16-state board to be led by Hutchinson
Gov. Asa Hutchinson is the newly elected chairman of the 80-member Southern Regional Education Board. He was elected to the one-year term at the organization’s annual meeting in Naples, Fla.
As chairman, Hutchinson will work with other governors, legislators and state education leaders to improve public education and student achievement across the region at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education.
Hutchinson said he was honored to be elected to the position and looks forward in particular to putting “a continued emphasis on exposing our students to computer science and setting them on the path to success and jobs of the future.”
The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization is based in Atlanta. It was created in 1948 by governors and legislatures to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region.
Member states are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
New district fills principal vacancies
New principals have been named to fill vacancies at Jacksonville/North Pulaski School District, which remains a part of the Pulaski County Special School District for the 2015-16 school year.
Jacob Smith is the new principal at North Pulaski High.
Smith, formerly a principal at Bald Knob School District, will be joined by a new assistant principal, Terrod Hatcher, formerly a teacher and coach in the Jacksonville-area schools.
Mike Hudgons will be the principal at Jacksonville Middle School, which is being located for the coming school year at the former Northwood Middle School campus. Hudgons is a former principal in the Benton School District and most recently worked as a school improvement consultant.
Taniesa Moore will be the principal at Tolleson Elementary School, and Angela Stewart will be the principal at Arnold Drive Elementary. Moore is a former assistant principal at Jacksonville Middle. Stewart is a former Bryant Middle School principal.
District extending registration for 300
The Little Rock School District is extending registration for some 300 new prekindergarten seats that will be available at certain campuses for 4-year-olds from income-eligible families for the 2015-16 school year.
Registration will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Thursday and will resume next week, from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. Monday through July 10, at Woodruff Early Childhood Center, 3010 W. Seventh St.
The prekindergarten seats are available at Bale, Booker, Carver Magnet, Franklin, Geyer Springs, Rockefeller and Washington elementaries and Woodruff Early Childhood Center.
To register, qualifying families must provide the following information: the child’s birth certificate or proof of birth; the child’s Social Security Card or number; current proof of address in the form of a utility bill or rental agreement with parent/guardian’s name; current proof of income in the form of a pay stub from previous 30 days or 2014 W-2 form.
More information is available by calling (501) 447-7360 or on the district’s website:lrsd.org.
Children must be 4 years old by Aug. 1 to be eligible for the tuition-free program.
School-suit monitor to be reappointed
U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. said this week he intends to reappoint Margie Powell to work for another year as his Pulaski County school desegregation expert unless there is an objection.
Powell’s current appointment expired Tuesday.
Marshall asked on Monday that Powell file a statement with the federal district court clerk indicating whether she was willing to serve for another year under existing terms. On Tuesday, Powell responded with a letter saying that she would like to continue in the position.
Powell works as needed at a rate of $300 an hour unless she attends a court hearing in the case, at which point the fee is a flat $300. Powell’s fees for March and April totaled $5,400. Her fees for June were $1,800.
Any objections to an extension of her appointment by parties in the Pulaski County school desegregation lawsuit are due to the court on July 10.