” said Arnold. “I’m honored to now be on this team and I look forward to helping champion Governor Sanders’ bold reforms. Together, we’re taking Arkansas to the top.”

During the LEARNS implementation process, Arnold served on the Rules and Regulations Taskforce.

He began his career in education serving as the head of School at the Trinity School of Cape Cod. Since then, he has served in numerous school leadership positions in Massachusetts, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Arkansas.