Revised schools system new aim

Accountability focus of revamp

Arkansas education leaders Thursday announced a multifaceted plan for involving the public in redesigning the state's system of holding schools and school districts responsible for student success.

A website devoted to the planning process, online surveys, a 10-city listening tour and the formation of a steering committee -- with meetings live-streamed and recorded -- are the key components of the effort to solicit ideas and feedback from educators, parents, students and the general public.

State education leaders are crafting the Arkansas Accountability System for schools in response to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in December.

The act -- the latest version of the 1965 federal Elementary Secondary Education Act -- gives states and school districts greater authority than in the recent past to develop their own accountability plans.

The Every Student Succeeds Act replaces the No Child Left Behind Act, signed by President George W. Bush in 2002, which called for all students to achieve at their grade levels on state math and literacy exams within about a dozen years -- regardless of race, family income, disability or language barriers. Schools and districts that failed to show annual progress toward that goal of 100 percent student proficiency faced penalties that were listed in the law and became more severe over time.

Arkansas Education Commissioner Johnny Key said Thursday that a new system will be essential to moving the state's education system from "adequacy, which we know as 'good enough,' to excellence, which is what we want."

"No Child Left Behind certainly had its benefits," Key also said. "But one of the things it did was create a culture of compliance that we are now having the opportunity ... to move beyond.

"This is an effort that will not work if it's just the Department of Education creating it in the commissioner's office or in the commissioner's conference room," he said. "This is something that is going to take the entire team of the Department of Education, all of our partner organizations, our schools, our educators, our school board members, our parents and our students."

The new federal act continues to require states to identify their lowest performing schools -- now known as "priority schools" -- but it "falls in the lap" or becomes the responsibility of local schools and districts to develop improvement plans with the support of the state agency, Key said.

Tina Smith, the Education Department's director of special projects and the agency's point person on the state's response to the federal law, said July 5, 2017, is the target date for submitting the Arkansas plan for approval to the U.S. Department of Education.

The plan sent to the federal department will include more than a test-score-driven accountability system, Key said.

Mark Gotcher, the state's deputy education commissioner, said the proposed regulations for the federal law call for a state plan to address assessment, academic growth, teacher quality, English-language learners and a nonacademic indicator of school quality.

An approved plan will be implemented for the first time in the 2017-18 school year.

A link to detailed information about the state planning process -- including online surveys for the public and educators about measures of success as well as a means for writing comments or asking questions -- is on the home page of the Arkansas Department of Education's website: arkansased.gov.

The initiative includes the formation of a steering committee that will meet at 9:30 a.m. on the last Wednesday of each month, starting Aug. 31, in the Department of Education auditorium to listen to presentations, address certain topics and make recommendations to the Education Department and state Board of Education.

The Every Student Succeeds Act Steering Committee members are:

• Key, who will be the chairman.

• Anthony Bennett Jr., a graduate of Ashdown High, a freshman at Hendrix College and an officer in two nonprofit organizations that advocate for youth involvement at all levels of government.

• Melissa Bratton, coordinator of the English As A Second Language program in the Hot Springs School District.

• Rep. Bruce Cozart, R-Hot Springs, who has been chairman of the House Education Committee.

• Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock, who has been chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

• Ima Etim, English/language arts teacher in Pine Bluff, an alumni of the Teach for America program, and founder/director of the Arkansas Student Voice Council.

• Joyce Flowers, a literacy specialist in the Camden Fairview School District, where she has worked for 45 years.

• Kelli Gill, secretary at Sonora Elementary School in Springdale.

• Michelle Owens Hayward, principal at McNair Middle School in Fayetteville, president of the Arkansas Association of Middle Level Administrators and co-director for the Arkansas Schools to Watch initiative.

• Harold Jeffcoat, superintendent of the Van Buren School District since 2015, a former administrator in the Cabot School District, principal in the Sheridan School District, assistant principal in the Benton School District and teacher in the Little Rock School District.

• Ouida Newton, a member of the Arkansas Board of Education, who retired this year after a 38-year teaching career that was capped by her selection as Arkansas Teacher of the Year for 2015.

• Gloria Phillips, principal of the pre-kindergarten through second-grade program at Rivercrest Elementary School in the Rivercrest School District, where she has worked for 33 years.

A series of community forums regarding student success and school accountability is planned for locations around the state between Sept. 13 and Oct. 25. Each of the listening forums will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the following locations:

• Alma: Sept. 13, Alma High School, 101 E. Main St.

• Magnolia: Sept. 19, Reynolds Center Grand Hall C, Southern Arkansas University, 100 E. University St.

• Melbourne: Sept. 20, Ozarka Lecture Hall, Ozarka College, 218 College Drive.

• Forrest City: Oct. 3, East Arkansas Community College Fine Arts Center, 1700 Newcastle Road.

• Monticello: Oct. 6, Southeast Education Service Cooperative, 1022 Scogin Drive, 71655

• Pine Bluff: Oct. 10, Arkansas River Education Service Cooperative, 912 W. Sixth, 71601

• Jonesboro: Oct. 11, Cooper Alumni Center, Arkansas State University, 2600 Alumni Blvd., 72401

• Arkadelphia: Oct. 17, Garrison Activities Center Lecture Hall, Henderson State University, 1100 Henderson St.

• Conway/Plumerville: Oct. 24, Hargis Conference Center, Arch Ford Education Service Cooperative, 101 Bulldog Drive, Plumerville.

• Springdale: Oct. 25, tentatively planned for Har-Ber High School, 300 Jones Road.

Metro on 08/26/2016

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