Board OKs first-everm computer standards
The Arkansas Board of Education on Thursday approved the state's first-ever set of computer science "frameworks," or standards, to be taught in kindergarten through eighth grade beginning in the 2017-18 school year.
The standards are to be integrated into existing content areas, except for coding, which is to be taught in the seventh or eighth grades as a block of instruction, perhaps part of a keyboarding or business education course.
A committee made up of educators from school districts, education cooperatives, colleges and universities, and the state Department of Education developed the standards, subject to state Education Board approval. Representatives of science and computer-science organizations also contributed to the work.
The standards cover five categories: computational thinking and problem solving; data and information; algorithms and programs; computers and communications; and community, global, and ethical impacts.
In the area of data and information, one of the third-grade standards, for example, is "interpret and analyze graphs individually." Another standard in the algorithm and programs category is "create and follow algorithms to accomplish a simple task or solve a simple problem." Another third-grade standard calls for a discussion of careers that require computing and technology. A seventh-grade standard calls for demonstrating touch-typing techniques while increasing speed and maintaining accuracy.
Kurrus talks of tax rise for LR schools
Baker Kurrus, the state-appointed superintendent of the state-controlled Little Rock School District, talked publicly for the first time Thursday about the possibility of asking voters for a property tax increase to help finance school construction and renovation.
Speaking to the Arkansas Board of Education, Kurrus said that a 1.9-mill increase to the district's 46.4-mill tax rate would give the district the same tax rate that is levied in the North Little Rock School District. One new mill would raise $3.4 million, which could finance a $50 million bond issue in the Little Rock district. An increase of 1.9 mills could finance a $94.5 million bond issue.
"That's a lot of money. I'm not saying we want to do that," he said, adding that he envisions rebuilding, refurbishing and recommissioning buildings so the district "has world-class facilities and highly engaged and highly paid professionals."
School chief named to nonprofit board
The Hot Springs School District superintendent has been appointed to a national nonprofit that oversees a federal program that helps school districts with connectivity.
Mike Hernandez, a former deputy commissioner at the Arkansas Department of Education, will serve for three years beginning this month on the Universal Service Administrative Company board of directors. He will continue his work in Hot Springs.
The nonprofit company helps the Federal Communications Commission to oversee the Universal Service Fund. The FCC appointed Hernandez to the 19-member board on Jan. 8.
Hernandez will take part in administering programs that help communities gain access to affordable telecommunications services, including the federal E-Rate program, which funds Internet services at schools and libraries.
"Whether it's improving school access to high-speed broadband, implementing the Governor's Computer Science Initiative, or everything in between, today we embrace the far-reaching impact of the Internet," Education Commissioner Johnny Key said in a statement. "The challenge of ensuring that every school and library in America can take advantage of the digital revolution goes far beyond the issue of funding: It is a question of determination and creativity. Monumental tasks of this sort require monumental leadership, and Dr. Hernandez has repeatedly demonstrated that he is an agent of positive change."
Metro on 01/18/2016