Arkansas receives $30,718 for test aid
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Arkansas $30,718 in Advanced Placement grants to help historically underserved students prepare for college and careers.
Arkansas is one of 41 states and Washington, D.C., that received a total of $28.4 million to help students from low-income families offset the costs of taking Advanced Placement tests. Students who score at 3 or better on the tests that are graded on a scale of 1 to 5 can receive college credit for their high school work or be placed in higher-level courses once in college. The tests are produced by the College Board organization.
Based on the estimated number of tests to be taken, the Advanced Placement Test Fee Program grants should be sufficient to pay all but $15 of the cost of each test taken. The tests are typically in excess of $80 each.
Levels of funding per state were based on state estimates of the numbers of tests that would be taken by students from low-income families.
State jobs program wins national honor
The state's Jobs for Arkansas Graduates program has once again been honored by the national Jobs for America's Graduates for meeting student achievement goals in five performance categories.
The Arkansas program, one of 33 programs nationally, is an effort to assist at-risk and disadvantaged youths in graduating from high school or earning a General Education Development certificate, and then finding high-quality jobs.
The program is offered in 102 Arkansas schools by the Arkansas Department of Career Education's Career and Technical Education division.
The 5-of-5 National Performance Award, received by Arkansas every year since 2007, recognizes states that meet goals for graduation rates, positive outcomes rates, aggregate employment rates, full-time jobs rates and full-time placement rates.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a member of the national board of directors for Jobs for America's Graduates, said Arkansas is setting a national example by providing education and work opportunities to youth from disadvantaged communities.
"Arkansas' designation as a 5-of-5 National Performance Award recipient demonstrates our continued commitment to finding innovative ways to provide access to quality career and technical education to our students," Hutchinson said.
Ex-worker files suit over contract status
The Little Rock School District and Arkansas Education Commissioner Johnny Key are defendants in a lawsuit filed last week in Pulaski County Circuit Court by Stephanie Walker-Hynes after Walker-Hynes' employment contract was not renewed for the 2016-17 school year.
The case is assigned to Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox.
Walker-Hynes, who started work in 1995 in the district's food services department, was most recently assistant coordinator of the district's adult education program when she received notice last spring from then-Superintendent Baker Kurrus that her position was being eliminated.
She appealed the resulting nonrenewal of her contract. A three-member panel appointed by Key -- who acts in lieu of a school board in the state-controlled Little Rock district -- held a hearing on the appeal in June.
The panel of Danny Knight, Kenneth Turner and Mary McClendon concluded that the adult education assistant coordinator's job was not needed and did not exist before Walker -Hynes was assigned to it after a period in which she was on paid administrative leave from the food services department.
But the panel also said in its report to Key that it could not recommend that Walker-Hynes' contract be nonrenewed.
"We would hope the commissioner would suggest to the superintendent that Ms. Walker-Hynes would better serve the district in her former position as coordinator of food services," the report said. The panel's report added that if there are problems with any employee in the food services department, the department director should exercise the authority -- given in school district policies -- to document the problems.
Key however upheld the district administration's recommendation for the nonrenewal of Walker-Hynes' contract, resulting in her appeal to circuit court by her attorney Lawrence A. Walker.
Metro on 09/26/2016