Category Archives: Education

Key right person to lead schools, but has tiger by the tail

Education, State government
Johnny Key speaks after Gov. Asa Hutchinson announces him as his choice as education commissioner in 2015.

By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Johnny Key is the right person to serve as education secretary for Arkansas’ 263 school districts including charters, but with one of them, he has a tiger by the tail.

Key was appointed education commissioner by Gov. Asa Hutchinson in 2015, a move that met with some disgruntlement in the education community. That disgruntlement was caused by Key not having a background in education, other than owning a day care.

Instead, Key had been a Republican representative and then senator based in Mountain Home who had chaired the Senate Education Committee. He had a party label, but he sought consensus and got along well with others.

His political background meant he could build bridges between educators accustomed to working with Democrats, and the Republicans who now control the Legislature – and will control it for a long time. He understands education politics as well as anyone. What he may not know about education technicalities – he can hire educators for that. Continue reading Key right person to lead schools, but has tiger by the tail →

So, Hutchinson’s coding push is a big deal for Arkansas

Education, State government

By Steve Brawner

© 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

June 11, 2019

At first glance, Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s initiative requiring high schools to teach a computer science course seemed more like a single than a home run. It seemed nice, but small.

But the results have been big for Arkansas.

When the initiative started in 2015, fewer than 1,100 high school students were taking a computer science course, and fewer than 20 teachers were trained to teach it. This past school year, more than 8,000 students took a course – more than 2,400 of them females – and the state now has more than 370 trained teachers.

On June 10, education leaders from 30 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada met at the Governor’s Mansion for the National Computer Science Summit for State Leaders. Participants discussed increasing computer science education opportunities, and meanwhile sang Arkansas’ and Hutchinson’s praises. Continue reading So, Hutchinson’s coding push is a big deal for Arkansas →

Did you know there’s an election coming up?

Education, Elections

Alabama, blue wave, school boards, Hixson, Breanne, red tide, judicial electionsBy Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Elections are approaching, but they won’t be covered by the 24-hour national news stations. You won’t see 30-second ads on any Arkansas TV stations, either.

I’m talking about the annual school elections, which will be May 21. Early voting begins May 14.

When it comes to political glamor, school board elections rank somewhere around the county clerk’s race. The state’s nearly 1,500 board members don’t run under party labels and aren’t paid for their service. (Pay varies across the country. Many make nothing. In Mississippi, they get $67 per meeting or a flat $2,400 a year. In Los Angeles, they received a 174 percent raise in 2017 to $125,000.) In Arkansas, board members have no power individually and no power when not participating in a called meeting. If you complain to your board member about some issue at school, he or she is supposed to direct you to someone who gets paid to fix it.

But they do play important roles. Probably their most important is hiring and firing the superintendent. They work with school administrators to pass a budget and set policy (while being constrained by many state and federal dictates). School boards decide when it’s time to ask the community for a millage increase to pay for a new building. There is evidence that good boards are associated with improved student performance. Continue reading Did you know there’s an election coming up? →

Bismarck school success based on teamwork, expectations

Education
Art teacher Whitney Thornton teaches students to draw a monster.

By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

If I were to tell you that one school district was singled out this year by the Arkansas School Recognition Program, you probably wouldn’t guess it would be Bismarck.

The rural district outside of Hot Springs doesn’t have an international corporate behemoth in its backyard. Sixty-three percent of its students qualified for free and reduced lunch prices last school year, compared to a state average of 60 percent.

But when almost $7 million was awarded to 175 schools based on test scores and improvement, all three of Bismarck’s schools specifically were honored by Gov. Asa Hutchinson at the State Capitol Oct. 29. School personnel and students attended the event.

Through the program, the 51 schools in the top 5 percent in performance and growth received $99.18 per student. The top 6-10 percent received $49.58 per student.

Bismarck Elementary received almost $36,500 for ranking in the top 5 percent in student performance, and that same amount for ranking in the top 5 percent in student growth. Ranking as one of the state’s best schools in both performance and improvement is an impressive achievement, especially considering the school already was in the top 6-10 percent for performance the previous year. Bismarck Middle School and Bismarck High School each received more than $15,000 for ranking in the top 6-10 percent.

It was the second straight year all three schools received awards through the program, which began in 2013. No wonder schooldigger.com ranks Bismarck the state’s fifth best district.

So what’s Bismarck doing right? Continue reading Bismarck school success based on teamwork, expectations →